Marvel Studios has conquered the movie business with their Marvel Cinematic Universe, and have taken a nice chunk out of television as well, thanks to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the emerging Marvel Netfilx Universe – which currently consists of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, the recently unveiled Iron Fist and this fall’s anticipated series, Luke Cage.
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Now that the Luke Cage official trailer is out, revealing an extensive first look at the show and its various Easter eggs and teases, we can actually weigh what we’ve seen against what has yet to be revealed to determine 5 things We Want to See in Luke Cage Season 1.
Harlem World
Harlem World
It’s no secret that Marvel Studios has beenย trying to literally diversify its brand for the last couple of years, adding more heroes of color and the female gender to the slate of TV and film projects being developed. Black Panther is already poised to be a breakout movie star, but only Luke Cageย will explore the community and culture that is strictly African-American.ย
Nothing tells the story of both African-American prosperity and struggle like the neighborhood of Harlem, New York. From the roaring ’20s to the drug epidemic ’80s and the gentrification of the ’00s, the Harlem of today is also very different than what it used to be. As someone who was living in Hell’s Kitchen, I can say that Marvel’s Netflixย shows aren’t necessarily “True to life” about the neighborhoods they depict; however, inย Luke Cage‘s case, Marvel would do well to give Harlem its proper range, depth, and grandeur as both a historic setting and window into a specific cultural world.ย
A Soundtrack Worth Buying
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A Soundtrack Worth Buying
Luke Cageย has already done itself a favor by embracing the hip-hop culture of its hero and setting. The trailers and teasers for the show have employed some hot tracks (both old and new) – while news that the soundtrack for the series is being handled by producer/composer Adrian Youngeย and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest has brought serious street cred to show.ย
If you aren’t familiar with Younge, he’s gained acclaim for turning albums of rappers like Ghostface Killah into operatic musical movies – and Muhammad is an icon in his own right. If the pair can do what fans and hip-hop heads expect them to, thenย Luke Cage‘sย soundtrack could be a hot commodity in and of itself – move over,ย Guardians of the Galaxyย mixtapes.ย
In addition to making more Marvel monies, we hope the hip-hop flavor tastes right with the supeerhero material it’s spread over; nothing worse than when the two don’t mix (looking at you, Amazing Spider-Man 2).ย ย
Great Villain(s)
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If there is one thing that Marvel’sย Netflixย series haveย done better than so many other superhero TV and movie properties it is introducing and developing quality villains for the heroes to face.ย Daredevilย has given us a great rebootedย version of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and even a new Punisher (Jon Bernthal);ย Jessica Jonesย held its own with Kilgrave (David Tenant), still one of the most frighteningย and brilliantly twisted serial killers we’ve seen on modern TV. That’s a pretty high bar forย Luke Cage to matchย – but we have faith.ย
Theย Luke Cageย trailer focuses on the ruthless Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, a Harlem gang lord (and former cohort of Cage) that will be played byย House of Cardsย star Mahershalaย Ali. We’ve also seen set photos ofย Boardwalk Empire‘s Erik LaRayย Harvey as Diamondback, Cottonmouth’s blade-wielding henchman, who happens to Luke’s former best friend.
However, the real thing we have our eye on is Alfeย Woodard, whose Mariahย Dillard character could be sheepskin for aย ruthless and terrifying crime boss – someone we’re hoping will become one of theย MCU’sย first great female villains.ย
Superman Action
Superman Action
No, Luke Cage can’t fly, or shoot lasers from his eyes – but bullets do bounce off of him, and he can bend steel with his hands, meaning that there’s real opportunity for Luke Cageย showrunnerย Cheoย Hodari Cokerย to give us some Superman-style sequences during the series’ action bits.
Now that doesn’t just mean cool superpoweredย fights; having Luke Cage as a working-class urban Superman should offer just as much opportunity for clever application of super strength/invulnerability. A teaser trailer already gave us a good example: Cage taking a barrage of bullets in a gym before telling the group of stunned shooters that he’s tired of having to buy new clothes. The kind of fun you wish Henry Cavill’s Superman got to have more of…ย
Heroes for Hireย Slide 5
Heroes for Hireย
Fans of Luke Cage on the comic book page know that the hero rarely rolls solo: since his earliest days, Cage has found comfort (and revenue) in the company of other crime-fighters, working under the banner of “Heroes for Hire.” The ranks of HfHย mainly consists of Cage and his good buddy Danny Rand (akaย the star of Marvel’sย Iron Fistย Netflix series), but also came to include characters like Misty Knight, who will not-so-coincidentally make her debut in theย Luke Cageย Netflixย series, played by actressย Simone Missick.ย
We know that this first season ofย Luke Cageย should probably focus pretty heavily on the man himself, but by the time his story arc is coming to its end, we would definitely like to see extensive foundation – if not an outright reveal – for the Heroes for Hire to make their MCU debut. By the timeย The Defendersย team-up rolls around, maybe Cage, Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock could all split costs of a new office space (thatย NYCย rent be too damn high…).ย
Luke Cage season 1 premieres on Netflix on September 30th, 2016. Daredevil season 1 & 2 and Jessica Jones season 1 are now available on Netflix. The Defenders and Iron Fist arrive in 2017. Release dates for Jessica Jones season 2, The Punisher and Daredevil season 3 are TBD.
