Ever since last year’s “Swing Shift” special, the mystery of who “Jackpot” was has been percolating through the Spider-man series. Unfortunately for the annual that finally wraps the storyline up, it’s not been percolating very well. Sure, there’s been the odd hint here and there, but the assumption largely foisted on readers has been that Jackpot is, somehow, connected to Mary-Jane, and that the story’s going to tie in to her.

Well, apparently not. After severely underselling the mystery in the main spider-title, it falls to Marc Guggenheim to lay out the pieces of the puzzle for those that still care. As a story, it hangs together fine, and all the plot elements make sense. Undoubtedly, it’s a coherent read. Unfortunately, it’s not a satisfying one.  If the specific elements of this story had been drawn out over even a few issues, it would’ve given readers time to come up with their own theories. As it is, the two we do have - Jackpot’s “real” name and Sara’s fondness for MJ - are so old that it’s easy to forget that they even tie in to this story.

By revealing so many of the facts in the space of one issue, any chance for readers to connect the dots themselves is utterly gone, and the tale feels like little more than exposition as a result. Jackpot’s true identity was destined to be a controversial matter, whether it was or wasn’t MJ - but somehow, the final revelation manages to evoke no strong feelings at all. Reading the story, my main feeling is that Jackpot represents the worst sort of wasted opportunity. The character who should’ve been a supportive heroine and a decent addition to Spider-Man’s universe, whether she was MJ or not, is instead written out with nary an epilogue. Readers of the main title - where, let’s not forget, she’s appeared fairly prominently - might just as soon fail to notice that she’s gone at all. Even the cliffhanger, which suggests the return of Ehret, seems like a cop-out, replacing a now-familiar, slightly developed character with an unfamiliar and undeveloped one in an attempt to both have the cake and eat it.

There’s no doubt that this annual is a must-read for those following Amazing Spider-Man. Art and writing are completely competent. But if it’s a satisfying resolution to a long-running story you’re after, though, then you should probably lower your expectations before reading it.

In a rare display of restraint, Jeph “I ruined Ultimates” Loeb actually manages to squeeze a half-decent story out of this annual. It’s not without its flaws, and there’s an utter laundry list of questions you could ask about why, exactly, this tiny continuity gap needed filling at all, but at least it didn’t feel as though it was insulting me as a reader. A definite step up.

But lets not pretend that it’s actually good. For a start, the title of the book is way off-base. This is an Ultimate Black Panther annual in all but name - Cap’s role in the story is fairly minimal, and largely serves to explain how he managed to impersonate the Panther, but not really why - there are a few jumbled reasons, but no single motivating factor. The reworking of the Panther as a Weapon X “graduate” ties well into the general fabric of the Ultimate Universe, but it does make the character feel watered down compared to his Marvel Universe incarnation. At least the relationship established in this series gives the Panther and Cap a good base for future stories, but as a story itself, this series is left somewhat lacking.

There are two artists in this issue - Marko Djurdjevic illustrates the Panther’s solo “origin”, and while he’s one of Marvel’s Cover Artists du jour, it’s usually great to see his interior work. Here, though, it’s incredibly dark and moody to the point of being hard to read. There are some great panels, and the revelation that the Panther has Wolverine-style claws is only made bearable because he’s drawing it. Bizarrely, that doesn’t seem to have featured in Ultimates 3 at all, despite the fact that Stark is specifically shown putting adamantium claws into the gloves of the fake Panther costume for Cap. Ah well, never too late for a good idea, is it? Or, it seems, a bad one.

The second half of the issue - the story that actually features Captain America - is drawn by Rafa Sandoval, who makes a much better stab at storytelling with clear, Brandon Peterson-esque work. The reduction of Ultimates to a generic Avengers-style superhero title is complete under Loeb, but at least Sandoval gives us a good example of that kind of story to look at, even if reading it feels painful. A definite improvement over recent Ultimates fare, but after the depths plumbed with the previous series, it would’ve been hard to go anywhere but up.

Brian Michael Bendis gets it. He gets how to tell fresh, entertaining Spider-Man stories, of course - he’s been doing it consistently for eight years now. But he also gets what an annual should be - an entirely standalone story, rooted in the main title’s themes and overall continuity but without necessarily being sequential to the ongoing story; and it should also feel a bit special in some way, like it’s doing something important either story-wise or thematically. This was achieved in superb fashion with the first of the USM annuals - still one of the absolute best issues of the title - which set off the Peter/Kitty Pryde relationship, and although the second one disappointed a bit in comparison, this one feels like much more of a “sequel”, dealing as it does again with Peter’s love life.

It works because Mary Jane is more of a character than she is in any other version - hers and Peter’s relationship feels right because we’ve known since issue #1 that she’s really just as much of a geek as him (rather than the usual unattainable model). So a story about that relationship can genuinely sustain an issue like this - and while it might attract controversy for exploring ground that the title has previously mostly shied away from, it’s done in a way that doesn’t seem unreal or forced - and the closing pages are genuinely satisfying for those of us who’ve been with the book since the beginning (it’s somewhat reminiscent of the famous issue #13, in fact). Elsewhere, the “superhero” bit of the story is perhaps a bit more by-the-numbers, but it’s still a decent self-contained tale - and in Mysterio contains one of the best “Ultimizations” for a while, creating a sense of genuine, er, mystery while giving him a new look that still manages to invoke the original. I look forward to seeing more done with the character, anyway.

While LaFuente’s art doesn’t really match up quality-wise to Immonen, it’s well-suited to the Peter and Mary Jane scenes, reminiscent as it is of something like Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. He struggles a bit with the regular Spidey sequences (head proportions all wrong, for one thing), but it’s not really jarring, especially in the context of a one-off issue. All in all, while it’ll be pretty meaningless to any new reader (although it’s pretty accessible for someone wanting to jump onboard, demonstrating as it does some of the series’ best strengths, particularly in its dialogue), it’s just another example to us converts of why USM is one of Marvel’s most prized assets.

After bringing to a close the Red Skull’s rather confused plan to seize control of the US, both Captain America and his book are in a slightly reflective mood. With an eighteen-month origin story behind him, it might be expected that Bucky would be energetically throwing himself into his new role. However, Ed Brubaker shows a keen understanding of the character he has rebuilt, treading a fine line. While never allowing the tone to slip into self-hating angst, he continually reminds the reader of the new Cap’s darker origins.

Picking up over a month after the Skull’s downfall, the story immediately makes clear that Barnes hasn’t had trouble occupying himself. After his actions have been so painstakingly documented over the previous year, it’s undeniably odd to see him running free in fleetingly referred-to adventures. The issue has a surprisingly consistant tone of calm anticipation, particularly when its fractured content is considered. The writer cuts seamlessly between a World War II flashback, the new Cap’s home life and the sort of old school super-villainary that is becoming increasingly rare in the Marvel universe. Luke Ross deserves much credit for his sharply defined work here, doing a superlative job of binding these elements together. Although benefiting from Frank D’Armata’s colouring to aid the book’s consistant identity, his art is vastly supiror to any of the title’s fill-in pencillers, standing on an equal footing with the departing Steve Epting’s work. By the end of the issue, however, it becomes obvious that the flashbacks to occupied China are directly relevant to the main plot. It’s curious to see the book’s normal juggling of elements being applied to a single story strand, and adds to the suspicion that this story will be a fleeting holiday from the ongoing epic which has constituted Brubaker’s run on the book to date.

Aside from leaving Bucky with the Black Widow to talk to, Brubaker strips away the book’s previous regular cast, leaving an apparently simplistic solo format at the start of this three part arc. While this may stem from a desire to minimise the Secret Invasion spoilers implicit in the book’s setting, the writer is more than happy to play up to the expectations of this cliché, with Cap’s musings and personal life interrupted by an enormously enjoyable one-off appearance from Batroc. This extended cameo is a perfect metaphor for the book’s direction- still packing a significant punch, but now with a touch of light-hearted panache.

This miniseries has been a real rollercoaster. Something actually happens in this issue, which is good enough in itself, but it’s also something that signifies that all this might actually be coming to some definitive end, for which we can all be thankful. It’s a great moment for Hawkeye/Ronin and it’s nicely muted amidst the chaos for such a powerful development. The problem, though, is that the main feeling I get is relief that the climax appears to be in sight. Is that really what they were going for?

The problem with the issue is that as the “final chapter” in the TPB, It’s just a giant fight scene. All the way through. It’s far too sprawling to interpret easily, between all the heroes, and Skrulls that look like bits of other heroes, you have to concentrate very hard on each panel to distinguish the characters and discern any specific events besides “big fight”. Yu has his strengths, but he’s no Perez. He’s making an almost superhuman job of cramming everyone onto the page, but the storytelling is suffering massively as a result.

The plot, too, is weaving in and out of other books in a very confusing way. Thunderbolts #125 presents a lot of the same events as SI #7, depicting them slightly differently (though it’s a step up on Civil War in terms of cohesion) while the climax of SI #7 relies on something from Mighty Avengers which receives a half-hearted recap - instead it reads like an attempt to shoe-horn in a last-minute plot twist. If this was supposed to be a big deal, shouldn’t it have been mentioned in the series before now?

I always enjoyed the sound of Secret Invasion, but this close to the end, I feel like I’ve enjoyed it less than both House of M and Civil War. I think it’s because there doesn’t appear to be any character element to it, just the constant threat of OH NO, SKRULLS! With Civil War, it ultimately came down to the ideologies of Captain America and Iron Man. With House of M, it was about Wanda, and her relationship to the X-Men and Avengers. Secret Invasion, though, is devoid of any such centrepiece. It doesn’t mean the stakes are lower, but it leaves it feeling like a plot rather than a story. The closest we’ve had to a main character is Spider-Woman, and even she doesn’t fit the bill now. Issue #7 was enjoyable by the standards of the series so far, but as a whole it’s not been as good as I was hoping.

Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

Back in 1982, Marvel published its first ever limited series, Contest of Champions and was largely remembered for introducing China’s superhero, “the Collective Man” to the world. 17 years later, the sequel no-one asked for finally hit the stands, written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Oscar Jimenez (who now goes under the name Juan Barranco).

It’s only a sequel in the loosest of terms, taking only the concept and title from the original. Each issue of the series portrayed various fights, with one main “featured bout” as the villain of the series, eventually revealed as the Brood Queen, selected the strongest super-powered heroes on Earth to host her next generation of brood-spawn.

Despite some hilariously ropey Claremont dialogue that borders on self-parody at best (Iron Man using the word “selfsame”) and cringeworthy at worst (”Does X-Force Rock?” “X-Force Rules!”) it’s hard to argue with his characterisation, and let loose on the Marvel Universe, he actually nails everyone surprisingly well. The issue opens with Iron Man and the Human Torch helping the army in a combat exercise, when Rogue shows up to see what they’re doing hanging out near the X-Men’s base. It quickly devolves into a carefree chase between the Torch and Rogue, while Iron Man looks on dismissively. There’s little point to the scene in the wider plot, but the dead-on character writing showed that Claremont (then the writer on Fantastic Four) might still have the greatness of his initial X-Men run in him.

The point of the series, though, is really the fights - it’s an authorised version of those “who would win?” threads you get on every comics messageboard. Once the heroes are abducted, really get going. The first match - Psylocke Vs Iron Man - might sound like a one-sided proposition in writing, but Claremont makes you believe Psylocke could win it. She doesn’t, of course, but almost. Iron Man’s lead role in the plot makes perfect sense once you realise that the heroes are being controlled, and only he remains immune due to the bio-static nature of his armour. The results of certain match-ups were actually decided by online poll, which perhaps explains how Gambit could beat Quicksilver, though sadly it seems that the exact results of these polls are lost to the ages.

It really is a gratuitous, brainless series that relies on little more than the novelty of seeing heroes fight one another for no good reason, but because it never pretends to be anything more, there’s a certain glee to it all. You even get some hilarious late-90s superheroes showing up, including the Mattie Franklin Spider-Woman, and the Slingers. There’s actually a cute moment later in the series where instead of fighting, the Slingers face the New Warriors in a basketball game, which alongside the Hulk versus Deadpool match shows that Claremont can actually be funny when he tries.

What really makes the series enjoyable, though, is Jiminez’s artwork, finished off by some downright superb colours by Digital Paintbrush. Even Michael Ryan’s substitution as penciller later on doesn’t cause it to lose steam. For all its flaws, Contest of Champions 2 is what superhero comics should look like - vivid and action-filled. It’s a pity the story is so substanceless, but re-reading it for this review was still something of a guilty pleasure. It’s maybe not a story for the ages, but it is still good fun even 9 years after release.