100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios and Netflix
#48. Marvel’s Luke Cage Season 1
Medium
Live-Action Television Series
Release Date
September 30, 2016
Credits
Directors: Paul McGuigan, Guillermo Navarro, Vincenzo Natali, Mark Jobst, Sam Miller, Andy Goddard, Magnus Martens, Tom Shankland, Stephen Surjik, George Tillman Jr., Phil Abraham, Clark Johnson
Writers: Cheo Hodari Coker, Matt owens, Charles Murray, Jason Horwitch, Nathan Louis Jackson, Akela Cooper, Aïda Mashaka Croal, Christian Taylor
Creator: Cheo Hodari Coker
Cast: Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Theo Rossi as Hernan “Shades” Alvarez, Erik LaRay Harvey as Willis Stryker / Diamondback, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, Alfre Woodward as Mariah Dillard, Frank Whaley as Rafael Scarfe, Ron Dephas Jones as Bobby Fish, Jacob Vargas as Domingo Colon, Darius Kaleb as Lonnie Wilson, Jade Wu as Connie Lin, Deborah Ayorinde as Candace Miller, Justin Swain as Bailey, Jaiden Kaine as Zip, Sean Ringgold as Sugar, Dawn-Lyen Gardner as Megan McLaren, Jeremiah Richard Craft as Dave Griffith, Michael Kostroff as Noah Burstein, Tijuana Ricks as Thembi Wallace, John Clarence Stewart as Alex, Karen Pittman as Priscilla Ridley
The Reason It’s Great
Marvel’s Luke Cage is the third series from Marvel’s Netflix line-up of street-level heroes. The character of Luke Cage is brought into the modern world and made even more relevant by placing the backdrop against current African-American issues.
Though political, the series never uses a heavy hand in trying to convey those ideas. It remembers it’s comic book roots and skillfully merges it into a crime drama. Speaking of comic book roots, the writers also adeptly give Luke Cage a compelling origin story.
The 13-episode series shows Luke embracing his hero identity and also looking into his past. With a strong supporting cast and equally strong plotting for the first season, fans are now looking forward to Luke Cage’s sophmore solo outing and his next appearance on Marvel’s The Defenders.