The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get a dose of sardonic realism, as the whiskey-soaked private investigator with the short fuse and the iron grip is finally trading the shadows of Alias Investigations for the bright lights of City Hall.
Jessica Jones is one of Marvel’s most compelling, grounded, and unsung characters – a reluctant hero who trades colorful spandex and a signature weapon for a black leather jacket and a bottle of whiskey. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, Jessica first appeared in Marvel’s 2001 comic Alias #1. She was adapted for the screen by Melissa Rosenberg for the 2015 Netflix series Jessica Jones, with the heavily-flawed title character played to sarcastic perfection by Krysten Ritter.
Audiences haven’t seen Jessica Jones on-screen since 2019, but that is about to change. Jessica will return to Hell’s Kitchen in season two of Daredevil: Born Again, where she will help Matt Murdock in his never-ending war against Wilson Fisk.
If you aren’t familiar with Jessica Jones, read on for a primer of this “unorthodox” superhero (AKA what you need to know about Jessica Jones).
AKA Jessica’s Comic Book Origins
All superheroes grow from a compelling origin story, and Jessica Jones has one of the most tragic comic origins in the Marvel universe. While traveling to Walt Disney World with her family (on a trip gifted by her father’s boss, Tony Stark), her family’s car collides with a military convoy carrying radioactive chemicals. Jessica’s parents and brother were all killed in the crash, leaving Jessica as the only surviving family member. After spending weeks in a coma, Jessica awakens to discover that she has gained superhuman strength, durability, and flight.
While adjusting to her new powers, Jessica is inspired to see her high school classmate Peter Parker (as Spider-Man) fight the Sandman, and she embarks on her own superpowered life as a costumed hero named Jewel.
During her time as Jewel, Jessica befriends fellow superhero Carol Danvers (AKA Ms. Marvel) and forges a romantic relationship (including marriage and fledgling family) with bulletproof superhero Luke Cage.
Jessica (AKA Jewel) fights the good superhero fight for the better part of four years, until she meets her greatest challenge – Zebediah Killgrave. Nicknamed the Purple Man, Killgrave possesses the ability to control minds through an airborne virus he emits. He forces anyone who hears his voice to obey his every command, effectively removing their free will. Killgrave uses his powers to mentally break Jessica, leading her to attack the Avengers.
Jessica’s ill-fated attack lands her in yet another coma (I told you her story was tragic). Upon awakening from her second coma, Jessica retires her superhero persona Jewel amid struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eventually, Jessica rejoins society and pursues a less public career as a private investigator, founding the detective agency Alias Investigations.
There’s much more to Jessica than this brief summary, but those are the high points.
AKA Jessica’s Television World
Jessica Jones made the jump to television in the eponymously titled 2015 Netflix series Jessica Jones. Portrayed in the three-season series by Krysten Ritter, Jessica is introduced as a private investigator running Alias Investigations in the New York City borough of Hell’s Kitchen.
A Gritty Origin Story
The Marvel/Netflix show maintains Jessica’s core origin and powers, but grounds her story in a gritty, film-noir vibe. The smoky jazz music and Jessica’s first-person narration evoke the spirit of classic crime drama films of the 1940s and 1950s.
While the tragic car accident remains as the pivotal moment in Jessica’s young life, the Netflix show introduces an organization called IGH. The organization is shown to have performed illegal experiments on Jessica while in her coma, giving her the unwanted superpowers.
Jessica’s comic book personality has always been cynical and sarcastic, but the television series doubled down on this personality trait. On screen, Jessica is portrayed as a complex, deeply traumatized, and sardonic private investigator. She copes with her PTSD using a cocktail containing equal parts bourbon and sarcasm. She’s a reluctant hero who masks a protective, justice-seeking nature behind an antisocial, abrasive, and self-loathing exterior. Gone are the days of Jessica’s comic book hero Jewel, to the point where Jessica treats the name as a joke, calling it a “stripper’s name.”
Friends and Allies
Unlike the comics, Carol Danvers has no place in Jessica’s television story. But our unhappy heroine is not without a support system. Here are Jessica’s biggest allies.
Trish Walker
Jessica’s primary support comes from her adoptive sister Trish “Patsy” Walker, whose mom Dorothy adopted Jessica as a publicity stunt when she was a child. Trish and Jessica have an uneasy relationship, with Trish living the posh life of a child television star, contrasted with Jessica’s gritty detective work. The adoptive sisters find common ground throughout the show, until a series of events in the show’s final season sets Trish down a dark path and puts the two at odds.
Luke Cage
The hero of Harlem finds his way into Jessica’s heart on television. But unlike the comics, a long-term relationship is not in the cards for this overpowered pair. They share a steamy short-term fling, then continue on their own paths seeking justice, maintaining a solid respect for each other that sees occasional reunion moments.
Matt Murdock – Daredevil
New York is a big, crowded place, needing more protection than one superhero can provide. During Marvel’s courtship with Netflix, the Big Apple served as home to several “street-level” superheroes: Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, as well as Danny Rand (Iron Fist) and Matt Murdock (Daredevil). Each of these heroes starred in their own two to three-season series, and they all united against a common foe in the Netflix 2017 superhero mashup series The Defenders. Together, Jessica and the rest of the Marvel/Netflix heroes battled The Hand for peace and safety in New York.
It was there, in the war for “the city that never sleeps,” that Jessica first met Matt Murdock.
The two have never been the best of friends, sharing a complex, respectful, and sometimes adversarial relationship. Jessica’s cynical nature conflicts directly with Matt’s moral principles, leading Jessica to insultingly (yet humorously) call Matt a “goody-two-shoes.” But for all their differences, the pair share a strong chemistry, slowly evolving from mutual annoyance to trust. Jessica often acts as a grounding force for Matt’s moral intensity, and Matt is sometimes able to shine a little positivity into Jessica’s otherwise dark outlook on life.
In season two of Daredevil: Born Again, Jessica will once again step foot in Matt’s world. She is expected to be a key ally in Matt’s war against Wilson Fisk (Kingpin), who seemingly has all of New York under his heavy thumb.
The Bad Guys
Sometimes Jessica Jones can be her own worst enemy, but she’s also got a few legit adversaries.
Kilgrave
Season one of Jessica Jones introduced her most notorious villain to the screen. Going by the screen persona Kevin Thompson, Kilgrave has a tragic backstory of his own. He was born with a neurodegenerative disease, and his parents experimented on him during his childhood in desperate hopes of finding a treatment for their son. The treatment ended up giving Kevin the ability to control people’s minds at his will. Assuming the name Kilgrave, he began to use his powers for personal gain and developed a cruel nature, eventually ensnaring Jessica, keeping her as his mental prisoner and personal sex slave for several months. Jessica finally broke free of Kilgrave’s mind control after he made her commit murder for him. The extremity of the task flipped a switch in Jessica’s mind, and she was able to mentally withstand his powers from that point forward. With Kilgrave’s mental control gone, Jessica was ultimately able to kill him.
Alisa Jones
In season two of Jessica Jones, we learn that Jessica’s mother Alisa Jones did not perish in that fateful car accident after all. She survived, but suffered a similar consequence as her daughter – illegal experiments and agonizing procedures under the organization IGH. The experiment gave Alisa superhuman strength and endurance superior to those of Jessica, but they also caused severe brain damage, leading to unpredictable, violent rage and mood swings, making her a danger to herself and others. Alisa Jones is far from a traditional villain, trying unsuccessfully to lead a positive life despite her physical and mental condition. Ultimately, Alisa proves too dangerous and is perceived as a threat. She meets her end when fatally shot by Trish Walker in Trish’s attempt to protect her adoptive sister.
Gregory Salinger
The third season of Jessica Jones introduced perhaps the most hateable of her antagonists – Gregory Salinger. The highly intelligent, methodical serial killer views himself as a champion of hard work and “real human achievement,” considering everyone else to be “frauds.” Salinger despises superpowered individuals like Jessica, believing their abilities are an “unfair advantage,” asserting that his “true” superpower is his highly disciplined mind, which he claims to have evolved through “sheer human pain.” Salinger squares off mentally with Jessica throughout the entire season, but he pushes too far by murdering Jessica’s adoptive mother Dorothy Walker (Trish’s mother). Salinger’s brutal murder pushes Trish to counter by murdering him, becoming a lethal vigilante in the process.
AKA Fun Facts About Jessica Jones
This wouldn’t be a Facts and Figment article if it didn’t include some trivia fun facts. Here are a few curious notes on Jessica Jones.
Spidey Senses
Comic writer Brian Michael Bendis was in a Spider-Mood when he created Jessica Jones, so much so that he put Jessica in Peter Parker’s orbit as a fellow student at Midtown High School. She even had a massive crush on the webslinger.
Bendis almost took his private investigator a step further into Spidey’s world by using Jessica Drew (the original Spider-Woman) as the main hero for his Alias comic series. He thought better of it and created Jessica Jones as a separate character to avoid tampering with the existing continuity of the Spider-Man universe.
Falling With Style
One of Jessica’s superpowers in the comics is the ability to fly. However, she is famously terrible at it, often referring to it as “guided falling” because it makes her airsick. The Netflix series treats Jessica’s airborne abilities more as super-leaping, or controlled falling.
Rated R
As the new millennium dawned, Marvel Comics was looking to attract an older audience by offering more mature content. In 2001, Marvel launched their MAX Comics imprint comic line, with the Jessica Jones series Alias being the first title published under MAX Comics. This makes Jessica Marvel’s first R-rated lead character.
That’s the 411 on Jessica Jones. Are you looking forward to seeing Krysten Ritter return as Jessica in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2? With Wilson Fisk now running New York City, Matt Murdock can use all the help he can get!
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