It is pretty well known by now that whatever Marvel touches, turns into gold. Time and time again the Marvel Cinematic Universe has proven strong; have it be movies with B-list heroes, for example, Ant-Man or their brand new take on the TV scene — Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Netflix Original series Daredevil.
Each time the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows off a new movie or TV show it stands strong and with their latest upcoming series — Jessica Jones, that will be debuting exclusively for Netflix on November 20th, there is definitely some expectations to be met. And as the trailers do a good job of intriguing the viewer, Jessica Jones is another Marvel hero that is not that well known, by both fans and actually within the Marvel Universe alongside her fellow superheroes.
Ever since the debut of her comic series back in 2001 — Alias, Jessica Jones was one of Marvel heroes that have always been never recognized, so seeing a whole new Netflix Original series on her is both fascinating and risky for Marvel. Jessica is definitely one of the most absurdly odd characters in the entire Marvel Universe, besides the fact that she is a rated “R” type of hero, she also got a pretty messed up backstory, something Marvel usually avoids.
Without spoiling anything, since the show is out today, here are the top 5 facts about Jessica Jones that will get you familiarized with her just in time for her new show.
1.) Jessica Jones' Origin Story
Jessica Jones was not born with her powers nor was granted them by some mystical artifact, she got her powers fairly similar to some other heroes in the Marvel Universe, for example, Daredevil. She was on a trip with her family to Disney World right before her dad got into a car accident with an army truck transporting unidentified experimental material, which, of course, were radioactive. Everyone besides Jessica died, after coming out of a coma a couple months later, Jessica learned that she had super strength and the ability to fly.
2.) Brief History between Jessica and The Purple Man aka Killgrave
Jessica Jones attended Midtown High School, the same school Peter Parker went to. In fact, not only did they attend the same schools, but Jessica had a crush on Peter. One day, Peter went to comfort Jessica over the loss of her parents, which he has plenty of experience with, but instead of Jessica taking the support positively, she lashed out on Peter, which led to her to encountering her new abilities.
Once discovering her new profound powers, Jessica Jones went under the superhero name “Jewel”. Jessica was fighting crime in NYC until when one day she came across her greatest foe — The Purple Man aka Killgrave. If you have watched any of the trailers for the upcoming show, we already know that The Purple Man played by the 10th doctor from Doctor Who, David Tennant, will be the main antagonist throughout the series.
In the comics, the Purple Man drove Jessica Jones to her breaking point, through 8 months of torture that is both intense and very explicit. After escaping, Jessica decided to hang up the robes as Jewel and opened up a private investigation office — Alias Investigation. By judging from the trailers, this is where the series will begin.
3.) Jessica Jones follows a much more Adult-Oriented story
Alias, the comic series, that debut back in 2001 was like no other Marvel comic before, it was part of the MAX comics line which entailed it to follow a more adult story. Without spoiling the comics, because it might share similar story arcs with the show, it involved sex, curse words, and some serious stuff that can mess with one's head. It is actually even surprising that Marvel is doing a show about Jessica Jones and by some of the trailers, it looks like it will at least be trying to follow that adult content she is known for.
This wouldn’t be the first time a comic series would have a "not family friendly story", but perhaps because it's a Marvel comic it's a little bit more sensitive to the reader. The heroes we’ve come to know and love like Spiderman, Captain America, and Iron Man are all so comically family friendly that it is hard to think of an actual dark place for them to go. In a way, Jessica Jones fits more than theme and role of a DC comic, for its dark and grittiness, but this is what makes Jessica one of the most interesting characters for Marvel in recent history.
4.) The inevitable formation of 'The Defenders'
With Daredevil being as dark as it was, it has to make us wonder how dark will Netflix go for Jessica Jones? She is a much more adult-oriented character than pretty much any other Marvel hero, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how they handle it. In addition to that, Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, basically live around the corner from each other, this is another interesting aspect of the show.
There is a possibility of seeing Daredevil make some sort of cameo because sooner or later they will be part of a bigger team called the Defenders. Throughout Jessica Jones, viewers will be introduced to Luke Cage and Iron Fists, two key members of the Defenders, they will become the street level heroes equivalent to the Avengers. The group will consist of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fists, the series will debut on Netflix once each hero has their each show.
**Check out a little clip of how The Purple Man aka Killgrave uses his mind control on others**
5.) Netflix will be following some scenes from the comics
Since there still an uncertainty if we will actually see a Daredevil cameo or not, it is confirmed that we will be seeing some important characters like Luke Cage, Patsy Walker and the returning nurse from Daredevil — Claire Temple. All these characters are super important to the Jessica Jones show in specific, but they're also bigger than just that, as stated before, some of these characters will be part of the Defenders.
As we can see from the trailers, Luke Cage will serve as a romance partner for Jessica, and if you have read the comics, you will be able to see some very memorable, iconic scenes brought to life, for example, the bar scene between Jessica and Luke plus the scene where Jessica tosses one her clients right out her office window.
By the look of it, Netflix will be following the comic series. An interesting fact about the Marvel Netflix shows is that if any of these heroes — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, or Iron Fists are needed to make some sort of cameo or future role in the Marvel movies, the actors from the show will be the ones to play them. I love the fact that Marvel is doing this because when we heard about the upcoming DC movie lineup, they automatically squashed the TV show actors right out the picture. (Even though there is no scheduled Green Arrow movie, it would have been awesome to see Stephen Amell as the Green Arrow or the very likable Grant Gustin as the Flash as we grew a bond with these characters over the years).
The show is PG-13 and will be debuting today, with all the episodes at your disposal to watch. Krysten Ritter will star as Jessica Jones, David Tennant as Killgrave, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Rachael Taylor as Patsy Walker, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, Erin Moriarty, and Wil Traval.
