J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson began his journalism career as a teen copy boy at the Daily Bugle; at 18, his editor let him accompany reporters on assignment to learn more about the newspaper business, experience that nurtured Jameson's love of the news industry. He rose rapidly through the Bugle's ranks, eventually becoming editor-in-chief and hiring editor Robbie Robertson as his right-hand man, co-workers for twenty years, Jameson values Robertson's expertise, but he also recognizes that Robertson's legendary cool-headedness can often be a vital foil for his own impulsiveness. In recent years, Jameson, now Bugle publisher, was horrified when his astronaut son was lost during a mission on the space shuttle Orion; the authorities had few answers for Jameson, citing only "technical manifunction" and unable to provide him a body to bury. Grief weighed heavily on Jameson, and when, some months later, the adventurer Spider-Man debuted, Jameson briefly resented the costumed cut-up for winning instant recognition and, among some, dedication, while his son lay dead and forgotten. Nevertheless, news was news, and Jameson offered a high price for anyone who could bring the Bugle a photograph of the mysterious Spider-Man; the call was answered by teenager Peter Parker, who provided Jameson with the sought-after photo; impressed by the boy's technical know how, the publisher hired him as a part-time web designer, unaware Parker was in fact Spider-Man. Robertson and top reporter Ben Urich grew concerned over Jameson's growing obsession with "debunking" Spider-Man's heroic reputation, although hardly as concerned as Parker.

When attorney Sam Bullit, a frequent associate of Wilson Fisk, the so-called Kingpin of Crime, ran for District Attorney on an anti-Spider-Man platform, Jameson pledged the Bugle's support despite Robertson's reservations. When Parker, appalled that Fisk had evaded imprisonment after being caught in the act of murder, questioned the publisher's policies, Jameson, perhaps subconsciously recognizing the untenability of his position, fired Parker on the spot. However, when Urich interviewed Bullit, it became clear that the candidate's criminal ties could not be ignored, and Jameson swallowed his pride and wrote an expose on Bullit, with one on the Kingpin in the works. For his efforts, he found himself accosted by the Kingpin's Enforcers, only to be rescued by his nemesis Spider-Man. Spider-Jameson proved he had not lost all of his professionalism by attempting to interview not only his rescuer but his attackers, although neither attempt panned out. In the wake of the encounter, Jameson admitted to himself that grief over his son's mysterious and unrecognized death had colored his judgement about the adventurer in the "creepy mask," and he resolved to address this blind spot that so jaundiced his newsman's eye. Jameson has taken little interest in Spider-Man since, but whether his continued distrust of costumed heroes will overcome his determination remains to be seen.