Warning: Spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #35!
Spider-Man recently had a brief spell as a villain – acting exactly as J. Jonah Jameson has erroneously portrayed the Wall-Crawler in the press for so many years. Countless Daily Bugle headlines and articles have committed libel against Spider-Man, but for once, Jameson would be completely justified calling for the hero to face consequeces or his actions.
Amazing Spider-Man #35 – by Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason, Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega, and VC’s Joe Caramagna – features Peter Parker under the influence of Norman Osborn’s sins, causing him to go on a rampage across new York City.
Spider-Man’s actions before being returned to his normal self were the behavior of a menance, exactly what Jonah Jameson has been calling him for years.
In This Case, Spider-Man Truly Was A Menace
In Spider-Man’s defense, his actions throughout Amazing Spider-Man #35 were the result of possession, after Kraven the Hunter and Queen Goblin administered the sins of the Green Goblin into his bloodstream. As a result, he adopted the personality of the Green Goblin, which in turn compelled him to right the wrongs Spider-Man felt his enemies inflicted on him. His most public display of menace was going after Mary Jane and her new partner, Paul, in the Holland Tunnels. Spidey went on an absolute warpath, annihilating every car in his way between himself and the couple. Amid the catastrophic damage, Peter nearly killed several people, including Kraven and Paul.
Eventually, with help from Norman Osborn, Spider-Man was brought back to normal, purged of the Goblin’s sins. However, possessed or not, he did horrible things, which he’ isnot being punished over or challenged by the public about. And lucky for him, as Norman notes, people would probably mistake the Goblinized Spidey with Venom, since he wore his black suit. This is the kind of menace that JJJ used to rant and rave about in the newspapers, on the radio, and in more recent years, on his podcast. Still, lucky for Spider-Man, the key phrase in regard to Jameson is “used to.“
Oldschool JJ Is Finally Right (But Present-Day JJ Wouldn’t Enjoy It)
In more recent years, Jameson has had a change of heart, thanks in large part to Aunt May marrying his father. Now that they’re technically related, Jonah has come to befriend Spider-Man, to the point that Peter trusts him to know his secret identity. Jonah has no desire to spread his classic hate rhetoric about Spider-Man these days anymore. Given his relationship with Peter, he probably would take no joy in being proven right either. The Webslinger should be extra thankful this didn’t happen a few years earlier, back when J. Jonah Jameson would have had a field day witnessing Spider-Man finally act like the menace he always thought him to be.
Amazing Spider-Man #35 is available now from Marvel Comics.
