Netflix’s Luke Cage Hits the Ground Running

Over the last 15 months, I have written reviews for the Netflix’ Defender series. I admit that I have been a huge fan of Netflix’s interpretation of  Daredevil and Jessica Jones because they stuck so very close to their source material. The latest offering, Luke Cage starring Mike Colter, follows in those footsteps and we are rewarded with a very adult series about a reluctant superhero with “unbreakable” skin. Luke Cage hits the ground luke cage2running and the audience never really gets a chance to catch it’s breath until the very end.

When we meet Luke Cage, five months have passed since his encounter with Jessica Jones and the Purple Man in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Now, he is just trying to blend in, working in a barbershop as a janitor and at a night club as a dish washer in Harlem. The two places he works says a lot about the conditions he finds in that part of New York. The barbershop is, like most barbershops in Black communities, a central gathering spot for men. No cursing is allowed by the owner, Pops, played by Frankie Faison who is a father figure to all. The conversations are positive in nature and Pops reminds all who come to his shop that life is precious and they should always be looking for ways to “pay it forward.”

The nightclub and its owner, Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, played by Mahershala Ali, on the other hand, symbolizes the worst of street life. Cottonmouth runs drugs, guns and  prostitutes from his nightclub. He has police on his payroll and comes from a crime family which includes his cousin, Councilwoman Mariah Dillard, brilliantly portrayed by Alfre Woodard.  These two worlds clash and it is up to Luke Cage to get justice for his adopted community.

I will not kid you. You will probably be extremely uncomfortable with the language and the free flowing use of the n-word in this series. But the use of profanity does two things: 1) the language is necessary to draw sharp contrast to the calm, safe world of the barbershop versus the violent criminal world of the nightclub and; 2) Luke is also uncomfortable with the coarse language around him strengthening the point that he is not of that world. This is not a series that young children should watch. Beside the language, it is as violent as Daredevil, but it is superbly written and beautifully acted.

As I mentioned in my Jessica Jones review, the thread that binds Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage together is the character, Claire Temple, a nurse, who has treated all three characters. Temple, our Night Nurse (played by Rosario Dawson) keeps us connected to The Defenders the same way Phil Coulson and Nick Fury kept us connected to the individual Captain America, Thor and Iron Man movies before the singular Avengers movie.

Marvel has setup The Defender series in a way that guarantees the series success. While the leading characters have not crossed over into each other’s series yet, the supporting characters have. Trish Walker (Jessica Jones) is heard on the radio discussing Luke Cage’s activities.  Jeri Hogarth (Jessica Jones) offers Foggy Nelson (Daredevil) a job. Turk Barrett (Daredevil) is a regular customer at the barbershop where Luke works. All of these crossovers help build a world that is believable and functional and that is why Luke Cage works so well and is highly recommended.

Luke Cage is streaming on Netflix.