Luke Cage is a Netflix Marvel TV series that has a more retro feel like Boardwalk Empire meets Blaxploitation meets Marvel. To quote everyone’s favorite nurse and the best character in the Marvel universe, Claire, the titular hero is the corniest, a square goody two shoes that keeps getting framed. He has no inner angst or conflict. His biggest problems are keeping his clothes free from bullet holes; holding on to his photo of his wife and pissing the wrong people off on both sides of the law. If you want to see a person fight people with a couch, this series is for you.
It is probably unfair for me to compare and contrast Luke Cage with Black Lightning, just because they both have black superheroes, especially because they are from different universes, but I happened to watch Luke Cage when Black Lightning’s first season aired. I noticed that black superheroes always care more about history and practically helping their neighbors than other superheroes who basically save lives then bang out. I preferred Black Lightning overall because it is a better story, but Luke Cage has better production values. If Luke Cage had a bunch of people that he had to help, he always saved the not black people first whereas there are only a handful of not black people in Black Lightning, and most of them are bad guys. While the acting is generally good in Black Lightning, the average acting bar in Luke Cage is way higher (sorry, but Gambi brings down the average). It isn’t even close because Mahershala Ali is an Oscar winner, and Alfre Woodward is a Golden Globe winner. The weakest actor in Luke Cage may be Mike Colter, who plays our hero. Pulp Fiction briefcases, great music and vocal bystanders!
In spite of this high quality, I think that Luke Cage had a bit of a villain problem. It was probably intentional, and it is not intended as slander on Ali’s performance, which was terrific, but I never bought that Cottonmouth was a villain because I’ve liked Ali and thought of him as a good guy since The 4400. Was Cottonmouth off the hook and took things too far every minute of the day? Yes. I didn’t like Diamondback because I don’t understand how he could be a successful criminal businessman when he is too crazy to make money. Blade called. He wants his outfits back. Ishmael and the half brothers from Empire called, and those brothers said get therapy.
I thought Shades had the best story arc. He was extremely respectful of boundaries, wanted people to be the best money making criminal he or she could be and knew the rules, but fairly early in the show, it was obvious that he had a childhood crush on a certain character and had a vision board for his best life, which he got! I don’t think that he can trust her, but I’m happy for him while simultaneously not approving his life choices. Question: during the hostage crisis, why was he washing his hands when he hadn’t killed anybody? Did I miss something? Lawyer!
I got extremely confused when Alfre Woodward popped up as a character in Luke Cage because I saw Captain America: Civil War first, and she plays a completely different character in that movie. I had to run to IMDB to clarify her role. Because I used to watch The Walking Dead, and there is a character on it that seems like an unlikely badass. When she is about to take everyone out, she gets super emotional and seems as if she is going to have a mental break. I’m not sure who did it first, and Woodward’s performance is more nuanced, but I saw her coming, especially after she was touching kids then used hand sanitizer. When her cousin asks her what to do about our hero, she rattles off a pretty comprehensive list without much forethought. Well, damn! Her mom may have been a badass out of necessity, but she has rats in her head, and I loved it! And she wins the Copycat award for best fictional character’s home!
My problem with Luke Cage was suspension of disbelief and pacing issues in the narrative. If you’re a fugitive, maybe be a little camera shy and wear a better disguise. He casually uses his powers in broad daylight while people are openly filming. Then the timing of certain events made the whole thing seem ridiculous. There is a point when it takes a few episodes for Luke to make it from one point in Harlem to the other while slowly walking in the middle of the street in broad daylight. You were just with him! How are you not finding him?!? He gets glimpsed and recorded once. Then everyone is still talking about locating him, and seconds later, he has made an over thirteen-hour road trip without being spotted once by a camera or anyone. I think everyone says that they’re looking for him, but they’re not really trying because the last episode shows how easy it is to snap him up. Also how have the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. not taken jurisdiction from the NYPD and the US Marshalls? How is his hair not like his skin too? I can see shutting his eyes in the tank, but he should be stuck with that hairstyle. When do they interview a new barber? I need a whole episode devoted to this interview. Who is Romeo, and why would he be disappointed in Zip? Should I know this? What is the point of working with the cops and the criminals if you’re not spending the money?
The most egregious aspect of this storyline is his interaction with the NYPD, specifically Misty Knight, who becomes suspicious of him way too early in the story. The final episode in light of all that came before was absurd. Side note: I know that she and Claire worked things out, but I don’t think that I trust her overall judgment the way that she is written, no shade on Simone Missick’s performance, who makes an annoying character as enjoyable as possible.
Luke Cage has nice touches such as retroactively making Iron Man 2 more important retroactively than it was when it premiered. I did expect Jessica Jones to make an appearance, but I guess that she doesn’t watch a lot of tv. Turk needs to get a new line of work. I’m looking forward to the next season, which will be available on June 22, 2018, but I probably won’t watch until much later.