Amazing Spider-Man #592
24/7 Part 1
After an adventure with the Fantastic Four has kept him away for two months, Peter Parker is scrambling to catch up on all the things he missed. One thing that has particularly bothered him is the news that J. Jonah Jameson had been elected as mayor of New York City.[1] On mystery that endures is who has been paying his bills and sorting his mail, since his roommate Vin Gonzales is still in protective custody.[2] Peter decides to push all these questions aside to go out and web-slinging as Spider-Man. No sooner has Peter left does a woman enter the apartment.[3]
Meanwhile, at the office of the mayor, J. Jonah Jameson is dealing with a swarm of reporters telling them to schedule a meeting with him. He does stop to answer Betty Brant’s questions about Spider-Man. When she points out that the wall-crawler hasn’t been seen since he was voted into office, Jameson takes the credit for the web-slinger’s absence.[4] He then fends off the rest of the reporters to get to his office for a meeting with his father. Jay originally came to try to make amends with his son after years of being absent but now thinks his son has been bringing shame to the Jameson family for his years-long vendetta against Spider-Man.[5] That’s when Spider-Man makes his presence known and Jonah learned how his father saved Spider-Man’s life recently. Jay decides to leave Spider-Man and his son to their business. Spider-Man gets down to business and says that although he and Jonah have had a confrontational history, he has come to make a truce now that Jameson has been elected mayor of New York. Jameson takes this to mean that Spider-Man is now scared of him and tells him that things have changed but they are not having a truce.[6] Buzzing for security, Jonah points out that he is now the law of New York City and that’s when his newly appointed Anti-Spider-Man Squad comes bursting in to arrest him, prompting the web-slinger to flee. As he goes, Jonah vows to use every resource at his disposal to bring down the wall-crawler once and for all.
As he swings away, Spider-Man realizes that being at large will drive J. Jonah Jameson crazier than usual now that he is the mayor of New York. Since nobody appears to have missed Peter Parker, Spider-Man decides to be Spider-Man 24/7 to make Jameson go extra crazy. Over the next few days, Spider-Man works full time to help people all over the city and land on the front page of every newspaper. This starts making J. Jonah Jameson look bad and his increased spending on the Anti-Spider-Man Squad begins affecting the city budget. Jameson is furious but figures that Spider-Man has to let up at some point.
That evening, a gang of crooks is fleeing the scene of a crime with a huge load of heroin. When one of them is shot by the police, they tie him up and leave him behind for fear of attracting the Vulture. As his gang members flee the scene, the crook tries to convince them that the Vulture is only an urban legend. That’s when the new Vulture swoops down from the sky and kills him on the spot.
The following morning, Spider-Man rescues a boy from being run down by a speeding truck. When the boy points out that the wall-crawler stinks, Spider-Man realizes that he has been going non-stop for three days and hasn’t showered or washed his costume. Since he’s nearby, he decides to go to Aunt May’s house, figuring she’ll be busy all day at the FEAST Center. After a shower and change of clothes, Peter decides to grab a bite to eat and heads to the kitchen. Along the way, he hears a noise coming from Aunt May’s room and goes to investigate. He is horrified to catch Aunt May in bed with Jay Jameson.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Vulture, J. Jonah Jameson, Jay Jameson, Aunt May, Betty Brant, Michelle Gonzales
Continuity Notes
This all happened in Amazing Spider-Man #590-591.
Vin Gonzales has owned up to being part of the spider-tracer killer conspiracy to blame Spider-Man for various murders that started in Amazing Spider-Man #547. Vin joined this conspiracy among NYPD officers in Amazing Spider-Man Extra #3. Vin’s involvement was outed during the course of Amazing Spider-Man #584-588 and he since agreed to testify against his fellow officers for a reduced sentence.
Peter quips that J. Jonah Jameson has been his enemy since he was sixteen years old. Peter’s not wrong, since Amazing Spider-Man #1, J. Jonah Jameson has used his position as owner of the Daily Bugle to criticize Spider-Man, considering the masked hero a menace.
One of the reporters is asking Jameson when he intends on appearing on the Conan O’Brien. At the time of this story Conan O’Brien was the host of The Tonight Show. This should be considered a topical reference given that O’Brien left the Tonight Show in 2010. Yes, O’Brien has another talk show today, but it’s a real-world reference and those are generally considered topical you contrarian dipshit.
Some facts that are laid out by Jay Jameson:
Jay Jameson has been absent from Jonah’s life since he was a child as we learned when Jay returned to New York CIty in Amazing Spider-Man #578-579. That’s also when Spider-Man met Jay, saving him and a jury of his peers from the Shocker.
He points out that Spider-Man is a hero who was good enough to be a member of the Avengers. Spider-Man has been a consistent member of the New Avengers since New Avengers #1.
Spider-Man calls J. Jonah Jameson “Mr. Quadrupal Bypass”. This is a reference to the multiple heart attacks that J. Jonah Jameson suffered recently. The first one was in Amazing Spider-Man #546. The second was in Amazing Spider-Man #554. In Amazing Spider-Man #577 the severity of his heart problem was revealed. It was also the first time Jameson that he has been repeating the mantra “I will not die before Spider-Man” to calm himself down.
