Jessica Jones #5 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

Nothing Really Matters… Everyone Can See…

Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Art By: Michael Gaydos, Matt Hollingsworth
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 8, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

 Jessica Jones has really picked up for me. I love this book now and I can’t wait to see where it goes from her forward. We’ve just learned about Jessica’s secret mission with Captain Marvel, and that Luke Cage is being libeled in the press. In addition, Jessica’s client was just recently murdered and the husband (the killer) wants to speak with her about it. Needless to say, there is quite a lot taking place in this book right now and I am expecting a lot more going forward as well. It feels like so long ago that I was writing harsh words about this book. Honestly, I take them all back. That’s how good the last couple of issues have been. They’ve raised my opinion of the issues that I didn’t think highly of. Let’s stop talking about this issue and instead just jump right in.

Our issue begins with Jessica still at the precinct. The homicide detective leads her to the interrogation room where the husband is being held. He is initially pretty hesitant to give Jessica any information but he eventually changes his mind. Turns out that the husband hadn’t only killed his wife but also had drank her blood after he did so. Jessica eventually decides to go in and talk with the man. The two talk about why his wife hired Jessica and he reveals that she broke down and told him that she had hired Jessica. He saw Luke Cage in the paper and saw that the incident with Jessica happened on his street. His wife immediately confessed.

The man then gives his confession about killing his wife. He admits to it freely and talks about why he did it. He claims that he is from a different reality. The fact that other realities exist is fact. Many Avengers have even traveled to them. The husband claims that he was from one of the different realities and he knows how he even got here. This is when we quickly cut to Luke Cage who is standing outside of the Daily Bugle. He plans on walking in and tearing the place up but he sees Ben Urich standing outside and the two being to talk. Ben reminds Luke that he is a public figure and people are constantly going to have a camera on him when he is in public. He may not like the fact that the reporters are taking pictures of him on the street, but that is what they do. Ben tells Luke that he should handle his private business in a place of privacy rather than a public setting. While initially off-put by Ben’s words, Luke eventually understands his point. This is when Luke reveals that he hasn’t been looking for his daughter as hard as he could have. This is because he still believes Jessica will bring her home to him and they can fix their relationship. If he finds Danielle before that, Jessica will never be able to mend fences with him.

We return to the precinct where Jessica has finished talking with the husband. Whatever he said has shaken her up and she leaves the precinct angry. We cut back to the conversation and learn that the man remembers an event in which the “heroes” banded together and destroyed other realities in order to save their own. He is of course referring to the Secret Wars event. Seeing that all those universes were destroyed and the heroes were able to live their lives like nothing happened didn’t make sense to him. There were no consequences. So he thought he would see if anything really mattered. He committed the worst crime he could think of and despite going to jail, he doesn’t really see any consequences for it either. He was the one that turned himself in and in any moment, the world could simply be eaten by Galactus, or he could be turned into an Inhuman by a cloud going over the city. Then he would get away with no consequences anyway. So, he doesn’t see how any of this matters anymore. Jessica leaves and is immediately contacted by Alison who she meets with. After discussing terms, Jessica agrees to help her take down Captain Marvel. This is where the issue leaves us.

I love this issue. It’s incredibly compelling and beautifully written. The reader can understand why this man went crazy and why he thinks the way he does (flawed as it may be). That being said, there is one thing about this issue that I have to criticize. I don’t believe for one second that Jessica is ready to turn traitor on Captain Marvel at this point. Jessica was willing to put her entire life in jeopardy in order to help Carol and one conversation is going to change that? I don’t think so. Even if Jessica WAS going to turn bad, it would have to happen after she thoroughly investigated all these claims. Jessica is way to skeptical all of the time. Maybe if she found evidence to support what this guy was saying she would consider it but only then. I don’t buy it. Sorry. The rest of the issue though was absolutely amazing.

Bits and Pieces

This issue of Jessica Jones continues to give us incredible storytelling and is surprisingly dealing with the aftermath of the universe changing event that was Secret Wars. The dialogue is amazing and the issue is engaging. While I may have one issue with one aspect of this story so far, it does not ruin the book at all for me and I can’t wait for what happens next.

8.5/10