Netflix Whizzer
Netflix has just premiered Jessica Jones Season 2, and we’re introduced to a character that many people hadn’t heard about before. He goes by the name of Whizzer, and he’s hiding quite a few surprises. This post has spoilers through the first five episodes of Jessica Jones Season 2, mostly for the first two episodes.
Whizzer aka Robert Coleman comes to Jessica Jones with a problem: he believes that someone is targeting him. And he’s terrified. He insists that he can run really, really fast, but Jessica isn’t sure if she should believe him. In fact, she doesn’t believe him at all when he first approaches her.
ALSO THE WHIZZER???
But later on, she learns that he wasn’t kidding. When he’s scared, he runs so fast that Jessica has a tough time keeping up with him. Unfortunately, whoever is after him doesn’t, and Whizzer ends up dying in a terrible construction accident that Jessica is originally blamed for. Meanwhile, her new super sees the whole thing while he’s out with his son, and he’s not very happy about the police force that’s attracted by all the commotion.
It turns out that Whizzer’s powers have a connection to Jessica Jones’ powers. And he’s not as crazy as everyone thought. And he has a great quote: “With great power comes great mental illness.”
You may be surprised to learn that Whizzer is a real Marvel character and wasn’t just invented for the show. However, his storyline was changed dramatically. In the Marvel comics, he’s a war-time superhero with superspeed, able to run up to 100 mph during his prime. (Incidentally, this is much slower than The Flash from the DC universe.) During World War II, he was a member of the Invaders and Liberty Legion, fighting the Axis powers. After the Invaders were captured, he formed a new Liberty Legion to battle the Invaders under Red Skull’s control. He later married Miss America, and their unborn child was affected by radiation. His child, Robert Frank Jr., was known as Nuklo.
Decades after the war, he continued to fight crime and eventually joined the Avengers. His origin wasn’t from experiments, but from being injected with mongoose blood after he was bitten by a cobra. The transfusion caused a latent superpower to become dominant. He first appeared in the comics in 1941, hence the connection to World War II. In 1974, he returned to the comics in an Avengers series and then an Invaders series.
What did you think of Whizzer? Let us know in the comments below.