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Sunday mornings, freshly cooked breakfast, perched in front of the TV – that’s how millions of kids spent the beginning of their week across the States back in the day. Fox Kids’Spider-Man: The Animated Serieswas the introduction to the titular superhero for a lot of 90s kids, and still remains one of the better Marvel animated shows to this day.
The 1994 series brought a number of characters from Spider-Man mythos to the screen. Among them, the chief editor of The Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson, stands apart from the rest for his incessant hate towards the“masked menace”.
One particular episode,Sting of the Scorpion, added more depth to the Spidey critic, giving fans more reasons to love/hate him.
Spider-Man writer Robert N. Skir talks about adding another dimension to J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson is to Peter Parker what Perry White is to Clark Kent in DC, the two news editors are integral to these characters’ storylines. They bring out a more humane side to our beloved super-powered heroes, making them more relatable.
Robert N. Skir has written for some of 90s best animated shows, includingX-Men&Batman: The Animated Series. He also wroteSting of the Scorpion, undoubtedly one of the best episodes ofSpider-Man: The Animated Series. In a recent interview with Superhero Stuff You Should Know, he recalled giving special emphasis to JJJ:
That’s very much a John Semper idea, you know. He used to put it this way you know? I didn’t want him to be this clownish character with a Hitler mustache. His main characteristic in the comics was the fact that he was a skinflint. The fact that he was so super cheap. And that actually came through with J.K. Simmons.
John Semper wanted to say, you know, why does he hate Spider-Man so much? And so he came up with that.
Humanizing JJJ’s character was perhaps the best thing the showrunner did, which is why Jameson became so popular. And when Simmons took up the role in theSpider-Manmovies, it was like comics coming to life.
J.K. Simmons would love to return as J. Jonah Jameson
In the 2002Spider-Manfilm,J.K. Simmons‘ J. Jonah Jameson made his on-screen debut as the sour-faced chief editor-cum-owner of The Daily Bugle newspaper. Simmons’ character then went on to play a major part in the rest of the trilogy.
In aprevious interview with Michael Rosenbaum, Simmons expressed his desire to play Jameson again, ifSam Raimiever shows up on his doorstep with a script. He said:
Absolutely. I would do anything that Sam Raimi approached me with. I mean, almost anything.
Despite this, the actor disappeared from Marc Webb’sThe Amazing Spider-Manmovies starring Andrew Garfield. He did return to reprise his role in the MCU for a brief sequence, but it wasn’t as expansive as his Raimi outings. Hopefully, there will be a project in the future where theEvil Deaddirector comes back forSpider-Man, with Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.
All theSpider-Manmovies and shows are available to stream onDisney+.
Sayantan Choudhary
Senior Editor
Articles Published :108
Sayantan is a Senior Editor at FandomWire. His tingling for pop culture began at a tender age of 4 with a Superman: The Animated Series lunch box, which blossomed into his love for TV shows, films, anime, gaming, and comics. Having previously worked with reputed websites like Wiki Of Thrones and Collider over the past 5 years, his zeal has only multiplied manifold. When he’s not working or scrolling through fan debates and theories, you may find him memorizing workout videos (but never actually doing them).
