Jessica Jones releases tomorrow on Netflix so before we dive into her TV series, let’s get to know the character a bit beforehand, shall we?
In addition to looking great in a leather jacket, Jessica Jones also has a bit of more under the hood than our last Netflix superhero, Daredevil. In Daredevil, we only really glimpse his ability in one scene, as opposed to in Jessica Jones, where her “gifts” are on display nearly every episode.
But before we jump into comparing Jessica to Matt Murdock, let’s ask: how exactly did she get her powers?
A classmate of the one and only Peter Parker, young Jessica Campbell was present at the infamous arachnid bite. Additionally, in all sorts of tie-in synergy, Jessica’s father received tickets to Disney World from Tony Stark, and tragically on the car ride down to Florida, their vehicle collided with a military convoy carrying radioactive materials.
The accident killed Jessica’s family and put her in a coma until the arrival of Galactus and his tussle with the Fantastic Four for the first time. Following her awakening, Jessica was adopted by the Jones family. If you’re wondering how you’ve read all these comics and never saw Jessica Jones, well, she was, uh, retconned into most of these events.
The same accident that took away her birth parents gave Jessica enhanced durability, strength, and the ability to fly. (There’s something about comic books that makes radiation do magical things, instead of you know, painful death things.) Jessica can lift approximately 2 tons with ease, though the upper limits of her strength have yet to be tested. While she is tougher than a standard human, she can still get injured if severe enough trauma is thrown at her; however, I would classify her as borderline bulletproof. (Note: In the comics, Jessica could fly, but in the series, it seems as if her abilities are limited to ‘skilled jumping’.) Using these powers, she aspired to be a hero under the guise of ‘Jewel’, until her run-in with Kilgrave, which is where we can let you go until you watch the series.
So there you have it, your quick and easy powers primer for Marvel’s Jessica Jones. All episodes premiere November 20th on Netflix.
