Spider-Tracer: The Ten Best J. Jonah Jameson Action Figures

Hey there, Spidey fans! I hope you’re all doing well. For this month’s Spider-Tracer article, I wanted to take a look at something I haven’t talked about in a while: Toys. However, that’s a bit of a broad topic, isn’t it? And Spider-Man sure has had a lot of them over the years. So, who to focus on, hmm? I was thiiiiiiis close to doing one focused on Daredevil (Another time, perhaps! Let me know if you’d like one focusing on ten times he’s shown up in a Spider-Man toy-line in the comments below!). Then it hit me: With the recent passing of Ed Asner (RIP), I couldn’t think of a more fitting topic than a look at the ten best J. Jonah Jameson action figures! So, sit back, and prepare yourselves for the irony of my getting you fans pictures of J. Jonah Jameson, and not that webbed menace for a change! For this list, I’ll be going in as close to chronological order as I can so that you can see just far ol’ JJJ, and action figures, have come over the years. First, a moment of silence for Ed Asner, and then, away we go!

 

 

10. ToyBiz’s “Monster Mayhem” J. Jonah Jameson (BJ’s Exclusive)

 

 

Jameson received his first action figure in a 1995 box set designed after a story-line in the 90’s Spider-Man animated series. Oddly, it was made on a Mr. Fantastic body hidden under layers of soft goods clothing. As you can tell, the figure didn’t benefit at all from this. At best, he looked like his tailor went big on the suit and he then forgot to put his shoes on. And people wonder why he’s grumpy all the time…

 

9. ToyBiz’s Chameleon

 

 

Unfortunately, if you were like me and didn’t have a BJ’s, this figure of the Chameleon was your next best bet, which came out the previous year in 1994. Without any other appropriate suit body really in the line of Spider-Man figures at the time, there weren’t any options as far as suit bodies that you could pop this head onto. And let me just say how annoying it was to have JJJ dressed in the Chameleon’s clothes all the time. While I may customize my action figures now, at four years old, that just wasn’t happening.

 

8. ToyBiz’s J. Jonah Jameson

 

 

The year was 1999, and I can’t tell you how excited I was to get this figure as a kid! Wow, finally, an actual J. Jonah Jameson figure! He had a unique body sculpt to call his own, complete with an outfit that was unmistakably his. He also came with a rolled up Daily Bugle newspaper and a desk to sit, er, well, stand at. Yeah, he didn’t come with a chair, but what he lacked in chair, he made up for with a desk that turned into a Spider-Slayer! How cool was that? His only real downside was the articulation at the time making it too odd to pose him in anything other than a one-foot forward kind of pose. If you didn’t pose him that way, good luck getting him to stand.

 

7. ToyBiz’s “Spider-Man” (2002) J. Jonah Jameson

 

 

I’ll go on record of saying that, in my opinion, I can’t think of an actor who better portrays a character from the comic books so seamlessly than JK Simmons. It’s probably why he gets to come back as his alternate MCU counterpart in this year’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (a character first glimpsed at in “Spider-Man: Far from Home”). The figure itself wasn’t terrible; it had a great sculpt, but it was unfortunately held back by an action feature. But he did come with a cool desk and even chair this time!

 

6. Minimates Chameleon Variant

 

 

Marvel Minimates have been around for quite a while. They continue to have some of the most innovative ideas in Marvel toys today. For example, way back in a 2003 2-pack with Ultimate Spider-Man, Chameleon was included as the second figure, but there was a variant that included a J.Jonah Jameson mask! It would be several years before the Marvel Legends line did something similar. The fact that the Jameson identity is actually a mask that seamlessly fits onto the Chameleon’s head is just amazing.

 

5. Minimates J. Jonah Jameson

 

 

With this 2012 figure, Jameson gets his own actual release (in a 2-pack with a SHIELD Agent), and once again, he has a really, really cool feature. This time, he’s able to switch between the vested and suited looks thanks to some interchangeable parts. How great is that?! Not even Marvel Legends have been able to pull something like that off for the character.

 

4. Minimates Spider-Slayer Mark II with J. Jonah Jameson Face

 

 

Minimates’ Series 77  in 2019 had one of my favorite Build-a-Figure ideas to date: Buy all of the figures and get the parts to build the second Spider-Slayer, complete with Jameson’s face on the monitor screen! It’s an idea I’ve been dying for the Marvel Legends toy-line to do for years. I mean, how cool does he look?! Hasbro, take note! The only thing I can think of that would improve him is if they included an alternate head with Spencer Smythe on the view screen.

 

3. Marvel Legends Chameleon

 

 

Yes, there is a pattern for Chameleon figures getting J. Jonah Jameson disguises, but when it’s a good idea, why waste the opportunity to get the character out to fans? Until I made a custom with the head a few years back, this was the Jameson I had on display for a long time (I bought extra so I could display Chameleon, JJJ, and even Hammerhead). This figure came out in 2014.

 

2. Retro Marvel Legends J. Jonah Jameson

 

 

In 2020, Jameson finally got his own figure in the Marvel Legends line, complete with vest, newspaper, rolled up newspaper and sleeves, alternate hands and that cool, 90’s throwback ToyBiz packaging. He was a very, very nice figure and a must have for Spider-Man fans.

 

1. Marvel Legends “No Way Home” J. Jonah Jameson

 

 

Scheduled for release this coming February (though that is always subject to change), J. Jonah Jameson gets another movie figure, but it’s the first movie JJJ in the Marvel Legends line. It’s based on his MCU incarnation that’s once again portrayed by JK Simmons. He’s got some nice alternate hands, a great alternate head, and, if you’re familiar with the suited body, this won’t be a bad figure. Also, its likeness looks pretty spot-on to me.

 

And there you have it, Spidey fans, the best J. Jonah Jameson figures one could own. Which is your favorite; did it make the list? Let me know in the comments section below