5 Marvel Heroes Who Could Be the Next 'Jessica Jones'

Marvel might be bringing another one of its badass female heroes to television in a story that will be “Jessica Jones-esque.” Could that mean a different Could that mean a different retired superhero? An alcoholic detective? Both?

Marvel Television’s Karim Zreik, a VP of original programming, teased a a new Marvel Marvel show at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Thursday, according to the The Hollywood Reporter. The female-led show is part of a collaboration between Marvel and ABC, which already produces Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the upcoming Inhumans. This new show would be part of Marvel’s efforts to “target different audiences.”

Zreik didn’t say anything beyond “Jessica Jones-esque,” which could mean a lot of things. In Marvel’s Jessica Jones show the titular character is a retired, heavy-drinking superhero working as a sarcastic private investigator. In almost every way, she’s the stereotypical noir detective — except she’s a woman that happens to have super-strength and occasionally teams up with the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist*.

Across the vast pantheon of Marvel characters, who are the most likely candidates for ABC’s new show? Here are TK candidates that might just be the next Jessica Jones:candidates that might just be the next Jessica Jones:

1. Night Nurse

Fans love Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple, who’s functioned on the Netflix superhero shows much like Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in bringing heroes together. Fans have longed to see more from the character, or a straight-up adaptation of the original Night Nurse comics storyline, which focused on the off-duty nurses that helped mend the wounds of battered heroes in New York City.

A Night Nurse would almost certainly not spin-off from the Netflix shows, nor is it likely to feature Rachel McAdams other Night Nurse-inspired character from Doctor Strange. Still, the source material featuring a group of young women using their medical skills to help the heroes that help keep New York safe makes for a compelling story.

This, however, could be something closer to a female ensemble show.

2. Misty Knight

Spoiler Alert By the end of The Defenders, Misty Knight loses an arm in a fight against the Hand, fulfilling her character’s destiny from the comics, where her lost limb is replaced by a Stark-tech bionic arm. She’s forced to leave the police department in the comics and opens up her own private investigation business alongside Colleen Wing (another fan favorite from the Netflix shows).

Especially if ABC could borrow one or both of these actresses, another kind of female-led investigative drama could be a delight, without being hampered by the need for expensive special effects involved with superpowers.

If Marvel and ABC want a surefire win, this is exactly what they do, but it might be a little to difficult to pull off.

3. Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse

Bobbi Morse is a decorated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent prominently featured in the first few seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but she was absent from Season 4. Her codename, Mockingbird, was almost the title of an ABC series first announced back in 2010, when ABC was also considering its own TV version of Jessica Jones. The Mockingbird show would have been, according to Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb, “Alias meets Felicity” and feature Bobbi Morse as “a Peter Parker nerd” recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D.

The same type of Chuck-style origin story could still fit within the framework of the broader MCU, or a new show just spin-off from S.H.I.E.L.D. featuring the same character as a full-fledged spy.

Either way, in the comics Mockingbird has been met with a lot of success and controversy in recent years as a sexy spy that’s into polyamory with Hawkeye.

4. Sally Floyd

Sally Floyd might not be a private investigator, but she has a history of alcoholism and works as an investigative reporter in New York City. That makes her somewhat comparable to Jessica Jones, and her focus as a journalist primarily involves Mutants in the Marvel Universe along with other superheroes in the Avengers and beyond.

Following the loss of her daughter, Floyd became an alcoholic and continued her work as a journalist. Exploring her conflicted past and how it tangentially relates to the bigger players in the MCU could be just enough to enthrall viewers.

If “Jessica Jones-esque” is code for a smart, alcoholic woman investigating what’s wrong in New York City, then Sally Floyd is a perfect option for Marvel and ABC, especially considering how much people love to see journalists in the world of superheroes.

5. Dakota North

If there’s one character from Marvel that’s as close to a Jessica Jones duplicate without being a literal clone, it’s Dakota North. Her father worked for years in an unnamed American intelligence agency, and Dakota herself is a fashion model turned private investigator. She runs Dakota North Investigations, and though she travels quite a bit and has branches around the world, New York City is her primary base of operations.

Though her comics run was woefully short, she has glancing connections to other Marvel heroes like Spider-Man, Daredevil, and even Jessica Jones. Her stories also feature a colorful assortment of supporting characters (much like Jessica Jones) that complement the intrigue of the crimes and cases she investigates.

Dakota’s most often hired as a bodyguard for high-profile people, which at times gets her embroiled in some controversies among New York’s elite.

There are no confirmed details or release dates for the supposed “Jessica Jones-esque” show.