Sphero's latest must-have is a chatty Spider-Man

The app-enabled toy tells stories and jokes, listens and responds to questions, and guides children through various choose-your-own-adventure games.

Toy robot supplier Sphero has made waves in recent years with its authentic BB-8 droid as a tie-in to the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Now the company has teamed up with Disney for a second time to bring children and adults alike their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to the home.

Sphero's newest Spider-Man is smart, but with a more classical twist. Though app- and Bluetooth-enabled and voice-controlled, all of its functions are done offline, which means that no information will be sent over the web or stored in the app. The toy can be programmed to operate manually and used without pairing with a device. This is good news for parents who are keen on protecting the privacy of their young children.

Unlike previous offerings from the company, Spider-Man remains stationary throughout play, except for its arms that can be rotated and light-up eyes. However, what it lacks in mobility, it makes up for in interactivity. The toy is quite chatty, able to tell jokes and stories on command or by pressing the spider button on its chest. It also listens and responds to questions, and doubles as an alarm clock.

The interactive toy is packed with 100 comic books worth of stories, which can roughly be converted to 400 pages of content. It also guides users through choose-your-own-adventure scenarios in which players are given a more dynamic role in Spider-Man's storytelling.

The chatty Spider-Man toy from Sphero comes just in time before Spider-Man: Homecoming's release in July this year. It is currently available online from Best Buy, Target, Argos and John Lewis. Price starts at $149.

Sphero is looking to be invested in a long-time partnership with Disney and Marvel for toy tie-ins. Recently it has debuted an app-enabled Lightning McQueen, which the company reports as its most animatronic device yet with animated eyes and mouth, and several navigation motors.