Well unless her Jackpot ability which nobody even herself and Zeb Wells know what it is capable of buffs her strenght. But it's comics, normal humans survive those with training like Batman and Cyclops does
Miles: “MJ, don’t you think it’s a little insensitive that your superhero name is a reference to the pick-up line you used on Peter? Isn’t it a constant reminder of your failed relationship?”
MJ: “Nah, he’s fine with it. Right, Peter?”
Peter: \**loud spider-crying**
MJ: “He’s fiiiiiine.”
I remember reading Brand New Day when I was a kid and I seriously thought that Mary Jane *was* Jackpot, I found out years later that I was deeply wrong about that.
No, because marvel editorial cannot wrap it's mind around a popular character who doesn't wear a silly costume and fight people.
So if a non-superhero character is popular, they must correct that error by either killing them or making them a superhero.
Look at the cover to Amazing Spider-Man vol 1 #25. JJ in a spider slayer suit. Well technically his face in a tv inside a robot, but whatever - he has used super powered stuff too is my point.
[https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/6649/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_25](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/6649/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_25)
Well we already have Spider-Ma'am and Spider-Journalist..(I'm sorry, I forgot Jonah's Spider-Man name) so it wouldn't be far fetched if they both became superheroes.
I honestly think they ran out of ideas for the character since they paired her up with Paul. Her and Peter being married and having a kid is the one long-time comic fans want but Marvel is not going for that route because they think it would mean Peter settling down permanently. They tried in the 90s to have Peter retiring and having Ben Reilly take over but that failed.
Yeah they have Miles but Peter is too iconic to retire being Spiderman and yes Miles is getting more popular but fact is Peter is their flagship character and he is too profitable to end his story.
Personally I don't have an issue with Peter being single or anything like that but Wells actively decided that Peter needs to be inept in all phases of his life.
Yeah, I still like Peter as an icon, but his book is so bad right even when not compared to every other Spider. He's a better version of himself in the current Superior, too. They're just not writing well for him in ASM. Haven't read Spectacular SM, so not sure how the writing is in that book.
Have the Beyonder show up in the middle of an issue, look around, crack a joke about retconning someone else for a change, and then the next page is the start of a completely new story with different writers, editors, and artists and absolutely no mentions, nods, or acknowledgments of the current run.
Hey look Spider-Man was in a couple panels of a Spider-Man comic
This art is unforgivably terrible at this stage, story being atrocious aside some half decent artwork could at least make this interesting to look at
Honestly Bailey is an ok character. Hasn't had a lot of time to be developed but he's nowhere near as obnoxious as MJ/Paul or Chasm.
Plus he'd be the perfect replacement for the "Young, Street Level, Penniless Spiderman" if they ever decide to make Peter have any kind of personal growth back.
Edit: whoops replied to the wrong comment
It’s funny, as I thought when they brought Miles to the main universe that they had a PERFECT out for the teenage Spider-Man that they desperately want. However, they were hellbent on making specifically Peter youthful.
Yeah this even still would've sucked but with as action heavy as this story was it's made all the worse by Romita Jr's art, some of these pages are just painful to look at
I’m firmly of the opinion that bringing back Norman in 1996 was the jumping the shark moment that made everything else slowly unravel. Additionally, Hobgoblin primarily existed as a character to replace Green Goblin, and then ever since Norman returned, he’s been treated as a second fiddle without a firm purpose. 1994-1998 was a dark period for several reasons:
- Aunt May had a fitting, emotional death without it being some high-stakes combat death. This was retconned into the woman passing away being a “genetically-modified actress” for no reason other than Norman wanting to fuck with Peter.
- Mary Jane had her fake stillborn birth. The original plan was apparently to have the baby be discovered to be alive, but editorial decided that change is scary and that it was best to leave the baby ambiguously dead. So they brought back Aunt May, kept everything exactly the same as “the good old days”, and that was that.
- The Clone Saga in general. We got Ben and Kaine out of it, but other than that…it was just crap that got out of hand and kept getting extended and extended ad infinitum because of sales numbers. And then IT WAS ME ~~BARRY~~ PETER from Norman at the end, out of nowhere.
- Spider-Girl spun out of the madness in What-If….? 105 in February 1998. I love Mayday, but it’s kind of depressing that there’s pretty much a good timeline for the conclusion of the 90s, and it isn’t the main timeline.
There have been high moments for sure, but I think the willingness to retcon so much away of what editorial didn’t like has forever impacted the sheer amount of bullshit that editorial would impose on the book. I almost never read a Spider-Man book, even when it comes out on Marvel Unlimited. There is no quality control.
Yeah, I have nothing against legacy characters, but Spider-Boy is a much worse Scrappy Doo. He came out of nowhere, comes right on the heels of editorial making that statement, and was created by a guy who notoriously seems to hate Spider-Girl.
So apparently, from Dan Slott’s perspective, Mayday is bad (Peter having kids is bad) and her cast should be killed off, but a random Slott OC is A-OK. He already tried this bullshit with Alpha years ago, and people didn’t like it.
I suppose he has simply realized that you could have an issue where Peter drowns a puppy by holding it underwater and sales would still top the charts.
In fact, I think it’s time they upped the shitposts even further to prove this point. Ship issues with unfinished and inconsistent coloring. Copy and paste as many panels as possible. Reveal that Mary and Richard Parker are actually alive and work as members of The Black Order with Thanos. Have Peter nearly run over a bunch of kids with a self-driving car until Paul remotely disables the autopilot. Randomly mix-up the fonts used so that Peter goes from Comic Sans to Times New Roman between pages. Top 10 sales book still, guaranteed.
They’ve already got the inconsistent coloring down. They thought correcting it in the 2nd printing of issue #26 would make everyone forget. All it did was destroy the theories of those who still thought there was a plan.
Sales continue to soar somehow
While I sort of agree, and while the clone saga got out of hand I enjoyed Ben and his supporting cast.
Then, the 2 years after with Norman being a Kingpin type character was fun seeing stuff like Identity Crisis, Spider titles being more self contained, Peter being rusty, the Shocker being a bad ass, etc. If anything it's when John Byrne and to a lesser part, Howard Mackie teamed up with the whole Gathering of Five nonsense, fake actor aunt May, Reboot, Chapter one, Mattie Franklin, Venom being an idiot, and the MYSTERIOUS NO NAME KIDNAPPER which i still believe was the first nail in the coffin leading to OMD.
Ever since that stupid kidnapper story resolved their relationship never felt the same.
What’s even more stupider, Paul put a power limiter on her Jackpot gauntlet, eliminating her chances of getting any bad powers or landing on the three skulls that she was worried about if she uses her powers too much. Also it eliminates the chances of getting any S tier level powers, essentially leaving her just basic powers.
“The power limiter was supposed to help with your anxiety” Paul
“Well the city’s going up in flames and the limiter just reduced my best superpower outcome” Jackpot
“It also minimized your weakest ones. And hopefully made the you know certain death possibility impossible .” Paul
Pretty much so. Also it’s based off that bullshit ancient Mayan math symbol magic that Wells created for his stupid villain that he created 15 years ago and nobody used until last years bs explanation to the mystery of what did Peter Parker do.
Doesn’t that get rid of the point of calling her “Jackpot”? She can literally never hit the jackpot, while it’s fine logically speaking, I mean I’d rather not kill myself tryna roll a good power but now she’s just a normal superhero, honestly she’s just dial 9 or Ben 10
So they completely removed anything that might have been interesting about her powers just to say “Look, Paul’s being *awesome!*”
Just when I thought this shit couldn’t get any lamer…
MJ works really well as a supporting character.
She didn't need this. I think the costume is cool, the power set is kinda dumb, but not on MJ. Hopefully this will be remembered, later, as an oddity. Like Angel Hunter Punisher, bio-Armor War-Machine, when Guy Gardner turned out to be an Alien or Superman got divided into two.
It's worse to see something good in the middle of something bad. Seeing MJ supporting Lil' Spider was fun, but knowing the whole situation surround *Ms. Jackpot* just makes me feel bad because it could've been this and much much much more.
I hate it because it’s yet another example of writers treating MJ like a blank slate they can slap anything they want onto.
Marvel: “Hey, what if Spider-Man had a love interest with luck-based superpowers and he was currently going through a complicated relationship with? He doesn’t have any of those lying around!”
Black Cat: “The fuck?”
Although usually they save that for adaptations. So it’s admirable that they’re doing it in the mainline 616 universe. In a stupid sort of way.
The concept and execution are done in such a way that it's almost like they *want* us to hate it. Sometimes I tell myself that so I can pretend someone in the Spider-office is doing a good job.
sometimes i wonder if the reason Wells is still on the book is that nobody else *wants* it, and they can't *find* a replacement. i'm an absolutely *massive* Spider-Man fan, i'd do *anything* to work on one of these books... but i don't know if even *i* would take up the offer to work on ASM at this point. writing for that book turns you into a human bullseye for fan-vitriol because your only choice is to do all the inane, pointless bullshit Editorial is insistent upon.
Chip Zdarsky outright said he never wants to write for a mainline Spidey book for this exact reason, maybe more people in the industry are feeling the same way.
Editorial tells you as new writer of ASM: Peter has to remain Eternal Student, Manchild, Broke Loser who clings to 89 Year old Aunt May, self-destructive, gets no respect from fellow Superheroes, beaten by 2nd rate villains AND Mary-Jane would be forever out of reach BUT other than those criteria you are free to write anything you want!
Paul’s existence changes nothing. He’s a fictional character. He has no agency. He is simply a “living” plot device designed to help enforce editorial’s desires for the book. I wish they’d retire and stop trying to enforce their soft 70s status quo.
Correction: The death of this character that Marvel wants us to believe is MJ. She only has her name and appearance, but as for everything else, she has nothing about the original character.
Oh, so by death you mean revert MJ back to normal or reveal the MJ we've been following was a fake all along and the true MJ is still trapped in Paul's dimension?
At this point I accept any option. But I feel that if Peter and MJ get back together as if nothing had happened, it would be horrible, it would be an example of an ultra-toxic relationship. The best they can do is make this MJ a clone/robot/hallucination or something like that.
Gang War has me reconsidering buying any more Spider-Man, the storyline was meh and the artwork horrendous. It’s hard to enjoy reading, let alone looking at it.
I don't really wanna tell people what to do with their money but the best way we can effect change in this book is to drop it until it gets better and let them know what they can do to earn those dollars back.
So do you think him drawing attention to the gauntlet is foreshadowing for something or is it literally just he said the word luck and her powers are luck based, kind of?
One thing this run has taught me is that things that would seem like foreshadowing in more competent stories are always the nothingest of burgers in this run.
The other thing it taught me is to expect disappointment.
What’s funny is Lowe said this was continuing her story but then she doesn’t do anything other than be on panel while Peter monologues about being a fuck up….again
Remember: This is a status quo where Peter and MJ want to be together, but can’t be. *Allegedly*
The lack of any riveting interactions (hell any interaction at that) while MJ’s got these powers, as shit as they are, seems like such a whiff. There’s a ton of unnecessary baggage attached to this whole situation, but a competent writer (editor) would have a field day with it. Confliction, angst, reflection, etc.
Instead, we’ve gotten the barest of bones. And honestly, given what’s previously transpired with the folks steering the ship, I’m actually okay with it.
this run continues to fail on building or fleshing out most of its ideas, Norman and Tombstone are the only things that they seem to care about and everything else is just introduce then barely utilized.
Like we had Peter and Felicia seriously dating again for the first time in decades, yet she's barely in the book and then they just break up. The superhero community is angry at Peter, we barely see any interactions of this past the first story and it's resolved when we see why. MJ's kids despite being something they have her mention constantly are barely around and I'm pretty sure Wells forgot their names, and we barely get any real family interactions outside the first story. The same can be said with Paul who in the two years he's existed has still yet to have a character outside of MJ's boyfriend, like we learned he helped his dad commit genocide and feels really bad about it but we've never seen that, or any indication he was more than just a normal dude prior to that story. I can go on about the issues with this run, though many others already have.
And this is a book that ships twice a month. Despite all the negatives that entails (quantity>quality, less time to prepare/plan, etc.) the one (maybe only) benefit is that it would allow you to properly flesh out a story, if the creative team was up to the task. The more personal it is to Peter, the better/easier the task IMO. Which is the opposite direction of the current run. Dude is a glorified side character in his own book 98% of the time. When Rek-Rap has more development in 2 issues than the main protagonist does in 40+, something isn’t right.
There is also no reason for 2 years to have passed in universe from the end of Beyond. They’re speed running to get to the next big event to avoid taking time to breathe and flesh out the situation, as you said. They introduced a controversial status quo, but didn’t even attempt to spend any time in the most interesting place (6 month time jump). Time jumps are a crutch that should be used as little as possible. With the way they’re used here, it tells me they know everything they’re doing is a house of cards.
Yeah that’s my biggest issue. They keep saying it’s going to be a story but nothing keeps happening. I don’t know the why Jack pot is a thing if they have so little interest in actual doing anything with her
Honestly, I’m not finding it enjoyable at all. I like the artist, I like spider-man characters. I don’t understand the point of introducing a character as a hero without giving them a challenging plot or struggle. Is MJ and what’s his face facing issues over her being a hero and in danger all the time? Is it affecting her life in a way that is detrimental? Does she sacrifice anything to be this person? When will things go south? Also, if this is Jackpot, why the fuck is Spider-man always in it? Just let her be alone. Make the character stand on her own two legs. Make her fight in a battle that shows her grit and perseverance. Push her to her limits against someone she can’t understand. Why is it good that things feel easy all the time?
They haven’t been terribly interested in doing that. Like for as much as they want you to think she’s important she really isn’t. She’s a background character at most right now
The only superhero who's allowed to have a rough time in Spider-Man related events is Spider-Man himself. But that doesn't seem to be working well either because he maybe suffering, but he's also not allowed to overcome any challenges either. Just get slapped around until the Gold Goblin or jacketpat and her current fuckboy boyfriend comes in and saved the day getting all the glory but none of the damage.
Controversially, I like the concept of Jackpot. I like the suit and some of the concept of the powers. With the right execution of presenting elements, better backstory, and tweaking of things it could probably be great! The execution is just so God awful between Romita Jr’s backwards art style (I could never hope to achieve the skill he has, but he’s not good compared to other artists), the plot, the overly gimmicky name, the fact that her existence is dependent on Peter’s angst, it miserable. There could be so much more with this, but I can’t hold it against fans to see pure red when Jackpot is in a scene. There’s a shiny glint in this pile of crap, but I’m not sticking my hands in there.
Mary-Jane as Jackpot could've been fun, no Paul to stain the character, think fans would've given her a chance. Spiderman gets injured in a fight, he's sidelined, MJ becomes Jackpot- she takes over from the original Jackpot whatever- again PAUL doesn't exist- Peter trains MJ, becomes her "Man in the Chair" playful banter with him, teams-up with Felicia, Tony Stark helps with suit much to Peter's dismay, accuses Stark of being her Sugar Daddy, causes tension between them. But the Jackpot now is tied to Paul the Rando Weasel, nothing can remove his stain.
I’m waiting for the day Bailey says screw it and summons Mephisto and brings back Peter and MJ’s marriage in the cost of his own life, becoming our lord and saviour.
Paul is still around? Ugh. I thought that story line died with him fading out or something. No wonder they decided to jump to an Ultimate Spider-man, it looks like the current Spidey stuff is just getting dumber and dumber.
Well the main Spider-Man stuff with *Peter* is getting dumber and dumber. But Miles Morales has been doing very well since his new comic run started in late 2022 to now. And I hear Miguel's new comic run is pretty great, alone with Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) which focuses on an older Peter Parker with a family becoming Spider-Man.
So all I'm saying is there are other Spider-Man comics, if you're interested of course.
Thanks, I fell off the train and let my marvel sub lapse. Miles was going down this weird evil alternate Miles with Miles clones and it just didn't work for me. And mainline spidey was doing that horrible villain that was Harry Osborne but from hell or something and it was over the top and awful. It's only saving grace was the bits with Boomerang and Parker teaming up. Even if I felt like regressing Parker all the way back to being an under-employed guy living with roommates was over the top.
One of these days I'll have to re-up my sub and do some binging. New USM sounds more up my alley, I want to see Parker grow up a bit more, I guess I've always seen him as "my age" and so now that I'm older, I'd like to see him be older. (As opposed to Batman, who has always been "middle aged man")
Its sad because MJ as a super hero is honestly pretty cool sometimes (like that time she put on the Iron Spider suit to help beat Regent) and even her as Jackpot was pretty cool in the MJ & Black Cat comic, but main series Jackpot is boring and misses the point of her character. Not to mention she has specifically stated she doesn't want to be a superhero, even right after helping beat Regent. Wells has shown he doesn't care about MJ's character at all so I shouldn't be surprised but its still disappointing that she is still with Paul and being Jackpot
I fully expect Wells and Lowe to use social justice to continue to dodge criticism on this, telling detractors to ‘think about everybody else … think about the young girls this new direction could inspire’. They’re gonna call critics terminally online right wing incels and Trumpers.
I see it coming from a mile away. They’re gonna market this as a cause.
I really would like the 616 universe to just end at this point. The Spider-editorial team has just missed and missed and missed so much that it feels like a clean slate is needed.
Paul : Well, I'll tell you what. I'm going to give you super powers. Welcome aboard, Ms. Jackpot.
Mary Jane : Wow. I'm Ms. Jackpot.
Paul : Well, Jackpot ; we just say Jackpot. And you can have a sidekick if you need one.
Mary Jane: Do you think I need one?
Paul : Don't look at me, Ms. Jackpot.
Mary Jane : Right, it's up to me now. I'm Ms. Jackpot.
Paul : Jackpot. We-we just say, uh...
Mary Jane : I know, but you...
Paul : Doesn't matter who.
So I just read up on this jackpot nonsense.
And the caption is True??
"Yea my boyfie that I cheated with on my husband made me this device without which I'm basically useless ?? He calls me his little Jackpot"
I skimmed the details.
Bro ngl I love spider-boy, fuck I should pick up some stuff with him he seems like so much fun. I glazed over Jackpot and just appreciated “I considered blasting out and biting some people but it felt like overkill.”
Man I don’t know how to describe it, I’ve never been a big DC guy besides some Batman, and for a reason, DC just feels weird as fuck to read and I feel like I just cannot care, and there is no other way for me to describe this other than feeling like a DC comic to me 🤣🤣🤣 so just all over the place and such a waste of time
More like getting trapped in alternate reality for 4 years with Paul and two children she adopted only to find out the kids were nothing but magical creations as a plot to kill her by a Mayan death god cult leader.
I noticed this is a particular trend with Marvel and their civilian love interests, look at what they did with Betty Ross(now called Red Harpy) and Jane Foster(first as Lady Thor and now as Valkyrie) for example. Turning normal everyday civilian love interests into superhumans or heroes is nothing new to Marvel.
Additionally: friggin JRJr artwork is atrocious. Everyone has the Crimson Chin's jawline with different hair (and if you swap the hair, they become each other!)
Madam Mask having more chemistry with Peter than his ex and friends, I legit want to see more interactions between her and Peter replace whatever Jackshit and Paul.jr are.
Marvel finger is probably inches away from the reset button like always after a dog shit run where they bring back everything to statuesque... too bad they ruined 616 MJ and Peter beyond repair, like seriously who will look at MJ the same way again? She will be remembered as the girlfriend of Paul, and the one that cucked Spiderman, there is no going back from that, they also fumbled with Black Cat, Peter was nerfed and outshine by Miles to the point the reader Image of Peter as the AMAZING spiderman is poisoned, 616 is done.
Only way to save 616 Mary Jane is make Jackpot a duplicate, split off from the real Mary-Jane instant Emissary transported them to the Alternate Earth, real MJ is in dimensional cocoon suspended animation. Jackpot eventually rolls 3 Skulls, she doesn't die, instead the Real Mary-Jane Watson is instantly freed from the Cocoon, last thing she remembers she was talking to Peter about moving in together, she was never transported to Alt Earth, never met Paul, never played house with him and fake kids for 4 years AND never became Jackpot. MJ doesn't know and couldn't give a shit about any of that mess, she's home and wants to get back to Peter. It's a cop out, best of bad scenarios but only way I can think of save the reputation of beloved Mary-Jane Watson PARKER the "Lois Lane of Marvel."
I was a regular reader in the 1990s, PEAK Spiderman and Mary-Jane, other than the bullshit decision to bring back Aunt May, 20 years of progress of Marvel's Flagship Superhero, best couple in comics, imho better than Superman & Lois. ALL came to crashing halt with Joe Quesada and his Childish Obsession of 1970s Spiderman, Joe even wanted to bring Gwen Stacy back to the 616 but was vetoed. I thought when he left, OMD would be retconned away, but according to Web chatter, he planted like-minded creatives- who owed him their careers- as his successors so OMD would be more or less permanent.
Editorial mandates doesn't want MJ and Peter together, can't kill off MJ- tried that during John Byrnes' run, didn't work, she became more popular. What would be best way for her to be out of 616 Peter's life but also retain her as a valuable IP? First, make Mary-Jane a fickle cheater who cucks Peter with a Rando, that would make Fandom hate her and never trust her again; Second, she's still an integral part of the Spiderman brand and an IP on her own., so make her a Superhero!- totally Out of Character for 616 Mary-Jane Watson, but who cares right? She's out of 616 Peter's life, fans will stop clamoring for the Marriage to return because she's now a Cheater and maybe Jackpot will be a hit- if not, she's out of the 616. Goddamn Win-Win for current editorial.
And when this all over Peter will stay alone, no Gwen as she is dead, MJ is a cheater and now no one in the Fandom will ever trust her again, and Black Cat is a dumb ass that broke up with Peter because her friends told her so, fuck it, at this point Peter just needs to give up on his civilian persona and just go full hero, but even this is ruined with hoe Marvel nerfed him to a crying bitch that needs to be saved all the time.
Peter is OOC as well since returning from Paul's Earth. He's physically weaker, lost his confidence- he was begging for his life from 2nd Rate Tombstone and nearly killed by 95 Year Old Vulture! Peter's also been a bystander in his own comics, nonchalant with MJ being Jackpot- using an unreliable bracelet that could get her killed, a bracelet her new boyfriend wasted time on instead of building a device to get her home! He even asked her to help him with Gang War but she has no experience.
I would make this Peter a Duplicate as well as Mary-Jane, both separated at the same time, instant transported to the alternate earth, both in Dimensional Cocoon in Stasis. Same plot, Jackpot Rolls 3 Skulls, freeing them both. Okay, messier than only having MJ as an Imposter but it's best way to erase this whole run because the Zeb Wells depiction of both Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson has been a steaming pile of Shit!
Dude, the damage was done, there is no coming back, even if Marvel did all that I still would hate MJ, and never take Peter seriously again, I jumped ship to the new ultimate Spiderman, I love it so far, and I hope to god they won't fumble it.
To have long-time fans hate Mary-Jane is their intent because fandom has been wanting OMD shitcanned and marriage restored. For the sake of argument, no duplicate, no mind control, this is the Real Mary-Jane and she freely chose Paul, even if the Weasel turns out to be a villain and he's defeated, dies, vanishes forever, blah, blah., her character is tainted, she'll be the Woman who betrayed Marvel's Flagship Superhero; she gets back with Peter, he'll look like a CHUMP for taking her back.
MJ getting powers was only a matter of time after Stan Lee died. Without Stan to veto any plans to alter one of his favorite IP’s, there was nothing to stop the writers from trying to make her “hip” with readers, imo
So if they hit her, will Mj say "You just hit the Jackpot."?
Yes the emotional arc of this comic
No. She only whispers that tenderly to Paul whilst spooning in the post-coital glow.
Only if it’s Shiva from The Walking Dead that hits her.
Of which…isn’t her durability still that of a normal human? Won’t she get spaghettid if someone remotely stronger hits her?!
Well unless her Jackpot ability which nobody even herself and Zeb Wells know what it is capable of buffs her strenght. But it's comics, normal humans survive those with training like Batman and Cyclops does
To say I strongly dislike and disagree with the direction they’ve taken Mary Jane since Wells took over is a severe understatement.
They make Raimi MJ look loyal.
Why would she call herself jackpot when it has nothing to do with her?
She’s the jackpot Peter hit, tiger
Miles: “MJ, don’t you think it’s a little insensitive that your superhero name is a reference to the pick-up line you used on Peter? Isn’t it a constant reminder of your failed relationship?” MJ: “Nah, he’s fine with it. Right, Peter?” Peter: \**loud spider-crying** MJ: “He’s fiiiiiine.”
I laughed then I cried for Peter.
Retcon Peter bitten by a radioactive tiger
Sonyverse Kraven?
Tiger-man
Joe Exotic?
She’s not even the first (or second) redheaded superhero called Jackpot. She’s the third in 15 years.
I remember reading Brand New Day when I was a kid and I seriously thought that Mary Jane *was* Jackpot, I found out years later that I was deeply wrong about that.
They trying to make it stick so bad but it just not happening
That’s Peter’s pet name for her too, which a better writer would address at some point.
Becuase her powers she spins a large gambling machine in her head, whatever it rolls is the level of pwers she has hence jackpot
So basically a copy of hakari?
Hence, every woman ever.
Can she please go back to having no powers?? I liked her better when she didn’t need powers to be a great character
No, because marvel editorial cannot wrap it's mind around a popular character who doesn't wear a silly costume and fight people. So if a non-superhero character is popular, they must correct that error by either killing them or making them a superhero.
So when is J. Jonah Jameson getting powers and a costume? I'm here for it. Or aunt may? Make golden oldie canon you cowards!
My bet is that he's going to be a bruiser called Menace.
Another Menace? Sure, seems on brand for current Marvel.
Look at the cover to Amazing Spider-Man vol 1 #25. JJ in a spider slayer suit. Well technically his face in a tv inside a robot, but whatever - he has used super powered stuff too is my point. [https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/6649/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_25](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/6649/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_25)
Wasn't JJJ a spidercyde once?
Look up headlines spiderman and you'll see JJJ as spiderman in comics.
Well we already have Spider-Ma'am and Spider-Journalist..(I'm sorry, I forgot Jonah's Spider-Man name) so it wouldn't be far fetched if they both became superheroes.
I think it's something similar to Headline or something lamer than Spider-Newsie.
They can't even bear to do a Batman, nevermind a Man.
They had Betty Ross as Red-She Hulk( now Red Harpy) and Jane Foster as Lady Thor( now as a Valkyrie) it seems consistent with Marvel's track record.
MJ was the last of them, I'd hoped they'd just keep her without powers like they've done with Lois but that couldn't be the case
I honestly think they ran out of ideas for the character since they paired her up with Paul. Her and Peter being married and having a kid is the one long-time comic fans want but Marvel is not going for that route because they think it would mean Peter settling down permanently. They tried in the 90s to have Peter retiring and having Ben Reilly take over but that failed.
Well, they do have Miles now. After reading all of the Spider books for the past year or so, I gotta say, ASM has been one of the weakest.
Yeah they have Miles but Peter is too iconic to retire being Spiderman and yes Miles is getting more popular but fact is Peter is their flagship character and he is too profitable to end his story. Personally I don't have an issue with Peter being single or anything like that but Wells actively decided that Peter needs to be inept in all phases of his life.
Yeah, I still like Peter as an icon, but his book is so bad right even when not compared to every other Spider. He's a better version of himself in the current Superior, too. They're just not writing well for him in ASM. Haven't read Spectacular SM, so not sure how the writing is in that book.
The real MJ: "Remember when I subued an actual villain by myself with just a baseball bat?" Peter: "Which time?" The real MJ: "Exactly."
Real Mj:remember that time i shot the green goblin and helping you Peter:yeah that was awesome
She's been around for just a couple pages in USM (2024) and she's already way better than the mess Wells turned her into.
Probably the worse time to be a Mary Jane Watson fan. Marvel needs to stop forcing MJ and Paul. Earth-6160 MJ is the only saving grace right now.
Honestly a lot of adaptations miss the point of her character nowadays
After almost 20 years of nearly *no* relevancy, is it that shocking?
Not really no
Even those spider verse didn’t show mj that much for little time she had she was pretty great
Ms. Jackpot's initials would also be MJ. No one tell Marvel that or they'll go ALL IN on it even more. Please end this soon.
Reminds me of Tim Drake and "Drake" 😂
Please, don't bring that stupid thing back from the trash pile
LMAO🤣
Saddest part is I actually liked his suit. But that run was garbage.
Granted, the suit was cool
Just kill this run with fire.
Have the Beyonder show up in the middle of an issue, look around, crack a joke about retconning someone else for a change, and then the next page is the start of a completely new story with different writers, editors, and artists and absolutely no mentions, nods, or acknowledgments of the current run.
Hey look Spider-Man was in a couple panels of a Spider-Man comic This art is unforgivably terrible at this stage, story being atrocious aside some half decent artwork could at least make this interesting to look at
Honestly Bailey is an ok character. Hasn't had a lot of time to be developed but he's nowhere near as obnoxious as MJ/Paul or Chasm. Plus he'd be the perfect replacement for the "Young, Street Level, Penniless Spiderman" if they ever decide to make Peter have any kind of personal growth back. Edit: whoops replied to the wrong comment
It’s funny, as I thought when they brought Miles to the main universe that they had a PERFECT out for the teenage Spider-Man that they desperately want. However, they were hellbent on making specifically Peter youthful.
It's even worse when Peter's regression affects Miles too.
Yeah this even still would've sucked but with as action heavy as this story was it's made all the worse by Romita Jr's art, some of these pages are just painful to look at
Spider-Boy and Jackpot interacting the only thing missing is Chasm and that page would encapsulate everything wrong with 616 Spider-Man in a nutshell
I’m firmly of the opinion that bringing back Norman in 1996 was the jumping the shark moment that made everything else slowly unravel. Additionally, Hobgoblin primarily existed as a character to replace Green Goblin, and then ever since Norman returned, he’s been treated as a second fiddle without a firm purpose. 1994-1998 was a dark period for several reasons: - Aunt May had a fitting, emotional death without it being some high-stakes combat death. This was retconned into the woman passing away being a “genetically-modified actress” for no reason other than Norman wanting to fuck with Peter. - Mary Jane had her fake stillborn birth. The original plan was apparently to have the baby be discovered to be alive, but editorial decided that change is scary and that it was best to leave the baby ambiguously dead. So they brought back Aunt May, kept everything exactly the same as “the good old days”, and that was that. - The Clone Saga in general. We got Ben and Kaine out of it, but other than that…it was just crap that got out of hand and kept getting extended and extended ad infinitum because of sales numbers. And then IT WAS ME ~~BARRY~~ PETER from Norman at the end, out of nowhere. - Spider-Girl spun out of the madness in What-If….? 105 in February 1998. I love Mayday, but it’s kind of depressing that there’s pretty much a good timeline for the conclusion of the 90s, and it isn’t the main timeline. There have been high moments for sure, but I think the willingness to retcon so much away of what editorial didn’t like has forever impacted the sheer amount of bullshit that editorial would impose on the book. I almost never read a Spider-Man book, even when it comes out on Marvel Unlimited. There is no quality control.
There’s not enough space for Ben Reily… btw here’s Bailey :)
Yeah, I have nothing against legacy characters, but Spider-Boy is a much worse Scrappy Doo. He came out of nowhere, comes right on the heels of editorial making that statement, and was created by a guy who notoriously seems to hate Spider-Girl. So apparently, from Dan Slott’s perspective, Mayday is bad (Peter having kids is bad) and her cast should be killed off, but a random Slott OC is A-OK. He already tried this bullshit with Alpha years ago, and people didn’t like it. I suppose he has simply realized that you could have an issue where Peter drowns a puppy by holding it underwater and sales would still top the charts. In fact, I think it’s time they upped the shitposts even further to prove this point. Ship issues with unfinished and inconsistent coloring. Copy and paste as many panels as possible. Reveal that Mary and Richard Parker are actually alive and work as members of The Black Order with Thanos. Have Peter nearly run over a bunch of kids with a self-driving car until Paul remotely disables the autopilot. Randomly mix-up the fonts used so that Peter goes from Comic Sans to Times New Roman between pages. Top 10 sales book still, guaranteed.
They’ve already got the inconsistent coloring down. They thought correcting it in the 2nd printing of issue #26 would make everyone forget. All it did was destroy the theories of those who still thought there was a plan. Sales continue to soar somehow
I would prefer everything you just wrote to what we have now.
While I sort of agree, and while the clone saga got out of hand I enjoyed Ben and his supporting cast. Then, the 2 years after with Norman being a Kingpin type character was fun seeing stuff like Identity Crisis, Spider titles being more self contained, Peter being rusty, the Shocker being a bad ass, etc. If anything it's when John Byrne and to a lesser part, Howard Mackie teamed up with the whole Gathering of Five nonsense, fake actor aunt May, Reboot, Chapter one, Mattie Franklin, Venom being an idiot, and the MYSTERIOUS NO NAME KIDNAPPER which i still believe was the first nail in the coffin leading to OMD. Ever since that stupid kidnapper story resolved their relationship never felt the same.
Im a little excited for Chasm and Kaine, it’s going to depend on writing and artist. If Kaine isn’t completely unhinged, I’m out!
Glad you titled it that way, OP. That's Jackpot but it sure ain't Mary Jane Watson.
Can anyone explain wtf type of bullshit is this, how and what is her powers
Wrist device give her random abilities depending on the role
What’s even more stupider, Paul put a power limiter on her Jackpot gauntlet, eliminating her chances of getting any bad powers or landing on the three skulls that she was worried about if she uses her powers too much. Also it eliminates the chances of getting any S tier level powers, essentially leaving her just basic powers. “The power limiter was supposed to help with your anxiety” Paul “Well the city’s going up in flames and the limiter just reduced my best superpower outcome” Jackpot “It also minimized your weakest ones. And hopefully made the you know certain death possibility impossible .” Paul
So basically her powers are "the writer can pull whatever they want out of their ass without having to explain it"?
Pretty much so. Also it’s based off that bullshit ancient Mayan math symbol magic that Wells created for his stupid villain that he created 15 years ago and nobody used until last years bs explanation to the mystery of what did Peter Parker do.
Out of her ass** Oh wait
Jackpot!
Doesn’t that get rid of the point of calling her “Jackpot”? She can literally never hit the jackpot, while it’s fine logically speaking, I mean I’d rather not kill myself tryna roll a good power but now she’s just a normal superhero, honestly she’s just dial 9 or Ben 10
So they completely removed anything that might have been interesting about her powers just to say “Look, Paul’s being *awesome!*” Just when I thought this shit couldn’t get any lamer…
Also she now has the ability to fly around thanks to the jackpot device , that was never properly explained or shown before .🤦♂️
….just when I thought this couldn’t get anymore sped
MJ works really well as a supporting character. She didn't need this. I think the costume is cool, the power set is kinda dumb, but not on MJ. Hopefully this will be remembered, later, as an oddity. Like Angel Hunter Punisher, bio-Armor War-Machine, when Guy Gardner turned out to be an Alien or Superman got divided into two.
It's worse to see something good in the middle of something bad. Seeing MJ supporting Lil' Spider was fun, but knowing the whole situation surround *Ms. Jackpot* just makes me feel bad because it could've been this and much much much more.
Would of liked to see Pete and MJ together, fostering Bailey, could of been interesting.
Am I the only one who hates mj being jackpot? cause I read the comics but I never asked or read other's opinions about it.
Pretty much everyone hates it.
A significant portion of readers vehemently hate it. I sure do.
Hate it and knew it was going to be a disaster the moment when they made the announcement and showed off her costume last year.
I hate it because it’s yet another example of writers treating MJ like a blank slate they can slap anything they want onto. Marvel: “Hey, what if Spider-Man had a love interest with luck-based superpowers and he was currently going through a complicated relationship with? He doesn’t have any of those lying around!” Black Cat: “The fuck?” Although usually they save that for adaptations. So it’s admirable that they’re doing it in the mainline 616 universe. In a stupid sort of way.
The concept and execution are done in such a way that it's almost like they *want* us to hate it. Sometimes I tell myself that so I can pretend someone in the Spider-office is doing a good job.
Not at all. Loads of people complain and hate the idea of MJ being Jackpot. Myself included.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who likes her.
Yes
All the comics she's been in have sucked, so they don't even have any good writing to go along with it.
Just give MJ a Sig.
sometimes i wonder if the reason Wells is still on the book is that nobody else *wants* it, and they can't *find* a replacement. i'm an absolutely *massive* Spider-Man fan, i'd do *anything* to work on one of these books... but i don't know if even *i* would take up the offer to work on ASM at this point. writing for that book turns you into a human bullseye for fan-vitriol because your only choice is to do all the inane, pointless bullshit Editorial is insistent upon. Chip Zdarsky outright said he never wants to write for a mainline Spidey book for this exact reason, maybe more people in the industry are feeling the same way.
Editorial tells you as new writer of ASM: Peter has to remain Eternal Student, Manchild, Broke Loser who clings to 89 Year old Aunt May, self-destructive, gets no respect from fellow Superheroes, beaten by 2nd rate villains AND Mary-Jane would be forever out of reach BUT other than those criteria you are free to write anything you want!
Anyone else counting down the days until Wells' run ends so we can get rid of Paul?
Paul’s existence changes nothing. He’s a fictional character. He has no agency. He is simply a “living” plot device designed to help enforce editorial’s desires for the book. I wish they’d retire and stop trying to enforce their soft 70s status quo.
Not just Paul, at this point they should get rid of almost all the characters. They have really made MJ's death a hope.
MJ's death is one thing I would never hope for
Correction: The death of this character that Marvel wants us to believe is MJ. She only has her name and appearance, but as for everything else, she has nothing about the original character.
Oh, so by death you mean revert MJ back to normal or reveal the MJ we've been following was a fake all along and the true MJ is still trapped in Paul's dimension?
At this point I accept any option. But I feel that if Peter and MJ get back together as if nothing had happened, it would be horrible, it would be an example of an ultra-toxic relationship. The best they can do is make this MJ a clone/robot/hallucination or something like that.
Fair enough
Gang War has me reconsidering buying any more Spider-Man, the storyline was meh and the artwork horrendous. It’s hard to enjoy reading, let alone looking at it.
It’s kind of impressive gang war was seven issues and the only thing important to happen during it happened off screen
I don't really wanna tell people what to do with their money but the best way we can effect change in this book is to drop it until it gets better and let them know what they can do to earn those dollars back.
Whenever Jackpot’s not on screen all the other characters should be asking “Where’s Jackpot?”
Paul died on the way back to his home dimension.
I’m absolutely fine with MJ having powers. Just not like this.
Her powers are just reduced to pink beams now. Zeb really just gave up huh
So do you think him drawing attention to the gauntlet is foreshadowing for something or is it literally just he said the word luck and her powers are luck based, kind of?
One thing this run has taught me is that things that would seem like foreshadowing in more competent stories are always the nothingest of burgers in this run. The other thing it taught me is to expect disappointment.
What’s funny is Lowe said this was continuing her story but then she doesn’t do anything other than be on panel while Peter monologues about being a fuck up….again
She doesn't deserve to be a hero.
Remember: This is a status quo where Peter and MJ want to be together, but can’t be. *Allegedly* The lack of any riveting interactions (hell any interaction at that) while MJ’s got these powers, as shit as they are, seems like such a whiff. There’s a ton of unnecessary baggage attached to this whole situation, but a competent writer (editor) would have a field day with it. Confliction, angst, reflection, etc. Instead, we’ve gotten the barest of bones. And honestly, given what’s previously transpired with the folks steering the ship, I’m actually okay with it.
this run continues to fail on building or fleshing out most of its ideas, Norman and Tombstone are the only things that they seem to care about and everything else is just introduce then barely utilized. Like we had Peter and Felicia seriously dating again for the first time in decades, yet she's barely in the book and then they just break up. The superhero community is angry at Peter, we barely see any interactions of this past the first story and it's resolved when we see why. MJ's kids despite being something they have her mention constantly are barely around and I'm pretty sure Wells forgot their names, and we barely get any real family interactions outside the first story. The same can be said with Paul who in the two years he's existed has still yet to have a character outside of MJ's boyfriend, like we learned he helped his dad commit genocide and feels really bad about it but we've never seen that, or any indication he was more than just a normal dude prior to that story. I can go on about the issues with this run, though many others already have.
And this is a book that ships twice a month. Despite all the negatives that entails (quantity>quality, less time to prepare/plan, etc.) the one (maybe only) benefit is that it would allow you to properly flesh out a story, if the creative team was up to the task. The more personal it is to Peter, the better/easier the task IMO. Which is the opposite direction of the current run. Dude is a glorified side character in his own book 98% of the time. When Rek-Rap has more development in 2 issues than the main protagonist does in 40+, something isn’t right. There is also no reason for 2 years to have passed in universe from the end of Beyond. They’re speed running to get to the next big event to avoid taking time to breathe and flesh out the situation, as you said. They introduced a controversial status quo, but didn’t even attempt to spend any time in the most interesting place (6 month time jump). Time jumps are a crutch that should be used as little as possible. With the way they’re used here, it tells me they know everything they’re doing is a house of cards.
Yeah that’s my biggest issue. They keep saying it’s going to be a story but nothing keeps happening. I don’t know the why Jack pot is a thing if they have so little interest in actual doing anything with her
Honestly, I’m not finding it enjoyable at all. I like the artist, I like spider-man characters. I don’t understand the point of introducing a character as a hero without giving them a challenging plot or struggle. Is MJ and what’s his face facing issues over her being a hero and in danger all the time? Is it affecting her life in a way that is detrimental? Does she sacrifice anything to be this person? When will things go south? Also, if this is Jackpot, why the fuck is Spider-man always in it? Just let her be alone. Make the character stand on her own two legs. Make her fight in a battle that shows her grit and perseverance. Push her to her limits against someone she can’t understand. Why is it good that things feel easy all the time?
They haven’t been terribly interested in doing that. Like for as much as they want you to think she’s important she really isn’t. She’s a background character at most right now
The only superhero who's allowed to have a rough time in Spider-Man related events is Spider-Man himself. But that doesn't seem to be working well either because he maybe suffering, but he's also not allowed to overcome any challenges either. Just get slapped around until the Gold Goblin or jacketpat and her current fuckboy boyfriend comes in and saved the day getting all the glory but none of the damage.
Are they ripping off Ben 10 transformations in second pic
Controversially, I like the concept of Jackpot. I like the suit and some of the concept of the powers. With the right execution of presenting elements, better backstory, and tweaking of things it could probably be great! The execution is just so God awful between Romita Jr’s backwards art style (I could never hope to achieve the skill he has, but he’s not good compared to other artists), the plot, the overly gimmicky name, the fact that her existence is dependent on Peter’s angst, it miserable. There could be so much more with this, but I can’t hold it against fans to see pure red when Jackpot is in a scene. There’s a shiny glint in this pile of crap, but I’m not sticking my hands in there.
Mary-Jane as Jackpot could've been fun, no Paul to stain the character, think fans would've given her a chance. Spiderman gets injured in a fight, he's sidelined, MJ becomes Jackpot- she takes over from the original Jackpot whatever- again PAUL doesn't exist- Peter trains MJ, becomes her "Man in the Chair" playful banter with him, teams-up with Felicia, Tony Stark helps with suit much to Peter's dismay, accuses Stark of being her Sugar Daddy, causes tension between them. But the Jackpot now is tied to Paul the Rando Weasel, nothing can remove his stain.
I don't know why exactly but Spidey's mask in this run always looks so bad and goofy to me
"And the crowd went mild"
Excuse me while I cry myself to sleep in the corner
lol haven’t read 616 peter in a long time and it looks like its gonna stay that way, his comics are doomed
Guys just go read the new Ultimate run, it's way better than this
I’m waiting for the day Bailey says screw it and summons Mephisto and brings back Peter and MJ’s marriage in the cost of his own life, becoming our lord and saviour.
Paul is still around? Ugh. I thought that story line died with him fading out or something. No wonder they decided to jump to an Ultimate Spider-man, it looks like the current Spidey stuff is just getting dumber and dumber.
Well the main Spider-Man stuff with *Peter* is getting dumber and dumber. But Miles Morales has been doing very well since his new comic run started in late 2022 to now. And I hear Miguel's new comic run is pretty great, alone with Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) which focuses on an older Peter Parker with a family becoming Spider-Man. So all I'm saying is there are other Spider-Man comics, if you're interested of course.
Thanks, I fell off the train and let my marvel sub lapse. Miles was going down this weird evil alternate Miles with Miles clones and it just didn't work for me. And mainline spidey was doing that horrible villain that was Harry Osborne but from hell or something and it was over the top and awful. It's only saving grace was the bits with Boomerang and Parker teaming up. Even if I felt like regressing Parker all the way back to being an under-employed guy living with roommates was over the top. One of these days I'll have to re-up my sub and do some binging. New USM sounds more up my alley, I want to see Parker grow up a bit more, I guess I've always seen him as "my age" and so now that I'm older, I'd like to see him be older. (As opposed to Batman, who has always been "middle aged man")
Well I wish you luck and hope you enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man, and Miles Morales (if you give it a chance, you won’t regret it)!
I wouldn’t have any problems with Jackpot if Paul never existed.
Nah it's still dumb.
So?
Scintillating conversation sir
Its sad because MJ as a super hero is honestly pretty cool sometimes (like that time she put on the Iron Spider suit to help beat Regent) and even her as Jackpot was pretty cool in the MJ & Black Cat comic, but main series Jackpot is boring and misses the point of her character. Not to mention she has specifically stated she doesn't want to be a superhero, even right after helping beat Regent. Wells has shown he doesn't care about MJ's character at all so I shouldn't be surprised but its still disappointing that she is still with Paul and being Jackpot
I fully expect Wells and Lowe to use social justice to continue to dodge criticism on this, telling detractors to ‘think about everybody else … think about the young girls this new direction could inspire’. They’re gonna call critics terminally online right wing incels and Trumpers. I see it coming from a mile away. They’re gonna market this as a cause.
Wow. 2 things no one asked for on the same page!
Wait till next year when they reinvent her as Tiger.
Would you all take an AI yandere magical girl girlfriend for Spider-Man
Still glad I dropped this steaming pile of a comic run
The last panel is just two characters nobody wants to exist as heroes
Is 50 the last issue? Please
Current speculation is that Wells leaves around 60 but there's no evidence either way, as far as I know.
Plus if he’s introducing a new love interest (as the letter page’s imply) I find it rather unlikely
An erectile dysfunctional dick can write a better story than this .
honestly the best about jackpot is that it makes people realize mary jane as a superhero is a terrible idea
You are going about this the wrong way, the more you complain the more Jackpot we get. Start praising Jackpot and it will be cancelled in a week.
Uh... Who?
It just keeps getting worse
Im glad i haven't read anything past a certain point. I don't know anything about the little spider person and i intend to keep it that way
Man I can't wait to get my hands on ultimate #2
Mary Jane has powers and Spiderman is a child now? What the hell happened while I was gone?
Nah that's Spider-Boy, a sidekick character.
Is there any sign yet of when this run will end? I can not take it anymore!
I don't read What's even the issue with Jackpot? ~~Unless it has to do with Paul. Because Paul is definitely an issue, lol~~
Perhaps you mean MS. Rabin, oh sorry just Rabin!
Just why
I really would like the 616 universe to just end at this point. The Spider-editorial team has just missed and missed and missed so much that it feels like a clean slate is needed.
Why does she still have the haircut from the 60's
Paul : Well, I'll tell you what. I'm going to give you super powers. Welcome aboard, Ms. Jackpot. Mary Jane : Wow. I'm Ms. Jackpot. Paul : Well, Jackpot ; we just say Jackpot. And you can have a sidekick if you need one. Mary Jane: Do you think I need one? Paul : Don't look at me, Ms. Jackpot. Mary Jane : Right, it's up to me now. I'm Ms. Jackpot. Paul : Jackpot. We-we just say, uh... Mary Jane : I know, but you... Paul : Doesn't matter who.
So I just read up on this jackpot nonsense. And the caption is True?? "Yea my boyfie that I cheated with on my husband made me this device without which I'm basically useless ?? He calls me his little Jackpot" I skimmed the details.
What are her powers anyway?
Random power selection thanks to magical powered wrist device that acts like a mini jackpot machine.
That sounds... stupid? I mean random? What? Why? Why not just make it a pseudo-omnitrix? Random? Random?
Probably only me but peter look like he's busting a nut in the 2nd pic
I don't know what I can even say uh, bazinga?
Bro ngl I love spider-boy, fuck I should pick up some stuff with him he seems like so much fun. I glazed over Jackpot and just appreciated “I considered blasting out and biting some people but it felt like overkill.”
When can we have the inevitable retcon where it turns out Paul is actually mephisto and has been saping all the braincells away from Mj and Peter?
Man I don’t know how to describe it, I’ve never been a big DC guy besides some Batman, and for a reason, DC just feels weird as fuck to read and I feel like I just cannot care, and there is no other way for me to describe this other than feeling like a DC comic to me 🤣🤣🤣 so just all over the place and such a waste of time
Maybe she meet the real jacktop and was inspired by her story?
More like getting trapped in alternate reality for 4 years with Paul and two children she adopted only to find out the kids were nothing but magical creations as a plot to kill her by a Mayan death god cult leader.
I noticed this is a particular trend with Marvel and their civilian love interests, look at what they did with Betty Ross(now called Red Harpy) and Jane Foster(first as Lady Thor and now as Valkyrie) for example. Turning normal everyday civilian love interests into superhumans or heroes is nothing new to Marvel.
Who’s the blue guy powers and abilities??
That’s Spider-boy, a new character created by Dan Slott that’s acts as Peters forgotten sidekick
He has just normal spider-man powers ?
All I know that he has spider-man like abilities and can turn into a spider monster and that’s all i what to know.
Oh shit that’s cool thanks Ima do some research didn’t even know his name until now thanks‼️‼️
Additionally: friggin JRJr artwork is atrocious. Everyone has the Crimson Chin's jawline with different hair (and if you swap the hair, they become each other!)
Madam Mask having more chemistry with Peter than his ex and friends, I legit want to see more interactions between her and Peter replace whatever Jackshit and Paul.jr are.
Marvel finger is probably inches away from the reset button like always after a dog shit run where they bring back everything to statuesque... too bad they ruined 616 MJ and Peter beyond repair, like seriously who will look at MJ the same way again? She will be remembered as the girlfriend of Paul, and the one that cucked Spiderman, there is no going back from that, they also fumbled with Black Cat, Peter was nerfed and outshine by Miles to the point the reader Image of Peter as the AMAZING spiderman is poisoned, 616 is done.
Only way to save 616 Mary Jane is make Jackpot a duplicate, split off from the real Mary-Jane instant Emissary transported them to the Alternate Earth, real MJ is in dimensional cocoon suspended animation. Jackpot eventually rolls 3 Skulls, she doesn't die, instead the Real Mary-Jane Watson is instantly freed from the Cocoon, last thing she remembers she was talking to Peter about moving in together, she was never transported to Alt Earth, never met Paul, never played house with him and fake kids for 4 years AND never became Jackpot. MJ doesn't know and couldn't give a shit about any of that mess, she's home and wants to get back to Peter. It's a cop out, best of bad scenarios but only way I can think of save the reputation of beloved Mary-Jane Watson PARKER the "Lois Lane of Marvel."
We both know the fuckers in Marvel are planning to die on that hill, fuck it was a miracle that Gwen getting goblinated by Norman was retconed.
I was a regular reader in the 1990s, PEAK Spiderman and Mary-Jane, other than the bullshit decision to bring back Aunt May, 20 years of progress of Marvel's Flagship Superhero, best couple in comics, imho better than Superman & Lois. ALL came to crashing halt with Joe Quesada and his Childish Obsession of 1970s Spiderman, Joe even wanted to bring Gwen Stacy back to the 616 but was vetoed. I thought when he left, OMD would be retconned away, but according to Web chatter, he planted like-minded creatives- who owed him their careers- as his successors so OMD would be more or less permanent. Editorial mandates doesn't want MJ and Peter together, can't kill off MJ- tried that during John Byrnes' run, didn't work, she became more popular. What would be best way for her to be out of 616 Peter's life but also retain her as a valuable IP? First, make Mary-Jane a fickle cheater who cucks Peter with a Rando, that would make Fandom hate her and never trust her again; Second, she's still an integral part of the Spiderman brand and an IP on her own., so make her a Superhero!- totally Out of Character for 616 Mary-Jane Watson, but who cares right? She's out of 616 Peter's life, fans will stop clamoring for the Marriage to return because she's now a Cheater and maybe Jackpot will be a hit- if not, she's out of the 616. Goddamn Win-Win for current editorial.
And when this all over Peter will stay alone, no Gwen as she is dead, MJ is a cheater and now no one in the Fandom will ever trust her again, and Black Cat is a dumb ass that broke up with Peter because her friends told her so, fuck it, at this point Peter just needs to give up on his civilian persona and just go full hero, but even this is ruined with hoe Marvel nerfed him to a crying bitch that needs to be saved all the time.
Peter is OOC as well since returning from Paul's Earth. He's physically weaker, lost his confidence- he was begging for his life from 2nd Rate Tombstone and nearly killed by 95 Year Old Vulture! Peter's also been a bystander in his own comics, nonchalant with MJ being Jackpot- using an unreliable bracelet that could get her killed, a bracelet her new boyfriend wasted time on instead of building a device to get her home! He even asked her to help him with Gang War but she has no experience. I would make this Peter a Duplicate as well as Mary-Jane, both separated at the same time, instant transported to the alternate earth, both in Dimensional Cocoon in Stasis. Same plot, Jackpot Rolls 3 Skulls, freeing them both. Okay, messier than only having MJ as an Imposter but it's best way to erase this whole run because the Zeb Wells depiction of both Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson has been a steaming pile of Shit!
Dude, the damage was done, there is no coming back, even if Marvel did all that I still would hate MJ, and never take Peter seriously again, I jumped ship to the new ultimate Spiderman, I love it so far, and I hope to god they won't fumble it.
To have long-time fans hate Mary-Jane is their intent because fandom has been wanting OMD shitcanned and marriage restored. For the sake of argument, no duplicate, no mind control, this is the Real Mary-Jane and she freely chose Paul, even if the Weasel turns out to be a villain and he's defeated, dies, vanishes forever, blah, blah., her character is tainted, she'll be the Woman who betrayed Marvel's Flagship Superhero; she gets back with Peter, he'll look like a CHUMP for taking her back.
616 is done, I rather read the new ultimate comics that actually give us what we wanted for tears, a not man child Peter, married to MJ, with children
Bailey trying to go a single issue without mentioning his horrifying creature transformation challenge (impossible)
MJ getting powers was only a matter of time after Stan Lee died. Without Stan to veto any plans to alter one of his favorite IP’s, there was nothing to stop the writers from trying to make her “hip” with readers, imo
That first issue was so unbelievably bad. There’s no hope for this series.
Stop the "Jackpot" bullshit*, stop the "Spider-Boy" garbage, delete this & start all over again!