Entry tags:

char: j. jonah jameson sr., char: spider-man/peter parker, creator: alex ross, creator: kurt busiek, creator: stan lee, creator: steve ditko

A few posts down about Miriam Sharpe, we discussed why the Marvel Universe General Public seems to hate superheroes. What started with J. Jonah Jameson hating Spider-Man and Bolivar Trask building Sentinels to "save humanity" from mutants turned into Standard Operating Procedure for the MU public. And they act that way even without the Hate-Monger or the Serpent from FEAR ITSELF.



From MARVELS #4. Two pages, and the Lee/Ditko panels from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10 that established J. Jonah Jameson's envy problem after the cut.









Envy is a weird thing, as is Jonah being envious of Spider-Man. Is it that Jonah wishes he had spider-powers and super-strength as well? (Actually, that will probably be covered with SPIDER-ISLAND, when 8 million New Yorker's get spider-powers.) Or is it he wishes something else?

Here's the classic scene from the early Lee/Ditko days, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10.



There's more to Jonah than wanting to make money. Yes he's a blowhard and a cheapskate, but there's not much to say he's greedy. He wouldn't get an Orange Lantern Ring.

baxter2814 said in another post that the average MU citizen might not be jealous of the superheroes' powers, but their morality.

Actually, the "irritatingly moral" idea feels like it would be an excellent explanation for a lot of canon civilian behavior. It's actually something pretty damn disturbing however, as it implies that people can't stand to be around other people who are actually decent and upstanding and selfless because it makes them feel bad about themselves. So instead of looking up to them as role models, they lash out at and demonize and try to tear them down. It's only one step below how Lex Luthor is with Superman, or Doctor Doom with Reed Richards.

It's also very similar to how real-life people who want their superheroes to be amoral assholes because it's "realistic", even though the genre is "superhero" not "superasshole" or even "superperson" (Relatable flaws =/= total jerkwad). Which I really find pretty uncomfortable too. I could understand it in the Silver Age, where all heroes were portrayed as Always Right no matter what, but now it just reeks of jealousy and resentment.