Luke Cage’s Mystery Villain Revealed in New Poster and Spoilers Interview

[WARNING: Major SPOILERS Follow.]

Marvel’s Luke Cage is tearing up the pop-culture forefront right now, having had a huge Netflix seasonal premiere over the weekend; so big, in fact, that the show was (jokingly?) blamed for crashing Netflix’s servers. But while the show is breaking new ground for superheroes of color, and providing pathway for Marvel to join forces with Hip-Hop culture, there are still plenty of familiar staples that make Luke Cage part of the Marvel Netflix formula.

One thing that the previous Marvel Netflix shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones) have done is to introduce a secondary villain or threat into the mix, somewhere around mid-season. Luke Cage was no different, with the show introducing the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Willis “Diamondback” Stryker to the screen in episode 7, “Manifest”. The Marvel Comics character is played by Boardwalk Empire’s Erik LaRay Harvey, and now he has his own poster: ‘

Speaking to EW, Erik LaRay Harvey revealed that he didn’t read a lot of Marvel Comics growing up – his taste in comics is surprisingly more exotic:

“To be honest, while I was a fan of comics growing up, the comics I read weren’t Luke Cage or the standard [superhero comics]. I was raised overseas, so my comics were more like Tintin or Asterix [laughs], but I’ve always been fascinated by [superhero] comic books. Growing up, I read some of The Flash, but I guess I shouldn’t say that. That’s not Marvel! [Laughs]”

As for Marvel Comics canon: Diamondback has been used for a variety of characters, but the one that applies here is Willis Stryker, a knife expert who was Carl Lucas’ best friend and fellow gang member. When Lucas left the gang, he and Stryker had a falling out – in part over their shared affection for Reva Connors. Willis was the one who framed Lucas for drug possession, and got him sent to prison. In the end, Lucas became Luke Cage/Power Man, and Willis (after being responsible for Reva’s death) became a bigger ganglord, known as Diamondback.

In the Luke Cage series, that mythos is largely the same. But while Luke Cage’s origin is only slight remixed, with Diamondback there was definitely a big twist on tradition [HUGE SPOILER WARNING]:

“...I was like, you know what, let me stay away from the history of the ’70s and just work with Cheo and adopt a more modern view of these characters,” Harvey said. “And in discussing that with Cheo, we came upon the history of Willis and Carl [Lucas, Luke Cage’s birth name], and once Cheo revealed his direction with Willis, I think the fact that he was his brother was so interesting. I mean, it’s like, whaaat?

That’s what drives Willis and that’s the backdrop of this story and that’s where a lot of pain comes from. You know, he’s a very pained guy. I don’t look at him as a villain, I just look at Willis as a man who’s going through a lot of painful and traumatic experiences. He gets sent away because of his father’s actions and then once he’s in the jail system, he just gets tortured. After all that, his mind’s been twisted and warped, and he’s developed this sensitivity that’s almost psychopathic.”

Another big staple of these Marvel Netflix series is having characters from the comics finally throw on a costume and throw down – which, oddly enough, can sometimes be the least satisfying moment of the show.

Harvey had to do as much in the finale of Luke Cage, noting, “They were trying to incorporate as much of the original character as they could, so the color scheme is the same. In the comics, it was just, like, his regular clothes…. But this suit he wears in the show is more armor….Once he’s got that suit on, he gets on equal terms [with Luke], which is something he’s always wanted to be.”

As we recently noted in our editorial on the Marvel Movie villain problem, Marvel TV has been smart about keeping villains alive and well for future development – and Diamondback is no different. Last we see, he’s in being treated by the same doctor who gave Luke his powers. So is Diamondback going to live up to his name?

Harvey knows nothing so far, noting, “Marvel is secretive. They left it open-ended — I’m just so glad they didn’t kill me off! [Laughs]“

For the full interview, head over to EW.

NEXT: Luke Cage’s Iron Fist Easter Egg Revealed

As we wait and see what the future holds for Diamondback – how are you enjoying Luke Cage? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @ComicBook or @KofiOutlaw