Mary Jane Watson will officially take up the mantle of Jackpot in Amazing Spider-Man #31, in which she'll become the Marvel Universe's latest superhero, with a new costume designed by Humberto Ramos, seen below.
Mary Jane has had her Jackpot powers (which we'll explain shortly) since the start of the current volume of Amazing Spider-Man, though she hasn't actually taken the step of being a full-on superhero - until now.
Mary Jane's powers involve a special gauntlet built by her current boyfriend Paul, which has three symbol slots that spin when activated, just like a slot machine. Each combination of symbols provides a different power, though MJ can't always control what that power will be, or if it will even be useful.
The original Jackpot was Sara Ehrens, a scientist who developed a serum that gave her super strength. Following her debut in 2007's Spider-Man: Swing Shift, Jackpot's secret identity was a mystery, with many readers (and characters) suspecting that the character was a new superhero identity for Mary Jane, due to her red hair, and the Jackpot name seemingly referencing MJ's famous line "Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot!".
Now the story has come full circle with Mary Jane Watson actually taking up the Jackpot mantle after all these years in the landmark issue, which Marvel states will kick off the second year of the current volume of Amazing Spider-Man.
Amazing Spider-Man #31 is written by Zeb Wells and others yet to be named, with art from John Romita Jr., Zé Carlos, David López, Mark Bagley, Alba Glez, Paco Medina, Albert Monteys, and Patrick Gleason. It goes on sale August 9 with a cover from John Romita, Jr.
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