The cliffhanger at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home was the unveiling of J.K. Simmons bringing J. Jonah Jameson to the MCU and setting up a larger part for Jameson in the 3rd Spider-Man movie, No Way Home.
The Marvel Legends wave timed to land just ahead of No Way Home's premiere in cinema's was made up of the usual mix of comic book (and one Gamerverse) figures and a selection of characters from the new movie. While Spider-Man and Doctor Strange were 'givens' it was brilliant to see Hasbro use one of the slots to realise the new MCU J. Jonah Jameson in 6-inch action figure form.
Jameson's packaging shares many of the same details as the other No Way Home figures with the red nameplate and gold twin tramlines and Spider-Man logo on the base of each side panel. But rather than a gold theme on the card back and reverse of the box, Hasbro has cleverly utilised the new Daily Bugle green backdrop and logo from the MCU. The entire card back is turned over to a green pattern with the Daily Bugle printed in the centre in white text. On either side spine, we have an image of Jameson outing Peter Parker on a big screen with an image of Spider-Man upfront on this. The rear of the box repeats this image of Jameson on-screen with some background text to the side of this.
"Behind the anchor desk on The Daily Bugle web site, Jameson does everything he can to sling mud at his greatest adversary - Spider-Man."
The J. Jonah figure, as a suited character, borrows the legs and arms from the existing smaller suit body that has been used previously for Agent Coulson and Tony Stark. The torso is updated to an open collar pale blue shirt, and over this a softer rubbery plastic jacket. All of the main body parts are cast in blue with no paint added - even the buttons on the jacket are left blue.
Hasbro has however chosen to add an unsightly stamp on the left inner thigh which does detract from the overall look, being visible when the figure is posed.
The release features two pretty fantastic heads for J. Jonah and both of them are superb likenesses to J.K. Simmons. The first is a neutral look, with the second the angrier Jameson we know so well. Both expressions are perfect, and the sculpt is backed up by the use of photo-real deco.
The overall figure aesthetics are taken from the end sequence of Far From Home and do translate pretty much to the look Jameson has in No Way Home although he does sport a small pocket-handkerchief on-screen in No Way Home.
Without a Daily Bugle newspaper in the MCU there are no immediately obvious accessories to pack in with Jonah, so Hasbro has ensured we have a number of hand options to swap out with Jonah to recreate his various hand gestures. Jameson comes with his pointing finger right hand, and a clenched left fit to shake at Spider-Man. These can be interchanged with a pair of open-palmed hands.
These extra hands add plenty of character to the figure and are the perfect choice of add-ins.
Jameson has the basic Marvel Legends 18 points of articulation with a wide range of expression available in the arms and a neck joint that can allow the head to be turned and raised and lowered to support Jonah's mood and gestures.
The legs, which have been problematic on other suited figures, seem to have been ever so slightly tweaked so the ankle rocker sits the foot flat. The ankle does need a bit of heat to get it moving once out of the box, but once freed Jameson stands fine on his own. If you want to expand your display into a Daily Bugle diorama the leg joints will allow the figure to sit and be posed behind a desk - if you can find or build one in a 1/12 scale.
J. Jonah Jameson is one of my favourite releases of recent months both in terms of his execution, and the fact we actually have a J.K. Simmons Jameson officially in the MCU and a figure that can be displayed berating Spider-Man, or any of the other MCU heroes. I suspect we may see the figure tweaked for another release in the future with his trenchcoat and hat - or perhaps even - if Hasbro are brave - a Daily Bugle desk, chair and set. What a Convention Exclusive that would be?
* desk not included
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...