Another rousing success to the Netflix library. Burned through Jessica Jones perhaps even faster than I did Daredevil. And while I did really enjoy Jessica Jones, how does is rank in comparison to Netflix-Marvel predecessor? While I give Daredevil a win for besting the competition in regards to action scenes, I will say this for Jessica Jones... it's got one hell of a villain.
The Purple Man, aka Zebediah Kilgrave, aka the scariest version of the 10th Doctor you'll ever see, has to be the most terrifying Marvel villain unveiled so far. Without spoiling anything, Kilgrave has the ability to manipulate people's minds with the command of his voice. From getting people to hand over their hard-earned cash to making someone cut out their own heart, he can make people do whatever he wants. And it's truly terrifying to see the different ways he uses his power.
What's really scary, beyond the incredible control his superpower holds, is the fact that the man behind the power is a complete and total sociopath. Literally, he has no empathy or feelings to anyone else but recognition to his own appetites and desires. At one point in the show Jones accuses Kilgrave of being a murderer – killing innocent people – to which Kilgrave responds he's never physically killed anyone himself, thus freeing him from any guilt for his actions. And, technically, he's right. As far as I could tell, he's never punched anyone or pulled a trigger... from a legal standpoint, Kilgrave is in the clear of murder charges. But, still... it's a superpower that allows him to rape people's minds with a conscience that frees him from remorse, responsibility, or guilt. That's what's truly terrifying about this villain.
And it makes him way more compelling to watch then, oh, let's say... A giant robot that wants to rip a eastern European town out of the Earth only to smash it back into the world thus destroying modern life? Yeah, it's a fascinating character compared to some of the other stuff Marvel has shoved out there.
Mentioning Ultron does bring me to a major issue I have with these new Netflix-Marvel shows. You see, I was initially under the impression when Daredevil came out that these Netflix shows would be outside of the canon already established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). They would be their own gritty superhero stories, buried in the back alleys and dark neighborhoods of New York's seedy underbelly. But imagine my surprise when I heard mention of the New York alien attack from Avengers in Jessica Jones (ambiguously referred to as "The Incident"). Then in a following episode, seeing a kid running around Central Park wearing a Captain America costume. Point is: I was wrong about these being separate stories. These are all in the same canon.
Now, maybe this isn't a big deal to some of you. Maybe you're saying, "Well, of course these are in the same canon. It's Marvel, isn't it?" I would totally be on board with that except for the fact that I find it difficult to believe that in a world where we've established S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, no one would turn and recognize there's a lunatic running about who can control people's minds. Or even going back to Daredevil, how come Kingpin never bumped into Tony Stark (or anything Stark related) at some sort of New York, high-class soirée? And there were scenes of Kingpin at these very events with billionaires and law-makers running around.
I've heard rumors that Netflix has very specific limitations to how they refer to the rest of the MCU. For instance, they can't refer to any hero or MCU event by name (hence saying "The Incident" for the alien attack on New York or having to call Hulk as "The Green Guy"). Also, if you show any character, they can't be on screen for longer than a few seconds (like the kid in the Captain America costume who runs by the camera really quick in Jessica Jones). I have no idea on the validity to these statements, but if they are true, then it's a real head scratcher as to why you would put such limitations to anything apart of the behemoth franchise that is Marvel.
Go figure?
Anywho, show is a certifiable blast! Despite the lamenting I did in this post, I was heavily addicted to the show and binged it in record time. Can't wait for the next Marvel series to hit Netflix so I can lose another of my weekends to it.
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