The Marvel characters that appeared in the short-lived partnership with Netflix can all be easily incorporated into the existing MCU timeline, but if there’s one Netflix character Marvel should really consider bringing into the fold and shining a spotlight on, it’s Jessica Jones.
Jessica is one of the most unique properties in Marvel’s bag of tricks, even if she isn’t the most well-known one. This, however, could very well work in her favor. There are many more expectations when it comes to characters like Daredevil or the Punisher than there are about Jessica Jones, and that means Marvel could take her storyline in many different places, comics accurate or not.
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Not that there isn’t enough in the comics to pull from. The character, created by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, first appeared in Alias #1 in 2001, less than 20 years ago, so her history in the Marvel universe isn’t that long, but she’s made quite an impact, nonetheless. The comics version of Jessica went on to star in three different comic series (Alias, The Pulse, and Jessica Jones) and become a member of the New Avengers alongside her husband, Luke Cage. She also gave birth to a daughter, Danielle Cage, who would go on to become the next Captain America.
But Jessica doesn’t deserve a spot in the MCU as it exists today because of who she might marry or her possible future kids – though knowing Marvel, that would be a card they’d love to keep in their pocket – but because, as an established character today, she provides a great contrast to the polished heroes fans are so used to seeing and looking up to.
WandaVision explored a little of Wanda’s “dark side,” but it did so while making it clear that Wanda’s intentions were good, and it was grief that blinded her to the consequences of her actions. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, in the meantime, has Bucky in therapy, as he tries to grapple with years and years of being a Hydra-controlled-weapon. These are interesting paths to take, but they are very clearly Stories about how these characters have gotten past those issues to become better people, rather than being about the characters’ issues. Even Tony Stark, who in the first Iron Man movie was anything but a role model, ended up being the guy who risked everything for Peter Parker, and then sacrificed himself to save the entire planet, and he did that after becoming a model husband and father.
Jessica Jones isn’t like that. She isn’t a shiny hero, and her issues go deeper than most of the characters who have appeared so far in the MCU – or at least, deeper than those characters have been allowed to show. She’s also a really powerful woman who has a lot of baggage, something not seen enough on TV in general, much less in the superhero genre. Not that superheroes don’t have baggage, but they aren’t typically as jaded as Jessica, and they also typically don’t have the history of abuse and addiction that she carries.
The aforementioned Tony Stark had an alcohol problem, although this was never really highlighted that much throughout the films. It was only briefly alluded to in Iron Man 2. He also presumably had other addictions, and PTSD, which was never fully explored, either. But Tony’s issues, which should have been expanded on, never felt as much part of the characters as they do with Jessica. Instead, they felt like a setup for his character growth.
This is why Jessica Jones would give Marvel a chance to tackle subjects that feel more realistic than the same patriotism beats, or this somewhat vague notion of heroes always needing to do the right thing. Jessica is messy and complicated, and she isn’t in the hero game because of a desire to save the world, much less fix it. She’s just good at her job, and her skills make it easier for her to do it, so she might as well.
The MCU has villains, and some very charismatic ones at that. Loki is getting his own Disney+ series and he’s always been anything but a straight hero, even when he was doing the right thing. But Jessica Jones isn’t a villain, just a complicated hero, and Marvel is in short supply of heroes whose baggage is the story. Yes, Frank Castle would be a fun character to see in the MCU. It would be great to see Matt Murdock to don the Daredevil costume once again. But what the MCU really needs is the mess and the relatability of a character like Jessica Jones.