For half a century, Marvel has loved exploring alternate possibilities with its “What If… ?” series. These stories take familiar characters and scenarios and playfully ask, “What if things had gone differently?” This summer, to mark the 50th anniversary of the original series, Marvel is releasing new “What If… ?” stories, including one that presents a drastically different – and much tougher – version of Spider-Man.
On sale July 15th, What If…? Jessica Jones explores an alternate reality where Jessica Jones, instead of Peter Parker, is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes Spider-Girl. However, don’t expect a bubbly, upbeat Jessica! This new comic, written by Justina Ireland and illustrated by David Messina, imagines what Jessica’s teenage years would have been like as Spider-Girl—and it’s essentially the Jessica Jones we know and love, but with even more sarcastic wit. We’ve got a sneak peek at the upcoming issue and an interview with Ireland about this fresh take on two popular Marvel characters.
Spider-Girl Jessica Is a Little Quippier (But Don’t Expect a Spider-Man Clone
Jessica Jones and Spider-Man are both well-known characters, so combining them seemed unexpected at first. But now that I’ve heard about this ‘What If?’ story, it feels like a perfect fit! Can you talk about how you came up with the idea? It’s exactly the kind of story I didn’t realize I wanted to read.
As a writer, Justina Ireland always starts by reading the source material. When working on a story like Alias, she revisited the original comics to truly understand Jessica’s personality. She did the same with Amazing Spider-Man, finding that rereading older issues helped her reconnect with what she loved about the character. When creating alternate universe (AU) stories, she believes it’s best to focus on the core of a character and avoid getting bogged down in later variations. Ultimately, she feels that strong characters drive everything in a story.
If you’re combining stories featuring well-known characters with strong personalities, how do you make the resulting story feel fresh and original? What’s the hardest part of doing that?
The core idea is really about figuring out what audiences expect from a character and then doing something interesting with those expectations. My version of Jessica Jones has a bit more wit than the one created by Brian Bendis, but I also gave her a slightly less difficult past – though every good hero needs some tragedy! Simply giving Jessica the same powers as Spider-Man would have been uninspired. Instead, I focused on how she’d be a superhero compared to Peter Parker, and that allowed me to explore fun ideas for her appearance and overall heroic style.
Honestly, the hardest part is always fitting everything into the limited number of pages. I have so many ideas for this story, and each one deserves to be shown, but we only have a certain number of panels to work with! I swear, if I could, I’d turn this into a five-issue arc – it would be amazing, haha!
As a huge Marvel fan, I think the coolest part of the What If…? episode focusing on Jessica Jones is seeing her become Captain Marvel! It’s such a wild twist. And honestly, I bet other viewers will be just as thrilled – imagining Jessica with that kind of power and responsibility is something we’ve all probably secretly wished for!
What truly shines in this project is the artwork by David Messina and the vibrant colors by Brian Reber. They perfectly capture the 1970s noir feel I envisioned, and I think readers will really love the overall look. Writing is one thing, but creating compelling art is a real challenge, so I’m incredibly grateful to consistently collaborate with such talented artists.
Everything You Need to Know About What If…? Jessica Jones
Marvel’s What If…? Jessica Jones asks: what if Jessica Jones was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker? In this alternate reality, the retired Spider-Girl leaves behind her super-hero days, hoping to escape the resulting trauma. However, a figure from her past resurfaces, pulling Jessica back into action. Has the Green Goblin returned, and can a former hero who’s out of practice stop him?
What If…? Jessica Jones goes on sale July 15th from Marvel Comics.
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2026-06-15 21:13