J. Jonah Jameson is the secondary antagonist of many an Amazing Spider-Man comic (and the primary antagonist every once in a while). He is the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Daily Bugle, one of the most widely-read and reputable comic books in Marvel's version of New York City. He has a long-held grudge against Spider-Man, believing the Web-Slinger to be a "menace."
He's also one of the worst things to have happened to the Spider-Man of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He revealed Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, provoking the events of the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Peter Parker enlists the help of Doctor Strange to undo the damage done by Jameson's revelation. Needless to say, Jameson's fate has always been intertwined with Spider-Man's, and some wild things have happened to JJ as a result.
10 Mysterio Convinced Him He Was Dead And In Hell For A Time
At one point, Mysterio used a fake Spider-Man to cause Jameson to crash into a tree on his way home from work. The world believed Jameson dead and blamed Spider-Man. In reality, Mysterio captured Jameson and sent him through a gauntlet that left Jameson believing that he had died and gone to Hell. Mysterio did all this as revenge for the things Jameson had published about him over the years.
Naturally, Spider-Man eventually found Jameson and saved him from Mysterio. This, of course, didn't cool Jameson's hatred of Spider-Man.
9 He Was Sued By She-Hulk For Libel Against Spider-Man
One day, Spider-Man finally got a chance to fight back against Jameson's anti-Spider-Man campaign when lawyer Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk of the Avengers, offered to sue Jameson on behalf of Spider-Man. Peter decides to go through with this despite interference from the likes of the Scorpion and Spider-Slayers.
However, the case begins to get complicated when Peter Parker becomes a target of the suit in addition to Jameson due to Peter's photographs being such a central part of Jameson's hate campaign. This forces Spider-Man to ask that his lawyers settle the case. In the end, Jameson and Peter Parker end up having to dress in chicken suits for a full day while handing out retractions to all of their Spider-Man claims.
8 He Had His Face On The First Spider-Slayer Robots To Hunt Spider-Man
The first generation of Spider-Slayer robots built by Spencer Smythe was actually paid for by none other than J. Jonah Jameson. More than that, the robots had a screen allowing Jameson to watch in first-person as they attacked Spider-Man. Furthermore, Spider-Man had to look at Jonah's ugly mug on that screen during the fight.
The second generation of Spider-Slayer robots would be created by Dr. Marla Madison, who Jameson would later marry. However, the Spider-Slayer robots would continue in other directions without Jameson's involvement.
7 He Accidentally Helped Create The Scorpion
For example, Jonah paid for the procedure that turned Mac Gargan into the Scorpion. Gargan's mutation, carried out by Dr. Farley Stillwell, ate away at his sanity and trapped him in the Scorpion suit for a time. The Scorpion fought Spider-Man several times, but he also made many attempts on Jameson's life for cursing him to this fate.
Jameson also hired Stillwell's brother, Harlan, to create the Human Fly to go after Spider-Man. He even hired the second Mysterio, Daniel Berkhart, to try and catch the Web-Head. When Peter exposed his secret identity and defected to Captain America's anti-registration side during the Superhuman Civil War, Jameson filed a lawsuit against Parker and put a bounty on his head.
6 Peter Parker Gave Jonah A Heart Attack
At the beginning of the Brand New Day era of Spider-man, Peter Parker received a reset of sorts that found him selling photographs as a freelancer to the Daily Bugle and J. Jonah Jameson again. This also gave Spider-Man his secret identity back with the help of the demonic Mephisto. This new start immediately ran into a roadblock. Jameson screamed at Peter for the quality of the photographs, and Peter blew up on Jonah for ripping him off on the price of the photos.
Jameson wasn't going to take that sitting down, but, unfortunately, his rage triggered a heart attack. Jameson survived and was taken to the hospital. During his stay, Jameson's wife sold all of his shares at the Daily Bugle to the wealthy Dexter Bennett. When Spider-Man accidentally let this slip to Jonah while he was in recovery, it triggered yet another heart attack. Jameson recovered from this as well and began working on his anger issues.
5 He Was The Mayor Of New York City For A Time
What probably didn't help his stress was becoming the Mayor of New York around this time. He used the office to go after Spider-Man in an official capacity with the use of the newly-formed "Anti-Spider Squad."
Ironically, Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, implanted his mind in Spider-Man's body during Jameson's tenure as mayor. Jameson actually approved of this new "Superior Spider-Man" (despite not knowing the cause of the changes).
4 He Adopted Mattie Franklin, The Other Spider-Girl/Spider-Woman
One of many ironies in J. Jonah Jameson's life is that his niece and adopted daughter, Mattie Franklin, is one of the many women to use the moniker Spider-Woman. She received her powers in an occult ritual that involved Norman Osborn, and she took up the name Spider-Woman while Spider-Man had gone missing.
Later Mattie herself went missing, and Jameson hired the superhuman private investigator Jessica Jones to find her. She had been kidnapped and drugged, and her tissue had been used as a replacement for Mutant Growth Hormone (a drug that can imbue a high and temporary superpowers). Jones saved Mattie, and she went back to superheroing. Unfortunately, she was tragically killed by Sasha Kravinoff, wife of Kraven the Hunter. Mattie was later cloned and resurrected by the Jackal, but she was killed again by zombies created from the villainous Carrion while protecting Jameson.
3 His Son Became The Cosmic Hero Known As The Man-Wolf
As if things couldn't get weirder, JJ's son, John Jameson, was an astronaut who turned into a werewolf. On a mission to the moon, John found the mysterious Godstone that turned him into the lycanthrope known as the Man-Wolf. He was an antagonist of Spider-Man's for a time and even associated with Morbius, but he later turned over a new leaf. He became a hero of "Other-Realm" known as Stargod.
He later even became an ally of the Avengers and helped Misty Knight during Carnage's return in the Absolute Carnage event by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.
2 He Learned Spider-Man's Secret Identity And Is Friends With Him Now
Despite regaining his secret identity, Spider-Man later voluntarily told Jameson his secret identity again. This was at a low point in Jonah's life, as he was no longer with the Daily Bugle and lost his job at the Fact Channel. He had also recently lost Mattie and his wife, Marla, again after they had been cloned and resurrected by the Jackal.
Jameson started a blog called "Threats and Menaces" shortly after, and he scored a private interview with Spider-Man. It was during this interview that Jonah had a mental breakdown, and Peter revealed himself to him. Since then, Jameson and Spider-Man have actually become friends of sorts.
1 He Accidentally Revealed Spider-Man's Secret Identity To Norman Osborn
Not long afterward, Norman Osborn used the Carnage symbiote to become the Red Goblin. He began making moves against Spider-Man once again, and one of these plays involved kidnapping J. Jonah Jameson. While Jameson was captured, he accidentally let it slip to Red Goblin that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were one and the same.
Osborn left shortly afterward, and Jameson was wracked with guilt. He was ultimately saved by Agent Anti-Venom, aka Flash Thompson.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will be out exclusively in theaters on December 17, 2021.