After 61 Years, Marvel Reinvents A Crucial Part of Spider-Man Lore

 

After 61 years, Marvel Comics has redefined a core part of Spider-Man's lore for its new Ultimate Universe. As seen in the current Ultimate Spider-Man run, Peter Parker's Uncle Ben is still alive and is working with J. Jonah Jameson to run a brand-new newspaper of their own beyond the Daily Bugle. However, this particular version of J. Jonah Jameson has proven himself to be very unlike most JJJs at the start of Spider-Man's career.

In Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto, Peter Parker receives his spider powers 20 years later than he should have, resulting in his superhero career starting while he's already married to Mary Jane Watson and the father of two children. Working with Harry Osborn's Green Goblin to take down Wilson Fisk's Kingpin and the other New York crime bosses, Spider-Man's debut as a vigilante just so happens to coincide with the start of "The Paper", Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson's new independent news outlet. That said, Jameson in particular is surprisingly unenthusiastic about their first month's top trending stories:

Despite having started The Paper in order to tell real hard-hitting stories, Jameson and Ben are bemoaning the fact that their more sensationalist articles about Spider-Man are dominating their traffic. Likewise, what's even more surprising is that the stories themselves are actually in support of the Webslinger himself.

J. Jonah Jameson And Ben Parker Want To Write Real Stories

Not Just Spider-Man Pieces

In essence, Ben and Jonah feel like their new venture is already failing. All people want to read about is primarily Spider-Man, a topic that's not exactly why they started their new paper in the first place. To that end, it's quite notable that in this alternate universe, Jameson is actually wanting to tell real stories that matter and are worthwhile which other news sources might not even be covering.

After all, the main Marvel universe's Jameson is best known for his anti-Spider-Man agenda that lasted for years. He used the Daily Bugle to stoke controversy and turn public opinion against the Wallcrawler every chance he got, especially at the beginning of Spider-Man's career as a masked vigilante. To that end, getting to see a Jameson who cares about a real and more balanced type of journalism (while also supporting Spider-Man) is quite refreshing.

In Any Other Universe, Jameson Would Be Thrilled

He'd Also Be Calling Spider-Man A Menace

Thankfully, Mary Jane Watson helps Jameson and Ben realize that the high volume of traffic their Spider-Man coverage provides will eventually help make them bigger than the Daily Bugle. While they may be coming for Spidey stories, they'll also get to see what else The Paper has to offer as the audience continues to grow. The Wallcrawler is just what will get people interested.

It's quite impressive to see such a core part of Spider-Man's lore get flipped on its head in this new universe...

At any rate, it's quite impressive to see such a core part of Spider-Man's lore get flipped on its head in this new universe. In the majority of other Marvel timelines, J. Jonah Jameson would have been immediately thrilled by all the eyes on his Spider-Man stories. However, they'd more than likely be full of non-supported accusations and calling Spider-Man a menace (as is typical Marvel tradition).