As the new year continues to roll on strong, I can’t help but feel that I hit another jackpot this week with… JACKPOT. The Gang War is really taking over the city, and things are messier than ever. But this crazy situation creates the perfect opportunity for MJ to show off her powers and ability as a superhero. With her partner, Paul, providing his engineering expertise, the two are a dynamic duo that is set to make waves in the Marvel Universe this 2024. And already, the action took front and center as Jackpot had to deal with the pesky but dangerous Electro, while teaming up with Spider-Man and She-Hulk. It’s pretty entertaining to see MJ fit in so well already with the rest of the superhero community, and I can’t wait for the next Jackpot installment, where she goes all in with Black Cat.
OFFICIAL MARVEL COMICS DESCRIPTION:
Published:
January 17, 2024
Writer:
Celeste Bronfman
Cover Artist:
Pablo Villalobos
ALWAYS BET ON RED! A GANG WAR TIE-IN! Mary Jane Watson, A.K.A. JACKPOT, gets her first solo super story since her debut in ASM #31! New York City is in chaos as the super-powered criminal gangs are at war, and it’s all hands on deck! It’s a baptism by fire, but, come on, this is Mary Jane. What CAN’T she handle?!
PROS:
- This issue is surprisingly very friendly for the newer readers, who may not be so familiar with MJ as a superhero. Her powers are explained pretty clearly, and her ongoing personal demons are tackled with finesse, heart, and a bit of levity. Even with the modifications and adjustments that Paul made to Jackpot’s powers, it is still a rush anticipating what kind of ability MJ will display next.
- The interactions between MJ and the rest of the Marvel Universe were pure gold this time around. It is always so heartwarming seeing Jackpot have such clean and smooth teamwork with Spider-Man. And it is also quite humorous witnessing MJ get along so well with She-Hulk, while they even take a few jabs at poor Peter Parker.
- Electro was the sleeper hit of this chapter, providing the right mix of power and lunacy as a daunting villain for Jackpot and the crew. And in true Spider-Man fashion, Jackpot not only used her abilities to neutralize the threat of Electro, but she also used her intelligence and quick thinking.
- The art in this issue was just amazing, and the vibrant energy and dynamism that MJ always brings to the table was accurately captured and depicted in each panel of the book. It was just such a delight to go over the action-packed pages over and over again. When you have an event like Gang War, and Jackpot is trying to establish herself as a major player in the Spider-Man family, it is only right that she gets such treatment visually. The team did an excellent job in bringing life to Jackpot, and I hope they get to tell even more tales of MJ in the coming months.
CONS:
- I still haven’t really come around to Paul, and I don’t even know why that is… but I am hoping in the next Jackpot stories, the creative team will find some miraculous way to make me actually care about him as a character. Do not get me wrong. He is a perfect support character to MJ. I just see something lacking if he is going to be a mainstay for the near future. Or maybe I just really miss Spider-Man and MJ as a couple. I guess that’s what Ultimate Spider-Man is for, then.
FINAL GRADE: A
I highly recommend this book to people who want to see more of what is going on during the Gang War. But more importantly, I think Marvel fans, who are looking for a new hero to dedicate their time and emotions to, should be able to find a very loveable character in this new and improved MJ. It will be interesting to see how she overcomes all her inner conflicts and turmoil, while balancing all that with saving lives and kicking supervillain butt at the same time. I am looking forward to her next adventures, especially with Black Cat, as I am sure they have a lot to bond over with. Peter Parker must be sweating even more right now.
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“Paul is the perfect partner.” I just gagged. The man is an accomplice to killing an entire world. He should be a corpse. But I guess because he feels “guilty”, we should let him hang around with MJ, right? What a joke. I feel like Nick Lowe ghost wrote this review
This book’s writing all around was awful, and I honestly hope we never see Bronfman write again after this year is done. She isn’t a fit for these characters
And perhaps I should elaborate a little on my remarks just so it’s clear where we stand here:
The review reads like something you’d find in a kids magazine that Marvel happens to own, it is completely hollow and lacking in genuine critical thinking or detail, it doesn’t touch on the fact MJ doesn’t think, react, act at all like herself or how a woman deals with trauma like losing her kids in an effective and mature manner, instead it’s just jovial action/adventure. As noted, MJ tricked Francine successfully in Spencer’s run, and here she doesn’t manage it.
This seems like something intended for ten year olds, or people with the attention span of two year olds.
This is one of the worst reviews I’ve ever read on the Crawlspace, I’m used to you guys having a terrific balance in your critiques and raves over some of the books, but this is just…bad. Look everywhere online and a majority of MJ fans (real ones who know the character and her history) hate this book, and for reasons that don’t just pertain to MJ’s relationship status or the presence of Paul, this was written by someone who openly admits not having read older MJ stories. She’d never even heard of the one where she batted Chameleon!
I mean, is there a chance Celeste will grow into a more competent MJ writer for the BC/Jackpot mini? Perhaps, and maybe by then the reviewer will have learned not to take Marvel’s almighty dollar from under the table to half-ass such a puff piece.
Paul’s lack of focus the singular con?
Bollocks.
For god’s sake Crawlspace, do better.
This review is taking the piss isn’t it? It’s a terrible read, and I have no time for anyone who thinks Paul is a good supporting character. Someone paid for this review
@Michael:
“OK, but what happens when the webbing dissolves in an hour?”
Similar to Spidey webbing up criminals – he contacts the police who comes to get them before the webbing dissolves in an hour. But in this case he would call the proper authorities (the Bridge Police?) who would show up before an hour had passed and do *something* to prevent the bridge from collapsing before the hour was up.
A lot of people didn’t like MJ failing to trick Electro in touching her bracelets. MJ came off as a bad actor in that scene, and she’s supposed to be a good actor.
Peter used his webbing to help MJ fix the bridge. OK, but what happens when the webbing dissolves in an hour?
Wells is kind of really bad at actual character interactions so I can see why other writers are failing to work with the nothing he gave them.
Also I understand why Wells broke them up because imagine him trying to write an actual relationship
Black Cat doesn’t count as he didn’t even try
Besides being forced to live together for years in an alternate dimension and raise some kids, I still don’t know why MJ cares for Paul. If you told me that they were just friends or co-workers with no romantic feelings I’d believe it.
The greatest sun this issue produced is it’s so incredibly pointless. MJ and Paul still have no real point and just kind of exist. MJ and Peter are just vaguely friendly like nothing has really happened.
Like if they have a plan for MJ and Paul they could you know get on with it? It’s been 40 issues
Spidey seems surprisingly ok with MJ going out and fighting criminals – both unpowered and superpowered – in this issue.