J. Jonah Jameson - Positive Characteristics

Positive Characteristics

To his credit, Jameson has also been a tireless crusader for civil rights. He has also agitated in print on behalf of labor union rights. At various times, he has expressed extreme disgust for racial prejudice, and counted Joe Robertson as one of his closest friends right up until their personal fall-out during Civil War. While always depicted as a skinflint and an opportunist, he has nonetheless displayed a passionate regard for the freedom of the press, despite numerous threats from violent criminals, crooked politicians and disgruntled supervillains. The Daily Bugle is one of the very few Manhattan newspapers to condemn Wilson Fisk as a crime czar, and Jameson has consistently refused to be intimidated by the Kingpin's tactics, even going so far as to chide Ben Urich for withdrawing his investigation on the Kingpin during Daredevil: Born Again. Jameson also possesses staunch integrity about his job and his role as a Journalist, famously firing Eddie Brock for publishing fake stories without proof.

He has even stood up for mutant rights, taking a stance against Graydon Creed's Presidential campaign and investigating Operation: Zero Tolerance. One of the earliest examples of his support of minorities occurred when a corrupt lawyer called Sam Bullit attempted to run for D.A.; initially Jameson supported him due to his anti-Spider-Man stance, but after learning about Bullit's plans for minority groups if he was elected (thanks to the efforts of Robbie, Spider-Man, and Iceman) the Bugle withdrew support of his campaign. Robbie subsequently published the evidence and ruined Bullit. He has also come to Parker's aid financially, although on the sly, such as when he paid Parker's legal bills during Parker's trial for murder. He has repeatedly gone after organized crime and corrupt officials, despite various threats and attempts on his and his staff's lives.

For the most part, only superhumans who set themselves above others by acting outside the law earn his ire, not superhumans per se. Jameson is admittedly more tolerant of superheroes who act with government sanction, such as the Avengers, as opposed to uncontrolled costumed vigilantism, feeling that superhumans should be accountable for their actions and that heroes with superpowers should have their identities known if they truly are acting for the public good and have nothing to hide. He also feels that should a superpowered being ever turn villain, having the public know who they are would make them that much easier to track down. He feels that public disclosure of their identities is a way of safeguarding the public from those with powers far beyond that of most of humanity. Oddly enough he has seemed somewhat tolerant of the X-Men (who at the time were still operating as a mutant vigilante group of sorts), such as the time they rescued him from the Brotherhood of Mutants during the events of Operation: Zero Tolerance. Despite Iron Man having offered to give him exclusive access to the team, Jameson was highly hostile to the New Avengers when they made their public debut, saying that their current members tarnished the Avengers' good name (which, ironically, he had rarely defended before), calling Wolverine a wanted murderer, Spider-Woman a former terrorist, and Luke Cage a convicted heroin dealer (although each example was, admittedly, true, the important details were omitted, such as that Cage was later cleared of the charges and that Spider-Woman defected from her former employers as soon as she learned the truth about her first mission). Another reason for his enmity for costumed heroes stems from his perception that they steal the limelight from those who he considers "real" heroes, such as his astronaut son, along with police and firefighters, who perform heroic acts every day without hiding behind masks. Jameson, although seeming to approve of the X-Men and even being cited by John Jameson as having praise for Captain America, has a dislike of the concept of secret identities, despite the protection they afford to the loved ones of superhumans who risk their lives for others every day. This appears to be more out of a desire to see the "real" heroes outshine the superpowered ones, who he feels are glory hogs despite the good they do for the city and the world, though he seems to have little problem with the superheroes themselves, with the obvious exception of Spider-Man, with whom he still has a rivalry. Jameson's stance on the entire concept can be summed up in issue two of Civil War in the following conversation with Robbie Robertson:

Jameson: "No more MASKS and no more excuses about creepy SECRET IDENTITIES. These clowns finally WORK FOR SHIELD or they throw their butts in JAIL."

Robbie: "You really think the super heroes are all going to SIGN UP?"

Jameson: "No. Just the smart ones."

Although Jameson was always first to accuse Spider-Man of any perceived crime in the Bugle, he was also (usually) the first to admit he was wrong and print an official retraction when the truth of that crime came out. During one of his more thoughtful moments, Jonah quietly admitted that, at least in his own mind, his public attacks kept Spider-Man from becoming the menace he made him out to be. In the 2002 Spider-Man film, Jameson is quick to berate Peter, but when the Green Goblin wanted to know the identity of the photographer who takes Spider-Man's pictures, Jameson claims that they come "through the mail", showing that he has a sense of honor and integrity, and will not leak information if the lives of his employees are at stake, even if his life is threatened.