Hope Shlottman

"He made me jump for hours, as high as I could. He said I was never as good as you."

- Hope Shlottman

Hope Shlottman was a girl from Omaha whose encounter with Kilgrave led her to be forced to murder her own parents. While Jessica Jones tried to prove her innocence, Kilgrave returned and Shlottman was left with no choice but to take her own life.

Track Star
Hope Shlottman was the daughter of Bob and Barbara Shlottman and the older sister of Owen.

Shlottman left Omaha, Nebraska and became a student at New York University, getting an apartment with her best friend Mei. As she attended New York University, Shlottman joined the school's track team; she was extremely proud of her accomplishments and called her parents constantly to update them. In the event of "Long Jump", Shlottman became number two in the state.

Disappearance
Shlottman met Kilgrave. Soon after, she quit the track team, stopped contacting her parents, except, on Kilgrave's permission, to call her mother for her birthday , and told Mei to sell her items in order to get the expected rent money for their apartment.

One Month Anniversary
Shlottman used her credit card, a item her parents gave her for emergencies since she was taught to be frugal, to buy expensive clothes and a man's suit.

When the one-month anniversary of her relationship with Kilgrave came, he took her to a restaurant; however, the table Kilgrave wanted was occupied. Shlottman saw the maitre'd ask the seated couple to vacate their table for her and Kilgrave. Since Niku did not make the dish that Kilgrave requested, Kilgrave had the chef find the former restaurant's chef and get the recipe.

Rescue of Hope Shlottman
Kilgrave and Shlottman stayed in the Plaza Hotel together. One day, while Kilgrave was gone and had told Shlottman not to move, the fire alarm activated; Shlottman obeyed and did not move, lying in bed watching the alarm clock as she counted the moments that Kilgrave was gone. Jessica Jones entered the hotel room and requested that Shlottman follow her; Shlottman obeyed Kilgrave's command. Understanding what was happening to Shlottman, Jones lifted her from the bed. She screamed and fought, refusing to go.

Ultimately, Jones took Shlottman to the Alias Investigations Office and called the student's parents. Jones let Shlottman know that nothing Kilgrave had her do was her fault and had her repeat the phrase so that it could be internalized. Bob and Barbara Shlottman arrived and were elated to see their daughter and decided to take her home to Nebraska.

Parents' Murder
But Kilgrave had placed one more command in her. While in the elevator with her parents, Shlottman pulled a gun from her purse. Jessica Jones saw the gun and ran to the elevator, but it closed and proceeded downward before she could enter. Meanwhile, Shlottman killed her parents, shooting them multiple times. When the elevator opened at the ground floor, Shlotmann, still holding the gun, turned to Jones and said for her to smile. Suddenly, Shlottman regained her senses and started to scream as she saw the bullet-ridden bodies of her parents.

Jessica Jones' Visit
Shlottman was visited in detention by Jessica Jones who wanted information about Kilgrave and Shlottman's time with him; she just looked out the window, saddened. Her first response was to ask Jones about her jumping ability because Kilgrave would force her to jump for hours and would compare her efforts to Jones'. Hope later said that she was upset because her brother Owen was now all alone, at the age of twelve. Jones told her that she will try to prove her innocence, but Shlottman did not believe her and had a temper tantrum. As Jones exited, a doctor entered and insisted that Shlottman take her medicine willingly or he would force her to ingest it.

Jeri Hogarth's Visit
Jeri Hogarth entered Shlottman's visiting room and told her that she was Shlottman's lawyer and that if she had kept the public defender provided by the state, she would have two life sentences to regret her decision. Shlottman said nothing. Hogarth then said that she was referred by Jessica Jones who believed in her innocence and decided to find others that were abused by Kilgrave. This caused Shlottman to turn to Hogarth in disbelief; she did not know that there were others beside her and Jones. Hogarth, taking a seat, asked her to reveal everything to her.

Talk Radio Interview
Shlottman was convinced by Jeri Hogarth to participate in a phone interview with Trish Walker on her talk show at WNEX Station. Hogarth sat with Shlottman as she spoke over the phone. During the interview, Shlottman described how she tried hard to resist the command of Kilgrave to kill her parents, but ultimately his directive prevailed. She revealed that she loved her parents and, though she is remorseful for what she did, she does not believe it was her fault. Hogarth then spoke as if Shlottman was insane, so Walker defended her to her listeners. When Walker began taking phone calls, Kilgrave himself called and asked Walker the wisdom in insulting him if he truly had mind control powers. Shlottman screamed and rattled her chains upon hearing her tormentor's voice.

Need for Abortion
"Every second it's there, I get raped, again and again; my parents are shot, again and again."

- Hope Shlottman to Jessica Jones

Shlottman was transferred to the Northeastern Correctional Facility to await her trial.

Shlottman had Sissy Garcia as a cell mate, who slept on the bottom bunk. Discovering that she was pregnant and hating the fetus growing inside her because it reminded her of her rape and her parents' murder, Shlottman promised Garcia that she would give her fifty dollars cash and a carton of cigarettes if Garcia beat her up.

Shlottman called the cell phone of Jessica Jones and asked her to visit her in the Facility, but to bring cash with her. As the two talked, with Shlottman insisting from Jones to hand her the cash as opposed to putting the money in her commissary, they were interrupted by Sissy Garcia, who wanted Shlottman to hurry her conversation so they could watch television together. Jones tried to give Shlottman hope, but after she took the cash, Shlottman dismissed her.

That evening, Shlottman was awakened by Garcia telling her to stay quiet as she beat on her.

Shlottman was hospitalized from her beating; when Jeri Hogarth visited her, she refused to tell her anything. Later, Jones came to visit her, knowing her arrangement with Garcia but not why. Shlottman told Jones about her pregnancy and her hated for the unborn child, referring to the fetus as a tumor. Jones told her that she would handle her situation.

When Jones and Hogarth returned days later, Jones gave Shlottman an abortion-inducing pill; as Jones was telling her to be certain before taking it, Shlottman wholeheartedly swallowed it. Over the next few hours, Shlottman had unbearable pains; Hogarth stayed by her bedside.

Plea Bargain
Shlottman got a visit from Jeri Hogarth where her attorney told her that the state wanted her to cop a plea bargain in which Shlottman was to plead guilty and her charges would be diminished to twenty years instead of possibly two life sentences. Hogarth tried to convince her to take the deal since Shlottman was young enough, in her opinion, to do the time and be released still able to have a family and continue her life. Shlottman said that she wished to consult with Jessica Jones before making a decision.

Shlottman called Jones who told her that she had captured Kilgrave, and that with patience, Jones was working on getting her exonerated with the telepath's confession. Hesitant, because she was running low on faith and options, Shlottman allowed Jones to convince her to refuse the plea bargain.

Release from Prison
Unexpectedly, when Shlottman called Jessica Jones, Jones told her that the following day she will be free from prison. Skeptical, Shlottman listened as Jones tells her that she will take her to a restaurant to celebrate her freedom; when Jones tells her that she can return to Nebraska, Shlottman revealed that she has no home and her brother Owen has been led to believe that she too died with their parents. Jones promised that she will not be late in retrieving her from prison.

Suicide
Jessica Jones was late in picking up Shlottman from the Northeastern Correctional Facility upon her release, so Shlottman called Jones to remind her of her promise. With the sound of panic in her voice, Jones told Shlottman not to move or to hide in a bathroom until she arrived; Shlottman realized that Kilgrave was no longer Jones' captive. Kilgrave arrived at the prison before Jones could and forced Shlottman to go with him, leaving Jones a message with a correctional officer that they could be found at Niku. At Niku, Shlottman was unable to move as she sat at a table with Kilgrave while four people were made to stand on the bar with nooses around their necks. When Jones entered with Albert Thompson, she demanded an exchange for Shlottman; Kilgrave exerted control by having the four step closer to the edge and the possibility of being hung. Shlottman begged Jones to kill Kilgrave as he commanded his father to walk towards him without relinquishing control over Shlottman; he told Shlottman that Jones wanted to remain a hero by trying to keep him alive for Shlottman's sake. As Kilgrave hugged Thompson, Shlottman grabbed a glass on the table and shattered it; Kilgrave gloated that she was incapable of killing him. Shlottman remarked that Jones had the power and stabbed herself in the neck. While blood poured from her jugular with every heartbeat, Shlottman watched as Kilgrave ran with Thompson while telling the four to leap from the bar. Jones chose to save the four before attending to Shlottman. As Shlottman died, she begged Jones to promise her that now that she was no longer a factor that she could kill Kilgrave; Jones vowed that she would.

When the police arrived, the others told the authorities that they witnessed the death of Shlottman, omitting the involvement of Kilgrave.

Family

 * Bob Shlottman † - Father and Victim
 * Barbara Shlottman † - Mother and Victim
 * Owen Shlottman - Brother
 * Unborn child †

Allies

 * Mei - Friend and Former Roommate
 * Jessica Jones
 * Jeri Hogarth - Attorney
 * Trish Walker - Interviewer

Enemies

 * Kilgrave †
 * Sissy Garcia - Fellow Inmate

Behind the Scenes

 * Hope Shlottman is the first and, so far, only main character from a Netflix TV show not to be derived from the original Marvel Comics.