Marvel Legends Retro Collection J. Jonah Jameson figure review
J. Jonah Jameson is one of the best “villains” in comic book history. He’s been the longest enduring antagonist to Spider-Man in his long history. Occasionally they’ve had some brief truces and been something close to friends, but their dynamic is at its best when Spider-Man finds himself frustrated by the one bully he can’t knock out.
Hasbro has already provided us with a J. Jonah Jameson figure that was an alternate of the Chameleon figure and now we get a dedicated version in all of his editor-in-chief glory. Let’s see if this figure is ready for the front page.
Packaging: JJJ gets the same Retro Collection package as the other figures although he lacks the cross sell of the other Retro Spider-Man figures.
I love the color scheme with the purple and striking yellow and red logo with the splash of orange for extra color. His bio is perfect summarizing his role in Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s life.
Likeness: In a perfectly reasonable decision, Hasbro reused the JJJ head sculpt from The Chameleon figure. It’s a good likeness and captures JJJ in all of his ranting glory.
He’s a figure that a neutral head sculpt would be wasted on and this more expressive one is perfectly keeping with his demeanor.
A lot of customizers whipped up a Jonah figure by using the Black Panther MCU Klaue figure with an altered left hand. It seems like Hasbro followed some of that blueprint while utilizing a few more parts.
The torso looks to be the standard suit torso with Klaue’s rolled up sleeve arms and I assume the lower half as well. I’m not sure if the disheveled tie is a new part, but I don’t remember seeing it on another figure.
Paint: Jonah has a nice distinct color scheme that helps him stand out from other figures in a Spider-Man display. He’s got a white shirt, tan vest, muddy brown pants and brown shoes.
There’s no glaring issues with any of the paintwork unless you really wanted to get nitpicky and zoom in on the hairline and right eyebrow.
Scale: J. Jonah Jameson has typically been portrayed as a taller guy and he should be about half a head taller than Spider-Man.
He’s just slightly shorter compared to the latest Spider-Man figure.
Articulation: Jonah really doesn’t need to throw any punches or do any backflips — he just needs the equivalent of an action figure temper tantrum.
While that’s true, he can achieve many of the poses you’d expect from a Marvel Legends figure.
J. Jonah Jameson has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbow (with swivel)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee
- ankle
Accessories: JJJ doesn’t get the BAF treatment, but Hasbro packed him with a good assortment of accessories.
He’s got two swappable hands — a pointing right hand to chew out Peter and an open left hand in case you want to switch out which hand he’s holding the Bugle.
And so there’s no misunderstanding about his job, J. Jonah Jameson has two versions of the Daily Bugle — one is a rolled up version that fits in either hand or the second is an open version with the great extra touch of using a Marvel Legends Spider-Man in the photo.
Worth it? I got J. Jonah Jameson for $20. Twenty bucks for a figure with a Build-A-Figure piece is a great deal. Without that incentive it’s not such a steal.
Rating: 10 out of 10
You can’t have a Spider-Man collection without arguably his biggest nemesis. There’s not much else Hasbro could have done with this figure and the accessories really put it over the top.
Where to get it? You can grab J. Jonah Jameson from Amazon, Entertainment Earth and Hasbro Pulse.