Painkiller Jane is a fictional character, a comic book heroine created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirella, and Hellboy. After Event comics, the character was exclusively written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by various artists as it jumped from publisher to publisher. The series relaunched at Dynamite Entertainment with the first mini-series selling out. After that Icon- an independent label for creator owned work at Marvel comics, published two mini-series. The character then came back to PaperFilms, a company owned by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner where it is currently published. Painkiller Jane has been published all over the world in at least 8 languages to date. The comics have been the basis for a film and television series and is currently in development with Jessica Chastain.
Jane Vasko begins as an undercover police officer attempting to infiltrate the Fonti Mob. After gaining the trust of mob boss Joey Fonti, she is given the assignment of passing a message on to rival gang member Adam, not realizing that an explosive device has been planted on her. As she meets her target, the explosion causes significant injuries, but Adam is uninjured. Through mysterious means, he manages to revive Jane, giving her superhuman regenerative powers in the process. Leaving her life as a police officer behind, she becomes the vigilante Painkiller Jane. The validity of this origin is unclear, as a completely different origin has been presented in the first Painkiller Jane miniseries, and the Dynamite Comics' miniseries contain references to both versions of the characters' origin.
Powers and abilities
Jane Vasko is virtually indestructible. With Jane's exceptional regenerative abilities, minor injuries heal in seconds, and do not even slow her down; more major ones tend to take a few minutes. She has recovered from multiple gunshot wounds, explosions, chemical weapons assault, axes buried in her spine, even a shotgun blast to the face. However, the healing power does not stop the injuries from hurting, which is where her new name came from. On the offensive side, she has no real powers except for being a tough woman to kill. Other than that, she is a skilled fighter and master of undefined martial arts, as well as a master marksman with her weapons of choice, a pair of handguns.
Painkiller Jane was made into a made-for-television movie and broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel in December 2005. The film stars Emmanuelle Vaugier as the titular heroine. The film differed significantly from the comics, notably in regard to the character's origin, but led to a subsequent television series. In an interview with Moviepilot, Palmiotti is in progressing on a new film. In November 2016, Deadline reports that Jessica Chastain has signed on to star as Jane Vasko in the big screen with Lotus Entertainment’s Lenny Beckerman producing along with Solipsist Films’ Stephen L’Heureux and Chastain through her Freckle Films banner. Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, Ara Keshishian and Palmiotti will exec produced the film.
Television
The Sci-Fi Channel Original Series based on the character starred Kristanna Loken as Jane Vasco. The series' pilot aired Friday, April 13, 2007. The name of the heroine in the show was more similar to the original comic name of Jane Vasko, as opposed to the Jane Browning character from the television film. The series received lukewarm reviews. On August 15, 2007, it was announced the show would not return for a second season. The final episode aired on September 21, 2007.
