MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY: Jackpot & Black Cat (2024) #1 REVIEW

The first issue of this brand-new series came out exactly on my birthday, so it took me a while to get to it. But after everything settled down, I was finally able to grab a copy and read what is yet another promising and fun adventure starring my two favorite ladies. I also especially enjoyed the Black Mirror spin to the usual dynamics of a superhero team-up. The creative team provided a very interesting and unique set-up to why Jackpot and Black Cat are practically being forced to lock horns, and why they eventually will have to work together to take down the evil force called “Obscura.” It’s a bit frightening and unsettling seeing how realistic the threat of digital and social media is, endangering our lives and forcing us to do things that we do not want to do, but it may just be the type of precautionary tale that readers need nowadays.

OFFICIAL MARVEL COMICS DESCRIPTION:

Published:

March 27, 2024

Writer:

Celeste Bronfman

Penciler:

Emilio Laiso

Cover Artist:

Adam Hughes

LUCK BE THE LADIES! The most exciting new hero in the Marvel U, JACKPOT, A.K.A. Mary Jane Watson, gets her first action-packed limited series as a super hero alongside the other best female character in comics, BLACK CAT! When someone blackmails Black Cat into a public and blatant crime spree, Jackpot comes to her aid! What classic Spider-Villain is behind the blackmail?! Someone with history with at least one of our titular heroines!

PROS:

• The art is amazing in this book, with Jackpot and her powers coming to life and jumping right off the pages. We also get a Black Cat that is sleek, powerful, and attractive… but with just the right mix of mystery and likeability that has always made her a classic fan favorite. The action scenes are well-executed in this series, so far, and the more interpersonal scenes also have a nice, humanizing touch to the characters and their expressions. I am really liking where this friendship is going between Jackpot and Black Cat.
• It is also very heartwarming to see Black Cat’s softer side, as she has a new love interest in town. More importantly, Jackpot and Black Cat now have to deal with what Spider-Man has had to deal with practically all his life: being a superhero automatically means putting the lives of those you love in great peril and immediate danger. It will be quite interesting seeing how Jackpot and Black Cat collaborate not only to catch the baddie, but also to safeguard and protect the people most dear to them in their respective lives.
• While not completely original, as it really does feel like an old Black Mirror episode, the fact that the creative team is mixing such a premise with two superheroes like Jackpot and Black Cat creates a refreshing take on the amazing women of Marvel. In some ways, the catastrophic situation that they now find themselves in makes them even more helpless and vulnerable than another typical brute of a villain would do in a more direct story filled up with plain fisticuffs. Jackpot an Black Cat are forced to navigate this dangerous world of technology and manipulative social media in order to free themselves, and a bunch of other users-turned-victims, from the clutches of Obscura’s sinister blackmailing.

CONS:

• Yes, people, Paul is still around. I won’t say anything on this because I don’t want to trigger all of you. But I WILL point out that he is actually quite useful in this issue. Please take it easy on the birthday boy!

FINAL GRADE: A

It is a fun, touching, and honestly very scary issue that makes me uncomfortable only because such a thing can happen in real life. It’s the kind of comic book that makes you think about how you use technology and media, while also forcing you to reflect on how far you are really willing to go to protect your friends and family. It’s a bit of a serious note for an issue that came out on my birthday, but I do still encourage everybody to give it a shot. I am looking forward to the next issue, and to seeing how Black Cat and Jackpot get out of this royal mess.