John Jonah Jameson (Earth-96283)

"Who is Spider-Man? He's a criminal, that's who he is! A vigilante! A public menace! What's he doing on my front page?"

―J. Jonah Jameson^[src]

John Jonah Jameson is the editor of the Daily Bugle.

Biography[]

Spider-Man[]

Like a stereotypical newspaper editor, Jameson is gruff, stubborn, impatient, almost always yelling, and always present with a cigar. Jameson describes Spider-Man as a menace and a vigilante, and points out, "He wears a mask. What's he got to hide?" Indeed, the only reason he develops an interest in publishing news on the hero is because it sells papers, and upon hearing that no one has been able to get a clear shot of him, he declares, "If he doesn't want to be famous, I'll make him infamous!" He also retains much of his cynical, avuncular attitude and brusque manner with his staff. When Peter Parker accuses him of slandering Spider-Man, Jameson says, "I resent that! Slander is spoken. In print, it's libel."

Spider-Man 2[]

"I want Spider-Man!"

―J. Jonah Jameson^[src]

Jameson also, at some level, knows that Spider-Man is a hero, but is too proud to admit it. He even goes so far as to admit it when crime and danger skyrocketed and his son's fiancée, Mary Jane Watson, is kidnapped after Spider-Man temporarily disappears; true to form, however, he recants almost immediately and becomes infuriated with the web-slinger once again when Spider-Man steals back his costume from the Bugle to confront the rampaging Doctor Octopus.

Spider-Man 3[]

He is shown to supposedly have many medical conditions, as seen when he has many bottles of medicine on his desk at work. Specifically, it is revealed that he has high blood pressure. Ms. Brant is given the job of reminding him to watch his temper and warning him whenever he is too tense or when he needs to take his pills, which she seems to have a lot of fun doing via a buzzer that shakes Jameson's desk, which he finds annoying.

Jameson sets Peter Parker and Eddie Brock Jr. up as rivals to earn a staff job, instructing them to obtain unflattering pictures of Spider-Man. Later, Jameson fired Brock when it was revealed that Brock created and sold altered pictures of Spider-Man robbing a bank. Despite his dislike of the hero, he angrily disapproved of the fraud printed on his paper, remarking that he hasn't printed a retraction in 20 years.

Later, he is surprised by Parker's new confident demeanor, provoked by the black suit; when pressed for the staff job and double the salary, Jameson submits to Parker's demands, perplexedly watching as Parker cockily relaxes at his chair and desk like a boss.

At the climactic battle between Spider-Man, New Goblin, Sandman, and Venom, Jameson, unable to locate Parker, bargains with a little girl in the crowd for her camera, then for her film, none too happily.

Character traits[]

Jameson holds the dubious honor of providing the nicknames for the central villains in both of the first two films; Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus (wanting his staff to immediately copyright the name).

While Jameson is very gruff, impatient and difficult to work with, ultimately, he is basically a good, loyal man; under the right circumstances, he would die to protect others (as demonstrated by his refusal to reveal to Green Goblin the identity of the photographer who took pictures of Spider-Man).

In each film, his office is rearranged and relocated; only the first movie offers an explicit reason for this, as in that film, it is partially destroyed by Green Goblin.

Relationships[]

Peter Parker - Employee and freelance photographer.
Robbie Robertson - Employee, chief editor and friend.
Betty Brant - Employee and secretary.
Ted Hoffman - Employee.
Green Goblin - Enemy and interrogator; deceased.
Eddie Brock - Ex-employee and ex-freelance photographer; deceased.
John Jameson - Son.
Joan Jameson - Wife.

Appearances/Actors[]

Earth-96283 (3 films)
- Spider-Man (First appearance) - J.K. Simmons
- Spider-Man 2 - J.K. Simmons
- Spider-Man 3 - J.K. Simmons
Earth-96283 (3 video games)
- Spider-Man - Jay Gordon
- Spider-Man 2 - Jay Gordon and J.K. Simmons (PSP version only)
- Spider-Man 3 - J.K. Simmons

Behind the scenes[]

Originally, Stan Lee wanted to play Jonah, but the role went to Simmons with Stan being happy with their decision.
J.K. Simmons voiced Jonah in the TV series Ultimate Spider-Man.

Trivia[]

In the comics, Jameson is responsible of the creation of many supercriminals, such as the Scorpion or the Spider-Slayers, born with the purpose of killing/capturing Spider-Man. Ironically in a more recent storyline "Revenge of the Spider-Slayers", a group of these criminals attempt to get revenge on Jameson and his family for this, resulting in the death of his second wife Marla Jameson.
J.K. Simmons did a J. Jonah Jameson portrayal when he did a guest voice on The Simpsons Season 18 episode "Moe'N'a Lisa"