Rumors of super hero fatigue plagued the box office this summer, but the debut of Marvel's "Jessica Jones" on Netflix showed that there is still a lot of engaging and unique content to explore in the genre.
"Jessica Jones" follows the titular character, played by Krysten Ritter, a gifted former hero who works as a private investigator in the underbelly of New York.
Jones deals with a debilitating case of post-traumatic stress disorder after a murderous run-in with the shows primary antagonist, a gifted man named Killgrave who has the ability to control anyone's mind.
For a Disney production (Marvel is owned by Disney), the show goes to a dark, violent place which Marvel hasn't gone to before.
In its myriad films, ranging from "Iron Man" to "The Avengers," Marvel's productions usually rely on humor and brevity rather than shadows and grit. But in its second small-screen venture, Marvel has shown its willingness to embrace the edgier side of its universe.
Last summer's "Daredevil" was an immediate hit and rose to be the second-most pirated television show at the time of its release. Featuring Matt Murdock as the titular crime-fighting vigilante, "Daredevil" went dark in a way Marvel never had before. When punches landed, they made an impact. People bled, they got injured and they dealt with their fare share of external hurts.
"Jessica Jones" goes a step further. The physical violence one-ups "Daredevil" in a way the evokes HBO comparisons and reminds viewers of the the type of over-the-top gore of director Quentin Tarantino.
Beyond the external violence, Jones deals with internal and psychological injuries. A complex and well-written character, Jones struggles with crippling feelings of guilt, remorse and helplessness. Super-strength and other abilities don't matter much when a person is crippled by their own psyche.
Two areas which Marvel has really struggled with throughout its tour de force of the theaters and Netflix are female characters and villains — "Jessica Jones" comes up huge in both categories.
Jones is one of the most compelling and relatable characters in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, a person dealing with her own inadequacies and facing very relatable challenges despite her special skills.
Moreover, the supporting female characters are all given the type of depth and screen-time to make them into well-rounded, excellent contributors to the plot.
Killgrave, much like Wilson Fisk (known in the comics as Kingpin) from "Daredevil," is the type of multi-layered and dangerous villain that Marvel hasn't achieved in its movies outside of Loki from "Thor" and "The Avengers."
Played by "Dr. Who"-alum David Tennant, Kilgrave haunts Jones both as a ghost from her past, but as a threat in her present. The too-strange-to-be-believed aspect of his mysterious powers dictates largely how the series plays out and how the hero faces off against the villain.
One of the more interesting parts of "Jessica Jones" is how it sets up and expands upon the four-series Netflix plan which encompasses "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," and the upcoming "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist" productions.
Cage himself is introduced early on in "Jessica Jones" as a fellow gifted person who plays a major role in Jones' battle against Kilgrave.
Cage's integral presence throughout the series begs an interesting question of how the four Netflix superheros will interact with each other as their series progress.
CW's "The Flash" and "Arrow" are two of the best shows on television right now, and the show runners have mastered a balance between intertwining each show's story line while allowing each hero to exist independently from one another.
But for those two shows, the heroes have set up shop in two different cities whereas the Marvel heroes all live and do their crime-fighting in the same area.
It will be difficult to keep the shows realistically separated while at the same time accepting the fact that there is no realistic way the shows can be entirely independent from each other.
Overall, "Jessica Jones" reaches a new high-point for Marvel and for Netflix original content, immediately staking its claim atop the mountain alongside mainstay hits like "House of Cards" and the aforementioned "Daredevil."
Finally mastering a female hero, the series is a sign of positive growth not only for Marvel but for the entire business of super heroes.
Related Links:
Who is Jessica Jones? A brief history of a super detective
Everything we learned about Marvel 'From Pulp to Pop'
Reach the reporter at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21.
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