Marvel just settled the oldest fan debate in Spider-Man fandom, as one of Peter Parker’s first ever enemies shares a sentiment fans have been waiting to hear for decades.
J. Jonah Jameson Officially Sees Peter Parker As a Son
In today’s Amazing Spider-Man #16 (from Joe Kelly, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz and Joe Caramagna), Aunt May sits down with J. Jonah Jameson to discuss Peter Parker’s uncharacteristic behavior. Unbeknownst to both, Peter actually fled to space after his battle with the menacing Hellgate, with Norman Osborn taking over his costumed life and clone Ben Reilly taking over his professional life.
With Osborn unleashing brutal new tactics and Reilly finding little time for Peter’s family, everyone has noticed something is wrong, and Jameson – who secretly knows Peter is Spidey – asks May to sit down and discuss what seems like a crisis for her nephew. However, May shuts down Jameson’s requests for an intervention, arguing that she knows Peter is suffering, even if she doesn’t know why. Jameson tries to claim authority with the statement that he sees himself as Peter’s surrogate father, but May shoots back, “An emotionally manipulative, borderline abusive father figure? I can see that.”
For decades, fans have debated whether J. Jonah Jameson actually sees Peter Parker as a son. While there have been some tender moments between the two, there’s also been a lot of bad blood, and plenty of classic adventures paint Jameson as a genuinely hateful and dangerous person. However, while he may make the claim to get his own way, it seems that in J. Jonah Jameson’s head, he really does see Peter as a son.
Our Take on J. Jonah Jameson’s Connection to Spider-Man
Spider-Man has a complicated relationship with the former publisher of the Daily Bugle. While Jameson gave Peter a job when no-one else would, he also defamed Spider-Man for years, destroying his reputation. What’s more, Jameson was complicit in the origins of several villains, hiring the Scorpion to kill Spidey and funding the creation of the Spider-Slayer robots (which he physically piloted to try and destroy the Wall-Crawler.)
The idea that Jameson is a mentor/father figure to Peter is taken as read by some fans, but especially in the classic comics, there are very few moments where Jameson really seems to have Peter’s best interests at heart. Mostly, his warm feelings towards Peter have been retconned into being in later stories, with Aunt May landing on the middle ground explanation – yes, Jameson may be like a father to Peter, but he’s not a particularly good one.
J. Jonah Jameson and Peter Parker technically became step-brothers in 2009, when Aunt May married Jameson’s father, John Jonah Jameson Sr.
At least, not in the past. However, since Jonah learned that Peter is Spider-Man – something Peter revealed to help his former boss in a low moment – the two have forged a more benevolent bond, with Jameson now seeing it as his role to promote Spidey and help him out wherever possible, even in cases where Peter Parker doesn’t want the help.
J. Jonah Jameson may have started out as a genuine villain who tried to cheat Peter Parker and kill Spider-Man, but the decades have been kind to the character. While he can’t outright claim to be a father figure to Peter without some sass from Aunt May, Marvel is making it clear that in whatever form it takes, the two are family, and J. Jonah Jameson’s affection for both Peter Parker and Spider-Man is sincere.
Amazing Spider-Man #16 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- First Appearance
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Amazing Fantasy
- Alias
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Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner
- Alliance
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Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors
- Race
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Human