Look who's back in circulation.
Tough, gruff, and loud, J. Jonah Jameson is a force to be reckoned with in the board room and on the front pages of the Daily Bugle. As the newspaper's Editor-in-Chief, Jameson is a perennial thorn in the side for both Peter Parker and Spider-Man!
Is he? One of Peter Parker's major flaws as a human is that he thinks he's alone all the time, and never notices the sheer number of people who are on his side, who are going to bat for him when he's not around to require it. Like that bit in the first Sam Raimi movie everyone likes to bring up: the Green Goblin explodes into JJJ's office and demands to know where to find the photographer who gets the Spider-Man shots; Peter had just walked out of the room, but Jonah covers for him and says he has no idea, even aware that the psycho in the green power armor may kill him for it. J. Jonah Jameson cares about Peter Parker, a lot, and he's just one of many who do.
This figure is technically a re-release: it originally came out in late 2020/early 2021, just in time for covid to shut down any store that might potentially have carried it. I did eventually see it for sale at a local convention (same one where I got Green Goblin), but didn't want to pay the inflated price. But now that select Walmart locations are getting that special "collector" display area, you can luck out and find the figure right there in a real store!
This is an actual Retro Collection release and not just
one of the ones Hasbro wants to pretend is, so it won't surprise you to learn he's mostly a repaint. Like, he's mostly the original suit body, with sleeves pushed up to his elbows and the head that originally came with Chameleon. Really? Retro Hammerhead could get a new, more detailed head, but JJ can't? Seems unfair. His vest is new, and his rumpled tie, so those do their part to make the figure look unique.
Come to think of it, reusing the Chameleon
might have been an intentional choice: ToyBiz did the same thing with their first J. Jonah figure in 1998 (Mr. Fantastic body, Chameleon accessory head, softgoods business suit, only available in an eight-pack). The '90s animated series dressed the character in grey slacks, a light blue shirt, and and a navy blue jacket, while this one, with his tan vest, white shirt, and red tie, seems to be more influenced by the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon. The stripes on his tie were only a 90s thing, though - I guess they were too complex for 1980s animators to handle.
All-existing body construction means all-existing articulation:
balljointed head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, swivel/hinged elbows (disappointingly), swivel/hinge wrists, hinged chest, swivel waist, balljoint hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge ankles. These are the old legs, the ones sculpted with the feet turned inward at an unnatural angle, so that's less than ideal as well. Fortunately, his vest and tie are both PVC, so they don't mess with the chest joint at all.
Lest you forget that he's a newspaper editor, this figure comes with one hand pointing and one balled into a fist - this is the way!
At this point it feels more like a running joke on the toymakers' part than on ours. His other hands are both very wide "holding" poses, because his accessories include a rolled up newspaper we've seen before, and a Daily Bugle we haven't. It's made from real paper (or thin cardboard, really), and printed not only with headlines about superheroes, but actual copy in the body of the articles, too! And to really tie it in with the line, the pictures in the paper are of action figures, not just art from the comics or what have you. So incredibly cool! This thing was already nominated once for Accessory of the Year - are we allowed to nominate it again?
It's good that Hasbro has opted to put this figure out again, giving more people a chance at buying it. But it's not as good that it now costs several dollars more than it did the first time. Every mold, every paint mask, every digital file already existed, and it's not like any of those artists are getting paid again for their work. Those extra five bucks are just going directly into Hasbro's pockets for no reason. Honestly, if you want the best J. Jonah Jameson action figure, it may be worth it to track down the first movie one; yes, it had an action feature, but it also had a full desk and a great likeness. This one's still very good, even if it didn't warrant a new head.
-- 02/25/26
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