During the 1995 series 22 Brides, writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Joe Quesada introduced the kick-butt heroine Painkiller Jane to Event Comics. Following her debut at Event Comics, Painkiller Jane bounced around from publisher to publisher. Currently the character is published by PaperFilms, a company owned by Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. What originally began as a five-issue miniseries has spawned an ongoing title and numerous crossovers with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirella and Hellboy.
Before she was Painkiller Jane, Jane Vasko was an ordinary police officer working undercover to infiltrate the Fonti Mob. After earning the trust of mob boss Joey Fonti, she is tasked with passing a message on to rival gang member Adam. Unbeknownst to her, an explosive device has been planted on her that explodes when she meets her target. While Adam is surprisingly uninjured, she suffers significant injuries. Somehow, Adam manages to revive Jane, giving her superhuman regenerative powers in the process. She utilizes these newfound abilities, along with her considerable fighting and markswoman skills, to become the vigilante Painkiller Jane.
Shortly after her miniseries, Jane’s origin story was slightly rewritten. A highly decorated officer, later promoted to detective, Jane was investigating the Blanco Brothers. After getting caught, the Brothers tried to kill Jane by giving her a lethal cocktail of a bad batch of drugs. These drugs placed her in a coma for well over a year, but upon awakening she discovered that the drugs had given her the ability to heal quickly as a side effect to the drug cocktail. Much like the original origin, Jane took up the mantle Painkiller Jane, however this time around she was a bit more of a sociopath vigilante.
Virtually indestructible, Painkiller Jane can use her exceptional regenerative abilities to heal minor injures in mere seconds. Throughout her vigilante career, Painkiller Jane has recovered from multiple gunshot wounds, explosions, chemical weapons assault, axes buried in her spine, even a shotgun blast to the face. Although she can heal from most anything, this power does not stop her from experiencing the pain from each injury – which is where her name comes from.
Outside of comics, Painkiller Jane was adapted into a made for television movie in 2005, for the Sci-Fi Channel starring Emmanuelle Vaugier. The Sci-Fi Channel Original Series later launched a short-lived television series with Kristanna Loken as Jane. More recently, Lotus Entertainment has reportedly tapped Jessica Chastain for a Painkiller Jane feature film. But did you know, that’s not all Painkiller Jane fans have to look forward too?
A Kickstarter campaign for a new slimline graphic novel Painkiller Jane: Trust the Universe was recently launched by Palmiotti and artist Juan Santacruz. Read more about this exciting new project, and the former DC character joining Jane, here on Scoop.
