So, Who Is Jackpot?
Yes, I know most of you are so angry, you aren't buying Amazing Spider-Man. But you're wrong. Wrong, I say! To do so... The title is fun, enjoyable, classic Spider-Man stories, and you're missing out by not picking them up.That being said, one of the potentially more annoying plotlines was the introduction of the character Jackpot, a red-haired, super-model-esque character with super-powers, who runs around saying things like, "Face it Tiger, you hit the Jackpot." Though introduced by Dan Slott in his Free Comic Book Day extravaganza, Marc Guggenheim has gotten to fully introduce the character during his three issue arc pitting Spidey and Jack...ie... Against another potential mis-step, the introduction of a new Goblin-esque character, Menace.
Lot's of "esques" in this post, huh? Interesting.
Guggenheim does by both characters well, though, essentially getting the bull in the china shop out of the way immediately, by Peter asking if Jackpot is MJ, and having Menace say, "I'm not a Goblin." Which I'm ALWAYS telling people, but do they want me to guard their gold anyway? Unbelievable.
Anywho, I got this letter in the old inbox, and though we do have the immensely popular (right?) feature "The Letters Page" here on this very blog, I thought I'd reprint it for you all. Ray writes:
I was just mulling it over in my mind on the identities of Menace and Jackpot and I've formed the hypothesis that they are dual personas of Mary Jane created by Mephisto at the request of MJ to remain in Peter's life. The evidence is circumstantial and currently limited to three details, the first being that the intial letters in each characters name, the second is the striking red hair each posses, and finally the tandem nature of the characters appearances.That's actually a pretty good theory, Ray, and thanks for sending it on. There's one other little plot point from recent issues to throw into the mix... Spider-Man asks Jackpot her real name, which she says is "Sara Ehret." When Spidey tracks down Sara Ehret in her civilian life, she initially claims to have no idea what he's talking about. Then he brings up Mary Jane's name, and Sara Ehret gets angry, and says to leave her alone.
Now, I don't know about you, but Sara Ehret sounds suspiciously like an anagram. So here goes a few possibilities:
- Erase Hart
- A Star Here
- Tear As Her
So, what do you guys think? Who is Jackpot? Who is Menace? Do you even care?
What I "think" about the new spidey is that to buy any issues of the comic is to support shitty decision making. The only way comic fans can make their voices heard to Mr JQ is with their wallet.
I hope the new spiderman continues to tank. Here's hoping my local shop not carrying the series anymore is the start of a trend.
"I hope the new spiderman continues to tank"
And what planet are you on because the "new" Spider-Man is not tanking. Certainly not because a few pasty faced fanbabies, like yourself, refuse to buy it. I'd also suggest that your comic shop not ordering ASM for similar reasons is quite stupid as well. I mean, who does he think he is depriving paying customers what they want? They'll just go somewhere else anyway.
To answer Alex's question, I thought at first that Jackpot was that red head that kissed Peter in the first BND issue. Now, not so sure. I have no idea who menace is and I couldn't even hazard a guess.
That said, Ray's theory sounds sufficiently comicbooky and may have some merit to it.
Me again. I also thought the name Sara Ehret looked like an anagram when I first saw it. I couldn't come up with a meaningful solution though. Not one that made sense anyway. Andy's Anagram solver wasn't much help either. :-)
Well OMD was one of the WORST comic book storylines in recent memory. Not only did it undermine 20 years of storylines, but it also made us, the fans, look like chumps. But I gotta say, BND is starting to be very good. It's a great homage, I'd like to think, of old Spider-Man comics. Now with a fresh tablet we get to see new stories and new villians into the mix. Although the new villians are, so far, kinda lame...I'm liking the direction of this series. But hey nothing can ever make me pissed off then OMD; you guys gotta admit it's one of the worst stories in modern era. Worse then Clone saga right?
As for Jackpot, clearly it's MJ and I wont go back and say it isnt. Come on, she uses her trademark phrases; its a red head supermodel, and she clearly knows who Spider-man is...So it's a no-brainer. The idea of Menace being MJ too, is a great idea though. I would love the fact if it was an MJ doppelganger by Mephisto or just a side-effect to the agreement MJ made with him. I hope this is the case cause anything else would be pretty lame.
Sorry...I'm just not feeling it. I was really into the black-suit-no-nonsense Peter Parker =/
Its funny, all you ever see is people hating on ASM, yet its not just ONE of the top 10 comics the last 2 months in a row, its THREE of the top 10. So obviously you guys are all lying. Meanwhile DC sucks.
wow, thats very broad. Sale charts and top 10s dont always mean that the comic is good. It's a matter of opinion, I could also say Marvel blows donkey crap, but now that would mean I'm talking out of my ass, wouldnt I?