Call it Amazing, call it Spectacular — what sets Spider-Verse sequel apart is the storytelling

Spider-Man, Spider-Man. Does whatever a spider can.

Exploding onto screens in a meta marvel of comic-book inspired animation, 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse redefined what and who Spider-Man could be. 

Five years later Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse builds on the groundbreaking film, suggesting it's what you do with your power that truly defines a hero. 

Thanks to the infinite play chest of content that is the multiverse, the sequel is positively plagued with Spider-Men, Spider-Women, Spider-Gals and Spider-Cats — even an anthropomorphized Spider-Car. There's seemingly no concept or creature that hyphen can't connect. 

But whether he's a man or a red and blue dune buggy, under the mask and the constant stream of quips is one of Marvel Comics' most malleable and moral heroes. 

What bonds Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales is the burden they carry: To be the best. To do the most with the ability they've been gifted and honour the lives they've failed to save. 

As the new Spider-Verse film opens, Miles Morales, the young Spider-Man of Brooklyn (Earth 1610) is not so much angst-ridden as he is over-extended.

The 15-year-old is getting better at the super hero thing, but the pressure of leading two lives has driven a wedge between him and his parents. Under his hype new costume is a lonely, overachieving kid, and the only person who truly gets him is another multiverse away. 

The object of Miles' obsession is Gwendolyn Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen. Voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, Gwen seethes with frustration, constantly bashing heads with her police captain father who blames Spider-Gwen for her best friend's death. Soon, ripples from the last film, including the arrival of a new dalmatian-styled villain named The Spot, conspire to bring Gwen and Miles together. 

While the first Spider-Verse introduced a handful of parallel Earth heroes such as Spider-Ham and Spider-Man Noir, Across the Spider-Verse treats us to an army of arachnid-influenced heroes all swinging their way through the multiverse, attempting to keep the various timelines intact.   

Whether you're a merry Marvel zombie or Spider-Man superfan, there will be many yelps of recognition as Across the Spider-Verse serves up enough cartoon cameos to fill a Saturday morning watch party. 

Except for one gloriously slapstick chase sequence, Spider-Verse mostly focuses on the main team tasked with containing the multiversal chaos. 

Oscar Isaac voices Miguel O'Hara, the world-weary leader of the future, Spider-Man 2099. Issa Rae plays the no-nonsense motorbike racing Spider-Woman. There's also the blessed return of Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, a.k.a. the one in the Snuggie, now with his own Spider-Toddler. 

Andy Samberg has a small but hilariously effective role as the self-narrating oh-so-serious Scarlet Spider. (He was cloned. It's a whole thing.) Karan Soni, who played the cab driver in Deadpool, appears here as Pavitr Prabhakar, the positively ebullient Spider-Man of Mumbattan, India.