20 Years Later, Jessica Jones' Best Moment Hits Harder Than Ever

Although Jessica Jones was retroactively established as having been present in the Marvel universe since 1963’s The Amazing Spider-Man #4 as one of Peter Parker’s classmates, she’s only truly existed for 25 years. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, Jessica was introduced in the pages of Alias as a former superhero-turned-private investigator with powers like super strength and flight. Along with her prominence in the comics, she’s gained further popularity from Krysten Ritter’s portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2015.

There have been a lot of great Jessica Jones moments in the comics, but the best of them came 20 years ago in the final issue of The Pulse, Bendis’ follow-up to Alias. Along with providing more context for how Jessica and Luke Cage became one of Marvel’s best couples, The Pulse #14 also exceptionally presented how far she’s willing to go to protect the innocent and less fortunate. It hits just as hard as it did back then, if not more so.

Jessica Jones Unmasked Herself To Help Two Kids

The Pulse’s final issue sees Jessica telling her and Luke’s newborn daughter, the then-unnamed Danielle, how she met Luke, who asked Jessica to marry him in the prior issue. At this point in Jessica Jones' life, she was still recovering from the traumatic experience of being mind-controlled by The Purple Man for nearly a year. She returned to the superhero life, albeit going by Knightress now instead of Jewel, but this identity shift only lasted one week.

Jessica’s final mission as Knightress saw her crossing paths for the first time with Luke Cage and Danny Rand for the first time, with this even taking place back when the two were running Heroes for Hire together as Power Man and Iron Fist. Together, the trio took down The Owl, one of Daredevil’s long-running villains, but after the battle, they learned that one of Owl’s goons brought his children to this base of operations.

With the kids’ father heading off to jail, and no way to track down their mother, the police officially could only take them back to the station and wait until morning until social services could pick them up in the morning. Not willing to let them go through this, Jessica revealed her true identity on the spot, so the police could look up her record (including her S.H.I.E.L.D. references) and come to an arrangement so that the kids could stay with her for the night.

This Is When Luke Cage Fell In Love With Jessica Jones

Impressed by Jessica’s selfless act, Luke found her place that same night and helped her keep an eye on these kids. That began their story together, and in New Avengers #47, Luke recounted how he fell in love with her when she accompanied him for his reunion with his estranged father, then consoled him when it went horribly. By the events of Alias, they were in an on-again, off-again relationship, and then fully committed to each other once Jessica became pregnant. They married in New Avengers Annual #1.

All this came from Jessica’s instant decision to leave a traditional superhero life behind to ensure that these kids, whom she’d never met before, could have one night where they didn’t have to worry about anything. It’s not as flashy as saving the world from a maniacal supervillain or averting a natural disaster, but it’s no less admirable. Whatever happened to those kids afterward, they’re unlikely to forget what Jessica did for them.

This was the spark that ignited a love that persists to this day, and without which Danielle Cage wouldn’t exist. However, even looking past the romantic aspect, Jessica’s sacrifice for those kids demonstrates her impeccable character. From her costumed crime-fighting years to her continued non-costumed activities, this is still the moment where Jessica Jones has shined brightest.