Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appeared in Alias #1 as part of Marvel's Max, an imprint for more mature content, and was later retroactively established to have first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in the Silver Age of Comic Books as an unnamed classmate of Peter Parker, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Within the context of Marvel's shared universe, Jones is a former superhero who becomes the owner of Alias Private Investigations. Bendis envisioned the series as centered on the private investigator superhero Jessica Drew, designing and characterising Jones as a reinvention of Drew returning to her P.I. origins, only deciding to make her a new P.I. character once he realized that the main character he was writing had a distinct-enough voice and background to differentiate her from Drew, though deciding to still name the character Jessica on the basis of how "two can have the same first name".
Jones has since starred in three ongoing series: Alias, The Pulse, and Jessica Jones. Alias ran for 28 issues before ending in 2004, while The Pulse ran for 14 issues from April 2004 to May 2006. Jessica Jones debuted in October 2016, initially published as a tie-in with the self-titled television series. She became a member of the New Avengers, alongside her husband Luke Cage during Marvel's 2010 Heroic Age campaign. After the events of Devil's Reign in which Cage became the Mayor of New York City, Jones is now the first lady of New York City.
She has used various aliases throughout her history, including Jewel, Knightress, Mrs. Cage, and Power Woman. Jessica Jones has been described as one of Marvel's most powerful female heroes.
Krysten Ritter portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe streaming television series Jessica Jones and The Defenders ; she is set to reprise her role in the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. Elizabeth Cappuccino portrays a young Jessica in the first and second seasons of Jessica Jones. Tara Strong voices the character in the video games Lego Marvel's Avengers, Marvel Heroes, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, while Michelle Phan voices a Vietnamese American version of the character in the video game Marvel Avengers Academy.
Creation
Jessica Jones debuted in the Marvel MAX imprint series Alias in November 2001. The character and series were created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos. While Jones was created in 2001, she was retroactively established to have appeared earlier: in Alias #22, it is revealed that Jones appears just off-panel in the events of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, and Bendis's story in The Amazing Spider-Man #601 retroactively establishes her to have first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 as an unnamed classmate of Peter Parker. Alias ran for 28 issues from 2001 to 2004, with most covers drawn by David W. Mack. After the end of the series, Jones and other characters from the series moved to Bendis' subsequent series, The Pulse. In a 2005 interview, Bendis revealed that "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." Previously, Bendis commented:While initially scripting and plotting Alias as following a previous reinvention of Drew as a private investigator, ultimately, in actively developing the title, Bendis decided to make her a new character, Jones, with a "distinct background and voice from Drew's", while deciding to still give this character the first name Jessica.
Jessica Jones appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010-2013 New Avengers series, from issue #1 through its final issue, #34. In a Marvel Comics podcast, Bendis expressed his desire to incorporate Jones into the parallel universe Ultimate Marvel imprint. An alternate Jessica consequentially appears as a senior at the Ultimate Peter Parker's high school in Ultimate Spider-Man #106, becoming a recurring supporting character in the series.
Fictional character biography
Origin
Midtown High student Jessica Campbell goes to school with Peter Parker, on whom she has a crush and is present when he is bitten by the irradiated spider which gives him his powers. She attempts to talk to him at that moment only to flee out of shyness after he reacts from his spider bite.Jessica's father receives tickets to Walt Disney World from his boss Tony Stark. On the way home, their car collides with a military convoy carrying radioactive chemicals. Her family is killed, and she spends several months in a coma. Upon waking up, she is placed in an orphanage and adopted by Alisa Jones and Mr. Jones. Jessica later discovers that her radiation exposure granted her super strength, limited invulnerability, and flight.
Jessica's adoptive parents re-enroll her at Midtown High, where she is ostracized by her classmates, especially Flash Thompson. Peter Parker senses in Jessica a kindred spirit—someone who has also lost her family due to a tragic circumstance. Jessica mistakes his kind attention for pity and lashes out at him. She later witnesses a fight between Spider-Man and the villain Sandman in her school. This inspires her to use her abilities for positive ends.
Early years
As Jewel, Jones has a fairly uneventful superhero career until she intervenes in a disturbance at a restaurant involving Zebediah Killgrave, the Purple Man. Killgrave uses his power of mind control to place Jones under his command, psychologically torturing her and forcing her to aid his criminal schemes. After Killgrave sends her to kill Daredevil at the Avengers Mansion, Jones is rescued by Carol Danvers, the only Avenger who actually knows her. Jones undergoes psychic therapy with Jean Grey of the X-Men, who places a special mental command in Jones's subconscious to protect her from further mind control. During this time, Jones develops a brief romantic relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain.Due to the traumatic violation of her mind by Killgrave and the fact that she was barely noticed missing for eight months, a demoralized and depressed Jones gives up her costumed superhero life. She briefly adopts a darker identity as the Knightress and interrupts a crime meeting between the Owl and a mafioso, through which she meets up with fellow superhero Luke Cage. After defeating the Owl, she and Cage develop a lasting friendship. No longer a superhero, Jones opens a private detective agency. Longtime friend Carol Danvers sets Jones up with Scott Lang, and the two date for several months. She also has an off-and-on affair with Cage.
Killgrave, still obsessed with Jones, escapes from high-security incarceration, but with the mental defenses Grey gave her, Jones breaks his control and knocks him out.
Later, Cage and Jones admit their feelings for each other. After she becomes pregnant with their child, they commit to their relationship.
''The Pulse'' and ''Young Avengers''
Jones takes a leave from the detective business and joins the staff of the Daily Bugle newspaper as a superhero correspondent and consultant, becoming a main character of the comic book The Pulse and a contributor to the same-name fictional newspaper supplement within. A pregnant Jones is attacked by the Green Goblin after the Bugle reported that he was secretly industrialist Norman Osborn. In response, Cage retaliates, and Osborn is exposed as the Goblin upon his defeat and incarceration.Jones quits her job with the Bugle after publisher J. Jonah Jameson uses the paper to smear the New Avengers. Jones and Cage are living together when she gives birth to their child, whom they name Danielle after Luke's best friend, Danny Rand. Cage and Jones marry.
Jones appears as a supporting character in Young Avengers until the series ended. She returns in Avengers: The Children's Crusade #6 in which she, Beast, and Hawkeye attempted to defuse the situation between the Avengers and X-Men who were fighting over who was to punish the Scarlet Witch. She helps fight Doctor Doom and is present when Stature and the Vision are killed. She is seen hugging Hulkling in the final panel when the team is declared full-fledged Avengers by Captain America.
"Civil War", "Secret Invasion" and "Dark Reign"
In Marvel's 2006–2007 crossover storyline "Civil War", Jones and Cage reject Iron Man and Ms. Marvel's offer to join the Superhuman Registration Act. As part of the New Avengers, Jones moves into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, but after an attack involving the demonic villain the Hood, Jones is shaken by the experience. Desperate to protect her child, she leaves the New Avengers and registers for the Superhuman Registration Act, ending her relationship with Luke Cage. Jones is among the heroes who emerge from the crashed Skrull ship wearing her Jewel costume, although it is later revealed this Jones was a Skrull. The real Jessica Jones appears in Secret Invasion #7, in which she joins in the heroes' fight against the Skrulls and is reunited with her husband. After the Skrulls surrender, the Skrull impersonating Edwin Jarvis disappears with their daughter, leaving Jessica desperate.Jessica is unaware that Luke has asked Norman Osborn for help in their search for Danielle. Osborn helps Luke recover Danielle, and Luke gives the baby back to Jessica. Spider-Man reveals himself as Peter Parker to the New Avengers, leaving Jones shocked to see that her former classmate is Spider-Man. She then tells Peter of her former crush on him, only to find out that he did not recognize her all this time, let alone remember her name, only remembering her as "Coma Girl", upsetting her. She later assists the Avengers in rescuing Clint after being captured by Norman Osborn. Jessica reveals that she was inspired to become a superheroine after witnessing an early battle between Spider-Man and the Sandman. Peter then tries to convince Jessica to return to the life of a superhero, suggesting that she could provide a better example for her daughter by going into action as a hero rather than simply telling her daughter about her old career.