Writer: Celeste Bronfman
Artists: Emilio Laiso
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Cover Artists: Phil Noto, Betsy Cola & Skottie Young
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 26, 2024
Mary Jane and Paul boarded a streetcar named Detention. When their captors realized MJ and Paul weren't into bondage, Mary Jane transformed into Jackpot to battle assailants on a train. Paul and Mary Jane slipped through the doors at the next stop, but instead of finding hardware, children’s ware, and ladies’ lingerie, they see Tracer, Squid, Rocket Racer & Black Cat. Will Black Cat defend her friends against her lover’s hitmen? Or are Mary Jane and Paul going down? Let’s spin our fruit machine reels, extend our claws, leap into Jackpot And Black Cat #4, and find out!
Story
Amelia Morrow worked in a pressure cooker business environment. Her boss denied her credit and a bonus for developing a popular phone app, so Amelia stopped playing by the rules. She stole the source code and developed Obscura. Amelia used her new app to blackmail people into trying to kill her former boss. Since then, she used Obscura to force Mary Jane to steal bank codes so she could rob the Owl and frame her old boss for the theft.
Black Cat adores Amelia. But Amelia prizes money and success over others. Felicia’s girlfriend has endangered Mary Jane's life before. So in Jackpot And Black Cat #4, Black Cat takes no chances. She rushes to Mary Jane and Paul's aid and helps Jackpot give the Z-List villains an early night. Black Cat may be a loner, but no one likes being alone all the time. Mary Janes helps Felicia understand that Amelia's recent corporate experiences have warped her into someone incapable of being a caring and committed life partner.
In Celeste Bronfman’s story, Mary Jane encourages Black Cat to think more highly of herself. She also allows Mary Jane to explore her powers. After the way Madame Masque enslaved Leland Owlsley during the gang war, the Owl is anxious to assert his status as a crime boss by sinking his claws into Amelia and Black Cat. But Bronfman also lets Paul show why he's Jackpot's Man In The Chair.
Art
Emilio Laiso delivers a bevy of high-flying action as Jackpot and Black Cat dispatch Tracer, Squid, and a wannabee member of Griff's hoverboard gang while Paul cowers behind two pillars. The lovely ladies talk in an alley, where people have plastered faded posters over a roll-up door. An owl sculpture sits unperturbed as the Owl rises from his wooden throne. The tablet on his desk displays black cat wallpaper. Yet the real fun comes when Mary Jane evokes a scene from the favorite movie of a long-time Spidey scribe and Miles Morales’ cocreator.
Brian Reber lavishes a loaded palette on Laiso’s exciting action sequences, guarded conversations, and heart-to-heart confrontations. Abundant use of white highlights the sheen of Black Cat's costume, the circuitry running through Amelia's jacket, and the power Jackpot wields. Her armbands also turn green and turquoise when battling the green-suited Owl and his men in black. But a lasting impression from Reber’s work in Jackpot And Black Cat #4 is how the power Jackpot wields through her golden armbands and her shiny red and gold suit recalls another popular Marvel superhero. Let's hope Mary Jane's fondness for champagne breakfasts and her children's vanishing act doesn't incite a drinking problem.
Ariana Maher spins black uppercase dialogue into white balloons and orange narrative boxes in Jackpot And Black Cat #4. Raised voices enlarge letters and contort balloons. Sound effects heighten intense fight scenes, a vehicle skidding off the road, and Jackpot damaging New York City property.
Final Thoughts
Smartphones rule our lives. In addition to providing news, weather, and sports, they are our music and entertainment portals, connect us with others, and tempt us to do things we might not otherwise attempt. In Jackpot And Black Cat #4, Paul pits his technical expertise against the avaricious Amelia and aids Mary Jane and Felicia by finding someone who resists the almighty allure of smartphones.
Rating 9/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
