New Spider-Man Short Makes Across The Spider-Verse"s Ending Even Darker

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Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
New Spider-Man animated short film, The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, manages to make Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's ending even darker than it already was. Miles Morales' journey in the Spider-Verse franchise has not been an easy one, with the character coming face-to-face with several challenging villains, such as Kingpin and Doctor Octopus, losing his Uncle Aaron, and being put in the middle of a multiverse-wide saga. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse managed to make things harder for the hero with the introduction of the Spider-Society, the Spot, and what all of it means for Miles.
The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, a short film set in the Spider-Verse, just premiered during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The short film was created by director Jarelle Dampier through Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks' Leading and Empowering New Storytellers (LENS) program. The Spider-Verse adventure trades in the multiverse for Miles dealing with a very real threat, mental health. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the short sees Miles reach out to his father, Jefferson Davis, for help to deal with the embodiment of his anxiety. Check out the official synopsis for The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story below:

Miles Morales struggles to balance his responsibilities as a teenager, friend, and student while being Brooklyn's only Spider-Man. After a complicated day of living under this pressure, Miles suffers a panic attack that forces him to face his anxiety and teaches him that asking for help can be an act just as courageous as protecting his city.

The Spider Within Makes Miles' Relationship With His Dad More Important

The Wrap's interview with The Spider Within director Dampier shows how important Miles' connection with his father is, as the short film's director points out that what he loves about the horror approach with his characters is to see "what makes them scared, and what are they going to do to get through it," which in Miles' case is ask his father for help. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse already touched upon the subject of Miles' relationship with his dad. Early in the movie, the two characters have a deep conversation, although it happens while Miles is under his Spider-Man mask. Later, that relationship becomes the main focus of the story.
The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story manages to delve deeper into that relationship, with Miles getting overwhelmed by the pressure of his dual life as a regular teen and as Spider-Man, which leads the hero to suffer a panic attack and see his anxieties take the shape of a dark figure and several spiders crawling all over his bedroom. While Miles might be a hero to a lot of people, the young Spider-Man's hero is his dad, as The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story sees Jefferson help his son overcome his anxieties.
Jefferson's Imminent Danger Hits Harder After The Spider Within

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's ending saw the Spot become the most powerful he has ever been, and the villain is hellbent on killing Miles' dad. The movie's ending was already dark, as Miles was trapped in another universe, unable to get home to prevent his father from getting murdered in a canon Spider-Man event. Now, with The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story adding another heartwarming look into the father-son relationship between Jefferson and Miles, the danger the character will be in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse hits even harder. There is currently no official announcement about when The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story will be made public.
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