With regard to the heroines in the Avengers franchise, fans and critics have discussed the need for a film led by Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow) for years. As Cocca points out, the assumption of a link between the lack in aesthetic quality and the protagonist’s gender is pure bias, since it has never been made about superhero films with a male lead (see Cocca 2016, p. 11). It is interesting, however, that many viewers blamed the film’s deficits on the hero’s gender, arguing that it was a ‘bad movie’ because female superheroes are just not convincing-a fate that it shares with its DC counterpart C atwoman ( 2004). KeywordsĮ lektra was not particularly well-received. But instead of just unmasking systematic misogyny and the rhetoric of abuse, the Netflix show also explores strategies of re-empowerment by addressing the question of who controls the narrative and enabling the protagonist to become the heroine of her own story-even if she struggles with that label. Furthermore, the ‘update’ introduces the issue of both gendered violence as well as disempowerment into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thus contributing to overcoming the trope of the female victim in the superhero genre.

By visualising the objectification, abuse and silencing of women in today’s culture, the Netflix show provides an ‘update’ of the comic book series that connects the (potentially fantastic) superhero narrative to the real world. The result was a ‘dark’ and ‘real’ Netflix show that, in a very ‘grounded’ tone, addresses the issue of rape, psychological abuse and its survival. Furthermore, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg chose to adapt only one of the comic books’ story arc, albeit expanded over thirteen episodes of the first series of M arvel’s J essica J ones (2015). In the context of the Marvel Studios’ marginalisation of female characters, Netflix’ decision for a show focusing on the struggles of a female protagonist is complementary to the dominating narrative of the male superhero. Among the numerous comic books adapted for the screen is the lesser-known Jessica Jones: Alias (Marvel’s Max imprint, 2001–2004).

Tor eckhoff interview