Mary Jane Watson-Parker Appreciation 2024.

[Frontier]

The most I see Wells doing is getting Peter and MJ back together like nothing happened.

Someone will most definitely have to put in some work to explain some of the nonsense throughout this entire run.

And probably ditch Jackpot and the watch. There's no sense in keeping it going if it's not a sales draw.

[Agent Z]

How much of the dislike for this Jackpot situation is due to the concept itself and how much is just because of Paul?

I like Spinerette, but I do see the appeal of MJ having a superhero identity of her own that isn't just a distaff version of Peter's.

[Majesty]

How much of the dislike for this Jackpot situation is due to the concept itself and how much is just because of Paul?

Rest assured if there was no Paul and Peter was just 'out of commission' and was helping MJ be Jackpot and helped make the technology due to Oscorp there'd be no complaints. And if there was a Jackpot and Spider-Man comic they'd be supporting the heck out of it.

[Frontier]

I don't think it's just an issue with Paul even if it's hard to disassociate it with that and the current status quo that lead up to this.

But even on it's own terms I don't think the costume is great, the execution of the randomized powers isn't effective, and ultimately it just doesn't feel very MJ right down to the writing.

And people are genuinely annoyed that major civilian characters cannot just remain civilian characters. They have to get costumes, fight crime, and become yet another Superhero.

Like I think Spinneret is fun but she's also associated with a Spider-Family Elseworlds. I don't think that works for 616 MJ.

[TinkerSpider]

How much of the dislike for this Jackpot situation is due to the concept itself and how much is just because of Paul?

I like Spinerette, but I do see the appeal of MJ having a superhero identity of her own that isn't just a distaff version of Peter's.

I'll repeat what I said on the last page:

This third iteration of Jackpot is so flawed, it pretty much doesn't matter who is in the costume. The fact it's Mary Jane and tied to Paul and the failed mystery box is just the moldy cherry on top.

At least there was some fun in seeing Jackpot have to adjust to feather powers or being a slime monster, with not being able to change powers until the one she had wore off.

Now it's purely just deus ex machina, the hand of the author blatantly visible, with no penalty or risk to Jackpot whatsoever (until she inevitably has to take the "limiter" off and pulls three skullllllllllss - sorry, I must have dozed off as I was typing, I'm so tired and bored of this concept).

This concept is inherently flawed.

There is zero cleverness to the Jackpot character. All the character has to do is keep spinning until they get a power they can use. Booooooriinnnnnng. The character doesn't need to be clever. The character doesn't need to work around limitations. There's no fun to the concept. And the device is wholly deus ex machina. The hand of the author is always blatantly obvious.

The concept says nothing about the character wearing the costume. Put Liz Allan in the Jackpot costume, and it would work the same. Put Betty Brant in the costume, and it would work the same. The best superhero concepts use the powers to illuminate and provide additional insights into the person wielding them. But Jackpot is just...an unlimited Omnitrix that takes no learning, no special skills, no super intellect, no family heritage, no particular motivation, it's just a power bracelet anyone can use. They've even removed the threat level now.

And then Jackpot is further hampered by putting a woman in the costume but making her reliant on a man to feed her information (that he gets from the television, it's information that is freely available to anyone, it's not like he has access to a spy network or specialized information) and control her device's power, which is regressive and problematic for a book published in 2024.

[Malachi]

Rest assured if there was no Paul and Peter was just 'out of commission' and was helping MJ be Jackpot and helped make the technology due to Oscorp there'd be no complaints. And if there was a Jackpot and Spider-Man comic they'd be supporting the heck out of it.

That’s a weird argument. I think what you were looking for is that if it was anyone else but Paul in the role Paul now occupies then people would support it. Not narrow it down to marvels highest and consistent selling character and the one most ship as MJ’s true love and best friend.

We can’t separate Paul from the current direction of the Spidey-office, his role as an obstacle character, his lack of personality and background. All of these are intimately tied up with each other and you can’t look at one separately in a vacuum.

Personally I wouldn’t buy Jackpot even if Peter replaced Paul. The writing is not for me and the costume is an eyesore. It’s top ten bad costumes for me, at least ones I can remember.

[Kevinroc]

Is this thread just completely dominated by negativity now? I know Jackpot-MJ has been handled terribly (please see previous posts of mine in this thread), but all this negativity is making this place not fun at all.

Can we go back to ignoring it and talking about other things? Can we talk about Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate MJ? This is supposed to be an Appreciation thread and I'm not seeing enough Appreciation going on. (If you want to appreciate Spinneret for doing Superhero-MJ right, that's fine.)

[Daibhidh]

Rest assured if there was no Paul and Peter was just 'out of commission' and was helping MJ be Jackpot and helped make the technology due to Oscorp there'd be no complaints. And if there was a Jackpot and Spider-Man comic they'd be supporting the heck out of it.

Rest assured there would be complaints. New powers as the plot demands powers do not work. And I personally think the 'jackpot' phrase is overemphasised by people who see MJ as no more than Peter's ex-girlfriend, ironically enough.

[Kevinroc]

https://twitter.com/sketchatrondraw/...75658743824660

Happy Mother's Day!
#spiderman #maryjanewatson #maydayparker #marvelcomics

(I am posting wholesome content that Marvel will never allow. ASM may be a dump of mediocrity, but fandom doesn't have to be.)

[Frontier]

https://twitter.com/sketchatrondraw/...75658743824660





(I am posting wholesome content that Marvel will never allow. ASM may be a dump of mediocrity, but fandom doesn't have to be.)

This is cute .

[Huntsman Spider]

Is this thread just completely dominated by negativity now? I know Jackpot-MJ has been handled terribly (please see previous posts of mine in this thread), but all this negativity is making this place not fun at all.

Can we go back to ignoring it and talking about other things? Can we talk about Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate MJ? This is supposed to be an Appreciation thread and I'm not seeing enough Appreciation going on. (If you want to appreciate Spinneret for doing Superhero-MJ right, that's fine.)

https://twitter.com/sketchatrondraw/...75658743824660





(I am posting wholesome content that Marvel will never allow. ASM may be a dump of mediocrity, but fandom doesn't have to be.)

Preach. As pissed off as I am at what's been done to these characters by Marvel editorial/execs, in an appreciation thread, we should do our best to uplift the characters we love, not just gripe endlessly (even if rightfully) about what we vehemently and passionately dislike.

[juan678]

https://twitter.com/mjvortex85/statu...86961500148105

Ultimate Spider-Man #6 Mary Jane variant

by Stephen Segovia (Unknown Comics Exclusive)

[Frontier]

https://twitter.com/mjvortex85/statu...86961500148105

Ultimate Spider-Man #6 Mary Jane variant

by Stephen Segovia (Unknown Comics Exclusive)

MJ...now in tight shorts instead of tight pants .

[Huntsman Spider]

https://twitter.com/mjvortex85/statu...86961500148105

Ultimate Spider-Man #6 Mary Jane variant

by Stephen Segovia (Unknown Comics Exclusive)

MJ...now in tight shorts instead of tight pants .

Reminds me of Adi Granov's look for her on one of the covers for ASM 600-603 or so, when she made her grand return in Brand New Day as a "Red-Headed Stranger," going by the title of that arc.

[9AlphaOmega1]

This concept is inherently flawed.

There is zero cleverness to the Jackpot character. All the character has to do is keep spinning until they get a power they can use. Booooooriinnnnnng. The character doesn't need to be clever. The character doesn't need to work around limitations. There's no fun to the concept. And the device is wholly deus ex machina. The hand of the author is always blatantly obvious.

The concept says nothing about the character wearing the costume. Put Liz Allan in the Jackpot costume, and it would work the same. Put Betty Brant in the costume, and it would work the same. The best superhero concepts use the powers to illuminate and provide additional insights into the person wielding them. But Jackpot is just...an unlimited Omnitrix that takes no learning, no special skills, no super intellect, no family heritage, no particular motivation, it's just a power bracelet anyone can use. They've even removed the threat level now.

And then Jackpot is further hampered by putting a woman in the costume but making her reliant on a man to feed her information (that he gets from the television, it's information that is freely available to anyone, it's not like he has access to a spy network or specialized information) and control her device's power, which is regressive and problematic for a book published in 2024.

For a while I could not find the words to express why the Jackpot concept bother me so much, and you have layout the points of the problem, which I agree in all points.