Spider-Man 2, which swoops into theaters today, not only meets our expectations, it leaps far beyond them.

Spider-Man 2

Easily the film of the summer, Spidey's sensational sequel is also the best superhero movie in at least 15 years -- since Tim Burton's Batman.

Yes, the first Spider-Man was a hoot, especially the wonderful way its web-slinging star swung through the skies of Manhattan. But the plot was clunky at times, and the fiendish Green Goblin's private moments tended to slip into melodrama.

The new, improved SM2 has a far smoother narrative line, as well as more amazing special effects, including even more terrific swinging. And this time, the villain is totally marvelous.

That would be Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), a well-meaning scientist who goes over to the dark side after a lab accident leaves him with four metallic tentacles fused to his body. Naturally, it's up to our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man to save the day.

But what's this?

Our hero is going through an emotional crisis that's affecting his spider powers. He's losing his strength, agility and knack for climbing walls and spinning webs.

Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) thinks he'd rather just be plain old Peter Parker, ace science student -- and, if he's lucky, boyfriend of Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), the super-hot model-actress who's currently appearing on stage in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Thanks to his Spidey duties, Peter keeps letting her down by missing the show. Oh, what a tantalizingly tangled web our favorite human arachnid has gotten caught in!

Spidey didn't get there by himself, of course. He had plenty of help from returning director Sam Raimi and screenwriter Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People, Unfaithful). They've faithfully and inventively captured the offbeat spirit of the character created more than 40 years ago by comic-book writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

Raimi and Sargent offer us tons of action, including, just to kick things off, a breakneck bike dash through the streets of the city. Near the film's end, a stirring set piece features Spider-Man trying to rescue a subway train's passengers from a deadly fate.

In between, there are fantastic face-offs between the dark doctor, with his terrifying tentacles, and the wall-crawler, with his often-unreliable spider powers. It's a nice touch that, before Doc Ock attacks, we often hear his tentacles ominously clanking as he approaches.

Meanwhile, on the home front, the unassuming Peter can't meet the rent and fumes in frustration as a hunky astronaut ("the first man to play football on the moon") starts to steal Mary Jane. Peter also tries to level with his sweet-but-tough Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) about the troubling circumstances surrounding the death of her beloved husband, Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson).

No, it's not Wilde, but it's wild, and it swings.

You believe in these people and care about them: The luminous faces of Maguire and Dunst in an early nighttime encounter really help to sell the romance. (In fact, Raimi and cinematographer Bill Pope, of the Matrix series, do some of the most sensitive work with close-ups in recent memory.)

Once again, Raimi doesn't forget to put the comic in comic book.

Fans will roar when Peter discovers that Aunt May has -- horrors! -- tossed out his comic-book collection. And everyone will howl at the superb comic timing in a standout scene in which Spidey and a stranger awkwardly attempt to make small talk as they share an elevator.

"Cool Spidey outfit," the man offers.

"It gets kinda itchy," our angst-ridden hero eventually reveals.

As hero and villain, Maguire and Molina are ideally matched. Both command a powerful stillness, which, in Maguire's case, vanishes with each sudden leap and which, for Molina, provides a fine counterpoint to his ever-active artificial arms.

Dunst, who seemed rather fragile as Mary Jane in the first film, has here acquired a refreshing self-assurance. And James Franco (The Company) does yeoman work as Harry Osborn, tormented son of the late Green Goblin.

Whenever cobwebs threaten to slow things down, up pops J.K. Simmons (the explosives expert in The Ladykillers). As blustery newspaper honcho J. Jonah Jameson, he's an inspired cartoon of a paper tyrant ripped straight from the pages of Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man.

And speaking of Marvel, let's not miss a key point: With all the hype about the recent wave of Marvel's superhero films, most of them have been disappointing.

The Hulk was an interesting dud. The X-Men flicks have their moments (and have made some money) but don't hold together. Let's not get started on what's wrong with Daredevil, Blade or The Punisher.

Until now, the only one that really worked was the first Spider-Man, and even that was flawed. Fortunately for superhero fandom, the new one has it all.