In the final season of Marvel and Netflix’s Jessica Jones, Trish “Patsy” Walker finally dons the Hellcat mantle and finds herself neck-deep in vigilante life. While her intentions are good in nature, the TV-adaptation of Patsy takes a dark turn away from her comic counterpart’s fun-loving personality as she increasingly succumbs to violence and the thrill of possessing superhuman power. Her complex relationship with Jessica and her drive to become a hero, as well as the show’s ability to address the murky grey area that lies between good and evil, has made Trish a compelling character to follow over the three seasons. With a rich history on the comics page, here are 10 things every fan should know about Hellcat.
10 Patsy Walker Is A Celebrity In The Marvel Comics Universe
Pushed into stardom by her mother, Dorothy, Netflix’s Patsy Walker has been a celebrity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since childhood, playing the lead role in fictional television show, It’s Patsy! which led to a music career and a talk show in adult life. Patsy is just as much of a celebrity in the Marvel Comics Universe, originally appearing as the star of her own teen romance comic book well before she took an interest in fighting crime. Published by Marvel throughout the Golden Age of comics, these stories followed Patsy’s ever-dramatic love life and rivalry with frenemy, Hedy Wolfe.
She eventually made an appearance as a starlet in the Fantastic Four Annual #3, sparking Steve Englehart’s imagination. In the 1970s, he decided to fully introduce Patsy to the heroic side of Marvel, updating her image for modern comic readers, and established her as a celebrity figure in Marvel’s “real” world. Her notoriety has made keeping her costumed heroics a secret – something that has continually proven challenging for Patsy over the years!
9 Idolizing Heroes Inspired Her To Become One
Growing up in a world surrounded by heroes, it’s no surprise that Patsy became obsessed with them. In the TV version, her own adopted-sister and best friend, Jessica, draws her into the superhero world through her immense power and connection to the Defenders. In the comics, growing up as the star of a comic book exposed her to this powered world. Idolizing heroes, she has proven time and again she’s willing to do whatever it takes to fight alongside them.
While she’s sought out various genetic enhancements in Jessica Jones, comic book Patsy originally began fighting crime as a regular human alongside the Avengers. Stumbling across Beast while in New Jersey and discovering his identity, she bargained with him, promising to keep his human persona a secret if he makes her a superheroine. From experimental treatment to straight-up blackmail, Patsy’s not afraid of putting herself and others in danger to achieve her dream.
8 She Fought Alongside The Defenders
Despite beginning her career as an Avenger, Patsy is best known for fighting alongside the Defenders. A team with a notoriously flexible line-up, she joined the team in The Defenders #44 and would remain with them for more than a decade. With Stephen Strange at the helm, the group took Patsy under their collective wing and helped her hone her heroic skills and allowing her to develop a close friendship with Valkyrie and Nighthawk.
She’s regularly returned to the team over the years, even in alternate universes. Patsy’s a core member of the Ultimate Universe’s defenders, a group of unpowered vigilantes who dawn superhero costumes to fight crime with a hope of gaining celebrity status topping their criminal-catching priority list.
7 She Found Ways To Boost Her Abilities
Patsy has experimented with regular enhancements throughout Netflix’s Jessica Jones, from stealing Will Simpson’s red pills and inhalers for an addicting temporary power-boost to tracking down and kidnapping Dr Karl Malus to perform a risky genetic enhancement procedure on her with a view of gaining powers.
Naturally athletic, comic book Patsy also tracked down various forms of training to enhance her already impressive human abilities. Invited to spend time training on Titan with Defender ally, Moondragon, Patsy not only honed her fighting skills but received artificially enhanced psionic abilities. On Earth, she trained to become a martial arts expert, and dawned Tigra’s old costume which enhanced her strength and agility, and gave her claw-like weapons in the steel-tipped gloves and boots.
6 She Became A Supernatural Adventurer
While fighting alongside the Defenders, Patsy met Daimon Hellstrom, a.k.a. Son of Satan. The pair quickly fell in love, and Patsy decided to renounce her superhero identity and marry her teammate. Together, they moved to San Francisco to start a new life together and eventually became renowned paranormal investigators.
Having fought against numerous mystical Doctor Strange villains during her time with the Defenders, Patsy became an expert on the supernatural. She knew how to quickly identify demons, as well as the best way to defeat them, and her love for combating evil convinced her to revive her superhero persona. Alongside Daimon, she helped to solve countless mysteries during her time in San Francisco, working alongside the West Coast Avengers.
5 She Escaped Hell
Being married to the (literal) Son of Satan carries its own dangers and problems. When Daimon Darksoul revealed his true face to Patsy, she was slowly driven insane. Eventually, she summoned Deathurge, the messenger of death, to take her life. Consequently, Patsy found herself trapped in Mephisto’s realm of Hell, forced to fight for eternity in the Arena of Tainted Souls.
Daimon was eventually able to rescue her from the realm, manipulating the Thunderbolts during their mission to save Mockingbird from Mephisto’s grasp. The couple understandably split, leaving Patsy sorrowful, but dedicated to continuing her heroic duties. She would later return to Hell to help Mephisto thwart a plot by Dormammu to usurp multiple dimensions. With a Hellstrom series in the works, it is possible Patsy Walker may return to our TV screens once more.
4 She Worked As A Private Investigator
While Jessica may be the leading investigator in Netflix’s Jessica Jones, Patsy was able to flex her research skills in the third and final season, demonstrating that she has the ability – but perhaps not the patience – to dig up dirt and track down crooks. However, in the comics, Patsy had a brief career as a Private Investigator.
Turning to her good friend Jennifer Walters for financial help, the mean, green lawyer offered Patsy a job in her own, newly- established private law practice. Working as the firm’s official Private Investigator, Patsy helped She-Hulk with numerous legal cases. While Patsy’s PI career was short-lived, the pair helped many heroes, and were even able to find Captain America innocent of a wrongful death lawsuit after the star-spangled-man found himself revisiting a murder from 1940.
3 She Founded A Temp Agency For The Superpowered
Having decided to take a break from super-heroics, Patsy was by no means going to walk away from the exciting life and her powered friends altogether. Realizing that crime-fighting isn’t the best paid job on offer, especially in New York City, she decided to establish her own temp agency with a view to help the empowered – or depowered – find paid work during times when criminals are laying low or if they need a break from the constant fight; an alternative take on Heroes for Hire. The agency helped numerous heroes in need of a bit of cash, and Patsy was eventually able to hire Jubilee as her intern. During ‘Civil War II’, her office received an upgrade, moving into Jen Walter’s law firm after She-Hulk fell into a coma.
2 She's No Stranger To Cat-Fights
Despite having a close friendship with Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. Black Cat, the pair found themselves coming to blows during ‘Civil War II’, despite Patsy’s attempts to lay low. Looking to take advantage of the chaos caused by the world’s superhumans battling against each other, Felicia set out to take over New York City’s seedy underworld, forming her own gang, the Black Cats. Discovering her friend’s plan, Patsy and her agency decided to stop Felicia.
Not one to go down without a fight, even if it is against one of her feline friends, Felicia trapped Patsy in the Bag of Infinite Capacity. Eventually managing to break out, Patsy was able to stop Felicia and the Black Cats. While the experience caused her to catch a “pan-dimensional stress flu” with reality-warping sneezes (yes, really!), Patsy knew she was ready to return to the superhero lifestyle once again.
1 She Isn't BFFs With Jessica Jones
Having been raised in the spotlight, Patsy is desperate to form genuine connections to friends. It explains her close, reliant relationship with Jessica in Netflix’s Jessica Jones. No matter what happens, the pair have each other’s best interests at heart.
But Patsy and Jessica aren’t best friends in the comics. In fact, they aren’t close at all. Their interactions have been limited over the years. Patsy once applied to be nanny to Jessica and Luke Cage’s daughter, Danielle, but was unsuccessful. She would later meet Jones for the first time in 2016 as Patsy turned to Jessica in hopes she would help her recover the rights to her old Patsy Walker comics. Instead, Jessica Jones is close friends with Captain Marvel herself, Carol Danvers, while Patsy and Jennifer Walters are BFFs, despite their often turbulent relationship.