Miles Morales quickly became a fan favorite after appearing in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, an animated movie that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. However, the character actually made his debut in Ultimate Fallout #4 in 2011, following the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Marvel universe, as a teenager of African-American and Puerto Rican descent who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man.
His introduction was a significant moment in comic book history, and it provided some fresh material for the franchise. He appeared in the later seasons of the Ultimate Spider-Man show that aired from 2012 to 2017 — voiced by Donald Glover— which also explored the concept of multiple Spider-People. However, the character’s popularity soared following the release of 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which gave birth to a new series of animated films with Miles as the protagonist. IIn the most recent release, Miles is also an antagonist.
Yes, you read that right. The most recent release in the Spider-Verse universe pits Miles Morales against a new enemy … himself. But before we dive into the analysis of the newly released animated short, let’s provide some context. As stated above, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a massive success, and it gave birth to a sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was initially scheduled for an April 2022 release date.
However, the release date was later shifted to October 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was delayed once again to June 2023. By that time, the pandemic lockdowns had lifted, but the entertainment industry was still in the throes of the aftermath. Regardless, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, released in June 2023, was both a critical and commercial success, surpassing its predecessor in every conceivable way. It was, in short, an even greater hit, which led to the announcement of the third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
That particular movie was initially scheduled for a March 2024 release date, but it was subsequently removed from the release schedule, reportedly due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The release date is currently unknown, and it’s highly unlikely that we’ll witness its release this year or perhaps even in 2025. So, Sony decided to bridge the wait for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse with The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, an animated short film showcasing Miles Morales and his fight against himself.
The short, which premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year and was recently released widely, doesn’t actually introduce some multiversal, overpowered version of Miles Morales for the protagonist to fight against. Instead, Miles struggles against his inner demons. The movie opens up with him feeling overwhelmed with school, upcoming exams, relationship drama, and the weight of being Spider-Man. You know, everything a typical superhero teenager goes through during adolescence.
All jokes aside, anxiety isn’t something to be taken lightly, and Miles’ anxiety first takes the form of a dark figure representing his alter ego. The figure approaches Miles, puts its hand on Miles’ chest, and pushes him through the bed. This is a fantastic representation of a hypnic jerk, a feeling triggered by a sudden muscle twitch, causing the sensation of falling while sleeping or dreaming — which is also caused by anxiety, among other things.
Miles and his alter ego then fall into a moving train, where our superhero tries to overpower his alter ego, but the doubts and anxieties associated with maintaining a secret identity and fighting bad guys while still trying to be a normal teenager prove to be too much for superpowered Miles to handle. His alter ego doesn’t budge. Instead, it grows, both in size, the number of eyes, and the number of limbs, and further personifies itself into a formidable arachnid. If you’re an arachnophobe, the representation of Miles’ anxiety might give you the creeps, too.
Miles is soon overpowered by the spider, which corners him into his room and disperses into millions of small spiders that take over Miles’ body. Then, he suddenly realizes that he’s safe and sound in his room. Furthermore, by leaving his room and reaching out to his father, Jefferson “Jeff” Morales, Miles is able to conquer his inner demons. The story is comparatively simpler than the feature-length Spider-Verse movies, but it paints two very clear pictures.
The first underscores the importance of support when dealing with problems and mental health issues since Miles couldn’t defeat his demons using his fists and powers, but he managed to quiet them down by reaching out to his dad. The second regards the future of the franchise, and while it doesn’t really say anything about what to expect from the upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, it does show that something’s cooking in Sony’s kitchen.