Marvel have announced “The Variants,” a new, five-issue Jessica Jones series by writer Gail Simone, and artist Phil Noto. The book will see Jessica encountering several different versions of herself, on what was supposed to be a routine investigation. “Can Jessica get along with herself?,” asks the synopsis. “Will she want to kill her other selves? And will seeing the lives she could have led drive her into a self-destructive spiral? This is what happens when you meet… the Variants!”
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Simone elaborated the story will see Jessica put “some innocent people in danger,” and forced “to change her whole life to make it right.” She said, “We are showing Jessica kicking a bit more ass than she usually does… she has a damn good reason to be angry in this case, and pulls out the stomping boots.” She adds readers can also expect to “see a side” of Jessica’s husband Luke Cage “that I think is just thrilling,” as well as “guest stars galore… all my favorite Marvel characters from the A-list to the sub Z-list, including a couple people have been asking me to write for YEARS. It’s a party, it’s just that there’s also private eye work and maybe an asskicking or three.”
Noto’s cover for the first issue shows variants of Jessica as her past Jewel and Knightress personas, as well as the S.H.I.E.L.D. incarnation from 2004’s “What If Jessica Jones Had Joined the Avengers?” Simone noted that as well as several previous versions of Jessica, the book will introduce “several ‘What If’ versions that are really going to stretch the concept of what a Marvel character can be. I’m going to leave it to your imaginations to figure out what THAT might mean.”
Simone will be only the third person to write a Jessica Jones title, following the character’s co-creator Brian Michael Bendis, and Kelly Thompson. She said that after editor Tom Brevoort offered her this project, she went and reread the previous series, commenting “they’re just exciting, compelling reads. There isn’t another comics character like her. That was immensely exciting.” She concluded the announcement saying, “Jessica and her readers deserve the best we can give them. But seriously, wait until you see Phil’s art. It’s just an impossible showpiece for one of the best artists comics has ever had. I can’t wait!”
“The Variants” #1 will be released in June, with a variant cover by Ben Caldwell.
