Luke Cage Netflix Series Review No Spoilers

Luke Cage finally made his first live-action appearance on Jessica Jones (his future baby momma) last year. Luke Cage fanboys and avid Marvel Comicbook fans have been waiting on Marvel’s first African-American Superhero to get his own for many years and it is finally here and it does not disappoint.

First the casting is amazing. Luke Cage is played by Mike Colter who played the character on Jessica Jones last year, continues to play the character excellently. Simone Missick plays Detective Misty Knight. Misty doesn’t have her robot arm but who knows she might get it, (no spoilers) Mahershala Ali (who is famous for playing Remy on House of Cards) excels once again on a Netflix original production playing Cottonmouth. Cottonmouth is a low level gangster in the comicbook, but on the show is a legitimate threat to Harlem and Luke. Alfre Woodard plays Mariah Dillard. Her character differs from the comicbook and that is a good thing. Dillard in the Marvel comicbooks is lame and they improve her character greatly. Rosario Dawson reprises her role as Claire Temple aka Night Nurse. Erik Laray Harvey plays Diamondback who is the villain in the show, with a past that connects him to Luke Cage. Finally my favorite character on the show, Shades is played by Theo Rossi. They turn an average gangsta/ Luke Cage rival in the comics into a Boss. Shades is so cool in the show, you can’t help but to love the hate him or hate to love him. Overall the acting in the show is amazing.

Luke Cage does a lot of things well. The switch of power between the Harlem’s gangster is done better than in Daredevil. You actually care what happening to the villain or bad guys on the show. The switch up of power and rise to power of one of the villains (again no spoilers) is done rather excellently. They way they change the status quo being the Gangsters running the streets of Harlem is quite wonderful to see happen. Next Luke Cage doesn’t wear a mask like he does in the comicbooks and openly tell the public his name. But is Luke Cage his real name?? (#no spoilers) I was worried about the fighting in the show since Luke can’t really be hurt, I thought the fighting normally power street level thugs would be boring. But Netflix and Marvel really stepped their game up because the fighting was actually fun to watch and him me on the edge of my seat. Most of the street thugs he fights he knocks them out with one or two punches. With bullets bouncing off Luke, the thugs soon realize that they can’t beat him, at the end of the show most start just giving up when they see him. Next up Harlem seems more like a real place unlike in Jessica Jones or Daredevil where the city could be any city and the story wouldn’t change. This Luke Cage story could only be told in Harlem. Lastly the origin of the villains Cottonmouth, Mariah Dillard, Shades and Diamondback are all done with the same amount of care, respect and realness that Kingpin’s origin in the first season of Daredevil is done. The music is amazing, even the theme song that plays of the title credits fits the show extremely well. The soundtrack features a lot of well-known African-American music. Artist like Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, De la Soul, MC Lyte, Hieroglyphics, Queen Latifah, 2Pac, Big Daddy Kane, Isaac Hayes, Redman, Method Man and the Wu-tang Clan all make appearances on Luke Cage’s soundtrack. Making it one of the best and most appropriate soundtrack for a show, I think ever. Method Man even has a extended cameo as himself. Luke Cage saves The Method and a shop owner from being robbed and then Method tells the world on Sway’s (who also cameos as himself) Sway in the Morning shows, where Method Freestyle for Luke Cage and claims the Harlem has his back. They had to be a wonderful moment for Method man as he meets the Luke Cage, Harlem hero. Method man is from Harlem and one could assume that he used to read Luke Cage comics growing up.

The show is amazing but there are some weak points to the show. At time the show can stall and be a quite bit boring, sometimes that is good for a show, the whole calm before the storm, but here I think it can stall for a for a bit to long. Luke Cage can be kind of lame in the show. He is always sad and gloomy about his powers. He can be bit of a square sometimes. He is way cooler in the comicbooks. But I think once Luke Cage on the show fully accepts his role in Marvel Superhero world, he will be cooler. Probably when Luke and Jessica start dating maybe? Let’s give him a couple more seasons to develop. Finally I think this a problem for all of Marvel next shows and some of the movies. Let’s kill the idea that people can’t believe that other people have powers. I mean come on, characters in the shows are constantly mentioning the aliens that attack New York and all the avengers, like Ironman, Captain America and what not, but somehow they are still shocked the some people of have powers. People with powers and seeing people with powers should slowly become the norm. People should still be shocked and amazing at powers and vigilantes, but they should have an easier time believe them. This is the world they live in now. Also I would like to see more street level thugs and gangsters with powers. In Agents of Shield it seems like everyone is getting powers or something. If this is the same world, then let us see some random people with powers too.