3-5

 

The newest Netflix Marvel show, Luke Cage, was such an instant hit, that the day it went up on Netflix, their servers crashed. Now we saw Luke Cage in Netflix’s Jessica Jones, and got a taste at this large black man with impenetrable skin and super strength. And seeing the grittiness of Netflix’s other Marvel shows, I’d say we had a pretty good understanding of what we were getting.


Now onto widespread review. Before long, social media was washed with complaints of the show being racist, or reverse-racism having a 95% African-American cast. A sever lack of white people, and those present, being insignificant. Yes, this show had almost no characters that were not black, and the show definitely enjoyed its black culture. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if many audience members missed out on a couple of converstations completely due to urban slang and topics that aren’t common in certain environments.

     However, this is not a bad thing. With the latest culture uprising of #BlackLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter and even #AllLivesMatter, this show handles the situation fantastically. It brings the situation from each side down to a personal level, showing Black citizens trying to survive the best they can in an environment they are trapped in, cops trying to do their best in situations they weren’t trained for, and everyone else not knowing what to do, but not wanting to do nothing. This show has a political message in a time for it to be best heard and best received.

     The cinematography in this show was great, giving subtle visual cues as to which character to pay attention to, and which character is the current power player. The music sets the mood for each scene perfectly. The script was expertly crafted. From a technical standpoint, this show hit it out of the park.

     The story had beautiful arc, with no filler. The villains took their scenes in dynamic and unique ways, each having their own motivations. No villain was left behind. References to the other Netflix Marvel shows left us begging for more, and call backs to the MCU as a whole tied it all together, reminding you that these characters know Captain America as a celebrity.

 

Source Adaptations !!!SPOILERS!!!luke-cage

Willis Stryker- Secret Half-brother, Childhood friend, turned enemy.
Willis Stryker- Childhood friend turned enemy after framing Carl with hard drugs in order to get his girl.
So not changing anything, just adding something that could have existed in the comic world, just never knew/discovered.


Seagate Prison Experiment- Trying to create cells that regenerate in order to have ever-lasting youth
Seagate Prison Experiment Trying to create a Super Soldier like Captain America
Too many things in the Marvel Universe are about the Super Soldier, so they decided to make this a little more universal.
Reva- Seagate Prison psychologist who takes a liking to Carl, and marries him after he escapes prison. However, never telling him she knew about the secret fights the prison was selling.
Reva- Carl Lucas’ girlfriend before he gets sent to prison, and after Stryker decides he wants her himself, frames Carl with drugs to go to jail.
A complete change in character back story, making it unnecessary to dive much into Carl’s life before Seagate.
Power Man – A nickname Pop gave Luke for his superpowers, though Luke never identified with it, because Luke doesn’t identify as a Super Hero.
Power Man – The superhero moniker that Luke Cage gives himself after he decides to become a hero.
More of a joke to the silly names of heroes from the 70s, and how they don’t fit  anymore.
“You know, a lot of people would pay for that kind of protection” “I’m not for hire”
Hero for Hire – Luke Cages business as Power Man. Literally the opposite.
Showing Luke is more in it for the good of others rather than a job.
Detective Misty Knight – Her arm gets injured, but seems to remain as is.
Detective Misty Knight – Her arm is lost and gets a replacement bionic arm, not unlike Winter Soldier.
Might be saving it, seeing if the bionic arm would fit in later seasons.
Councilwoman Mariah Dillard – A “respectable” politician who keeps her involvement with the crime community under wraps.
Black Mariah – A 400 lbs woman who steals valuables off of recently deceased citizens, turned drug dealer.
Thank goodness they changed that. That would have not fit in this realistic telling of the story.

Do you agree? Disagree? Comment below!

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