Jackpot is the codename shared by two
fictional
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, ...
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es, Sara Ehret and Alana Jobson, appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, usually in stories featuring
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
. Created by writer
Dan Slott
Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as '' She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', ''The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...
and artist
Phil Jimenez
Phil Jimenez (born July 12, 1970) is an award-winning American comics artist and writer known for his work as writer/artist on ''Wonder Woman'' from 2000 to 2003, as one of the five pencilers of the 2005–2006 miniseries ''Infinite Crisis'', his ...
, Jackpot's first appearance was in the
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
giveaway ''Spider-Man: Swing Shift'', released on May 5, 2007 and set in the
"Brand New Day" storyline.
Publication history
The character Jackpot, first appeared in the
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
issue ''Spider-Man: Swing Shift'' released on May 5, 2007 and written by
Dan Slott
Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as '' She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', ''The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...
with art by
Phil Jimenez
Phil Jimenez (born July 12, 1970) is an award-winning American comics artist and writer known for his work as writer/artist on ''Wonder Woman'' from 2000 to 2003, as one of the five pencilers of the 2005–2006 miniseries ''Infinite Crisis'', his ...
. Following the character's debut, Jackpot would appear in several ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' related titles before starring in her own mini-series ''Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot'' in 2010.
Fictional character biography
Origin
Sara Ehret, a pregnant scientist at Phelcorp (a subsidiary of
Oscorp
Oscorp (sometimes stylized as OsCorp), also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The compa ...
) works on gene therapy to cure Parkinson's disease when she is accidentally exposed to "Lot 777". The virus rewrote the DNA in her cells leaving her in a coma for 4 months. Coming out of her coma Ehret went on to have her child Madeline with no complications, however when her family came under threat by falling debris she displayed superhuman strength to save them.
[''Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot'' #1 (January 2010) Marvel Comics.]
Jackpot went on to train and become a government sanctioned
Initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
superhero for
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Though she served as a crimefighter for a while,
[''Amazing Spider-Man Family'' #6 : Exit Interview. Marvel Comics.] Sara Ehret had no desire to remain one, preferring to her normal life and family.
[''Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #1 (2008). Marvel Comics.] When another woman, Alana Jobson, recognized Sara and showed genuine enthusiasm at paying her for the use of Sara's Jackpot identity and license, Sara took the offer and gave up costumed crime fighting.
Alana Jobson
Alana buys Sara's identity, and while the latter goes in hiding, the former starts using a cocktail of enhancement drugs, including Mutant Growth Hormone to grant herself the powers of super-strength, stamina, and invulnerability associated with the Jackpot identity. In denial of her own sexuality, Alana developed a crush on
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
, whom she emulated. She later was revealed to be a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
. She had been attracted to Sara but never revealed this to her.
Alana/Jackpot teams up with Spider-Man on a search for the villain
Menace. They eventually find her after she attacks a council meeting and kidnaps a councilwoman. Jackpot interferes with the fight between Spider-Man and Menace, pulling Menace from her glider. However, as a result of this action, the glider slams into the rescued councilwoman, killing her. Menace blames Spider-Man for the woman's death and escapes. Jackpot blames herself, as does Spider-Man, as seen in his internal monologue. Still, he attempts to comfort her but Jackpot, who is distraught and angered by the experience, takes it all out on Spider-Man by pushing him away and storming off.
During the 2008 "
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...
" storyline, Jackpot is
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
led by
Dexter Bennett
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, mos ...
, current owner of the ''
Daily Bugle
The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most ...
'' and endorser of a series of slanderous articles about her activity as a superhero after she accidentally attacks a meeting of pharmaceutical sales executives whose company has connections to Walter Declun.
Jackpot is furious when she discovers the articles and goes to the ''Daily Bugle'', along with a publicity representative supplied by the
Initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
. While there, the newspaper is attacked by a
Super-Skrull
The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally as an enemy of the Fantastic Four, the powers of whom he possessed. The character, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared ...
, who is searching for Spider-Man, and who harbors all of the superhuman abilities of Spider-Man's adversaries
the Lizard
The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...
,
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
,
Electro,
Hydro-Man
Hydro-Man (Morris "Morrie" Bench) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man. Once an ordinary crewman, Morris Bench was accidentally knocked overboard while stationed on ...
,
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
, and
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
, Jackpot battles the Super-Skrull in order to allow the ''Bugle'' staff to escape, but she is then attacked by
Menace. All three combatants are injured by the impact of Jackpot's personal glider vehicle, before Menace escapes. Jackpot defeats the Super-Skrull by freezing him to death inside a freezer.
While fighting Commanda and Blindside, Alana is pumped with the ''blindness serum'' used by Blindside to defeat his enemies. Spider-Man comes arrives and administers an antidote to Alana, restoring her vision, but the serum's interaction with the drugs that gave her superhuman powers, results in a fatal side effect in Alana, who dies shortly.
Sara Ehret reclaims the identity
Investigating Jackpot's identity, Spider-Man goes to what he believes is Jackpot's house only to find Sara Ehret, who tells him she is not the superheroine Jackpot (Alana Jobson), and sends Spider-Man away, saying he "really should keep out of this."
Later, Spider-Man, having already discovered the whole truth about Alana and Sara, goes to notify Sara about Alana's death, blaming Sara for evading her responsibilities and allowing the otherwise powerless and untrained Alana to go to her doom. Sara is left clutching Jackpot's costume, while Spider-Man walks away, after telling her that people with powers do not have a choice of giving up their responsibilities.
Distraught, Sara reclaims her heroic identity and later comes into conflict with
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
and, a new
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
, who learn her identity. Under Rose's orders, Boomerang tracks Sara down at her house and murders her husband in front of her and her daughter.
Sara gets revenge and unmasks the Rose, but is forced to change her, and her daughter's, identity, taking the name Alana Jobson.
Powers and abilities
While the first Jackpot had superhuman powers, the second and more prominent Jackpot's powers are derived from drugs that she took for physical enhancement. She has demonstrated dramatic gymnastic ability. In ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' #549, she says she has some invulnerability. She is shown to have some limited fighting ability. The abilities shown are consistent with the abilities produced by Mutant Growth Hormone users, and she requires continued use of the substance to maintain them.
Jackpot also exhibited superhuman strength, as in ''Secret Invasion Spider-Man'' #2 she was able to rip the trunk off of a car and throw it into a
Super Skrull
The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally as an enemy of the Fantastic Four, the powers of whom he possessed. The character, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appear ...
. In the same issue she withstood some serious punches at the hands of super powered Skrull warrior without developing bruises, which confirms her previous claims about possessing some sort of invulnerability.
Costume and identity
The identity of the character was kept secret and became part of her storyline during the year following after her first appearance. She shared many characteristics with the Spider-Man supporting character
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
; long red hair, and a tendency to use the pet term "Tiger", a nickname used by Watson for
Peter Parker
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
(Spider-Man) and others on many occasions. Parker himself suspects Jackpot may be Mary Jane and even the name "Jackpot" itself echoes Mary Jane Watson's classic line, spoken in her first full appearance: "''Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot''".
Jackpot (Alana Jobson) also used money from a modeling shoot (Watson was a model) to pay for a police scanner to use in her heroic persona,
[''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #546 (January 2008). Marvel Comics.] though she strictly denies it, telling him her real name is "Sara Ehret".
[''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #550 (February 2008). Marvel Comics.]
Sara Ehret would eventually be revealed to be Jackpot's original identity.
but not before approaching Mary Jane at an airport for an autograph. Sara claims to be "a huge fan" of Mary Jane and mentions her famous "jackpot" line, which Mary Jane has since made famous by saying it in a
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
. The two women are shown side by side and despite different hair styles, have very similar faces.
[''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #561 (June 2008). Marvel Comics.]
Originally sporting a
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
-era costume, Jackpot wore a green jumpsuit with
bell bottoms
Bell-bottoms (or flares) are a style of trousers that become wider from the knees downward, forming a bell-like shape of the trouser leg. These are similar to flared jeans.
History Naval origins
In the early 19th century, when a standardized un ...
, gold cuffs, a silver stripe running down the front, and a gold mask that covers her eyes, side of her face, and apparently wraps behind her head. She also wore a belt with the numbers 777 on it, referring to the substance that gave her powers. Though not initially considered as a part of her costume, Jackpot's long red hair is revealed to be a wig.
She later changes the costume to a red and black version and the Jackpot name is then associated with the substance that gave her powers ("We thought we'd hit the Jackpot").
In other media
Sony announced that a ''Jackpot'' film is in development for
Sony's Spider-Man Universe
Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the f ...
. By May 2020
Marc Guggenheim
Marc Guggenheim (born September 24, 1970) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer, and novelist. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), ''Arrow'' (2012– 2020), and ''Lege ...
, who had previously written the character's comics, was hired as screenwriter for the project and may possibly also direct as well.
Collected editions
References
{{Spider-Man
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics sidekicks
Comics characters introduced in 2007
Marvel Comics female superheroes
Marvel Comics LGBT superheroes
Marvel Comics martial artists
Marvel Comics mutates
Spider-Man characters
Fictional lesbians
Characters created by Dan Slott