Hey guys, it's Jan here. We all know that Marvel aren't ones to skimp
when it comes to loading their movies and TV shows with easter eggs and references to
the wider Marvel universe. And season 1 of Jessica Jones is certainly
no exception; in fact it's positively laden with easter eggs and call-backs.
Now that all 13 episodes of Jessica Jones are out on Netflix, I've put together as many
of those eggs and references as I could find in this here video.
I'm sure you'll have spotted other cool ones too, so do share those in the comments below.
And just a quick reminder there will be spoilers ahead, so if you're not ready for that, check
out my non-spoiler review of the show here!
The very first scene of the series looks like it was almost torn straight from the first
issue of the Alias Jessica Jones comics with Jessica tossing an angry client straight through
the glass pane in the front door of her Alias Investigations office.
The show also makes lots of references to Jessica's superhero past in the comics, for
instance when Trish puts forward "Jewel" as a superhero name and Jessica dismisses it
as a really slutty stripper's name. In the comics, when Jessica is under Killgrave's
mind control he tells her to put on her slut costume, in other words her superhero suit.
And the white spandex costume with a purple jewel that Trish reveals in episode 5 has
obvious similarities to the costume Jessica wore as Jewel in the comics.
Also, the mask that Trish puts on could be a nod to Jessica's other comic-book identity
as Knightress for which she wore another costume and mask, though that mask was a different
colour to the one Trish wears. And I'll come back to Trish's desire to be a superhero a
bit later. Oh, and when Jessica turned the mask around
so it was back-to-front on Trish and teased her about how she'd fight like that, it felt
like the show was poking a little fun at Daredevil. There's also a subtle nod to the white and
blue colours of Jewel's costume in the light shades in Jessica's apartment block which
are white with a thin blue line around them. During conversations Jessica has with Luke
Cage and Young Trish, there's mention of Jessica getting her powers from the car accident which
killed her biological family. And the flashback scenes of the car accident
where Jessica fights with her brother Phillip which leads to a family argument and a collision
with a truck are very reminiscent of the same scenes in Alias issue 22.
In the accident which happens in the comic, Jessica is exposed to radioactive chemicals.
So, it's interesting that one of the streets Jessica recites is called Cobalt Lane, perhaps
a nod to Cobalt Chemical, a New York chemical corporation in Marvel comics.
By the way, Higgins Drive, which is another of the 3 streets Jessica recites, could be
a nod to Nigel Higgins a British version of the Punisher and, of course, the Punisher
will be appearing in Daredevil Season 2. Oh, and the Mickey Mouse that one of Kilgrave's
men takes into Jessica's former home is a nod not only to Disney who own Marvel but
also to the comic books and the trip to Disney World that Jessica's family were taking when
their car crashed.
When Jessica's photographing Luke Cage in episode 1, he's wearing his signature comic-book
colours, yellow and blue, in this case a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans.
As for Jessica's relationship with Luke and their first sex scene, that follows the same
story from Alias issue 1. And in episode 7, when Jessica goes looking
for Luke at his bar, the bartender says to her that "you love him […] you just wanna
have his baby", which is a reference to the comics where Jessica does in fact have a baby
girl called Danielle with Luke. In same scene, there's also a nice nod to
Jessica's flying skills in the comics when the bartender tells her, "you know what happens
when you burn a bridge, you have to learn how to swim, or fly". In Alias issue 23 when
Jessica discovers she can fly for the first time, she's not able to control it and falls
in the Hudson River where she nearly drowns before being saved by Thor.
By the way, Luke Cage gets to say his comic-book catchphrase "Sweet Christmas" for the first
time in episode 3 while he's in bed with Jessica and later again in episode 6 when they are
both searching for Antoine. In that same scene when the guard dogs arrive,
Luke says he'll handle the dogs as sharp teeth are his speciality. This is a nice nod to
Cottonmouth, who has sharpened teeth and is one of Luke Cage's antagonists in the comics.
In terms of Luke's powers, the show alludes to the origin of these in the comics when
he says to Jessica that he received his powers as the result of an experiment.
There seem to be more hints about that experiment when Jessica hands Luke the flash drive which
Reva buried and Kilgrave made Jessica dig up, after all, we already know that drive
contains videos of experiments on children. Jessica also mentions there are other files
on there that she didn't look at. Also notice that the flash drive is yellow, Luke's signature
colour. I'm guessing we get to see what's on that drive in the upcoming Luke Cage series.
The fan who approaches Trish and says "I liked you with your red hair" is a reference back
to her character Patsy Walker in the comics who had red hair.
In fact, in episode 11, we get to see the young Trish wearing a red wig during a flashback
scene, which also features the intro from her TV show as a child star, "It's Patsy".
And that fan who liked Trish's red hair is carrying what looks like a modernised version
of Patsy Walker Vol 1 Issue 26 which was published in 1950.
In the show, Trish wants to don a cape and save the world. And in the episode 11 flashback
scene I just mentioned, the young Trish's mother tells a hospitalised Jessica Jones
that "I know you must be confused right now, but everything's going to be ok. Patsy's going
to save you." All of which could be a hint that maybe in
the future we'll get to see Trish as Hellcat, Patsy Walker's comic book alter ego.
In the comics, Patsy Walker only has a bit of interaction with Jessica Jones when she
applies for the job of nanny to Jessica's daughter Danielle. Actually, it feels like
Trish in the show has taken on the role of Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, who is
Jessica's best friend in the comics. Of course, Captain Marvel is getting her own film in
the MCU which is why they didn't want her character in the TV series.
By the way, although the Baxter haemodialysis machine does exist in the real world, its
inclusion in Jessica Jones feels like it has a little added significance as Robert Baxter,
aka Mad-Dog, is Patsy's former husband in the comics.
Kilgrave's alter ego as The Purple Man in the comics is constantly referenced throughout
the TV show, for example, in the use of purple in the opening credits, with purple lighting
scattered throughout numerous scenes, Kilgrave wearing a purple shirt in the final 2 episodes,
and his face popping with purple veins when he yells 'stop!' in the finale.
There's also a verbal mention of the colour purple when Kilgrave's victims are first interviewed.
One of them says Kilgrave gave him a purple staff and told him to stick it, which seems
like a play on the moment in the comics when the Purple Man goes into a rage and orders
Jessica to kill Daredevil with some choice words about a rusty pipe and Daredevil's ass!
As for Kilgrave's name, there's lots of lovely jokes about that. In episode 3, when Jessica
goes into a grocery store, you can hear a guy on the radio say, "Have you ever heard
of a more made-up name than Kilgrave?" This is little inside joke as although in the TV
show, Kilgrave is an alias for Kevin Thompson, in the comics Zebediah Killgrave is the character's
real name and his alias is The Purple Man. The joke continues in episode 9 when Jessica
taunts Kilgrave about why he picked that name asking if MurderCorpse was already taken!
And again, in episode 13, Claire Temple jokes he should be called SnuffCarcass.
By the way, I liked the "what doesn't kill us makes us stranger" quip Jessica makes to
Simpson. It's actually a line the Joker says in The Dark Knight, which feels appropriate
given the psychotic Joker vibe that David Tennant's Kilgrave gives off.
And there's even a clever Doctor Who easter egg referencing David Tennant's time as the
Tenth Doctor when Jessica says to Kilgrave in episode 8, "you're not ten anymore!"
And Kilgrave's words "Send the picture, save the junkie" are an echo of the often-repeated
phrase "save the cheerleader, save the world" from the TV series Heroes.
And there's a funny Star Wars joke about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kilgrave's powers when he and Jessica
enter the hostage house.
NYPD cop and former Special Ops agent Will Simpson is the MCU's version of the comics'
Frank Simpson, aka Nuke, who underwent a super-soldier program similar to the one which created Captain
America. And there's a strong similarity between the
look of actor Wil Traval who plays Will Simpson in Jessica Jones and Chris Evans who plays
Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in the MCU.
In the comics, one of Nuke's distinguishing features is the American flag he has tattooed
on his face, and there's a cool nod to this in the show with the American flag on Simpson's
lighter. Like in the show, in the comics, Nuke is given
red, white, and blue pills, and he experiences the same cravings for the red pills which
have similar effects. Kozlov who gave him the pills is a bit of
a mystery as there isn't a direct comic-book counterpart for him, however there is a scientist
called Michael Kozlov who appeared in the Strange Tales and Where Monsters Dwell series.
Later Trish discovers Kozlov works for IGH, which she says is a mysterious private research
corporation and she's seen investigating it at the end of the series.
And there are hints that the origins of Jessica's superpowers may have something to do with
IGH too as Trish's mother Dorothy reveals they paid for Jessica's medical bills after
the car accident. Maybe IGH, which Trish says is 'an acronym
for nothing', is actually an allusion to the comics' MGH, aka Mutant Growth Hormone. The
MCU can't reference MGH itself as Fox have the film rights to mutant-related stuff, but
perhaps IGH could stand for Inhuman Growth Hormone, as the Inhumans are already part
of the MCU in both Agents of SHIELD and are set to have their own movie. I'd love to know
any theories you've got about what the mysterious IGH is.
By the way, it's interesting that when Jessica is fighting Simpson in her apartment she slams
him repeatedly into her refrigerator, which she then pulls on top of him. This feels like
a deliberate swipe at and reversal with a twist of the trope that comic book writer
Gail Simone called "Women in Refrigerators". Simone drew up a list of female comic book
characters who have been, as she put it, "depowered, raped, or cut up and stuck in the refrigerator".
The idea originates from a Green Lantern comic where Kyle Rayner's girlfriend is murdered
and stuffed into a refrigerator. By alluding to this trope, the show seems to be making
a point about its treatment of female characters and saying that 'nobody puts Jessica Jones
in a refrigerator.'
It's interesting that Claire Temple, who we've already seen in season 1 of Daredevil, plays
a big part in the final episode of Jessica Jones.
It's curious that Claire made a point of saying she's no one's sidekick while talking to Malcolm.
Marvel didn't allow the Daredevil series to use the name Night Nurse for Rosario Dawson's
character Claire as there were potential plans to use Night Nurse in the movies. Maybe Claire's
words could therefore hint at bigger plans ahead for Night Nurse in the MCU.
Other characters who've been changed from the comics include Jeryn Hogarth and Malcolm.
Hogarth the shark-like lawyer played by Carrie-Anne Moss is actually a male lawyer in the comics
and has a strong connection to Iron Fist. It'll be interesting to see what role Carrie-Anne
Moss gets in the Iron Fist series planned for Netflix.
In the Jessica Jones comics, Malcolm pops up from time-to-time as an annoying fanboy
who wants to help out Jessica. In the show he's a much more significant character with
new storylines, however the final scene in the series, where he answers Jessica's phone,
brings to mind scenes where he does the same in the Alias comics.
And it wouldn't be a Marvel production without a cameo from Stan Lee who pops up in a framed
picture at the police station. Also pinned up at the police station you can
spot the newspaper cutting for journalist Ben Urich's "Union Allied Corruption Scandal"
article in the New York Bulletin from Daredevil Season 1.
There's an amusing reference to Grey's Anatomy, which is on the Disney-owned channel ABC,
when Jessica pretends to be a nurse and claims she previously worked at Seattle Grace hospital.
The title of episode 8, AKA WWJD, is likely short for "What Would Jessica Do", which is
a nice play on the usual meaning of the acronym, "What Would Jesus Do?"
And the yacht named Goldfish that Kilgrave plans to leave town on is a nice nod to the
comic book series AKA Goldfish written and drawn by Brian Michael Bendis who, of course,
created the character of Jessica Jones with artist Michael Gaydos.
Speaking of Bendis and Gaydos, there are more allusions in the show to their Alias comics.
Ruben's death in Jessica's bed has a similar feel to the vision of Scott Lang dead in her
bed that Kilgrave makes her see in Alias issue 27.
The Supermax prison Jessica wants to get herself locked up in is likely the equivalent of the
comics' Raft prison which is housed on Ryker's Island.
When Hogarth says to Jessica that Supermax is full of "top-shelf perverts, cannibals,
and serial killers who make mosaics with their victims' fingernails" these kind of feel like
allusions to high-powered criminals like Killgrave himself, Baron Blood, and Jigsaw who were
all in jail in the Raft in the Alias comics. And Kilgrave's use of mind control to win
a card game in episode 6 reminds me of when he took over a casino in the comic series
"Super-Villain Team-Up MODOK's 11". And the final showdown when Kilgrave orders
everyone at the ferry terminal to kill each other is strikingly similar to a scene in
the final Alias comic when Killgrave orders everyone to beat up the person to their left
until they're dead.
There are plenty of nods to Marvel's next movie Captain America: Civil War, with the
show making various references to how superheroes fit into society.
You can sense the conflict that's still brewing between people with and without superpowers,
for example, during a radio talk show we hear when Jessica visits a grocery store, one caller
talks about there being more sightings of superheroes since 'those guys quote saved
the city', and the caller also mentions all the mess superheroes create for everyone else.
There's also the subplot with Audrey Eastman who wants to avenge her mother's death in
the Battle Of New York so she tricks Jessica into doing a PI job for her, only to try and
kill her. As far as Eastman's concerned, people with powers are freaks, not gifted.
In that same storyline, there are allusions to specific MCU characters when Jessica mentions
'the big green guy' and 'the flag waver. Oh, and when Jessica first tries to abduct
Kilgrave, a kid runs by in the park wearing a Captain America costume.
Again, the show's references to revealing superhero identities fits in with the Civil
War set-up. For example, in the first episode, when Jessica lifts up a car, the driver threatens
to out her. She replies that she's not hiding and nobody cares anyway as they just want
to feel safe, though she also adds, 'I'd rather call you crazy than admit that I can lift
this car or melt your insides with my laser eyes'.
Later, during a conversation with Luke, Jessica again says she's not hiding but adds she's
not advertising either. And Luke points out that 'being a hero just puts a target on your
back.'
In other Marvel references, when Jessica recommends another private investigator to Luke Cage
she name-drops Angela Del Toro, aka White Tiger, who appears in the Daredevil comics.
In episode 8, WHIH World News appears on TV to report on the hostage standoff. WHIH is
a Marvel regular and its TV news stories have appeared in Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD, Avengers:
Age of Ultron, The Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man 2.
And there's another nod to Avengers: Age of Ultron when Jessica says "go to sleep" when
she takes out a guy who's attacking her because Kilgrave's mind-controlling him. In Age Of
Ultron, Scarlet Witch hexes Bruce Banner's mind sending him on a rampage and Iron Man
tries to bring him back by hammering his head while repeating the words 'go to sleep.'
In episode 6, Jessica scoffs that the loan shark Sirkes thinks he's Carl Icahn. Which
is funny as Carl Icahn is a real-life investor who once tried to take over Marvel.
Also Keibler Circus pops up on a sign behind Wendy in episode 9. Keibler Circus was later
known as the Tiboldt Circus, and Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, and the Hulk, among others, were
members at various points. And in episode 10 we hear that Hope's aborted
foetus which contains Kilgrave's DNA was sent to Hammond Labs for testing which could be
the same Hammond Labs from the comics that Robbie Baldwin, aka Speedball, interned at.
Now, what other Easter eggs, references, and call-backs did you spot in Jessica Jones?
And which are your favourites? And I'd also love to know what you thought of the series.
I look forward to reading your comments below, and thanks in advance for sharing and liking
this video! If you're a fan of comic book TV shows, you
might want to check out my videos here, 15 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Daredevil,
and 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Flash. Do subscribe for more of my Easter Eggs videos,
things you didn't know, movie reviews, and more!
Thanks for watching and see ya next time. Yippee-ki-yay, superhero lovers!