Genius Marvel Theory Is The Perfect Way To Bring Jessica Jones To The MCU
With Marvel’s Netflix TV shows now on Disney+ and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil showing up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans are hoping that the rest of the Defenders will also be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point – and there’s already a perfect opportunity to bring Jessica Jones in one of the MCU’s TV shows. With the Infinity Saga now over, the MCU continues its expansion with its highly-anticipated Phase 4, which unlike the previous Phases, is covering movies and TV shows, with the latter connecting directly to the former. This new Phase is also exploring new events and concepts, the most important one so far being the multiverse, which makes way for a variety of possibilities.
The multiverse was explored deeper in Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) accidentally opened the gates of the multiverse, allowing villains from past Spider-Man movies to cross over to the MCU as well as the two previous big-screen versions of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield). Before the multiverse chaos happened, No Way Home had another surprise for fans, as it brought back Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock from Netflix’s Daredevil TV series, officially making him part of the MCU.
In addition to Murdock’s appearance in No Way Home, the TV series Hawkeye brought his enemy, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), to the MCU, making viewers wonder about the potential addition of the rest of the Defenders: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. With Disney regaining the license for the Netflix Marvel TV shows, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders are now available to stream on Disney+, so naturally, the questions about their future and arrival to the MCU are now stronger than ever, and there’s actually a clever and smooth way in which Jessica Jones can be added to the MCU.
Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is a superpowered woman with a difficult past she constantly struggles with. Jessica became an orphan at a young age after a car accident killed her parents and little brother, and during her time at the hospital, she was secretly experimented on with gene editing therapy, causing her to develop enhanced strength, mobility, resilience, and a limited form of flight. Jessica was then adopted by Dorothy Walker (Rebecca De Mornay) as a publicity stunt to promote her daughter’s, Trish Walker’s (Rachael Taylor), TV show. Trish and Jessica formed a closed friendship, with Trish trying to get Jessica to use her gifts for good, but she chose to keep them a secret.
Years later, Jessica met Kilgrave (David Tennant), a man with the dangerous ability to control people’s minds at his will, and who immediately captivated her through manipulation. Jessica spent months under Kilgrave’s power, and she was finally able to break free when she was commanded to kill Reva Connors, which she immediately regretted. This whole experience left her suffering from PTSD, leading her to become an alcoholic too, and in order to use her gifts for good, she opened Alias Investigations, thus becoming a private investigator. Over the course of three seasons, Jessica Jones struggled with her inner demons while also dealing with her job as a private investigator and protecting those around her she cared about, particularly Trish. Jessica defeated Kilgrave once and for all, had to kill her mother (who turned out to be alive but not well at all), and fought an out-of-control, superpowered Trish. By the end of Jessica Jones, she sent Trish to the Raft, left Alias Investigations to Malcolm Ducasse (Eka Darville), and as she tried to leave to México, she had a change of heart and decided to stay in New York.
The MCU canon has been in constant change depending on the direction this universe takes, the events that take place in it, and more. Originally, Netflix’s Marvel TV shows were supposed to be set in the same universe as the MCU’s movies, and there were even various Easter eggs that reinforced that connection, but as the MCU evolved, these shows were left behind and their characters and events were never acknowledged in the movies. Now, with the arrival of these shows to Disney+, fans were hoping for Marvel to make an official statement about them being part of the MCU, but not only has the studio remained quiet, but it has also subtly shown they’re still not MCU canon, as the shows can be found on Disney+ as “The Defenders Saga” and are not included in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe in Timeline Order” section.
To make it all more confusing, it’s still unclear if Hawkeye’s Kingpin and No Way Home’s Daredevil are the same ones from the Netflix TV show, as they could very easily be variants – after all, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has shown that variants don’t have to be physically different to their MCU version. As of right now, Jessica Jones isn’t MCU canon, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be brought to the MCU, and Marvel already has the perfect opportunity to do so.
Given Jessica Jones’ expertise as a detective and her powers and abilities, the best chance the MCU has right now to make her part of this universe is through the TV series She-Hulk. Little is known about She-Hulk so far, but it’s being described as a legal drama superhero TV series. It will introduce Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a lawyer specialized in cases involving superpowered people and who also happens to be Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) cousin. At some point, Jennifer gained the same powers and abilities as her cousin, mostly transforming into a larger, more powerful, and stronger green-hued version of herself. Depending on what Jennifer is dealing with in She-Hulk, she could need some extra help and not exactly from her famous cousin, who even though is a former Avenger, might be lacking the skills she needs. Jennifer could then seek Jessica Jones for help (who could easily be a variant so the MCU doesn't struggle with continuity), which would be a great team-up but also a very interesting one to watch, as Jessica is well-known for not being the best at socializing and being brutally honest and borderline rude, which could easily trigger Jennifer, making her transform into She-Hulk at inconvenient times.
She-Hulk is the perfect chance for Marvel to make Jessica Jones part of the MCU, but if the studio lets that opportunity pass, not all hope is lost. Out of the confirmed MCU TV shows, Jessica Jones could have a place in Secret Invasion or even Armor Wars. Secret Invasion will be based on the storyline of the same name and will reveal that a sect of Skrulls (the shapeshifting aliens introduced in Captain Marvel) have infiltrated all aspects of life on Earth. Secret Invasion will see the return of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), and Rhodey (Don Cheadle), and if they have to investigate how this Skrull invasion happened and how much it has spread, they could definitely use the talents of Jessica Jones.
Another possibility is Armor Wars, based on the storyline of the same name. Armor Wars will follow Rhodey as he confronts one of Tony Stark’s greatest fears: Stark’s tech falling into the wrong hands. Once again, Jessica Jones could be what Rhodey needs to find the ones responsible for taking his best friend’s tech, allowing Marvel fans to see Jessica back in action. Although the future of each of the Defenders is unclear, the inclusion of Matt Murdock and Kingpin in the MCU definitely leaves the door even if just slightly open for the rest to get a chance at joining this universe, and Jessica Jones’ talents could come in handy for many, many characters in the MCU.