Marvel's 'Jessica Jones-Esque' ABC Series Needs to Star Kate Bishop

Last week, Marvel Television's Senior VP of Original Programming Karim Zreik revealed to a panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival that the studio has a "Jessica Jones-esque" series in development for ABC. Beyond noting that the series would be female-focused, however, Zreik provided no major details, including what character (or characters) would be featured.

While Marvel has many female heroes more than deserving of their own TV series, if the studio is truly looking for something "Jessica Jones-esque," the choice is clear: Kate Bishop.

You might know Kate Bishop better as the bow-wielding second (and better) Hawkeye. While she started her superheroing career in New York City alongside the Young Avengers and later Clint Barton (the original Hawkeye), for the past few years Kate has spent more of her time in Southern California, doing the detective thing to pay the bills while she investigates her publishing magnate father's criminal connections.

On the surface, Kate and Jessica have a lot in common. They are both snarky, dark-haired detectives with a penchant for superheroics when the situation calls for it. It's hard to get more "Jessica Jones-esque" than that.

Kate Bishop scopes out the scene at at bank robbery. Robbers are wearing president masks.

And yet, Kate is hardly a Jessica Jones clone. While both have suffered from significant trauma, Jessica's experiences losing her family and being abused by Kilgrave/The Purple Man have given her PTSD that manifests in an unwillingness to get close to anyone, a general sense of bitterness, and some pretty heavy drinking. Kate, on the other hand, is more sassy than antisocial. Sure, she'll make jokes at the expense of those around her, but she still surrounds herself with family surrogates, including the Young Avengers, Clint Barton and, of course, Lucky, aka Pizza Dog. In generational terms, where Jessica is quintessentially Gen-X, Kate is most definitely a Millennial. The result is a character -- and a comic -- that is fun, rather than grimdark, and that is more suitable for a teen audience.

Jessica Jones drives Kate Bishop's Vespa, with Kate on the back

There's also the matter of geography. Where Jessica feels at home in the gritty streets of Hell's Kitchen, Kate has much more of a Southern California feel to her, even if she originally hails from the Upper East Side. A Kate Bishop show based on the current comic by Kelly Thompson, Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire could fit well into the SoCal detective tradition of Veronica Mars and Terriers. Kate solves serious mysteries, but she does it with a panache and humor that makes her more Psych than True Detective.

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Kate Bishop's Story Would Help Grow the MCU in New, Interesting Ways

Kate's story is also practically designed for TV. In addition to her detective business, where she helps whoever happens to wander in from the streets (mysteries of the week, if you will...), Kate is also slowly collecting evidence in her investigation of her father and his connection to the criminal underworld. It's the sort of slow-drip backstory that works well on TV, and could make for an amazing season finale or three.

Kate's investigation into her father is also an ideal way to bring a major villain back to the MCU: Whitney Frost, aka Madame Masque. In the comics, Madame Masque is a major figure in mafia-like Maggia, and has tangled with Kate on more than one occasion, and she seems to be tied somehow into Kate's father's dark dealings. She has a particular hatred for Kate after she stole Madame Masque's identity (and clothing) during a case in Madripoor.

The MCU version of Whitney Frost appeared in the second season of Agent Carter, where she was played by Wynn Everett. This Frost was an actress and engineering prodigy (inspired by Hedy Lamarr's wartime wireless frequency-hopping research) whose experiments with Zero Matter had devastating personal effects. Frost was captured and seemingly deprived of her abilities at the end of the Agent Carter finale, but this being the MCU, locked away does not mean gone forever. A season finale reveal that Frost is still alive -- kept perennially young by the effects of Zero Matter -- and the mastermind behind the scenes would be an amazing twist, as well as a great way to bring Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter back, if only in flashbacks, all while remaining true to Kate Bishop's comics backstory.

Beyond the villains, however, a Kate Bishop series would also be an ideal way to introduce some other major characters to the MCU, especially her Young Avenger teammates. While a Young Avengers series (or movie) seems like a no-brainer, Marvel could introduce one or more of them first in Kate's series, setting the stage for a later team-up when the geriatric Avengers are MIA. One obvious choice: Kate's dimensional-hopping BFF America Chavez. A SoCal setting would also potentially allow for crossovers with Runaways, if permitted by Marvel's deal with Hulu. And then there's the possibility of a Jessica Jones/Kate Bishop team-up...

Oh, and there's the most important supporting cast member of all: Lucky, aka Pizza Dog. Introduced in Matt Fraction, David Aja and Matt Hollingsworth's Hawkeye run, Lucky started out as Clint's rescue, until Kate "liberated" him and took him with her to California. He's been at Kate's side ever since, occasionally even solving a mystery on his own. (Hawkeye #11, told from Lucky's point of view, would make an utterly amazing hour of television.)

Why not just make a Hawkeyes series with Clint, Kate and Lucky, you ask? Alas, the MCU version of Clint happened to be introduced mere months before Fraction and Aja's dramatic reinvention of the character. MCU Clint has much more in common with the boorish, misogynistic '80s take on the character than the current version. No offense to Jeremy Renner, who is doing the best with what he's been given, but MCU Hawkeye is just not interesting enough to hold down his own series.

Project Communion children tell Clint they like him, but still like Kate Katie Hawkeye more.

And, before you ask, yes, there is a third snarky, dark-haired, female detective in the Marvel Universe: Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman. Under other circumstances, I would absolutely agree Jessica Drew would be a perfect star for her own "Jessica Jones-esque" series.

There are two big problems, though. First, there is wide speculation that either Sony owns the rights to Spider-Woman or that the terms of the Spider-Man deal makes it impossible for Marvel to use the name "Spider-Woman" without Sony's consent. While the Marvel/Sony relationship is pretty good at the moment, it complicates matters.

Second, while never quite an A-lister, Jessica Drew has been a prominent member of the Avengers since the start of Brian Michael Bendis's New Avengers run. She is a much more natural fit for the Avengers film franchise, preferably alongside longtime pal Captain Marvel. Don't get me wrong, I would be all over a Jessica Drew TV series, but I highly suspect Marvel is saving her for the movies.

But that's fine with me. I adore Kate Bishop, and definitely think she's got what it takes for an amazing television series. Sure, there might already be at least one bow-wielding vigilante on network television, but if there's room for two Hawkeyes, there's plenty of room for more than one archer.