The Power Within

In the Marvel universe, Jessica Jones got her start in the comic books in 2001 as a B-level heroine.

Sure, she had superhuman strength and she could fly — sort of. But she'd suffered profound tragedy and, clearly, was no Ironman.

Yet she has proved to be the kind of complex character that can soar in a smaller universe, namely as the star of a critically acclaimed Netflix series, It was Jones's backstory — she was orphaned and, later, a victim of sexual assault — that first drew Melissa Rosenberg to Jessica Jones.

"I wanted to do a show about a damaged female character," says creator-executive producer Rosenberg, formerly an exec producer of Showtime's serial-killer drama, Dexter. "We'd already had all of these fantastic male characters — Tony Soprano, Walter White, Dexter — who were deeply flawed, complicated men. I wanted women to have a chance to take on that role."

In so doing, she's shown that Marvel characters don't have to be bigger than life to fly.

"Jessica has no interest in being a superhero," Rosenberg says of her heroine, who in the series has opened a detective agency. "This show is more about a human being who is trying to recover and become empowered. Her superpowers are little more than a physical manifestation of her inner power."

Heady stuff for the superhero genre, yet the series — like Netflix's Daredevil — is demonstrating that fringe characters can not only flesh out the Marvel ranks in new and challenging ways, but hold their own.

"Jessica Jones is a way of exploring the Marvel universe and showing us aspects that we wouldn't see in a summer blockbuster," says Brian David Johnson, a futurist-in-residence at Arizona State University.

"These stories don't need to be blockbusters. They represent the darker fringes, so it makes sense that Jessica Jones is not a special effects-driven series. Yet it can still exist in the Marvel universe."

For her part, Rosenberg is gratified that Marvel let her take the creative reins and rethink the character for the small screen. Netflix apparently shares her view, having ordered a second season.

"Unlike other superheroes, this character abhors violence," Rosenberg says. "The fact that she killed one person haunts her throughout the first season. Murder is not something we do lightly [on this show]. Being allowed to play in this world has been incredibly satisfying."