Luke Cage: 5 Things We Want In Season 2

Earlier this week, Marvel Television and Netflix officially renewed Marvel’s Luke Cage for a second season.

Marvel’s Luke Cage followed Luke Cage (Mike Colter) as he returned to Harlem to rebuild his life after escaping Seagate Prison and losing the bar he owned with his wife in Hell’s Kitchen during the events of Marvel’s Jesisica Jones.

The first season ended with Luke returning to prison after succesfully defending Harlem from his old rival and half-brother Diamondback, but the neighborhood is still threatened by the corrupt politician turned criminal Black Mariah.

Luke Cage will return first for Marvel’s Defenders in 2017. But then what? Here are five things we’re hoping to see in Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 2.

Heroes for Hire

Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 2 will take place after the events of Marvel’s Luke Cage and Marvel’s The Defenders.

That means that Luke Cage and Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, should have met by the time the second season premieres.

If that’s the case, then it is about time for one of the greatest duos in comics – Power Man and Iron Fist, the Heroes for Hire – to assemble in live action.

Obviously, Luke Cage needs to be the star attraction of Marvel’s Luke Cage, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see a guest appearance or two by Iron Fist. Put the two heroes back to back and bring on the bad guys.

 

Daughter of the Dragon

The Heroes for Hire aren’t the only kickass duo that could show up in Luke Cage Season 2.

Misty Knight (Simone Missick) was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Luke Cage Season 1. Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) will be introduced in the first season of Marvel’s Iron Fist.

Together, they are the Daughters of the Dragon, a fierce fighting force inspired by the same set of 1970s cinema tropes that inspired the Heroes for Hire.

Unfortunately, despite Colleen and Misty being fantastic characters in their own right, the Daughters of the Dragon have spent most of their comic book existence playing second fiddle to Luke, Danny, and other Marvel Characters.

For a time, the Daughters took over as the leads of a new Heroes for Hire series. Hopefully they get of that spotlight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

Romantic Tension

Luke Cage was first introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first season of Marvel’s Jessica Jones on Netflix. In that series Luke became involved in a passionate romantic relationship with the superpowered, hard-drinking private investgator, Jessica Jones herself (Krysten Ritter).

While there seemed to be a pretty strong bond forming between Jessica and Luke in that series, Jessica was only mentioned as an afterthought in Luke Cage Season 1, with Pops referring to her as Luke’s “rebound chick.’

Luke moves on to a new relationship with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), the nurse who has appeared in Daredevil and Jessica Jones already. 

But Luke and Jessica have a huge history in the Marvel Comics Universe. The two of them have a child together – named Danielle after Danny Rand, Iron Fist – and get married.

Hopefully the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t decided to just sweep that entire storyline under the rug.

 

More Musical Performances

Marvel’s Luke Cage received a lot of critical praise for its sense of atmosphere. One of the most distinctive stylistic flourishes that helped define that atmosphere were the live musical performances by real world artists, mostly taking place at Harlem’s Paradise.

Musical guests in Luke Cage Season 1 included Raphael Saadiq, Faith Evans, Charles Bradley, Method Man, and the now late Sharon Jones.

We’re hoping that’s a trend that continues into Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 2. Harlem’s Paradise may be under new management after all, with Black Mariah and Shades taking control now that both Cottonmouth and Diamondback are out of the picture, but there’s no reason to believe they won’t keep that great music in tact.

 

A Worthy Villain

The villain role in Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 1 was…complicated.

Cottonmouth was arguably the most interesting character in the entire show, but he got shuffled off stage early thanks to his cousin, Black Mariah, going a little off the rails.

The back half of Marvel’s Luke Cage Sesaon 1 filled the void left by the death of Cottonmouth, one great villain, with three lesser villains in Black Mariah, Shades, and Diamondback.

Diamondback was a pretty standard Marvel mirror villain, Shades is a fantastic secondary villain, and Black Mariah was in the midst of her villainous origin story. Perhaps now that that’s sorted out, she can more fully step into Cottonmouth’s shoes.

Or maybe Marvel Television has something entirely different up its sleeve.