So I finished Alias. Got around to picking up volumes three and four on FCBD, and I gotta say, I’m only sad that there isn’t more. Sure, there’s The Pulse, and even the recent run of J. Jones, but this initial run was something special.
#spoilers
It goes without saying that this particular volume covers the origin of Jessica Jones, as well as her confrontations with the Purple Man. In terms of how she attained her powers, Jessica gains them when she and her family are caught in a car crash with a military vehicle bearing questionable materials. Her family dies and she determines to utilize her abilities to become a superhero. It’s short-lived however when the Purple Man abducts her for months and ultimately sends her on a suicide mission to kill Daredevil/members of the Avengers. She ends up getting into a scuffle with them after punching out Scarlet Witch right in front of Vision (yeah, he gets pretty peeved), and it ends pretty quickly. Everybody makes nice considering she was under the Purple Man’s control, and so she decides to hang up her costume permanently.
In the present, Jessica is approached by families that have been wronged by the Purple Man, seeking only his public confession to the murders of their loved ones. Jones confronts him in prison with no luck, but there’s a whole lot of breaking of the fourth wall on the Purple Man’s end – it’s hilarious. Not long after there’s a breakout and the Purple Man is free. He and Jones face each other and he is about to loose her on the masses, but thanks to a mind-trigger placed by Jean Grey after her first foray with the Purple Man, Jessica is able to overcome his powers and bring him down.
I’ll say, it’s not as big as I’d expected from what I’ve heard, especially with regards to the Netflix series, but it’s still pretty spectacular. Really, it feels like the more grounded comic book version (if that makes any sense), because of course the Purple Man would be defeated so swiftly as opposed to his stance in the show. I’ve always liked the Purple Man, especially on the Daredevil front, and seeing him here was quite unique and invigorating for the character. I’m always up for a good story with him.
Also, one of my big takeaways from ALIAS was the fact that Jessica Jones and Scott Lang had some form of a relationship, so much so that I actually found myself rooting for the guy despite knowing the impending relationship Jones would have with Luke Cage. Lo and behold, that happened a lot sooner than I expected when Jones finds out she’s pregnant with Luke’s baby and Scott obviously doesn’t take it too well. Still, the final pages as Jones and Cage’s relationship rapidly blooms is beautiful, so you’ll excuse me while I go dig into the PULSE to fill in the final gap between this and New Avengers.
TL;DR Score: Mark Bagley as guest-artist for the flashbacks? Top notch.
TL;DR Comics 