Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot #1
Now
Jackpot is fighting Boomerang and thinking about how she feels like a drug addict that has fallen off the wagon. A reluctant one that was forced back on the wagon with guilt.
Six Months Ago[1]
Spider-Man had come to her home and accused her of the death of Alana Jobson. He pointed out that Alana’s death was on her head because she was the one registered with the government and had the proper training.
She thinks about how she went out of her way to undergo training, under the guise of going on a business trip, to obtain government training. She doesn’t know why because she never wanted to be a hero. That’s why when Alana Jobson suggested taking over her Jackpot identity she gladly gave it to her. She tried to tell this to Spider-Man, but he points out that they don’t have a choice in shouldering the responsibility given to them by their powers and because of Sarah shirking hers, Alana Jobson is dead.
That’s when Spider-Man leaves her with a box containing her old Jackpot costume. She had to quickly hide it when her husband Scott came home with their daughter, Maddie. Young Maddie is excited to tell her mother about her day at school. Scott detected something off about his wife, but Sara tells him everything is fine, she just had a change of plans.
Now
With a new costume, Jackpot has gone out on patrol for the first time since then without feeling the urge to throw up. She had tracked down a lead on a smuggling operation. Ambushing the men running it in the warehouse is what led to her battle with Boomerang.
Knocking Jackpot to the ground, Boomerang then tries to get his buddys to come back so they can all take turns raping her. Disgusted by this, Jackpot shoots her enemy square in the chest with her grappling hook gun, she grimly realizes she missed an opportunity to make a joke. That’s when the other men arrive and begin opening fire. Jackpot decides its time to retreat because she got what she wanted, a vial of organic material she recovered from one of the shipping crates.
Returning home, Sarah rushes to the bathroom to see the cut on her neck caused by one of Boomerang’s weapons and wonders how she is going to explain this. That’s when she hears someone heading to the bathroom and jumps in the shower. It’s just her husband Scott, who tells her that she can stop hiding. He wonders why he keeps hiding the fact that she is a superhero, and Sara reminds him that she is keeping her identity a secret for their daughter because Maddie is only three years old and she probably won’t be able to keep her mother’s secret. That’s when Scott notices the cuts on his wife’s body. Sara assures him that she’s fine and he starts making jokes when he learns that she was in a fight with a d-list villain like Boomerang. This joking back and forth eventually leads to some love making.
The following day, Sara reports for her job at Phelcorps Labs, a subsidiary of Oscorp. In order to hide the cut on her neck she wears a scarf. It’s also here that she has one of her colleagues, Dr. Hayes, to analyze the substance she picked up the night before. It turns out that the substance is - bizarrely enough - sweat glands. When she gets back to work, her co-worker warns her to be careful reminding her of the accident that happened with lot 777. This causes Sara to think back to that day….
Four Years Ago
They were working on a new gene therapy to try and cure a neurlogical disorder. At the time, Sara was pregnant with Maddie and working on a virus that would re-write the DNA of the illness and reverse its effects. However, while running a test she accidentally raked the needle containing a sample of lot 777 across her fingers. Exposed to the chemicals caused Sara to fall into a coma which lasted the last four months of her pregnancy. At some point after she gave birth, Sara woke up from her coma.
Once she was out on a hospital, she and Scott went on a walk with her infant daughter. They happened upon a battle between Spider-Man and some masked thugs. The fight caused the partial collapse of a building and Scott was shocked when Sara was able to not only catch a heavy chunk of debris but hold it over her head. This was the first time she discovered that lot 777 gave her super-human powers.
Now
Sara is snapped out of her recollection when Dr. Hayes asks why she wanted to examine a sweat gland. She assures Hayes that he doesn’t want to know.
Over the next few nights Jackpot goes out trying to figure out what is so important about these sweat glands but can’t find any answers. Her interrogations have gotten the attention of the man in charge of the smuggling operation. He meets with Boomerang to find out why he didn’t deal with her. However, Boomerang has some good news, they manage to get a sample of Jackpot’s fingerprints and used their connections within the NYPD they were able to learn her true identity. As it turned out, Sara Ehret had a minor criminal record due to an altercation that happened when she was in college. Their boss, the new Rose, looks over Sara Ehret’s file and is very pleased and suggest they now start talking about family.
Recurring Characters
Jackpot (Ehret), Boomerang, the Rose, Spider-Man, Scott Ehret, Maddie Ehret, Jackpot (Jobson)
Continuity Notes
This sequence of events was originally chronicled in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #35. Per the Sliding Timescale, this is an accurate measurement of time.
Topical References
The specific disease Phelcorps is trying to cure is specifically stated as Parkinson’s Disease. Although there are no known cures for this illness as I write this (December 2020) it is a specific real-world illness. Enhancements in medical treatments could provide a cure at some point in the future. As a result, specific references to real-world illnesses should be considered topical.
