Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ultimate Spider-Man #10! Spider-Man Not only is Marvel Comics one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, but his comic book franchise has also spawned several other heroes over the years, and some of them are downright shocking. From Venom and Punisher to Miles Morales (who has probably become even more popular than Peter Parker with modern fans), Spider-Man spawned some pretty notable heroes. And now, the comic book franchise has done it again, and this one has been 61 years in the making.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #10 by Jonathan Hickman and David Messina, readers receive a deep dive into advanced investigative journalism of the highest caliber. Ben Parker and J. Jonah Jameson started their own online publication in this universe (simply called The Paper) after the Daily Bugle was purchased by the Kingpin, who wanted to turn the newspaper into a covert media outlet.
Ben and Jonah are working on a story involving the sale of Stark/Stane, which leads them to discover that the company has been purchased by a subsidiary of Oscorp. The two journalists connect the dots between the technology previously developed by Stark/Stane and the new tech-heavy superhero flying around New York: the Green Goblin. So they question Harry Osborn about what they found, and he admits to being the Green Goblin before handing them a flash drive with evidence of the Creators’ Council’s existence – and Ben and Jonah begin writing the story.
In order to gain readers while doing the legwork on this massive investigative piece, Ben and Jonah used The Paper primarily to chronicle the latest adventures of Green Goblin and Spider-Man. But even though these stories increased subscriptions and readership, both Ben and Jonah hated doing them. And now that they have more than they could ever hope to get from their investigation, the two journalists are ready to move forward with the story of a lifetime – which is especially meaningful for Marvel’s new hero, J. Jonah Jameson.
J. Jonah Jameson is finally a legitimate hero in Marvel Comics
JJJ was introduced 61 years ago in The Amazing Spider-Man #1, and now he’s finally a hero
Although Ben Parker is as much a hero as J. Jonah Jameson in this Ultimate Spider-Man run, this is the first time readers have spent a significant amount of time with Ben, which means Jonah is the one who gets the majority of the character development. In the past, Jonah had been little more than a boastful editor who valued sensational headlines over hard news. In fact, it didn’t seem like Jonah cared about the news, as he seemed obsessed with selling newspapers any way he could – which he did by making Spider-Man look like a ‘masked threat’.
The Ultimate Universe version of J. Jonah Jameson literally quit his job at the Daily Bugle because of his journalistic principles. He decided to be alone rather than stick with safe paper and print rubbish, so he immediately reinforced his actions with his skills. J. Jonah Jameson managed to show that he really is a great journalist Ultimate Spider-Man #10, working side by side with Ben to uncover a conspiracy originally woven by the Creator himself, and doing so without fear.
Jonah knows full well that the story he and Ben are working on could get him killed, but he’s moving forward anyway because that’s where his convictions as a journalist lie. What makes his heroic turn that much more pronounced is how much Jonah despises doing stories about Spider-Man. On Earth-616 (and even Earth-1610), Jonah couldn’t get enough of Spider-Man, as every story he printed was a guaranteed paper sale. But right now, Spider-Man is the last thing Jonah wants to write about.
J. Jonah Jameson was a borderline villain in Marvel’s main reality
JJJ’s heroic turn in the final universe is even more dramatic considering his ‘villain’ past
While it’s great that J. Jonah Jameson has proven himself to be a hero in the new Ultimate Universe (and has even abandoned his obsession with Spider-Man), that wasn’t the case during his early appearances in The Amazing Spider-Man. In fact, in The Amazing Spider-Man #20, JJ financed the creation of the villain Scorpion, and even tried to lure Spider-Man into a trap once Scorpion was created.
Not only did Jonah literally create a supervillain for the sole purpose of killing one of the world’s greatest heroes, but he also committed the gravest sin any journalist could: he became the story. The original J. Jonah Jameson was so far removed from anything that could be considered a “good journalist” that he became a borderline villain just to create a false and preconceived narrative about Spider-Man.
Indeed, J. Jonah Jameson has come a long way since his debut 61 years ago. Not only has he abandoned his obsession with Spider-Man to the point where he doesn’t even want to publish stories about the wall-crawler (much less create a supervillain to kill him), but J. Jonah Jameson has also proven himself as a fantastic journalist who has no fear. of putting his life at risk to expose corruption and inform the people – making this iconic Spider-Man character a true hero.
Ultimate Spider-Man #10 from Marvel Comics is now available.