Preview: Jackpot #1

[fjmac]

You tried, bro! You gotta wake up pretty early in the morning to slip positive comments past the downers!

Genuine question: why do you insist on name-calling anybody who doesn't care for the current status quo on ASM? You've been doing it for a while. And choosing a Ned Flanders kind of wording does not make it any less aggressive or insulting. Granted, endlessly complaining about the status quo of a book, as most of us do, is a pointless exercise in futility, no argument there. But going out of your way to belittle anybody who does so, which is an implicit attempt to deny our right to our opinions, now that's TRUE negativity.

[Astroman]

This review of Jackpot on Reddit goes full scorched earth in a very well-written and entertaining way: https://www.reddit.com/r/Spiderman/s/l7JpByB5kj

That is a very well-written review... brutal as hell. Damn but Marvel really screwed the pooch on this one didn't they?

[IamnotJudasTraveller]

I might be wrong here, but I think I recall something like Jackpot being supposed to be a mini, then it basically went nowhere, then we got this. I say that because it's basically most of the book (I believe) by one artist team, and then the end half by another one, and the story barely feels complete - it's a jarring stopping point instead of any proper 'ending'. If they wanted to do a mini, then backtracked and did a one shot, that'd explain it (I believe the same happened to Devil's Reign Spider-Man?).

As is, I think it's a bland and inoffensive book. But when you get bland and inoffensive from relying on a crutch that has gotten tiresome and made nearly all of an universe's supporting cast a superpowered individual, I can't say that's particularly passing marks. It has "not meant to last" written all over it, despite all of the writing trying to convince you of the contrary, and I am halfway surprised that what we saw of "a little more" of Paul's personality is, still, all you got out of him in the book as a whole - which just compounds the "not meant to last" point.

It's half fascinating how Marvel coasted in the huge goodwill from Beyond: Ben fans were happy he got the spotlight again; overall fans were glad from a change of pace from Kindred getting too long in the tooth and a welcome break from "sins, demons, and things that generally harken back to hell", and Peter fans didn't mind the Felicia relationship being tossed a bone as well as Mary Jane being fiercely there to help him through a really rough spot. Yet, when that story is done, what we get is Chasm and Jackpot as a consequence, courtesy of a mystery box to draw out the dropping of the other shoe. I've quoted this expression before, but it just bears repeating: it's clutching defeat from the jaws of victory, and, in this case, one of the soundest examples of the saying.

[Astroman]

I've quoted this expression before, but it just bears repeating: it's clutching defeat from the jaws of victory, and, in this case, one of the soundest examples of the saying.

That's a perfect description.

[wleakr]

Genuine question: why do you insist on name-calling anybody who doesn't care for the current status quo on ASM? You've been doing it for a while. And choosing a Ned Flanders kind of wording does not make it any less aggressive or insulting. Granted, endlessly complaining about the status quo of a book, as most of us do, is a pointless exercise in futility, no argument there. But going out of your way to belittle anybody who does so, which is an implicit attempt to deny our right to our opinions, now that's TRUE negativity.

I’m not name-calling anyone or going “out of my way”. I generally say my peace and leave you folks to your own devices after that.

You find issue with the few comments I make on the board and I find issue with members massing up on a poster attempting to be positive in threads that are overwhelmingly negative.

It’s fine to have negative opinions on whatever but to go on and on? In addition to smothering anyone that may have a positive comment? We at least agree that is “futile”.

[Majesty]

Bleeding Cool has some spoiler images from Jackpot, and any anxiety about Mary Jane Jackpot's agency?

spoilers:

Paul put some kind of power limiter on her gauntlet thing to limit her "stronger" powers, while also minimizing her "weaker" ones, whatever that means. Also, I guess it confirms that the 3 skulls is certain death, if that wasn't confirmed already. Like, she knows about the limiter but it seems, again, really squicky for him to be in control of "her" powers. And seeing her casually flying around the way she is in the book with the dialogue she's given just doesn't feel right. Like, at all.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I assume It's a story device to keep her from activating "God Mode" on a rando. Or whenever Felicia's around her. So that when she takes the 'inhibiters' away, it makes the stakes seemed raised, because she has a chance to get Triple 7 (God Mode) or Triple Skulls (End of Days). So it's an understandable plot device so her God mode happens when its desperate, as opposed to while chasing a mugger or something."

end of spoilers

[mugen]

the funniest review I've read without wanting to be mean, I don't know if it's serious or irony
https://comicbookdispatch.com/jackpot-1-review/

to come back to this comic as expected celeste bronfman is not good it would say a fanfic of fangirl mj or a saturday morning cartoon, nothing works:

- mj's powers which allow him to fly and use other powers wtf

- Paul is still there and as expected he is the man in the chair

- the dialogues are as bad as those of zeb well

- the jokes don't work and are annoying

-mj is written as a girlboss who has no problem controlling her powers or beating up bad guys

-mj who says that being a super heroine saved her life? what about the imaginary loss of a child? it's felicia who forces her to become a heroine at random

- the dialogue between mj and peter makes no sense as if nothing had happened before and peter doesn't seem worried that she uses her powers and goes into battle alone without experience... ridiculous.

I expected nothing from this comic and I understand why they put Felicia with MJ for the next series and try to make it sell.

A super heroine that no one asked for and born from the worst run of Spider-Man and the worst character assassination of MJ, the result could only be bad.

I don't expect anything from the next series from Bronfman at best it could rid us of Paul even if the damage is already done.

[Majesty]

the funniest review I've read without wanting to be mean, I don't know if it's serious or irony
https://comicbookdispatch.com/jackpot-1-review/

to come back to this comic as expected celeste bronfman is not good it would say a fanfic of fangirl mj or a saturday morning cartoon, nothing works:

- mj's powers which allow him to fly and use other powers wtf

- Paul is still there and as expected he is the man in the chair

- the dialogues are as bad as those of zeb well

- the jokes don't work and are annoying

-mj is written as a girlboss who has no problem controlling her powers or beating up bad guys

-mj who says that being a super heroine saved her life? what about the imaginary loss of a child? it's felicia who forces her to become a heroine at random

- the dialogue between mj and peter makes no sense as if nothing had happened before and peter doesn't seem worried that she uses her powers and goes into battle alone without experience... ridiculous.

I expected nothing from this comic and I understand why they put Felicia with MJ for the next series and try to make it sell.

A super heroine that no one asked for and born from the worst run of Spider-Man and the worst character assassination of MJ, the result could only be bad.

I don't expect anything from the next series from Bronfman at best it could rid us of Paul even if the damage is already done.

A couple of those reads like someone that makes 50 youtube videos about how woke something is because a girl got an A+ on a math test. It's almost like they didn't see her struggling and nearly losing on the first page.

[TinkerSpider]

spoilers:

I assume It's a story device to keep her from activating "God Mode" on a rando. Or whenever Felicia's around her. So that when she takes the 'inhibiters' away, it makes the stakes seemed raised, because she has a chance to get Triple 7 (God Mode) or Triple Skulls (End of Days). So it's an understandable plot device so her God mode happens when its desperate, as opposed to while chasing a mugger or something."

end of spoilers

A device controlled by a man and MJ has to ask him to unlock the device before she can fully use her powers, instead of determining for herself when she should have limits and when she should not. Hence why people were pointing out that the question of MJ having agency is still very much a valid one.

People are comparing this to Metroid: The Other M and the point, while not completely analogous, is apt.

That is a very well-written review... brutal as hell. Damn but Marvel really screwed the pooch on this one didn't they?

It is such a great review! Some of my favorite bits:

It is difficult to ‘world build’ in a 30-page one-shot, but my brother in Christ, you have to try. And if you can’t then you have to at least respect the world building that was done before. The old world wasn’t respected, and the building of a new one failed. This dissonance and the various plot holes undermine the entire issue. Even new readers would be confused by many of the plot decisions in this issue. All the events are unpaired from an explanation, whether pre-emptive or after-the-fact. Things simply happen. And while there is benefit to storytelling like that in certain instances, it doesn’t work here.

Then there is the issue of the powers. They are Plot Device 101. There are no stakes when they are manufactured as instantly as they are vanished away. A problem with the gauntlet is finger-snapped out of existence by ‘the guy in the chair’. Even the protagonist takes a backseat to the gauntlet in the action scenes. The powers exist apart from the superhero: on the conceptual level, Jackpot doesn’t work.

When the powers were first introduced they were accompanied with failure. The stakes were real and there was tension as the story unfolded. Here they are completely overpowered and solve any problem as the story dictates. It makes for a boring story with predictable resolutions. Nothing unfolds and the reader doesn’t feel like there is anything to figure out as they work their way through. They are just watching as a pedestrian, not a part of the story. These are not failings in the idea, they are failures in execution.

And

One is left wondering, How has it come to this? Mary Jane Watson, a tour de force by any metric in the comic book world, has been reduced to a laughing stock, there for the memeing. And despite her legacy as a strong female character—overtly feminine, not pushed around by men, the life and soul of any panel she walked onto, a hero without being a superhero—she is now the opposite, spending a year existing in the abstract between two male characters who have dominated the conversation. And when the spotlight was finally shone on her and ‘her journey’, it was to shocked gasps like Quasimodo’s cape being removed at the Festival of Fools.

If you were a Mary Jane fan who approached the arrival of the title with trepidation at how it would be handled, make no mistake, the character assassination is now complete. There are several panels where this reviewer’s immediate thoughts were things like
'But what about what she said after the Iron Spider suit?'
'What about her growth during Spider-Island?'
'Why is she laughing in a bar seconds after grief counselling?'
'Why is she embracing this lifestyle after five decades of having malcontent about the danger superheroes bring into her life and the wider world?'
'What about her desire for 'normal' that drove her to move to Chicago?'
'Why are the superheroes not concerned about the fact that Spider-Man's webs dissolve after an hour?'
'Why is Mary Jane strutting away despite the fact that that bridge will collapse in an hour?'
'Which New York bridge even is that?'
'Why is Peter not commenting on Mary Jane being a superhero? This is a crucial moment in their 616 timeline; why is his reaction not on the page?'
'Why did Peter just invite Mary Jane to put herself in harm's way when he knows that her powers are inherently unreliable?'

This reviewer will say this in defence of the writer: she was set up to fail. Writing for Spider-Man must be one of the biggest honours of an aspiring writer's career. But in total objectivity, she is a bad fit for this character. While she will be credited as ‘originating’ Jackpot, she didn’t originate Mary Jane Watson, or even write the backstory to this issue, and yet what is on the page isn’t a continuation of that backstory, however grim.

But Nick Lowe has rage-baited the fandom into a state of dissatisfaction and derision-by-default, and thrown in a sacrificial lamb to tell a story for his own still-nebulous agenda. There was no need for the human shield, and there is still no need for the bullets. The responsibility of this failure of an issue rests squarely on his shoulders.

Pure brilliance.

[Triniking1234]

spoilers:

I assume It's a story device to keep her from activating "God Mode" on a rando. Or whenever Felicia's around her. So that when she takes the 'inhibiters' away, it makes the stakes seemed raised, because she has a chance to get Triple 7 (God Mode) or Triple Skulls (End of Days). So it's an understandable plot device so her God mode happens when its desperate, as opposed to while chasing a mugger or something."

end of spoilers

So we're ripping off Ben 10 now? Damn.

[Majesty]

Okay finally read Issue #1

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Things I liked spoilers:

+ Paul as her guy in the chair, I was hoping they'd go this route and allow us to see their banter both in the superheroing and outside of it. + Their banter when out of costume. I like how it starts ironing out some of the dynamic they share and have with one another. The 'What came first' line is very much something MJ would say. + I like that MJ and Paul save people as their civilian selves before she even suits up. + I like the moments with Peter and She-Hulk + I love Peter bantering toward a villain about his Insomnia and MJ commenting that she keeps telling him to see a specialist about that, with a smile on her face + I like that she used vine powers in order to go-well with Peter's web ones to take down Armadillo + I like Mary Jane's fear of not being in control(a carry over from her upbringing) being there + I like the 'limiter' which makes it easier for her to somewhat control her powers, but also weakens her enough that she isn't God-Mode and occasionally could go very wrong. + I like female Electro as her first test + I like that she has Jen's card + I liked some of the back and forth with Peter + I liked Paul's worry over her and her tendency to put others first + I like how she fully understands the risks that come with this and why shouldn't she? + I like that she refuses to ever refer to herself as ever having been 'powerless'. + I like that she struggled on her first night + Saving a family on a falling bridge. A Spider-Man hero's right of passage. + I like the overall message + It's nice to see MJ smiling again

end of spoilers

Things I didn't like spoilers:

- I don't like that she didn't trick Electro into grabbing her wrist. She's a great actress. I could attribute it to her first night on the job AS a superhero. Or as she states in the comic, feeling afraid(as personal fears and unearthing them was theme of this issue from the first page onward). But I'll remember she once turned Venom's symbiote into her own personal sub. Growing pains. - I don't like Peter calling her MJ instead of Jackpot when she's trying to keep his identity secret by calling him Spider-Man. I do like Jen pointing out how that's not a good thing to keep doing, and MJ's reply to Jen. - I don't like Paul's ponytail - I don't like that we never found out what their dinner plans were - I am half and half on Peter letting her try to solo Electro. Whereas part of me feels like Peter knows what she's capable of in and out of the suit, but it doesn't feel like it's the first time he's seen her as Jackpot. I get the feeling Peter would be a just a little more critical or worried about her in that scenario. This doesn't feel like the first time he's seen her/worked with her as Jackpot and maybe it isn't.

end of spoilers


All and all, a fun little issue. Has some problems here or there, but nothing that will keep me up at night. 6.8/10 starting point and looking forward to seeing where it goes from here <3

A device controlled by a man and MJ has to ask him to unlock the device before she can fully use her powers, instead of determining for herself when she should have limits and when she should not. Hence why people were pointing out that the question of MJ having agency is still very much a valid one.

That was a yoga stretch with that one. She was the one that determined when she should have limits vs not as she's the one that made him remove them and forgo all his calculations he'd made. She made the call, not he, he wanted her to come home, she made the opposite call. MJ's very clearly got agency. She's in charge, he's her guy in the chair. So that wasn't the best time/part to try to pinpoint whatever 'this is secretly misogynism' message you were potentially going for or any lack of agency on her part. If she didn't have the agency, he'd have just said no, and she'd have conceded it. But that's not what happened now is it...

[Ursalink]

I think this issue proves my point: MJ as Jackpot is not a good thing.

Her powers come from a device that can be easily damaged and shortcircuited, and that puts MJ into a high danger.

Boy, I can't wait for reaching issue #1000 and put an end to this junk!!!

I pray to god that in 2027, as much, they will finally bring back the spider-marriage and they will stop treating old Spidey as trash.

[mugen]

A couple of those reads like someone that makes 50 youtube videos about how woke something is because a girl got an A+ on a math test.

no I just note the forcing of Zeb Well and Bronfman to write MJ as super strong with her new power making it seem like she has her own agency and makes her own decisions when she was written in a mysoginal way throughout the run of zeb well up to the spider-incel arc which surely served to try to calm down in a childish and arrogant way the criticism of mj's catastrophic writing.

[Majesty]

no I just note the forcing of Zeb Well and Bronfman to write MJ as super strong with her new power making it seem like she has her own agency and makes her own decisions when she was written in a mysoginal way throughout the run of zeb well up to the spider-incel arc which surely served to try to calm down in a childish and arrogant way the criticism of mj's catastrophic writing.

I mean she's very clearly the boss and Paul's her guy in the chair. She's got more of a hold on her power because her technology was updated. But I don't know where the idea she didn't struggle came from. The first page is her struggling and almost losing the fight entirely.

[ImOctavius]

Boy, I can't wait for reaching issue #1000 and put an end to this junk!!!

Let's hope it ends before that.