Jones even manages to find a solution to Marvel's villain problem. David Tennant is the big bad here, playing the mind-controlling Kilgrave - someone who has an unhealthy obsession with Jessica Jones. He's the best Marvel villain since Loki and even manages to out-British Thor's brother.
Tennant is completely captivating throughout. He's a monster who's suave and sophisticated, a mind manipulator that's thoroughly charming. But once his story completely unfurls he turns rapacious and repulsive.
It is his character that presents the one issue I have with the show, though. There's only so much that can be done to thwart someone with mind control and the same tricks are repeated throughout the season.
The character remains great but how he is dealt with is stretched out too long, rinse and repeated too many times. It feels like Netflix wanted to stick with its 13 episode series run, when 10 episodes would have been enough to tell the story.
This niggle aside, Netflix has done a wonderful job with Jessica Jones. It manages to be a show about people with superpowers, but doesn't need the tropes to make it watchable. Even Jones' powers are used sporadically. We see her break more doors in a huff than lift cars or jump incredibly high.
Silly costumes are hinted at but never used. Kilgrave - known as Purple Man in the comics - doesn't look like his purple-hued comic equivalent but the colour is used throughout, permeating pretty much every scene.
It's a purple that looks superb in 4K - which is another factor that pushes Netflix's Marvel offerings above the movies. Marvel's insistence that all its new shows are shot in 4K highlights that this show, alongside Daredevil, is forward-thinking, intelligent entertainment.
It proves that, when done right, the superhero genre isn't just for kids and grown ups who are still big kids - something the comic-books have succeeded in doing for years. TV has taken a while to catch up but this is one giant Jessica Jones leap in the right direction.
