In Jessica Jones, our title hero is haunted by her first encounter with the mental-manipulating Kilgrave (David Tennant), and now we can see why it’s affected her so. Ahead of the Netflix series’ release on Friday, a new clip has debuted online to give us a taste of the kind of power the villain wields.
For one, Kilgrave loves his underground gambling, and it doesn’t matter what hand he’s dealt. We see him in the footage commanding not just one, but everyone at the table to go all in and fold their cards with only the slightest of facial twitches indicating their unwillingness to comply. One can only imagine the damage he could do enthralling someone with super-strength like Krysten Ritter’s Jessica.
Watch the clip below:
All in? #KilgraveMadeMeDoIt #JessicaJones Posted by Marvel's Jessica Jones on Monday, 16 November 2015
In the comics, the purple-skinned Kilgrave, a.k.a. The Purple Man, is able to control those around him through the pheromones emitted from his skin. While he looks normal enough in the series, his roots are preserved through the purplish hues that follow around his characters in various scenes. Looking back on films like Ant-Man, Captain America, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk, there have been many essays bemoaning how similar Marvel makes their villains to their heroes. With Kilgrave, the dynamic shift between his mental powers and Jessica’s strength makes for a refreshing take.
Here’s a description of Kilgrave’s role in the series:
Haunted by a traumatic past, Jessica Jones uses her gifts as a private eye to find her tormentor before he can harm anyone else in Hell’s Kitchen.
We’ll meet Kilgrave soon enough when all 13 episodes of Jessica Jones hit Netflix this Friday, November 20 (check out Allison Keene's review here). Ritter and Tennant are joined by the likes of Carrie-Anne Moss, Rachael Taylor, Eke Darville, Will Traval, the return of Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, as well as the debut of Mike Colter as Luke Cage.
