25 greatest Marvel-Netflix characters of all-time

16. Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes

Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes was the owner of Harlem’s Paradise and also a criminal of influence in Harlem. He was able to run his criminal activities from the club while operating under the cover of a legitimate business. However, once Luke Cage arrived on the scene, things began to unravel for him.

Cottonmouth never truly wanted to be a gangster. As a child, he showed tremendous potential as a piano player, so much so, that he was offered a place at Julliard; often, he’d be found playing the piano in Harlem’s Paradise. Mama Mabel, the matriarch of Harlem, had other ideas for her grandson and groomed him to be a cold, calculating man who believed that power came through money and demonstrations of force.

Stokes was trained to take over Mama Mabel’s criminal empire and maintain the Stokes family’s hold over Harlem. She was very successful in this as he gained a reputation as a man to be feared as well as a successful businessman.

Unfortunately, his cousin, Mariah Dillard, killed him mid-way through Luke Cage‘s first season. While this was a great twist, Diamondback wasn’t anywhere near as compelling as Cottonmouth and the series lost a little bit of momentum after his death.