Amazing. Spectacular. Dynamic. Fresh. These and more just some of the superlatives that you can attach to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, the new movie from Sony Pictures Animation starring the webslinging, wall-crawling icon of the House of Ideas.

To that list, you can add the following: Propulsive. Riotous. Jaw-dropping. Intense. Gorgeous.

Let me explain.

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First, the visuals. We’ve already seen “Spider-Man” cartoons before (my favorite was always “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends”) but “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a magnificent cartoon blast to the eyeballs. The animation is bright, spectrum-saturated to the point of popping. Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman also fill it with split panels and word balloons just like the comic books, but never to the point of being cutesy. There’s a confidence to “Spider-Verse” that’s absolutely refreshing: the title sequence alone is absolutely the best piece of animation you will see all year.

Of course, the best CG animation wouldn’t work if the story was garbage. Thankfully, this Spider-story is certified fresh, courtesy of a hilarious screenplay by Rothman and “The Lego Movie” co-writer Phil Lord. After the movie, my kids were trying out the shoulder touch move. No spoilers here, it’s just hilarious.

We all know Spidey’s story because even more than the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s webbed wonder has been Marvel’s poster child since the 60s. Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s origin is pure comic book myth: orphaned child, lives with his aunt, bullied by peers, radioactive spider. And then a power-up, arrogance, greed, and inevitably, tragedy. “With great power must come great responsibility.”

The villains come in all shapes and threat levels. Sometimes Spidey wins, other times he loses, but he keeps going anyway. The details matter, though: in nearly 60 years of existence, we’ve seen Peter lose his job, lose his girlfriend, lose his apartment, lose his aunt, lose his powers, lose his marriage. Staying down, however, is not in his radioactive DNA.

“Spider-Verse” keeps it fresh by giving us a sense of shock. The story zips instead of lingers, ditches the baggage, and revels in the pure joy of idea. There’s still Peter Parker/Spider-Man except there’s another kid that’s about to join his universe. Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a part African-American/Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn, idolizes Spider-Man even if his dad, police officer Jefferson Davis-Morales (Brian Tyree Henry), hates him. Miles doesn’t feel he fits in with the new school, even though he’s already caught the attention of brainy classmate Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). When he gets an assignment to write a paper on “Great Expectations”, he writes “No Expectations” in graffiti with his cool uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali). Miles is already beat by the weight of expectations even before he gains his powers.

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And gain them he does via radioactive arachnid. Just as Miles is still adjusting to his powers, the story doubles down and bring even more Spider-Men with the same origin including an older version of Peter Parker, a Spider-Woman from another dimension, a black-and-white Spider-Man who brings the wind everywhere he goes, an anime character with her own Spider-bot, and a cartoon pig. With so many Spider-people swinging around, it’s a wonder how the story doesn’t go off the rails.

“Spider-Verse” smashes into you like a super-collider because, more than the sum of its gorgeous effects or its mind-bending finale, is the vibrancy of its characters.

I went into the movie loving Spider-Gwen's super cool outfit (those green ballet shoes!), marveling at the audacity of bringing in both an anime character (Peni Parker), and Spider-Ham. When it finished, I ended up loving Miles. When he finally suits up in his own Spider-Man outfit, the whole cinema, which had been cheering for Spider-Gwen before, applauded. And Miles totally earns it.

Even more than the live action movies, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” explains why people gravitate toward the Spider-Man mythos. It is not just the same powers or the same origins that bind these characters together, but the same hopes and fears. Because maybe, just maybe, anyone can wear the mask no matter what the background. And now we know, it’s absolutely true.

Don’t call it a reboot, true believer. This, here, is a spider-kick forward into the comic book stratosphere.