The Variants (The Variants

The Variants #1-5

by Gail Simone, Phil Noto (Artist)

Collects THE VARIANTS (2022) #1-5.

What would it really be like to meet an alternate version of yourself - another you who had made different choices and lived a completely different life as a result? That's the question facing Jessica Jones, as what seemed like a routine investigation instead has her encountering other incarnations of herself from across the Multiverse! Can Jessica get along with herself? Will she want to kill her other selves? And will seeing the roads she could have traveled drive her into a self-destructive spiral? This is what happens when you meet…the Variants! Jessica might just be losing her mind…and, worse still, as she is backed into an impossible corner, she is forced to make a sacrifice play that could cost her a member of her own family!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book, Science Fiction

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2023

About the author

Gail Simone is a comic book writer well-known for her work on Birds of Prey (DC), Wonder Woman (DC), and Deadpool (Marvel), among others, and has also written humorous and critical commentary on comics and the comics industry such as the original "Women in Refrigerators" website and a regular column called "You'll All Be Sorry".

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to grit my teeth when yet another Jessica Jones book began with the return of the Purple Man. (Can we put him in a box and set him aside for a good long while, please?) But the story slowly moves Zebadiah KIllgrave to the side as Jessica gets increasingly involved with her alternate reality doppelgängers -- the multiversal "variants" of the title -- who suddenly start popping up.

The required slugfests upon first meeting lead to a Jessica Jones support group with some humorous one-upmanship for who has it the worst and who can be trusted the least.

What really lifts the story though are its Luke Cage moments. He steals the scene every time he shows up, from introducing someone to the most dangerous real estate in the world, to being kinder to a woman on an elevator than she is to him, to being "damn bulletproof."

Jessica is at her best when she is with Luke, and all those sad variants are just gonna have to be jealous of that.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best multiverse stories I've had the pleasure of reading. It's short, uncomplicated whilst still making sense, and full of charm. The variants are well done and leave you wanting to know more about their universes and lives. With so many versions of Jessica, it's no surprise that it packs such a good punch.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to love? It's Jessica Jones. Not only that, but it's multiple Jessica Jones from different universes. Yay!

Purple Man is back. Well, maybe. He's been in a coma for several years, but since when does a coma stop a truly evil Marvel supervillain? And why the hell are all these Jessica Jones bugging Jessica Jones Prime anyway?

I'm honestly getting kind of sick and tired of Marvel's multiverse shenanigans, but Gail Simone's "The Variants" utilizes it pretty well, while also kind of making fun of it all. Great stuff.

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, this was good. Goddamit, Gail Simone is good. Phil Noto’s art keeps getting better and better with every passing year.

In The Variants, Jessica Jones struggles with her ever present PTSD and looming specter of the memories of Killgrave. Even though she should be content with the life she's built with her husband Luke Cage and their daughter Dani, she still struggles with self-acceptance and self-forgiveness. Thankfully Killgrave is NOT the focus of this story, as different variants of Jessica start popping up all over Hell’s Kitchen and she has to figure out what the hell is going on.

Simone balances Jessica’s inner turmoil with some great plot and a fun story. This is kind of a perfect book to get a good idea of what Jessica is like and see her go through a very satisfying emotional character arc.

There are enough greater Marvel call outs to make this fun, but it’s still self contained enough to understand and read as it’s own little story. Just fantastic all around.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the book starts off with a threat from the Purple Man…….again. Seems like anyone who takes on writing Jessica Jones, they immediately got straight to that. And it’s him affecting her in the same fashion. *Sigh* I digress. Once we get past that opening, we see these “variants” start popping up. I feel like it wasn’t really explained how they all got there, just kind of glossed over quickly once the finale or big reveal got under way. I thought the reason why the antagonist was doing what they were doing was kinda dumb plus their new power set seemed pretty mcguffiney. Phil Noto crushed it on art as usual. Plus some of those variants were cool looking with some dope fights. Now, I did start reading this Thursday and got half way through before I was pulled away. Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday I was attending Hero Con so I didn’t get to finish this until now. With that being said, maybe that gap broke up the flow of the story too much for me. I don’t know.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The variants is a great Jessica Jones story dealing with a lot of her past, but also moving on. When variants of her start showing up on 616 universe, she has to try and decide who she can trust and who has a angle. It's a great mystery, with ton of character development, and really solid art. I really wish we got another Omnibus for Jessica Jones because she has a lot of good stuff to read outside her original Alias series.

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

we need more comics that are just short little batshit plot lines like this

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this.
Loved the tone..and the art.
Loved that Killgrave wasn't the total focus....the original story was a classic...but it has been revisited a little too much.
Although calling someone an "insignificant trampoline" just might stick.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Jones has a 10 year curse placed in the back of her brain by Killgrave. It is to kill her husband and child. Unfortunately, her attempts to prepare aren't great and she soon finds herself overwhelmed by other variations on her persona: Captain America, Jewel, Agent of SHIELD, and more. Jessica is soon horrified to find out she's actually got the best life of them all. A really solid and entertaining Alias story.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and unexpected Jessica Jones story! Gail Simone's work is always a treat and this is no exception! The story is basically a Spider-Verse style tale except its all Jessica Jones and different variants of her. Jessica figures out Killgrave put some kind of kill switch in her that after 10 years of her being separated from him she will be compelled to kill everyone around her, which obviously puts Luke Cage and their daughter at risk. Then things get more complicated when variants of Jessica start showing up like one that's Captain America or one that's still using her old Jewel persona. I found it to be a heart warming story as its not as loud and bombastic as any other multiverse story would be, its a lot more small scale and emotional. The twist of who the villain is also caught be by surprise and I don't want to spoil it! Overall, a fun shake up of the usual Jessica Jones neo-noir formula!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phil Noto's superb artwork and some excellent snarky voiceover work from Jessica Jones (Prime) mostly make up for a confounding conclusion to The Variants. Though, what should I have expected from a book that delves briefly into the multiverse?

Aside from the variant stuff being resolved incoherently, we're dealing with the Purple Man again. Can we have a Jessica Jones book that doesn't revolve around her Purple Man-induced trauma? The threat of him returning is ceaseless and annoying - either bring him back or don't!

Ultimately the Purple Man has nothing to do with the Jessica Jones variants who have unexpectedly arrived on the scene (weird plotting!). The meeting of the minds is fun, and Jessica Prime's fear for her family is spot-on. Even when Jessica is dealing with trauma and the multiverse, she still feels like a real human, which can't always be said of these comic book characters.

So, there's good and bad, but I think the good (character work! art!) outweighs the bad (Purple Man again! confusing ending!) here. Recommended, kinda.

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you are your own worst enemy.

Once again Gail Simone has outdone herself. "The Variants" is an exciting, fast paced super hero adventure in which fan favorite Jessica Jones teams up with variants of herself from throughout the multiverse to battle the last threat left by the Purple man and a surprising and unexpected new menace. Expect some great variants, lots of action a few great twists and a deep and satisfying resolution.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0-3.5

It’s been a while since I’ve read some Jessica Jones stories before picking up “The Variants” by Gail Simone. This short miniseries is about Jessica growing paranoid that it has been 10 years since her escape from Kilgrave and whether to mark the anniversary he left a mind control “time bomb” in her head that will force her to commit heinous acts in his name. Complicating matters is the appearance of multiversal variants of Jessica, hailing from realities where she’s still Jewel, where she is her universe’s Captain America, etc.

While I know multiversal superhero stories have been all the rage lately, I think making one about Jessica Jones is an interesting choice. Jessica’s stories have always been mostly grounded detective stories and metaphors for victims overcoming their trauma so multiverse stories seem a bit too fantastical. But I guess that’s part of the multiverse’s appeal, besides looking at the variants of Jess that avoided Kilgrave, we can see more elaborate depictions (Jessica as The Vision) to more “normal” (genderbent Jesse). Admittedly I like the chosen selection of multiversal variants of Jessica that Simone used, even if we didn’t get enough time with the backstories of all but one (who has a screwed up backstory that rivals prime Jessica’s).

I’d say that ties in with The Variants’ brevity, both a strength and a weakness. It's a strength in that the story wastes no time getting to the point but it also means we don’t get extended time with the characters which is a shame. Plus I kept having this odd sensation that panels/story beats were missing which threw off the pacing.

But in general I did think The Variants did a pretty good job at smushing what could have been two separate Jessica Jones graphic novels together. If anything I think Jessica having to deal with a Kilgrave manifestation in her head helped her highlight the differences between herself and her variants and unravel why they are here. Plus when they weren’t doing the standard superhero fights against one another I did like how they discussed their traumas and how most tried to help one another. The highlight of the miniseries was Phil Noto’s art, which is just as great as his work on Daredevil. Although I do wish he did more to make some of the more “normal” Jessicas more visually distinct from each other.

In general I wouldn’t say “The Variants” tops the original Brian Michael Bendis series (Alias and The Pulse) or the TV show. But I do think Gail Simone does a great job taking a character you’d never expect to be centered on a multiverse story and using that to further explore the various Jessicas’ trauma and life decisions. The Variants is a good effort on her part even if not all the parts line up exactly right and I would like to see her and Phil Noto do more Jessica Jones stories.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thought here is that there exist infinite versions of Jessica Jones across the Multiverse. Gail Simone picks up that thread and crafts a mystery that is clever, engaging and entertaining.

There are two storylines running parallel: 1) Jessica Jones broke free years ago of the evil influence of Zebediah Killgrave/The Purple Man. He’s not dead, but is immobile in an unconscious state and should not pose a threat. However, Jessica meets a woman recently arrested for murdering her own family. She tells Jessica that she also was a former victim of the Purple Man, who implanted thoughts in her brain that are now activated after ten years. With her own 10-year anniversary of freedom from the Purple Man coming up, Jessica is afraid of killing her own family and sends husband Luke Cage and daughter Dani away for their own safety.

2) Jessica is confronted at her home by three different variant versions of herself: one bearing the mantle of Captain America, the second with a romantic attachment to Daredevil, and the third in her super hero guise of Jewel. After a skirmish they overcome their suspicions and confusion and decide to work together. Later, Jessica receives a cryptic note from yet another variant warning her not to trust the other three. Luke also get attacked by a male variant of Jessica Jones.

From there the story twists in imaginative ways and things get crazy in the final two issues, as Simone has more in store for readers - - including telepathic aid from Professor Xavier and a reveal of the actual mastermind behind recent events. Good stuff.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

É, amigues, hoje em dia tudo é variante, tudo é multiverso. Teve um tempo que variante era só o nome de um carro. Mas hoje todo mundo tem variante, se bobear eu e você também temos as nossas. Esse quadrinho escrito pela desafiadora Gail Simone e desenhada pelo incrivelmente competente Phil Noto. É um quadrinho que apresenta variantes de uma personagem de quem não esperaríamos embarcar por uma confusão multiversal: Jessica Jones. Contudo, a HQ tem muitos furos de roteiro e achei muito peculiarmente negativo terem substituído o alcoolismo de Jessica por vício em café. Talvez fosse melhor nem tocar no assunto. A trama tem os seus momentos, mas sinceramente poderia ser melhor. Também, para uma escritora que se diz feminista, notamos nas motivações das Variantes de Jessica Jones, e também na antagonista da história, uma dependência absurda dos homens que são seus maridos ou que desejam para si. Acho que a Gail já foi bem melhor e mais espertinha nos seus roteiros. Mas a arte de Phil Noto continua brilhando longe dos roteiros que ele pega para ilustrar.

[nati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a VERY Jessica Jones story. Cut from the cloth that Bendis and Thompson wove. Not *quite* as bitter or sarcastic as Bendis’ JJ, but leaned hard into the emotionally grieving-and-growing Thompson JJ.

I am here for it. The worst part of this story was how short it was. I need me more Variants in my life.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

Writer Gail Simone nails this Jessica Jones mystery with brio offering readers a stand-alone story that not only magnificently covers the superhero’s history and personality in so few pages but also presents the bewildering experience of encountering alternate versions of yourself and realizing all that has been taken for granted in a life that was always held by gunpoint due to trauma inflicted by a narcissistic maniac. With gorgeous and expressive artwork by Phil Noto, this story achieves so much in so few pages while delivering an exciting twist and a satisfying finale to wrap things up beautifully.

The story follows Jessica Jones, a natural private investigator, with superstrength, who now happens to be a mother to a beautiful child with the bulletproof superhero Luke Cage. Having tried really hard to abandon her addiction to coffee, she now feels faint with a massive headache at inappropriate moments, until she later slowly attributes it to a ticking mental bomb that Killgrave, a villainous evil with mind-control abilities, might have left deep into her mind before he disappeared from her life. Unfortunately, things get much messier and weirder when alternate versions of herself pop up out of the blue, leading her to witness a bunch of other selves that could’ve been her had she made slightly different decisions in her life. While juggling with this inevitable existential crisis, she must also quickly come up with a plan to protect her own family before things veer to chaos and she loses her mind, which could then inadvertently and tragically cost her a member of her own family.

Short and sweet, writer Gail Simone brilliantly handles Jessica Jones’ character within this self-contained multiverse story without fluttering around into too much science-fiction nonsense. In fact, with a much more intimate approach, she delves into all the things that make Jessica Jones who she is, especially what she’s known for throughout her rich comic book lore, while focusing on what she now cares about more than anything else: her family. Although the pacing does stall before the grand plot twist towards the end, there are some fantastic moments that really capitalize on Jessica Jones’ character, showing us the complexity of her life and how trauma had affected her in the long term. While there’s an opportunity for change, writer Gail Simone doesn’t hesitate to stay true to her character’s persona and show us the acute difference between self-acceptance and resilience embodied by her protagonist. The fantastic artwork also beautifully plays in favour of this self-contained story, allowing readers to immediately grasp the subtle emotions and all the things that aren’t said yet beautifully expressed. This is simply great story-telling that requires next to no prior knowledge of the ongoing Marvel events to pick up and enjoy.

The Variants is a marvelous mystery delving deep into Jessica Jones’s character while focusing on trauma, resilience, and family.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read with great art, this is probably Gail Simone’s finest work that I’ve read. Top character work, pacing, and plot, this adds to the long line of top class JJ stories. Fantastic work.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75
This was excellent. Love Noto's art. More Marvel Simone!

[Alex Sarll]

There's a lot here to love, right from the off where instead of the usual metaphors for divergent timelines, it's a baffling array of lipstick shades. Jessica Jones has never felt quite so Jessica Jones since that original Alias run, and maybe not even then - certainly not vaguely together Jessica, though I suspect she's taking that too far here by trying to quit coffee as well. But even while the story is trying to move the character past always being defined by Killgrave's abuse, it does that by including lots of Killgrave scenes, which seems counterproductive (even if that luminous quality to Noto's art is a perfect match for such a colour-themed character, especially that first subtle purple wash). And once the multiversal array of other Jessicas start showing up, well, for starters one of them is too easily mistaken for the original, but also an initially promising situation ends up feeling a bit flat. SPOILER: I get the thematic resonance of Jessica being her own worst enemy, but no real sense of why that particular version should be so different both in powers and personality, and I know you can just say 'because every conceivable version is out there somewhere', but if there's nothing adding ballast to that it's pretty much the empty calories end of multiverse stories.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a story about forgiveness?

No..

It's definitely a 'What If?' story about asses getting kicked.

This is by no means perfect, but boy did this hit a bunch of the right notes. Jessica Jones stories have always been good reads. Stunning art. Writing that really gets it. Bendis really crafted a character that people could relate to. She was more civilian than superhero....and that history with the Purple Man? Wow.

Goes to figure that this story would lean heavily on that bit of history. That's pretty much a story in itself. The appearance of the variants seems like it could have been another story arc, but it got smooshed together with the Purple Man story. It had a pretty strong build up until the villain reveal. After that, it got weird super quick.

Bonus: So many ...weird variants
Bonus Bonus: Nice to see that you can dress up like a 20's gangster and EVERYBODY thinks you're Hammerhead.

[marisdreaming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry but, what the hell?
I liked the first four chapters well enough. The finale was a MESS.
The villain is a crazy girl who no one in the multiverse managed to stop, apparently, but Jessica and Luke do that just hitting her a bit and then she suddenly can't drain anyone's powers anymore? The same person who somehow managed to kill every X-Men in her universe and a lot more heroes all around, but Jessica punches her and that's enough.
I don't even know how to rate this. The ending is a pretty big part of a product's quality and it wasn't satisfying in the least, to me. Guess I'll go with two stars. What a mess.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book concerned me when I first started reading it - Jessica gets a message from Killgrave, her life spirals and she has to run away from her family to protect them. Well worn and, by this point cliched, Jessica Jones shenanigans. However Simone takes it in a different direction, ridding us of Killgrave quite early on and adding a twist that was welcomed. If you’re a long time Jessica Jones fan it’s a fun read, if you’re just starting out with the character there are better places to start but this is a fun read.
Phil Noto’s art work is glorious throughout.

3/5
5/5 (art)

[juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

that was pretty good? i had a lot of fun reading it. jess getting out of killgrave’s time bomb was soooo good i was expecting that and the plot twist of jewel being the villain was one of my favorite things, also loved that she was really evil (rip the xmen again)

[Jess Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Only complaint is that it was too short. I would've loved to have seen even more interactions with these characters (that's all I can say without spoilers).

[Stoffia · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'une de mes autrices de comic préférée qui écrit l'un de mes personnages favoris de Marvel, ça ne déçoit pas.

Deux intrigues se mêlent ici :

Dans la première, on apprend que cela fera 10 ans depuis les évènements avec Killgrave.

En gros, pendant huit mois, dix ans plus tôt, un type avec le superpouvoir de faire faire aux gens tout ce qu'il veut est entré dans sa vie. Il l'a forcé à être en couple avec lui et à obéir à ses moindres désirs. Bref, une allégorie du viol, des relations toxiques, et des pervers narcissiques manipulateurs. Jessica Jones vit avec des séquelles depuis. C'est son origin story.

Bref, l'anniversaire approche et les souvenirs de cela la tourmente. Elle entre en contact avec une autre victime de Killgrave, en prison, qui la prévient qu'il lui avait posé une espèce d'alarme mentale pour pouvoir reprendre le contrôle sur elle après 10 ans, la forçant à tuer sa famille.

Jessica Jones a donc peur que la même chose lui arrive et qu'elle attaque Luke Cage et leur fille.

La deuxième intrigue, qui donne son titre à la mini-série, concerne le multivers. Des doubles de Jessica Jones venues d'autres univers se mettent à apparaître pour une raison inconnue. Toutes avec différentes histoires et personnalités. (Elles sont toutes paumées, évidemment.)

Je ne peux pas vraiment expliquer pourquoi le livre est bon ni de quoi c'est une allégorie sans spoilers, donc je vais m'arrêter là. Mais c'est excellent, trust me.

[Antonia (antoniaslonelybookclub) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7/5
Wow, es que el arte de este comic es maravilloso, la verdad es que solo lo leí porque ya había leído un cómic en el cual el artista encargado es Phil Noto y sinceramente, me encanta. Este cómic me llamó la atención por la portada y lo lindo que es su arte, como ya había mencionado anteriormente, saber que trataba de Jessica Jones me animó a leerlo, solo he visto la serie y he intentado leer "Alias" pero siempre desvío mis lecturas. Siento que este cómic me adentró un poco a lo que es el gran personaje de Jessica en los cómics y me anima a leer más de ella, porque realmente la estoy amando ahora mismo y quiero saber más de su historia.
La historia me ha gustado bastante, es intrigante y la trama avanza de igual manera que varios cómics con menos de 7 issues. De hecho, me recuerda un poco a "Captain Carter, Woman out of time" por como se va desarrollando la historia.
Lo leí issue por issue y fue adictivo, recuerdo estar hasta las 2 de la mañana leyendo, literalmente durmiéndome un rato y despertando para poder seguir leyendo, estaba tan cansada... pero la historia era tan adictiva que no podía parar, solo el sueño me detenía jajaja
En fin, sin duda lo recomiendo y espero poder tomar lo antes posible la iniciativa de seguir leyendo más sobre Jessica Jones.
Le doy 3.7 estrellas y un *chef kiss*

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bon dessin, bon scénario, les deux trames narratives parallèles ne se sont pas joins au final ce à quoi je ne m'attendais pas et qui fait en sorte qu'il y a un bon modèle de surprise dans la livraison du récit. L'histoire était pertinente, intéressante, je ne suis pas tant fan des récits d'univers parallèle, mais celui-ci était livré avec respect, les motivations étaient claires et pertinentes avec le genre et l'ensemble tenait bien debout.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more, but the story just didn't come together for me. The two plots of killgraves time bomb and the variants never really intersected, and that's just bad storytelling. In the end I didn't really understand the details of the variants plans or anything. However, the art was absolutely phenomenal and they really got JJ's voice perfect. Plus, Luke's scenes were always great.