[ad_1]
Krysten Ritter, the star of Jessica Jones, unintentionally highlighted a big problem brewing at Marvel. A viral interview from last year on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast saw Ritter take credit for the title character’s iconic look. This created a talking point regarding if Marvel agrees she created Jessica’s look, but it’s important to emphasize that Ritter is not being reprimanded or chastised for her words.
First things first, it is important to address specifically what Ritter said about her contributions to Jessica Jones, the character, and her aesthetic before breaking down the tougher subject behind those words. This is what Ritter told Rosenbaum when he asked if she created the look for Jessica Jones:
Yes! And I ruined it for myself because [it created a whole look for people]. I’m like, “S**t, I can’t wear my regular clothes anymore!
It cannot be understated that Krysten Ritter is not personally to blame for what she said in her interview about Jessica Jones, but rather, the bigger issue at hand lies with Marvel themselves. Ritter’s words, if nothing else, opened a Pandora’s Box regarding the lack of credit that superhero shows and movies give to the artists and writers who create them. Audiences can watch an entire season of a show centered around a Marvel character without ever knowing who created that character.
Krysten Ritter Isn’t At Fault For Her Contributions To The Character
On the surface, the Jessica Jones star’s words are harmless. Even below the surface, they’re still pretty harmless. Ritter was asked a loose question during a loose, informal interview. Complex subject matter aside, they’re sharing laughs and a fun time, not delivering a serious eulogy.
Related
Nobody Likes Luke Cage’s New Costume – Except Jessica Jones
Luke Cage’s new costume and mask may be polarizing according to much of the comic book community, but his wife Jessica Jones seems to like it.
Krysten Ritter is a highly trained, highly skilled actor who likely did put her own spin on a comic book design. It’s fine. She didn’t commit any crime. Regardless of accuracy or inaccuracy, it isn’t Ritter’s job as an actor to cite her sources or go in-depth about who came up with what, nor does she have to explain in groan-inducing detail everything she contributed to the character and everything Jessica’s original creator contributed. However, most of these discrepancies start with Marvel.
Marvel Isn’t Properly Citing Its Characters’ Creators
This Started Long Before Jessica Jones
Comic adaptations are notoriously bad at properly giving credit to the creators who made a character. This is especially problematic with superhero comics, where a lot of different people add different elements to make a character who they are today. For instance, Jessica Jones’ Netflix look can be largely attributed to Michael Gaydos, the artist who created Jessica Jones in the comics. The iconic jacket can largely be attributed to Michael Gaydos’ work on Alias, where her character debuted. Alternatively, numerous artists have continued to add new features to Jessica Jones over the years in the time since.
Jessica Jones, in her original comic book conception, was created by Brian Michael Bendis (writer) and Michael Gaydos (artist) when she made her first appearance in Alias #1.
Gaydos may have drawn the blueprint for Jessica Jones, but a handful of creators have added to Jessica’s lore in the time since. Some of these contributions are as simple as placing Jessica Jones in a horror setting, while others have added a new detail of clothing or hairstyle to her wardrobe. In any case, most of these contributions are formulated in book form via the comics, but the longer the character exists, it becomes increasingly more difficult to put a spotlight on which characters were influenced by which artists and arcs.
Why This is a Problem
Creators Aren’t Given the Proper Credit for Adding to Mainstream Pop Culture as Jessica Jones Has
In superhero comics, many people can add different elements to who a character is today. Oftentimes, one superhero adaptation from the MCU might combine all of these elements into one story. It’s not the job of the actor to give a full briefing whenever they’re interviewed as to where each of these elements came from, and they might not even have that information. They shouldn’t be required to be some walking, talking encyclopedia, or more accurately, a fact-checking omnibus.
Ritter’s job is to simply act. With that said, Marvel could always do a better job at briefing its stars on the artists and arcs that influenced their portrayal. If that’s not being done, then none of these actors working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are aware of what influences were packaged into their work. The full extent of that knowledge may come in a flash of “Based on…” or “Created by…” in the credits, which, admittedly, most viewers turn a blind eye to.
It’s worrisome that so much of Michael Gaydos’s work is there on the screen, but he’s not more name-checked in discussions about Jessica Jones as a televised project.
Again, it’s no indictment against any of the MCU’s actors for not knowing which creators impacted their characters, nor are they obligated to memorize every creator. But it is worrisome that so much of Michael Gaydos’s work is there on the screen, but he’s not more name-checked in discussions about Jessica Jones as a televised project. He’s not alone in this, as so many characters in the MCU have the same problem. It’s why so many discussions, like those in interviews, happen about an MCU adaptation without ever name-dropping its original comic book creators.
Can Anything Be Done to Fix It?
As the Jessica Jones Controversy Shows, It May Be Too Late
It’s easy to cite Marvel’s handling of acknowledging comic book creators (or lack there of) and call it a problem, but most problems can be fixed. This problem may not have a solution. This is a problem that’s easy to point out, but far more difficult to provide a solution for. Marvel can debrief actors on each of the comics and creators that impacted the character they choose to play, but again, it’s not the actors’ job to memorize that information, including for a hypothetical interview talking point.
Related
The 10 Best Jessica Jones Stories From The Comic Books
Jessica Jones made a big impression on her Netflix series, and here are the best stories that she appeared in for Marvel Comics.
Obviously, it also wouldn’t be practical for Marvel to start having a massive text hovering over a character’s head titled “Look created by…” at all times in every scene. Maybe there is no reasonable solution to this problem. Perhaps some readers dedicated to the comics need to just use their voices to spread the word about creators through word of mouth. It’s reasonable to accept that a character could be influenced by multiple parties, like the comic creator, the actor, scriptwriter, fashion designer, etc., and still spread the word about where the source came from for works like Jessica Jones.
Every episode of Jessica Jones, the TV series, is available now on Netflix.
Source: Inside of You
- Release Date
-
November 20, 2015
- Showrunner
-
Melissa Rosenberg
- Directors
-
Melissa Rosenberg
[ad_2]
Source link