WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Jessica Jones Season 3, streaming now on Netflix.
Trish Walker's journey from former child star to talk-radio host to super-powered vigilante takes a dark turn in the third, and final, season of Jessica Jones, but not before it has a little fun with a couple of Marvel Comics Easter eggs. Specifically, Captain Marvel and Hellcat, Patsy Walker's comic book alter ego.
After receiving enhanced, cat-like abilities in Season 2, Trish (Rachael Taylor) longs to become a hero whose accomplishments rival those of her adoptive sister, Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter). There are just two problems: beating police to the scene of the crime; and not being recognized as the star of It's Patsy! by criminals and their victims. The former requires practice and strategy, but the latter is solved by a trip to a costume store.
In Episode 2, "AKA You're Welcome," Trish darts into a changing room with a basket filled with masks and costumes. What follows is the expected (and comical) quick-change montage. Among her selections is an outfit that looks remarkably like Carol Danvers' uniform from Captain Marvel (well, a low-budget version), paired with a wig that bears more than a passing resemblance to Brie Larson's hair.
That's more than a nod to a blockbuster Marvel Studios film: In the original Alias comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, it was Carol Danvers who was Jessica's best friend; her history with Trish is a creation of the television series. Although Carol was part of the adaptation when it was in development for ABC, that changed as the project moved to Netflix and Marvel Studios began contemplating its own plans for Captain Marvel.
The Hellcat nod immediately follows, with Trish assessing her reflection while wearing a yellow unitard with black, or dark blue, sash, gloves, mask and high-heel boots. "Hell, no," she says, dismissing the homage to her classic yellow-and-blue superhero costume.
Patsy Walker began her life in comics in 1944 as a teen-humor and romance character (whose mother's name was, yes, Dorothy). Against all odds, Patsy and her friend Hedy were introduced into Marvel's superhero universe in 1965, and, stranger still, in 1976 she became a costumed heroine Hellcat, and at different times served as a member of the Defenders and the Avengers. She even married Hellstrom, Son of Satan, but that's neither here nor there.
Although Trish is never referred to as Hellcat on Jessica Jones -- she's instead called "the masked vigilante" and "the masked killer" -- she settles on a much more practical costume that pays tribute to her comic book roots: a yellow shirt, blue knit cap and zip-up jacket, and a blue scarf that can cover her lower face when she's ready to spring into action.
Streaming now on Netflix, Jessica Jones Season 3 stars Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss, Eka Darville, Benjamin Walker, Jeremy Bobb, Sarita Choudhury and Rebecca De Mornay.