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While Marvel's Cinematic Universe has gone super global, their Netflix run of critically-acclaimed shows have kept it New York—so New York that the first two series take place smack-dab in Hell's Kitchen. Picking up where Daredevil left us is Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter, about a private eye with a dark past, a drinking problem, and a batch of super powers to aid her way in keeping the city safe and finding the man who messed up her life.
With every comic book adaptation, you're bound to get some changes in the characters that have been shaped for YEARS by comic book creators and how they're perceived on the silver (and digital) screens. What's dope about Jessica Jones, though, is that she's relatively new—her story was first told in Brian Michael Bendis' 2001 series Alias, which stretched into The Pulse, which led to Jessica being down with the Avengers. She's an interesting choice for a new series; while she has history with Daredevil in the comics (even sharing a sadistic villain in Killgrave, The Purple Man), she's not been in the comic book world as long as many of the characters that have been brought over. She's fresh, and has enough juice in her origin and attitude that bringing her many talents to Netflix for a gritty, revealing tale is more than welcome.
For those of you who are up on Krysten Ritter but might not be as close to the source material, don't fret; here's a quick guide into the main meat of Jessica Jones' life as a Marvel Comics character (with some insight on the importance of these facts). Season 2 drops Thursday, March 8, so consider this required preliminary reading.
She has some standard superhero abilities
On a trip home from Disneyland (with tickets given to her parents by her dad's boss Tony Stark), young Jessica and her family were involved in an automobile accident with a military convoy that happened to be carrying radioactive materials. When she awoke, she found out that her family was dead, and that she'd been given the powers of super strength, some invulnerability, and the ability to fly.
These aren't game-changing capabilities, but it allows her to hold her own and gives her a slight advantage when she's out there in the streets.
Why this is important: Most Marvel properties incorporate some kind of superpowered-aspect to each character, and while Jessica Jones focuses heavily on the private eye in Jessica, she can still throw you through a wall if need be.
The Purple Man f*cked her life up
After hearing some commotion, Jessica encountered "The Purple Man," otherwise known as Kilgrave. Using mind control, he not only tortured her mentally, but he would force her to be a henchwoman for him. The situation was traumatic, and involved her being under Kilgrave's spell for about eight months, and placed on a mission to kill Daredevil (who has battled Kilgrave for years).
While his mind control was ultimately thwarted, the situation killed her spirit, and forced her to give up on being a super heroine.
Why is this important: The main conflict of Marvel's Jessica Jones is Jessica's history with Kilgrave, and her attempts to stop his reign of terror.
She was a private investigator
Since she gave up the superhero life—but still itched to do right for her community—Jessica became a private detective (although most of her cases had some kind of connection to the superhero world). The bulk of her time actually spent fighting crime in the MCU has been as a private eye, which was the basis of her first series, Alias.
There was a time that she worked as a superhero consultant and investigative journalist for The Daily Bugle as well (which was covered in her next series, The Pulse).
Why this is important: While most superhero properties involve superpowered beings beating the hell out of their foes, we get to see Jessica use her knack for investigating in Jessica Jones to do what heroes like Thor or the Hulk wouldn't.
Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are married
Luke and Jessica's relationship has gone through different stages, but once they hooked up, they were pretty much in it for the long haul. Jessica's pregnancy (and the birth of their daughter) played into Marvel's massive "Civil War" story, including a plot centered on her daughter being kidnapped during the Skrull Invasion. The safety of their daughter Danielle has played a role in how deep Jessica gets into proper superhero scuffles; it's during her New Avengers run that she realizes that it's too dangerous to expose the baby to the insanity of the world, and decides to take a back seat.
Why this is important: A big part of Jessica Jones is the growing relationship between Jessica and Luke Cage, who will receive his own Netflix series in the future. Look at it as a window into what the MCU will be bringing forth in the coming years.
She used to crush on Spider-Man
Jessica actually went to the same school as Peter Parker, and was set to finally talk to him when he got bit by that spider. After acquiring her super powers, she actually saw Spider-Man and the Sandman duke it out in her school, and said that fight was what made her realize that she needed to become a superhero.
Sadly, when Spider-Man reveals himself as Peter Parker, and she informs him of the crush she used to have on him, Peter doesn't remember her. Well, he remembers her being "Coma Girl" (a nickname she was given after the time she spent in a coma after the tragic car accident that took her family). He did, however, put the bug in her ear to get back into the superhero game.
Why this is important: While this tidbit doesn't factor into the Jessica Jones series, with Spider-Man officially joining Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Marvel could have an issue on their hands when it comes to how they interact (if they ever do interact, that is).
She wasn't always known as Jessica Jones
When Jessica first started out as a superhero, she went by the name "Jewel," rocking pink-ish hair and a white (mostly) body suit. It's been said that her first superhero stint was pretty underwhelming and it was cut short after her dealings with Kilgrave.
Jessica did try superhero life once again as Knightress, but revealed her identity not too long into that stint, and when she officially joined the New Avengers, she took the name "Power Woman" to honor Luke Cage's alter-ego.
Why this is important: It helps flesh out Jessica's backstory, linking her to a life where she tried to do good and ended up on the darker side of crime fighting.