BLOOD WORK: BLOODY GOOD TELEVISION: NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES ~ LUKE CAGE SEASON 1

In all of Marvel's lexicon of characters I personally lean more towards their supernatural characters and cosmic characters. There are a few exceptions to this of course, Hulk and Sub-Mariner being the two biggest. The Street Level heroes like Spider-Man, Punisher, and Daredevil (while all being great characters) I've always put on the back burner. One character I don't know much about is Luke Cage. What exposure to the character I have received came from Brian Bendis' New Avengers run and Jeff Parker's Thunderbolts. With Bendis' writing the character always felt forced. With Parker's writing there were other characters which stood out more than Cage.

The stories I have read that I enjoyed came from Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction's IMMORTAL IRON FIST book. The character was only featured in passing however. Needless to say I still have yet to read a story in which I've connected to Luke Cage.

September 30th 2016 Netflix launched their third Marvel series LUKE CAGE, all thirteen episodes. Luke Cage is the third major hero to have come from Netflix further building the "Street Level" corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Netflix's two seasons of DAREDEVIL have been nothing short of amazing. The one season of JESSICA JONES too was incredible. Netflix's hot streak continues with Luke Cage. And I am happy to find myself liking and finally connecting to the character of Luke Cage.

Netflix's Luke Cage is awesome!

THE PLOT

Carl Lucas is a man trying to rebuild a life that was taken from him. Wrongfully imprisoned. Beaten, battered, and experimented upon. When Carl escaped from prison he found himself reborn. Possessing impenetrable skin and super strength, Carl leaves his old name behind, adopting a new identity: Luke Cage. Living in Harlem New York, Luke sees crime and corruption all around him and people crying out for someone to save them. With his new powers Luke steps in to help. Soon everyone begins calling him the Hero of Harlem. But Luke's past soon catches up with him and he is forced to decide whether to start running again or finally make a stand.

THE GOOD

The Tone. Luke Cage was a character created in the early 1970's. His comic book reflected a certain 70's esthetic. Likewise the filmmakers imbue the television show with a 1970's cop drama tone a la Dirty Harry or Shaft. The show takes place today but evokes those same feelings present in 1970's cinema. Luke Cage is a street level hero and as such the show embraces that gritty and brutal style. The music choices too maintained a more classic and timeless appeal and are distinctively African American. From jazz to r&b, crooners to even a little rap. The show successfully marries these classic esthetics to a modern story.

100 % Luke Cage. In Jessica Jones we first met Netflix's Luke Cage played perfectly by Mike Colter. He was in seven episodes of that show and stole some of Jessica Jones' spotlight. Here he is the only major hero to appear, no one else stealing what is rightfully his. From start to finish the show is his. As a result he becomes a fully fleshed out and three-dimensional character. He feels like a real person too, not a caricature or a stereotype. We follow him on a complete story arc uniquely his. And with it all the filmmakers go to great lengths adapting his comic book story to the screen. Many characters from his original comic run appear. They even manage to bring in his original costume too for a brief moment.

The MCU Connection. While the show is completely Luke's the filmmakers also remind us that this story takes place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With references to the Avengers movies peppered here and then we naturally are shown references to Netflix's other shows too. The biggest connectivity comes through Rosario Dawson's character Claire Temple. As of right now, Claire Temple has appeared in all four of Netflix's Marvel seasons and has become sort of a seal of approval.

R-Rated Action. One of the shining aspects of Netflix's Marvel shows is the darker tone. The more MCU movies released the more comedy is injected into them. Comedy is fine but throw us a serious movie every now and then please. Netflix gives me what I want. Luke Cage is most definitely not a show for younger audiences. It's very bloody, very serious, and very adult. From the detailed look at ghettos, gangsters, mobs, cartels, sex, and a ton of murder to the intense and brutal fight scenes, Luke Cage is a serious drama rather than a smiling popcorn spectacle. And that's what makes this show and the other Netflix Marvel shows so good.

Simone Missick as the Marvel hero Misty Knight

THE BAD

Forgotten Pieces. Remember the movie THE INCREDIBLE HULK with Edward Norton? It was the second MCU film from 2008. The final sequence of that film takes place in Harlem. Strangely there is no mention of Hulk saving Harlem from the Abomination. I would've thought that piece out of all of them would come up. That's a relatively small detail but a detail that would've lent the show a whole new level of credibility and cohesion with the MCU. Again this seems like an oversight given both seasons of Daredevil have referenced the event.

Also, during Jessica Jones Luke Cage owned a bar, a legitimate business establishment that was blown to smithereens. The writers don't mention this fact at all or how a man with a fake name, no credit, and no social security attained the permits. Perhaps he inherited it from Reva and it was in her name. But even so there is no reference to this at all. And at the end of Jessica Jones he was still dealing with fallout from Jones having killed Reva. When this show begins he seems to have moved passed it already.

These don't ruin the show by any means and could be called "nitpicking." Call it a problem with cohesion. All in all Luke Cage is very good.

The character of Diamondback is introduced by quoting the movie The Warriors. So cool!

THE VERDICT

Netflix scores another home run with Luke Cage. The filmmakers go to great lengths to firmly establish Luke Cage as his own unique hero (even so much as to ignore Hulk saving Harlem first and a few details from Jessica Jones). The show both honors and respects the original source material while blending the story with the rest of the MCU. The show has its own unique tone mixing some 1970's movie and music esthetics with current real world settings. Intense action, R-Rated violence, and some truly evil villains place this show in line with Netflix's other Marvel shows and a cut above many of the MCU films. Both the heroes and the villains are given the time and development they need to feel like fully rendered characters (as opposed to almost every villain in the MCU films).

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

Really Good! One Worth Owning

Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The future of Marvel is Netflix.