Supehero Media: Jessica Jones

Thanks to the backlog of these articles (that never quite seems to go away), I have actually been able to watch Jessica Jones a second time before writing this. I'm glad I did, because I really found a lot more to enjoy the second time around. My first impression of the programme was that it is very bleak, even with their powers, the characters struggle to function in day to day life. Even the villain of the piece, a brilliantly slimy Purple Man, is revealed to be emotionally fragile and naive in many ways. Where the characters in Agents of SHIELD or Daredevil use their calling to bypass their trepidation, in Jessica Jones they are galvanized to action only when apathy and decision paralysis are no long options to be explored. As the "zoom-in" to the streets of MCU New York continues, Jessica Jones is as about as close as we're likely to go without the Morlocks or D-Man showing up. If you haven't checked it out yet, use your free Netflix trial to watch it, take a day off, then watch it again. 

It is, however, the strength of uniqueness of Jessica Jones that is also its greatest weakness. It feels disjointed from the rest of the MCU, the appearance of Night Nurse and references to the Battle of New York are about as far as the writers go, and it's not quite enough. I was really hoping that the last episode would end with a man in a sharp suit with a white cane knocking on Jessica's door, as an echoing of Nick Fury's appearance after the credits in Iron Man, signalling bigger things to come. Fans of the comic may cringe, but I really want to see Jessica lining up alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist to battle the Kingpin's army of supervillains as they descend on Hell's Kitchen. 

While I'm on the subject, Jessica Jones is not Alias, or even The Pulse, it's something new and different, so don't expect the characters and places to be the same as the comics. I know that should be obvious by now, but for some reason, I keep hearing people complain about it. The Netflix Marvel programmes are adding a new dimension to the MCU and I can't wait to see more of this, as I write, it's about two and a half weeks until season two of Daredevil and the ride begins again. Will Jessica or Luke make an appearance? Maybe, but I doubt it. Somehow, I'm losing that "fanboy" motivation to just see these characters and gaining a new desire to see these versions, hopefully Jessica returns soon and brings all Hell's Kitchen with her.