Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones is a female comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Jessica Campbell was a female human born in the modern age where she was the daughter of Dave Campbell and had a younger brother named Phillip Campbell. Around fifteen years ago, she was a student at Midtown High School though she was unpopular and hardly noticed by her classmates. Among her fellow students was Peter Parker with Jessica having a crush on him but she never approached him. She was present on the day they went to a science exhibit and he got bitten by a radioactive spider. Afterwards, her family went on a road trip to Disney World after her father got discount tickets from his employer Tony Stark. During the trip, Jessica got into an argument with her brother in the backseat of the vehicle leading to her father telling her off and in that moment he lost control of the car causing it to crash into a military convoy carrying experimental material. Their vehicle fell off the side of the road which killed her family and exposing Jessica to the chemicals whilst she fell into a coma. She was transported to a hospital and tended to by nurses when she was unconscious over the next six months where during this time the nearby Baxter Building was approached by Galactus leading to a clash with the Fantastic Four. This led to Jessica awakening from her coma and she was placed into care at the Moore House for Wayward Children until she was adopted by the Jones family with this being deemed as a second chance to start her life again. (Alias v1 #22) As a result, she came to live with her foster family and took on their last name as she became Jessica Jones where she returned to Midtown High School. Whilst there, she was picked on and treated as a freak by her classmates with this including Flash Thompson. Whilst by herself, she was approached by Peter Parker who attempted to help her but she was distraught as she saw him only speaking to her out of pity. Whilst running away, she found out that she could fly and she fell into the Hudson River where she was rescued by Thor. After learning she had powers, she began to experiment with the use of her abilities as she decided to become a superhero causing her to eventually foil a robbery by Mac Gargan who was the supervillain called the Scorpion. (Alias v1 #23) This saw her become a superhero where she began to operate under the name of Jewel. One day, she responded to an incident in New York where she encountered the Purple Man who used his pheromone powers to take control of her. Initially, he asked her to undress but instead decided to have her attack the police that arrived on the scene. He kept control over her for the next 8 months where he physically and mentally abused her for his own amusement. In that time, he took over college girls who he had sex with whilst making Jessica watch and had her beg him to touch her but he did not in order to further humiliate her. Finally, he grew tired of her and after reading the newspaper he decided to Jessica after Daredevil. Once out of range, she began to recover her senses and in a daze she continued the order given to her but inadvertently attacked the Scarlet Witch instead whilst she was among the Avengers who had returned from a mission. It was then that the mind control wore off and the full weight of her actions came to her where she felt she could not explain herself with Jessica attempting to flee the scene. (Alias v1 #25) She was struck by the Vision who was furious over the attack on his wife which left Jessica badly injured with Carol Danvers rushing in to save her though Jones fell into a coma-like state. She was transferred to a S.H.I.E.L.D. run hospital where she was cared for until Jean Grey of the X-Men managed to go into her mind and helped her regain consciousness. By this point, she was informed that the Purple Man had been arrested and was in prison with the Avengers apologising for her injuries. S.H.I.E.L.D. offered her a position as a liaison to the Avengers but the trauma caused her to decline as she decided to quit being a superhero. Thus, she forsook become Jewel and she became a chain-smoking alcoholic as she attempted to recover from the events of her past. (Alias v1 #26)
Still bitter about her experience, Jessica briefly became a hardened vigilante, calling herself Knightress. However, her stint as Knightress only lasted for about a week. Intercepting a crime meeting between the Owl and a mafioso, she first encountered Luke Cage. After defeating the Owl and his goons, she discovered that one of the thugs had brought his children with him. She took off her mask and revealed her identity to the cops so that they would allow her to look after the children for the night. Luke went to her home later that night and the two had a long talk. (The Pulse v1 #14) Jessica came to retire from being a super hero and began a new career as a detective, creating Alias Investigations. (Alias v1 #1) Luke Cage later came to meet her to hire her services as a private detective in finding his father. His father James Lucas had gone into hiding as he did not want to meet his son as he blamed the life of a superhero for destroying his family. Initially, Jessica suggested perhaps not approaching the man but Luke wanted to clear the air with his father. She managed to find him but James Lucas's wife told her that he had suffered so much heartache that he refused to meet with his surviving son. Luke came to accept this decision and appreciated the efforts of Jessica in helping him on the matter. (New Avengers v1 #47) At one point, Jessica dated Hellstorm and it ended badly. (Defenders v5 #5) One of her cases involved a client whose wife had cheated on him. The evidence also showed that his wife was a mutant, which angered the man to the point of attacking Jessica. She reacted by throwing the man through the window of her office door. Jessica met Luke Cage at his bar, and they spent an intimate evening together. Her next client came to her trying to find her sister, Miranda Pritchett. During the investigation she found that Miranda was actually safe and accidentally found out that her boyfriend was Captain America. (Alias v1 #1) She traveled to her client's house only to discover a crime scene as the woman had been strangled. Distraught, she spent another evening with Luke. She later tried to meet with Cap but he was away on a mission. At her office N.Y.P.D. Detective Paul Hall questioned her about Miranda. She lied about knowing that Miranda was murdered, but Hall produced a photograph of the crowd at the crime scene proving that she was at Miranda's house the previous night. He asked her to then accompany him to the police station. (Alias v1 #2) She was interrogated about the crime and her past life as a superhero and she became enraged at the accusation. Before she could do anything, her lawyer, Matt Murdock, arrived and had her freed. He told her he was an ally and a friend of Luke Cage. She asked her old friend Carol Danvers to investigate the number that her client had given her. Carol confirmed the phone number was owned by LWS Enterprises. The email included LWS's main phone line, which, when called, went to the committee to elect the Democratic presidential candidate Steven Keaton. (Alias v1 #3)
At a bar in Washington, D.C., Jessica realized that she had been set up to videotape Captain America's secret identity in order to damage the President of the United States. She found the woman who hired her working at Keaton's campaign office. She chased after her and found her dialing 'Lawson, Daviano' before she fainted. She went to the law office of Lawson, Daviano & Silver where she confronted David Lawson, accusing him of hiring her through a third party and demanding to know why. Lawson threatened to call the police, but she waited outside his office for him. Matt Murdock contacted her and told her that the N.Y.P.D. had dropped the investigation into her based on the autopsy results on Miranda. He said 'the bruises and indentations on the neck of the dead girl were those of a large man', which ruled Jessica out as a suspect. (Alias v1 #4) She approached Mr. Zoumas and he told her that she ought to sell the tape she made, and explained that his motivation in tricking Jessica into making the tape was so that she would give up Captain America to the press. He revealed he planned to have Steven Keaton become president as the current one did not follow orders. She was contacted by Quartermain, who told her they had been monitoring the conversation. S.H.I.E.L.D. came in and arrested Mr. Zoumas. Captain America contacted Jessica and thanked her for saving his reputation. (Alias v1 #5)
Jessica took part in several investigations from the mundane to the high profile. She also enjoyed a brief tryst with Luke Cage which she called off when her friend, Carol Danvers informed her that Cage was a "cape chaser." She also began dating Scott Lang. When Daredevil's secret identity as Matt Murdock was exposed, Murdock hired Jessica as a bodyguard.
Eventually, Jessica was hired by relatives of the Purple Man's victims to get the villain to confess to many of the killings he was not convicted of. She approached the villain in his cell, feeling very apprehensive but got nothing. The Purple Man later escaped from prison after Carnage broke out and tracked Jessica down at her home in order to take control of her again. When the Avengers showed up, he again ordered Jessica to attack them, but she was able to activiate a psychic defense trigger left by Phoenix and turn on her tormentor.
It was around this time that Jessica discovered she was pregnant with Luke Cage's child. The two moved in together, and later on Jessica took a job at the Daily Bugle as a consultant to Urich, Ben for a new section of the paper titled The Pulse. While working there, she helped expose Norman Osborn as the maniacal Green Goblin, and helped SHIELD foil a plot by Hydra, and is continuing to make the most out of her new life.
Avengers
She ultimately decided to move into Avengers Tower to join Luke Cage and the other heroes on the team though she decided to only look after their child rather than engage in superheroics. It was then that she decided to accept Cage's earlier offer of marriage with the pair going through the formal ceremony at the top of the building with the Avengers in attendance. (New Avengers Annual v1 #1)
Whilst seeing the heroes fight the Skrulls, she decided that she needed to join her comrades in battling them and left her daughter in the care of Edwin Jarvis. (Secret Invasion v1 #7) She participated in the final fight where the Skrull Queen Veranke was killed at the hands of Norman Osborn thus ending the invasion. It was then that a number of captives held by the Skrulls who they had replaced were freed from capture with one among them being Jarvis making her realise the one she handed her baby to was an infiltrator. This led to Jessica being despondent as she rushed back to find the Skrull Jarvis missing along with her daughter leaving Jones in anguish. (Secret Invasion v1 #8) Luke Cage then made a deal with Director Osborn who headed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s successor peacekeeping agency where he helped in the recovery of Danielle Cage. Luke then provided a distraction to allow Jessica to escape with Danielle to prevent their possible arrest by Osborn for leverage where they rendezvoused with the New Avengers to stay in hiding. (New Avengers v1 #49)
In the aftermath, Steve Rogers sought to create a new incarnation of the Avengers to help the world and invited Jessica Jones alongside others. Her husband Luke Cage was, however, hesitant as he felt that events would result in a new Civil War despite Steve assuring him otherwise. Rogers and Stark then decided to let Cage form his own incarnation of the Avengers that could operate from Avengers Mansion with him free to recruit whoever he wanted for his team. Jessica then joined Luke as she and their daughter moved into the mansion that was to be their new home. (New Avengers v2 #1) It was then that Luke became possessed by entities looking to claim the Eye of Agamotto and had also taken control of Doctor Strange along with Daimon Hellstrom. (New Avengers v2 #2) Jessica participated in the battle whilst her daughter was kept in safety but decided to take Danielle to her mothers place where she would be safe until the current crisis was over with her being helped by Victoria Hand who was sent to help oversee the team. (New Avengers v2 #3)
In fear for her daughters life, Jessica fled the mansion until after Osborn's defeat when she returned. Jones had a private discussion with her husband Luke Cage where she decided to quit the Avengers as she found the life too dangerous for their daughter. (New Avengers v2 #24)
Overview
Personality and attributes
When she initially decided to operate as a superhero she took on the name of Jewel. (Alias v1 #25) After marrying Luke Cage, she briefly considered taking the name of Power Woman as per his suggestion. (New Avengers v2 #8)
When she at school, she had a crush on fellow student Peter Parker but never worked the courage to speak to him. (Alias v1 #22) She had said that she had biggest crush on Peter Parker and was in love with him at the time when they were in Midtown High. (New Avengers v1 #51)
From her time as Jewel, she only knew Carol Danvers but over time the two became friends. (Alias v1 #26)
Powers and abilities
Originally, Jessica was an ordinary human until a car accident when she was younger led to her being exposed to a hazardous experimental material that gave her superhuman abilities. (Alias v1 #22)
Her ability to heal also enables her to regenerate and recover from sprained neck, retina detachment, broken nose, loose teeth, and spinal damage without any remaining scars, though it took weeks and does require medical assist to fully recover. (Alias v1 #26)
After her ordeal at the hands of the Purple Man, Jessica was given a degree of psionic protection by Jean Grey of the X-Men. This psionic protection was sufficient to protect Jessica against a second attack by the Purple Man, though she had to 'trigger' this resistance on her own. (Alias v1 #28)
Notes
- Jessica Jones was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos where she made her first appearance in Alias v1 #1 (November, 2001).
- In Powers v1 #11, Bendis commented on the characters creation, "I was at one time toying with doing Jessica Drew because she has the best hair of any superhero in comics, but this book is entirely different than what that idea was to be. This character is totally different in every way but sexual gender. And there's that Jessica name that's not going to help me convince anyone. Any writer can tell you that the development process can be a sparkling and surprising one. You start in one place and end up in an entirely different one. I was also toying with a pornographic version of Dial H for Hero, doesn't mean that this is that book either."
- With regards to the characters origins, Bendis had stated, "You may have heard that 'Alias was originally going to star Jessica Drew, Marvel Comics' original Spider-Woman. You would have heard wrong, though.Nope. This is an urban myth that I believe I will never live down. I was at one time toying with doing Jessica Drew because she has the best hair of any superhero in comics, but this book is entirely different than what that idea was to be. This character is totally different in every way but sexual gender. And there's that Jessica name that's not going to help me convince anyone."
- When writing Spider-Woman, Bendis stated in a letters page on Powers #11, "Originally, "Alias" was going to star Jessica Drew, but it became something else entirely. Which is good, because had we used Jessica it would have been off continuity and bad storytelling. I was at one time toying with doing Jessica Drew [in Alias] because she has the best hair of any superhero in comics, but this book is entirely different than what that idea was to be."
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Jessica Jones, the character made her first live-action appearance in the Netflix television series where she was portrayed by actress Krysten Ritter.
- In Defenders, Jessica Jones appeared in the live-action Netflix television series where she was once again portrayed by actress Krysten Ritter.
Video games
- In Marvel Contest of Champions, Jessica Jones appeared in the iOS video game.
- In Marvel Future Fight, Jessica Jones appeared in the iOS video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, Jessica Jones appeared as a character in the MMORPG video game where she was voiced actress Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and actress Tara Strong.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Jessica Jones appeared as an NPC in the setting of the video game where she was voiced again by actress Tara Strong. This version was shown as being a member of the Defenders.
Appearances
- Alias v1: (2001)
- New Avengers v1:
- New Avengers Annual v1:
- Secret Invasion v1:
- New Avengers v2:
- Mighty Avengers v1:
- Jessica Jones v1:
- Defenders:
- Jessica Jones v2:
- Spider-Man: Life Story v1:
