[[quoteright:297:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Straczynski_4654.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:297:Straczynski on the set of ''Babylon 5''[='s=] [[TheWarRoom War Room]] circa 1996.]]

->''"The universe considers me its personal cat toy. Do you have ANY idea what it's like to go through life covered in cosmic cat spit?"''
-->-- JMS in IRC, 1/22/97

Joseph Michael Straczynski (born July 17, 1954) is a writer in several genres and mediums, often known online as JMS. He first became well known in SF circles in the 1990s for creating the [[CultClassic cult]] SpaceOpera ''Series/BabylonFive''. Later major works included the screenplay for the Creator/ClintEastwood film ''Film/{{Changeling}}'', the Creator/{{Netflix}} series ''Series/Sense8'', and an earlier long run on Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}}'s ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski Amazing Spider-Man]]''. He is known for being a fast writer. His ''[=B5=]'' scripts alone run to ten thick volumes, and he wrote a new, camera-ready shooting script for the film ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' from start to finish in 53 hours.

''[=B5=]'' was a long-time personal project for Straczynski, to the point that he wrote most of the five-year series single-handedly. To produce it, he endured budget headaches, unexpected actor illness and departures, multiple near-cancellations, an ongoing feud with {{Creator/Paramount}} over similarities between his show and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', and much more.

Most of this was extensively documented. Straczynski was active on Usenet and [=CompuServe=] to a degree almost unheard of for a showrunner. He has written at great length about the show since it went off the air. ''Babylon 5'' was not a major success and was overshadowed by ''Deep Space Nine'', but it proved influential. ''[=B5=]''[='=]s use of early CGI and season-long arcs were revolutionary at the time and paved the way for shows like ''Series/BattleStarGalactica2003'' and later prestige television.

''[=B5=]'' came to a somewhat unsatisfactory end, due to the series being cancelled, hastily concluded, then UnCancelled -- whereupon the creators had to find a way to extend the story before airing the ''actual'' conclusion. Later, Straczynski tried to realize the grander ambitions of ''[=B5=]'' with the {{Aftershow}} ''Series/{{Crusade}}'', but it [[FollowUpFailure crashed and burned]] due to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork network bickering]]. Straczynski again found himself fighting with studio execs and producers while running ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}''. He became ''persona non grata'' in television for a while. He'd done everything [[WriterRevolt to earn their ire]]: Retconning Janine's [[AdaptationalAttractiveness makeover]] in ''Ghostbusters'' as [[SexierAlterEgo the result of spiritual possession]]. Killing off [[CreatorsPest network-mandated]] additions to his cast. Tossing [=B5=]-trademarked teddy bears [[ThrownOutTheAirlock out of airlocks]] to protest [[MerchandiseDriven attempts to merchandise]] his show. (That is not a joke. This [[BitingTheHandHumor actually closed out an episode.]]) Concocting loopholes in stories he was forced to write so that they could be [[AuthorsSavingThrow overwritten]] later.

After ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}'' ended, Straczynski began writing for comic books. For much of the 2000s, Straczynski had an exclusive contract at Marvel, where he wrote ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski Amazing Spider-Man]]'', ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', and ''ComicBook/SilverSurfer: Requiem'' among others. Later, he went to work for Creator/{{DC|Comics}}, where he wrote the well-received ''ComicBook/SupermanEarthOne''.

Mostly, he wrote movies. Straczynski became a well-known screenwriter by selling his original screenplay for ''Film/{{Changeling}}''. Not all of Straczynski's scripts were produced - for example, Straczynski wrote an adaptation of the E.E. "Doc" Smith ''Lensman'' series that he says is still on Creator/RonHoward's desk. However, he has story credit or screenplay credit on four produced movies and has written scripts for several more. According to his autobiography, he sold a still-unproduced original screenplay for over one million US dollars.

Straczynski's most recent major work was the Netflix series ''Series/Sense8'' with the Wachowskis. He has also moved into writing novels with the 2021 work ''Literature/TogetherWeWillGo''. He is Creator/HarlanEllison's literary executor and has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Dangerous_Visions Ellison's decades-long project ''The Last Dangerous Visions'' ready for publication, including a tentative date in 2024]].

His first name is Joseph, so his friends call him Joe; he has stated that "Straczynski" is a name which would "frighten cats". Professionally, he goes by J. Michael so as to allow people to slowly learn how to pronounce "Straczynski." First word: one letter, easy; second word: Michael, two syllables but easy enough; and then...the leap! Fans generally know and refer to him just by his initials, which is how he signs his emails and Usenet posts. For the record, his last name is supposed to be pronounced "Strat-itch-in-sky", from the [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Polish]] name Straczyński; his family used to spell it with an "ń" rather than "n", producing a sound related to that of "ñ" (as in ''Espa'''ñ'''ol'').

Straczynski spent some time in a {{Cult}} while in college, and was once [[TheCityNarrows mugged and left near-death]]. Both experiences heavily inform his stories. In 2019 he published his autobiography ''Becoming Superman'', revealing for the first time [[MiseryLit the abuse he suffered from his father]], a former Nazi who forced JMS to wear his old uniform in an attempt to toughen him up. In retrospect, this [[PuttingOnTheReich also colors a lot of his work.]] Because of his father's refusal to let him see anything resembling a competent doctor (or spend any money for one), some of his quirks went undetected for a long time. Joe describes putting on a classmate's glasses and discovering that 20/20 vision is a thing which exists. Later self-diagnoses included Asperger's Syndrome and PTSD.

He shares a birthday with Creator/DavidHasselhoff and Creator/PhyllisDiller, as well as an exact birthdate with German Chancellor UsefulNotes/AngelaMerkel.

!!Film credits
* He wrote the screenplay for the Creator/ClintEastwood-directed ''Film/{{Changeling}}'', starring Creator/AngelinaJolie.
* He got to contribute to the ''Film/{{Thor}}'' movie, even [[PromotedFanboy landing a cameo]] (he's the first guy to find {{Mjolnir}} and try to lift it).
* He wrote ''Film/UnderworldAwakening'', the fourth installment of that series.
* He wrote the shooting draft of ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' for the Wachowskis and director James [=McTeague=].
* He has story credit on ''Film/WorldWarZ'', though how much of his work made it into the final movie isn't clear.
* His unproduced screenplays include ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' movie, a remake of ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'', a ComicBook/SilverSurfer movie, and an adaptation of the book ''They Marched Into Sunlight".

!!JMS' TV credits
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' - Staff Writer; specifically writing 9 episodes
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' - Co-Creator; Staff Writer, specifically writing 8 episodes
* ''WesternAnimation/JayceAndTheWheeledWarriors'' - Staff Writer, specifically writing 13 episodes
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' - Story Editor; writer of 21 episodes and one Special
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiralZone'' - Series Developer (under a pseudonym), wrote one episode
* ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'' - Executive Story Editor; writer of 13 episodes (including the [[AnyoneCanDie infamous]] [[KilledOffForReal two part final episode]])
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' - Story Editor; writer of 11 episodes
* ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'' - Executive Story Editor; writer of 5 episodes
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' - Co-Producer; writer of 7 episodes
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' - Supervising Producer; writer of 1 episode
* ''Series/Babylon5'' - Executive Producer & Creator; writer of ''91'' episodes
* ''Crusade'' - Executive Producer & Creator; writer of 10 episodes
* ''Jeremiah'' - Executive Producer & Creator; writer of 34 episodes
* ''Series/Sense8'' - Executive Produced and co-created and co-wrote with Creator/TheWachowskis for Creator/{{Netflix}}.

!!Comic books contributions include:
* ''ComicBook/BulletPoints''
* [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski His run on Spider-Man]] which included the 9/11 issue, a failed attempt to [[RetCanon link up]] with Creator/SamRaimi's Film/SpiderManTrilogy, the controversial ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' (which Creator/JoeQuesada forced him to write), and ''ComicBook/SinsPast'', the latter of which was retconned by Marvel in 2021.
* ''ComicBook/SilverSurfer: Requiem''
* ''ComicBook/SupremePower''
* ''ComicBook/TerminatorSalvationTheFinalBattle''
* ''ComicBook/TheTwelve''
* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanOdyssey''
* ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone'' for Creator/DynamiteComics.
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', as a lead-in to the next CrisisCrossover
* He had a run on ComicBook/{{Superman}} with his ''ComicBook/SupermanGrounded'' arc. Expectations for JMS were through the roof following his Spider-Man run years earlier. It begins with some random woman laying into Superman (who is already reeling from the loss of ComicBook/NewKrypton) for saving the world instead of curing her husband of cancer or whatever it was. The story was criticized for its [[AuthorTract preachiness]], interminable length, and Superman's [[LostAesop waffling, Obama-era politics,]] though there are some good parts (opinions differ on whether they occur before or after Joe left). He stopped working on the book in order to write the ''[[ComicBook/SupermanEarthOne Earth One]]'' graphic novels, which were much better received.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica2023'' (2023-Present)
* ''Franchise/StarTrek: Worldsinger - A Special Tale'': Noteworthy mostly for being a ''Star Trek'' work written by JMS.
* A number of JMS originals under the "Joe's Comics" brand for Creator/ImageComics:
** ''ComicBook/DreamPolice''
** ''ComicBook/MidnightNation''
** ''ComicBook/RisingStars''

!!Books written include:
* ''DemonNight''
* ''The Complete Book of Scriptwriting''
* ''Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood'': JMS's autobiography
* ''Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling''
* ''[[Literature/TogetherWeWillGo Together We Will Go: A Novel]]''
----