From The Archives: SpiderFan Application Review.

Originally submitted for an application for SpiderFan.org

The Amazing Spider-Man: Annual #35

Hello, Jonathan Couper from SpiderFan.org, this is my application, using a format that I am not actually used to.

Background:

Jackpot was introduced during the Brand New Day era, she was mysterious, and people used to think she was Mary Jane, because she had red hair, and she was literally named after the "You just hit the jackpot" line. This issue is about her. 

Story: "A Tale Of Two Jackpots" by Marc Guggenheim and Mike McKone.

The cover shows Spidey towering over this Jackpot character. I suppose it's alright

The story itself greets us with a splashpage showing a few mysterious characters like Jackpot, Blindside, and this guy named Mogul, whose name is actually Walter Declun, he's actually the CEO of Damage Control. 

Chapter One: The past as prologue, aka a retelling of events from issue 551, which was reviewed by someone else way back in 2008. In this retelling, Spidey asks Jackpot who she really is, it turns out that she wasn't Mary Jane but instead, some chick named Alana, but she claims to be a girl named Sara Ehret, who USED to be Jackpot but sold her superhero identity to Alana, and now Alana is trying to be the new Jackpot to impress Sara because she has a crush on her and- I'm going to have an aneurysm. Later that day, Spidey tries communicating with Sara, but it doesn't work out because Sara is trying to put her Jackpot life behind her, so she calls Alana or something like that.

The main story FINALLY begins with Spidey and Jackpot fighting against Blindside, who manages to escape. Spidey and Jackpot swing away to talk about how they both just so happened to lie about their identities. They both agree to stop this Walter Declun guy, who hasn't done anything wrong yet, but is always somehow causing trouble. Spidey asks who she is once again, but she doesn't answer and tells Pete to sign up with the government and find out.

Spidey instead decides to consult Reed Richards to ask about Blindside and how he gets his powers, his source is actually some strange neurotoxin that poisons people whenever they come in contact with him. This neurotoxin has a commercial name, it is called Edipo, and it is being distributed by Declun Incorporated.

At the Coffee Bean, Peter is talking to Betty Brant about the current situation, and Peter pulls out a cup and hopes that Ms. Detective Brant does a DNA test or something like that. Later that day, they go to Declun's awesome mansion so that Peter can ask nosy questions before they get pretty much nowhere. Oh, and the fingerprints on the cup belonged to Alana Jobson. 

Later that night, Spider-Man just breaks into Jackpot's house to find out more about her, and she is FINALLY honest about who she is, and she tells Spidey that she uses this superpower drug and she's also lying to S.H.I.E.L.D. about her powers. Spidey leaves and analyzes his current evidence.

Later that night, Spider-Man enters Declun's house and starts kicking his butt before Declun's girlfriend starts fighting with Spidey... Who is she? Commanda, some supervillain that I don't know. Luckily for our old webhead, Jackpot starts fighting alongside Spidey, and together, they finally stop this Declun dude from doing more damage.

Spidey and Alana are walking out of the mansion, but then the drugs finally catch up with Alana and she dies in Spider-Man's arms, all she wanted was to be a hero... 

At the Baxter Building, Reed tells Spidey that it wasn't his fault and stuff. Spidey tells Sara the news, and he blames her for the death of Alana and teach her a lesson about responsibility. Spidey swings away and Sara contemplates coming back as Jackpot before the issue ends.

General Comments: 

Well, that was kind of underwhelming, and it's pretty much just another chapter in Jackpot's convoluted story. Still, there were some things I liked, there's some good action, some great dialogue, Mike McKone's artwork was pretty good, and I thought the coloring looked really nice. Though, it wasn't as good as I remember it, I can still say I enjoyed it. It's no JMS Spidey but it's also no Zeb Wells Spidey, this just feels like regular monday-to-friday Spidey you saw at the newsstands in 2009.

Rating: 3.5 Webs.

Could've been worse but could've been a bit better.

Footnote:

The world forgot about Jackpot, and she was never used again after a while... Unless you count the time Mary Jane actually WAS Jackpot, but that is a comic that will NEVER be reviewed on the site. 

I was only a small child at the time, but I remember owning a TPB with this comic book on it, I was thrilled because I LOVED the Spider-Man movies and now I was able to see more of his adventures! I don't think I knew how to read at the time, so I just looked at the pretty pictures. Still, I look at this era of Spider-Man very fondly. Very nostalgic... Y'know, I think one of the reasons why I didn't want to read these comics as a child was because this Omnibus book was super flipping heavy, I still have trouble picking it up these days, though I suppose maybe that says more about me being a weakling.