The following article contains spoilers for both Spider-Man #9 and Amazing Spider-Man #27, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
While the past year has seen Peter Parker's life shaken up in a number of ways, he isn't the only one who is on the verge of turning their entire world around. In fact, it is Peter's oldest nemesis who now stands a chance of being Marvel's next great superhero. As surprising as the prospect of Norman Osborn making the Gold Goblin his fulltime alter-ego might be, there is another classic Spider-Man villain who is living proof that it is very much possible, even if J. Jonah Jameson would never admit to it.
With the world still reeling from the death of Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, Amazing Spider-Man #27 (by Zeb Wells, Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, Marcio Menyz, and VC's Joe Caramagna) finds its titular hero teetering dangerously close to the edge while those closest to him worry from afar. Among those with grave concerns for Peter is Norman Osborn, whose life since being stripped of his sins has seen him take on a much kinder role in regards to his former enemy. However, this makes it much harder for everyone else to believe in his change of heart, although in the case of J. Jonah Jameson there is no one who knows this experience better.
J. Jonah Jameson and Norman Osborn had a Similar Experience
Although Jameson openly threatens Norman in Spider-Man #9 (by Dan Slott, Mark Bagley, John Dell, Edgar Delgado, and VC's Joe Caramagna), he too has spent years of his life dedicated to the pursuit of dismantling the webslinger both literally and figuratively. Ever since his first appearance in 1963's Amazing Spider-Man #1 (by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko), Jameson has been a loudmouthed hellion of a publishing magnate, yet it wasn't long before his printed disdain for the hero turned to outright villainy. Within a year of his introduction, Jameson was bankrolling Mac Gargan's transformation into the Scorpion in a bid to destroy Spider-Man, and that wasn't the only time he put his money where his mouth was.
In the years that followed, Jameson would be directly responsible for the creation of multiple generations of Spider-Slayers and even supervillains such as the Fly, all in the name of putting an end to Spider-Man's "reign of terror." After decades, this culminated in the creation of Jameson's short-lived anti-Spider-Man blog Threats & Menaces, which in turn led Peter to reveal his secret identity to his longtime boss and mentor. Though the revelation certainly stung, it also confirmed the questions Jameson had already begun asking himself about why he truly hated Spider-Man. Since then, Jameson has been nothing but an unbridled supporter of Peter Parker in any form, not to mention one of his most staunch defenders.
J. Jonah Jameson Proves That Even the Green Goblin Can Be Redeemed
It may not seem fair to compare the two considering Jameson has never been outright responsible for anything as serious as murder, but this is only true on a surface level. As it was Jameson who demanded the creation of so many villains and mechanical menaces, he is at the very least in part responsible for the crimes they carried out. When taking into account how much death and destruction has been wrought by the Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers, comparing Jameson to Osborn might not be so unfair after all.
On the other hand, the fact that Jameson has genuinely turned both his views on Spider-Man and his life in general around so completely speaks to the very real potential the former Green Goblin has to do the same. With Norman so obviously remorseful over the lives he has taken and the harm he has caused, there is no reason to think he couldn't actually become a real hero at the end of the day.