J. Jonah Jameson may not have superpowers, but he’s a force to be reckoned with in Marvel’s New York City. Jameson was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making his first appearance 60 years ago in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963). In the story “Behind the Mustache” in Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #20 fans of the comic learn that his father was an officer in the United States Army, but was not a hero at home. He abused his wife and son which led Jameson to grow up with the mentality that “No one’s a hero every day of the week.”
Jameson was in the Boy Scouts when he was a kid and during high school he was focused on boxing and photography. He met his future wife in the photo club, impressing her after he was bullied by three of the school’s top athletes and fought back. They got married as soon as they finished school and he sought employment as a journalist. He got a job at the Daily Bugle and early in his career boasted that he would one day run the paper. In 1939 he saw Human Torch and Namor for the first time but was skeptical of them and did not believe that people with superhuman abilities who operated outside of the law could be trusted.
During World War II he served as a war correspondent in Europe, covering many important missions include one for Sergeant Nicholas Fury and his team of commandos. After the war he and his wife Joan had their son John Jonah Jameson III who grew up to be an astronaut and then became Man-Wolf and Star-God, in different stories. While he was away working on a journalism mission in Korea his wife was killed during a mugging incident. He focused his attention on work and was promoted to chief editor of the Daily Bugle and eventually he bought he paper. He led a smear campaign against Spider-Man not knowing that Peter Parker works for him.
J. Jonah Jameson is easily recognized by his toothbrush mustache, flattop haircut, and a cigar that is always wedged in the corner of his mouth. He earned a reputation for being an excellent journalist, though his streak of opportunism, stubbornness, and belligerent attitude earned him plenty of enemies.
