Marvel Announces New Jessica Jones Series, And It's Bigger Than Fans Think

Published Sep 29, 2026, 9:57 PM EDT

Mark has been a comic book journalist for over 15 years and has interviewed comic book creators like Gail Simone and Caspar Wijngaard. And when he's not writing, he's working on beating his record of 1,200 comics read in a year.

Jessica Jones made her comic book debut in Brian Michael Bendis’ Alias back in 2001. It was part of the Marvel Comics MAX series, a line with more cursing, adult subject matter, and nudity than the standard Marvel comic of the era. The latter didn’t appear in Alias, but the two others did and added a great deal to the series. It made Jessica Jones one of the more unique characters because she didn’t wear a costume and had a backstory that explored dark subject matter usually taboo in mainstream comics.

25 years later, Marvel announced that Bendis would return as the writer for Jessica Jones in a miniseries, Jessica Jones: Alias. He's joined by artist Michael Gaydos, who illustrated the original run. It isn’t shocking that they're coming back for the 25th anniversary. Jessica has crossed over to TV shows and has been beloved by comic book and TV fans. Despite her popularity, it's important that this series becomes successful.

Jessica Jones Is Returning To Her Roots With New Series

Marvel Comics

Jessica Jones isn’t like any of the comic book characters in the Marvel universe, even putting aside her cursing and dark backstory. She remains unique because she isn't built like any other Marvel character. Far from archetypal heroes like Captain America or Thor, Jessica Jones is a regular person with a job and bills to pay. Jessica also isn't often portrayed with the supermodel good looks that many other heroes possess. This is important because of how social media sites have shaped beauty standards. They're unrealistic, and sometimes that same standard is portrayed in comics.

Another important note is how she goes about saving and protecting people. Jessica has always understood that the way superheroes do things doesn’t always work. Heroes can’t always rely on godly powers and moral righteousness to make things work. Sometimes, rules have to be broken in order to do the right thing.

The Importance Of Jessica Jones: Alias

Marvel Comics

Defiant heroes are important to comic book universes. Fans love heroes like Captain America, but they can’t all be inspiring because they fight the “right way” and give uplifting speeches. The way Jessica does things is more realistic. When Jessica wins, it's usually a result of her getting her hands dirty. Sometimes that means kicking someone in the crotch with super strength or taking a young girl away from an abusive parent so she can make her own decision. Not only that, the ones who need saving aren’t always the ones the Avengers know about.

Stories in Jessica Jones titles aren’t just different because they’re grittier. They star a woman who just happens to have powers and sees the world differently from the others within her community. Not just because she’s down on the front lines. She’s a woman who understands abuse and prejudices better than most. Sometimes, this gives her an understanding of situations that many won’t get. That’s something that Brian Michael Bendis and Kelly Thompson understood when they wrote her.

Marvel Comics

If Jessica Jones: Alias succeeds, Marvel will green-light more stories featuring Jessica Jones. It could even lead to an ongoing series. She’s been around long enough and has name recognition. That should be enough for fans to see more of. However, unless this does well, that won’t happen.

There are a ton of characters who deserve a shot at an ongoing series. Sadly, deserving doesn’t mean much in the comic book industry. Take Marvel's Storm and DC Comics' Vixen, for example. Ororo Munroe (Storm) has been around for over 50 years and hasn’t had 50 solo issues. Mari McCabe (Vixen, who appeared in 1981) is just getting her first series in 2027.

Jessica Jones: Alias being a top seller will show that women-led comic books can and will sell with the right story. It will also motivate future creators to take a chance and make their pitches for characters they love or the ones they want to create. Overall, the success of Jessica Jones: Alias is good for the creators and the future of comic books as a whole.

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  Mike Colter

  Luke Cage

A hard drinking private investigator with superhuman strength attempts to leave her past as a costumed hero behind, but old wounds refuse to stay buried. This gritty 2015 Netflix series adapted Brian Michael Bendis' character and featured the first on-screen appearance of Luke Cage.