Welcome to Part Two of the Jessica Jones Binge-Watch and Blog-Along! This post will cover Episodes 4 through 6. You can find reviews & reactions to previous episodes in Part One.
Warning: Spoilers below! (Also contains mild spoilers & discussion for the Jessica Jones comic, Alias. Ye be warned!)
WARNING: This post contains vague spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron and other properties of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including mentions of broad plot points from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. up through last night’s episode (S2E20, “Scars”). Proceed at your own risk!!
(via IMDB)
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be.”
“Who do you want to be?”
-Ms. Marvel Vol. 3, #1: No Normal
I didn’t grow up reading comics. Most of my knowledge of all the iconic characters came via television and movies. I watched Batman’s adventures on film thanks to Burton, Nolan, and, yes, Schumacher; and watched Terry McGinnis take up the cowl every Saturday morning in Batman Beyond. While I never actually read them, I remember flipping through the pages of my Wolverine-obsessed cousins’ X-Men comics as a kid, looking at the pictures. Then the film came out in 2000, and I would race home after school to learn more about the mutant heroes via reruns of the animated series. And now, like many people, I am currently obsessed with every part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
All that to say, I love the stories and mythology of superheroes, but haven’t really experienced them in their original form — comic books. I’ve read one or two here and there, (The Killing Joke comes to mind), but never followed a full story arc. As a bit of a completist, the amount of backstory I would miss by jumping in now is disheartening. Comic book characters and storylines are so intertwined; it all seems so daunting as a new reader. Because of this, I have heretofore stuck with non-superhero, non-Big Two comics/graphic novels. (For the curious: I’ve finished Scott Pilgrim and Y: The Last Man, dabbled in Fables, and am currently working my way through Saga.)
But this past year, I kept hearing about a new superhero. That is, a new person taking up the mantle of an established hero. A new character that felt different and fresh. All the reviews were glowing, and the excitement surrounding this introduction spread like wildfire. I am referring, of course, to the new Ms. Marvel. A superhero whose alter-ego is a teenage, Muslim, Pakistani-American girl from Jersey City — Kamala Khan.
Ms. Marvel Vol. 3, #1: No Normal (via Marvel)
Wise the Simple 