Jonah Jameson didn't hate Spider-Man as an individual. This was the first time Peter had realized this; it was as if he was only now encountering such a... mild JJJ in the universe.
However, Jonah, as always, hated masked heroes, no matter the reason. This time, though, the reason was slightly different: J. Jonah Jameson hated masked heroes because he believed such behavior was an unwillingness to take responsibility. People who wore masks didn't need to be accountable for the person beneath the mask. And others couldn't hold the person beneath the mask accountable either.
A mask was a form of self-protection, implying that even if you messed something up, you could just change masks and slip away. Perhaps Spider-Man wouldn't do this, but that didn't mean those who wanted to imitate Spider-Man wouldn't.
Because of this, J. Jonah Jameson had always vehemently attacked Spider-Man—every masked vigilante unwilling to remove their mask was potentially a super-criminal. They were unsupervised by any external authority, bound only by their own morality. Once their morality failed to restrain them, they would become criminals. And Spider-Man, as the most famous and successful masked hero, was the one Jonah most fiercely criticized.
This battle between him and Spider-Man would never cease, unless Spider-Man was willing to take off his mask.
"So, you actually approve of Spider-Man's vigilante actions, but you don't approve of him wearing a mask," Mary Jane simply summarized, but Jonah corrected her.
"Not quite, young lady. I greatly admire and commend these super-powered individuals who don't use their abilities for crime, but for the right things. However, whether superheroes have the right to enforce laws, make arrests, or even, like some extremists, judge and execute criminals, remains a controversial topic of societal discussion. For me personally, I lean towards superheroes also needing a certain degree of oversight in exchange for legal enforcement powers."
After Jonah finished speaking, he reminded Mary Jane: "If you plan to come to the Daily Bugle, you must first understand that the news industry places great importance on phrasing. For the same event, incorrect phrasing can distort the speaker's original meaning. The Daily Bugle pursues the basic principles of news: truth, accuracy, and timeliness."
But you have no objectivity whatsoever when it comes to Spider-Man, Peter couldn't help but complain to himself, holding the camera behind him.
"I understand."
Mary Jane happily wrote down this information, then asked a few more questions. As time passed, the 15-minute interview quickly flew by. As per the Daily Bugle's requirements, Mary Jane needed to go home, organize the news into an interview transcript, and send it to the Bugle. If the Bugle's HR thought it was good, Mary Jane would get the internship.
"And apparently, if you can keep it up through college, you'll pretty much be hired as a full-time reporter by the Daily Bugle."
Mary Jane seemed very happy, not necessarily because she could work at the Daily Bugle, but probably more because she had been recognized, which made her quite delighted. Thinking of this, she looked at Peter somewhat unexpectedly: "Jameson seems to really like your photos, especially the one where you're laughing. It's a shame you turned down his internship offer as a Daily Bugle photographer. Weren't you planning to apply for a website maintenance internship at the Bugle before?"
"At that time, I didn't know I could become an intern at the Baxter Building."
Peter shrugged; life was indeed full of surprises. But he hadn't completely rejected Jameson, after all, he could still send Spider-Man photos to JJJ as a freelance photographer. If chosen, each photo was worth $500, which was quite a generous sum for him right now.
As for the war between Spider-Man and Jameson? It probably couldn't be decided now. The attack on Cindy's family further proved the necessity of Spider-Man wearing a mask. Without absolute certainty of being able to protect those around him, he still wouldn't choose to remove his mask.
Thinking of this, Peter also recalled Norman Osborn's promise to him, that Oscorp would fully support Spider-Man's operations. He was quite tempted, but he couldn't get a read on Norman Osborn himself, especially since Harry's attitude towards Norman was quite hostile.
Should he reveal a bit of information to Harry and ask for his opinion?
Mary Jane pulled Peter out of his thoughts: "Peter?"
"Hmm, what's up?"
"It's still early. Let me treat you to a meal. After all, you helped me so much today. Jonah really liked the photos, and that'll earn me a lot of points."
Facing Mary Jane's invitation, Peter thought for a moment before agreeing: "Just no big meals. I still have to go home for dinner tonight."
"Even if there was a big meal, I wouldn't have time to treat you."
The two walked to a coffee shop, chatting and laughing. They indeed couldn't order much, just a cup of coffee and a few gingerbread cookies. They sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, still discussing Mary Jane's performance earlier.
"I think you'll be fine. You didn't get stage fright at all, and your questions and answers with Jameson were very smooth."
"But I... I feel like many of my questions weren't very good," Mary Jane put down her coffee cup and brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead: "I forgot several of the questions I prepared, or didn't ask enough."
Peter wanted to say something encouraging, but his spider-sense was clearly warning him of danger nearby, and it was growing. He saw Mary Jane's eyes widen instinctively and the flying car reflected in them. Peter instinctively grabbed Mary Jane's hand and pulled her behind him.
"Watch out!"
The car, rolling endlessly down the street, ablaze with flames, shattered the coffee shop's glass exterior wall, but fortunately, it only crashed through the glass before stopping. Mary Jane opened her eyes, startled, looking at the car wreckage that had stopped just in front of them.
"Oh, uh, we're really lucky. Are you okay, Peter?"
"I'm fine."
Actually, Peter had shattered the glass with bio-electricity, otherwise, the car crashing through would have caused secondary injuries. The car also didn't just happen to stop; he had reached out and stopped it. Fortunately, no one nearby seemed to have seen it, and modifying the coffee shop's surveillance footage wouldn't be difficult.
But the biggest problem was the reason for all this. Peter had just seen it: Rhino rampaging through the street.
What's up with you, man? Weren't you captured obediently yesterday? Why are you out again today? You were so compliant yesterday, were you messing with me?
Peter thought, pulling Mary Jane aside: "Mary Jane, you need to find somewhere to hide."
"Hmm? What about you, Peter?"
Peter took out his camera and smiled.
"Of course, I'm going to take some photos... of a superhero fighting a supervillain."