With the release of Echo on Disney+, and the Mouse House unceremoniously reintegrating The Defenders Saga into the MCU timeline, it should come as no surprise that I am continuing on with my Defenders Saga deep dive. In this case, I’m making my way through season 1 of Luke Cage.
There seems to be a commonly held belief among the fandom that each series in the Defenders Saga got progressively worse. Daredevil, the first entry in the mini-franchise is widely regarded as the best.Jessica Jones is said be alight drop in quality. Likewise, there is said to be another drop in quality with Luke Cage; while Iron Fist is universally regarded as the worst of the group. While I’m only halfway through season one of Luke Cage, I must say that I am enjoying it more than I enjoyed season 1 of Jessica Jones. Unfortunately, the gruff exterior that the Jones character projects upon her on screen world was enough to make me not care for her until the end of her first season.
I’m sure that, first and foremost, it’s because Luke Cage is a much more sympathetic character than Jones is. From his first appearance on Jessica Jones, you could tell that Cage was a character that we were going to care about. He was physically, imposing, strong, and yet soft-spoken. As the old saying goes, women want him, and men want to be him.
Despite his super strength and bulletproof skin, Cage is a reluctant hero. He has return to his Harlem roots to lead a relatively quiet life. But Luke’s past and Harlem’s criminal elements converge to call him to action. When Cage goes public, there’s no mask, no costume, no hiding and shadows. like Cage is very much a hero of the people.
Thus far, there’s enough references to the to remind us that this show is firmly set in the same world as the MCU: Diamondback’s power suit being. hammer design, the Judas bullets being constructed of alien metals.
In Luke Cage, we are getting an idea of how ordinary people would react to the emergence of superpowered heroes like The Avengers. Jessica Jones touched down on this idea, but Luke Cage is sticking the landing. Just as they did in The Avengers, we’re hearing that some everyday people are suspicious of the “people with abilities”; whereas many people see them for the heroes they are. Surprisingly enough, the one element that has tied Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage together has been Nurse Claire Temple, as portrayed by Rosario Dawson.
As of this writing, I am about 2/3 of the way through the first season. I’ve been told that the story falls apart here; but I’ll have to judge that for myself.
UPDATE 1.27.24: Now that I finished the first season, I have a few more thoughts on the show. The general consensus was that following Cottonmouth’s death, the show limped to the finish line. . And while it did seem to drag a bit, I thought that the last 2 episodes were the most entertaining. The show runners decided they had a lot of stories to tell, Luke’s origin and his ultimate redemption. The two different agendas of cottonmouth and Mariah. Diamondbacks reveal as the big bad of the series.
I don’t know that I felt the series ran too long. I think the biggest problem was there wasn’t enough hinting early on to suggest that Diamondback was the ultimate threat. The way the story went, it felt like he was just pushed back in once Cottonmouth was killed in the show runners ran out of ideas. Diamondback’s connection to Luke Cage, was something created for the TV series and seemed to simply be one layer too many for the storytelling process. I would’ve kept Diamondback in the shadows for season one, only to reveal him as the major baddie for season two. In doing that, the season 1 probably could’ve been cut down to 8- 10 episodes.
FINAL TAKE: if you’re a fan of the MCU, Luke Cage is worth checking out! It is a great story, with a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, I do feel that certain story arks, like Diamondback , could’ve been saved for next season..
Luke Cage is currently available for streaming on Disney+.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:
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- A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
- The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
- Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
- The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie
The article “Rob Reviews… Luke Cage, season one“ originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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