by Evelyn San Miguel ‘26 

After its initial release in June of 2023, the highly anticipated sequel to the Spiderverse trilogy—‘Across the Spiderverse’—made waves in the box office, delighting critics and audiences with its next-level animation and spectacular plot. From the makers of the trilogy comes a ten-minute deep dive into the main character Miles Morales’ psyche, a short film titled ‘The Spider Within: A Spiderverse Story’ that is streaming on Sony Animation’s YouTube channel. 

The animation never leaves anything to be desired, with its unique comic-book style adding character and realism to the world of Earth-1610. Continuing where ‘Across the Spiderverse’ left off, the film begins on a stunningly detailed shot of Miles heading back to his home in Brooklyn after a long day of school at Visions Academy. 

The film centers around Miles’ anxieties, playing on his “spidey-sense” as a parallel to real-life anxiety disorders. As he continues to worry about his various stressors, he isolates himself from his dad, locking himself in his room and trying to relax. When his coping mechanisms don’t help, he launches into a full-blown panic attack, being chased by a shadowy lookalike that embodies his greatest fears. 

The animation in this sequence is awe-inspiring, with the near impossible feats of animation being accomplished by the fantastic team of animators, showing off the payoff of years’ work of advanced development. The only qualms with the film is its runtime, and the quick pacing that has to make up for its under ten-minute time constraint. 

Nevertheless, the film leaves off with a tease for the trillogy’s last installment, ‘Beyond the Spiderverse,’ and reminds the audience of Miles’ budding romance with his friend and fellow spider-person, Gwen Stacy. With the last installment being delayed indefinitely as a result of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes, the short film served well to quench the thirst of audiences as they await the end to Miles’ story. 

Grade: A-