Jessica Jones
I am disappointed in Jessica Jones the Netflix series. Don't get me wrong. It's fine as a female-led superhero series. My disappointment is because I really loved the comic and there have been changes. Which doesn't surprise me. Just. Yeah.
I was concerned when I heard Jessica Jones was going to me a series because in the comic, Jessica is a hard-drinking, bad decision-making, failed superhero, pretty good private investigator with some low- to mid-level superpowers and PTSD from being held by the Purple Man for 8 months. She often seems consumed by self doubt or at least unsure of what she wants. IIRC there are a couple of issues where she wallows in uncertainty. Which is why I was concerned. Comix Jessica may have been a bit whiny for general audiences and I could see Marvel and other PTB deciding that the public just isn't interested women superheros, rather than not being interested in a "wimpy" one.
Well Netflix Jessica is not wimpy. She is a hard-drinking, bad decision-making, pretty good private investigator with some mid-level superpowers and PTSD from being held by the Purple Man. So far, so good; she is missing only her failed attempt at being the costumed uniformed superhero Jewel. She is far more decisive (and has more fights too, I think), so I understand those changes.
I even understand the major change that has me disappointed. In the comic, Jessica was targeted because she was a stand-in for superheroes who had bested the Purple Man in general and Daredevil in particular. He never physically raped her; instead he made her believe that she loved him and then he raped other women in front of her. She gets away from him because he sends her away to attack the Avengers, which she does before his command wears off, and she gets a serious beatdown that takes her out of circulation for awhile during which time the Purple Man is captured and jailed. Jessica's PTSD comes not only from what the Purple Man did (she says that she only knows she wasn't in love with him because it doesn't make sense, but when she remembers that time, it feels like she actually was in love with him but not good enough for him to love), but from the knowledge that she had nothing to do with breaking free of him. She believes he could pick her back up at any time-if he weren't in prison. And then, he breaks out of prison and comes for her and it is her worst nightmare: he takes control of her again. But then, thanks to a post-hypnotic trigger of self-actualization installed in Jessica by Jean Grey, Jessica is able to break free from the Purple Man's control and take him out.
So I get it. The Netflix Purple Man takes Jessica because of who she is. She gets away from him because something within her snapped her out of his control. He wants her back because he can't control her. Marvel wanted Netflix Jessica to have more agency, to be the center of her own story. Which makes sense. It's just that what I found great about comix Jessica's story is that she is an ordinary person (not a genius or other special person) who happens to have superpowers, got in over her head, but muddled her way through. Hers is not the big hero story; it's the small hero story. Netflix Jessica is a big hero story; she's out to save Hope from life in jail and to rid the world of the Purple Man.
Jessica Jones is worth watching; I'm just disappointed it's not a small hero story.
This entry was originally posted at http://natlyn.dreamwidth.org/67372.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I was concerned when I heard Jessica Jones was going to me a series because in the comic, Jessica is a hard-drinking, bad decision-making, failed superhero, pretty good private investigator with some low- to mid-level superpowers and PTSD from being held by the Purple Man for 8 months. She often seems consumed by self doubt or at least unsure of what she wants. IIRC there are a couple of issues where she wallows in uncertainty. Which is why I was concerned. Comix Jessica may have been a bit whiny for general audiences and I could see Marvel and other PTB deciding that the public just isn't interested women superheros, rather than not being interested in a "wimpy" one.
Well Netflix Jessica is not wimpy. She is a hard-drinking, bad decision-making, pretty good private investigator with some mid-level superpowers and PTSD from being held by the Purple Man. So far, so good; she is missing only her failed attempt at being the costumed uniformed superhero Jewel. She is far more decisive (and has more fights too, I think), so I understand those changes.
I even understand the major change that has me disappointed. In the comic, Jessica was targeted because she was a stand-in for superheroes who had bested the Purple Man in general and Daredevil in particular. He never physically raped her; instead he made her believe that she loved him and then he raped other women in front of her. She gets away from him because he sends her away to attack the Avengers, which she does before his command wears off, and she gets a serious beatdown that takes her out of circulation for awhile during which time the Purple Man is captured and jailed. Jessica's PTSD comes not only from what the Purple Man did (she says that she only knows she wasn't in love with him because it doesn't make sense, but when she remembers that time, it feels like she actually was in love with him but not good enough for him to love), but from the knowledge that she had nothing to do with breaking free of him. She believes he could pick her back up at any time-if he weren't in prison. And then, he breaks out of prison and comes for her and it is her worst nightmare: he takes control of her again. But then, thanks to a post-hypnotic trigger of self-actualization installed in Jessica by Jean Grey, Jessica is able to break free from the Purple Man's control and take him out.
So I get it. The Netflix Purple Man takes Jessica because of who she is. She gets away from him because something within her snapped her out of his control. He wants her back because he can't control her. Marvel wanted Netflix Jessica to have more agency, to be the center of her own story. Which makes sense. It's just that what I found great about comix Jessica's story is that she is an ordinary person (not a genius or other special person) who happens to have superpowers, got in over her head, but muddled her way through. Hers is not the big hero story; it's the small hero story. Netflix Jessica is a big hero story; she's out to save Hope from life in jail and to rid the world of the Purple Man.
Jessica Jones is worth watching; I'm just disappointed it's not a small hero story.
This entry was originally posted at http://natlyn.dreamwidth.org/67372.html. Please comment there using OpenID.