The character of Luke Cage burst upon the comic book scene in June, 1972 with the publication of Marvel's 'Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1'. It was renamed 'Luke Cage, Power Man' with the 17th issue, and had a forty nine issue run as a sole adventure, super-hero title until the character's teaming with Iron Fist in 'Power Man and Iron Fist #50'. From there, Luke Cage was incorporated into other Marvel titles and team-ups, after becoming the first black superhero to be featured as the protagonist and title character of a comic book. Luke Cage had a significant impact on a comic book fan who eventually became an actor, who wanted to make it on his own instead of relying on his family name. That's how Nicholas Coppola became Nicolas Cage.
I'm only just getting around to this program, having never read the series back in the Seventies, though it appears to find it's story line from the pages of the comic like all the other Marvel based super-hero shows from Netflix. I found the program to be fairly compelling over it's first season run of thirteen episodes. It has an almost entirely black cast, with characters that appeared in other series, like nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) from 'Daredevil' and a single appearance in 'Jessica Jones'; and Detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick) from the 'Iron Fist' series. For this viewer, that's what makes these shows all the more interesting, never knowing who or when they will pop up in the story line.
The program has more than it's share of villains, as Luke Cage attempts to bring law and order to the streets of Harlem, often times running afoul of the police when his enemies conspire to frame him for crimes he didn't commit. That's part of the major story line in the second half of season one, when the murder of Harlem Paradise nightclub owner Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes (Mahershala Ali) is staged to make it look like Luke was involved. Luke, who's body is invulnerable to things like mere bullets, and who has super human strength due to a medical experiment gone awry, has to use his street smarts and the aid of loyal friends to counter the attacks of his enemies. Probably the most irritating thing about the first season story is how Councilwoman Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) constantly avoids being nailed for her involvement in the Stokes murder and the illicit drug trafficking in her Harlem district.
One thing I've been keeping an eye on in these Marvel/Netflix series is the possibility of catching Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee in a cameo or bit part. Unsuccessful so far with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist, I think I finally caught his likeness on a storefront poster in Episode #1.12, where he asks neighborhood citizens if they 'See a Crime, Report It'. It's around the 17:32 mark if you want to check it out. I might be wrong but I want to believe Lee made an appearance here, if only on paper.
I'm only just getting around to this program, having never read the series back in the Seventies, though it appears to find it's story line from the pages of the comic like all the other Marvel based super-hero shows from Netflix. I found the program to be fairly compelling over it's first season run of thirteen episodes. It has an almost entirely black cast, with characters that appeared in other series, like nurse Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) from 'Daredevil' and a single appearance in 'Jessica Jones'; and Detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick) from the 'Iron Fist' series. For this viewer, that's what makes these shows all the more interesting, never knowing who or when they will pop up in the story line.
The program has more than it's share of villains, as Luke Cage attempts to bring law and order to the streets of Harlem, often times running afoul of the police when his enemies conspire to frame him for crimes he didn't commit. That's part of the major story line in the second half of season one, when the murder of Harlem Paradise nightclub owner Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes (Mahershala Ali) is staged to make it look like Luke was involved. Luke, who's body is invulnerable to things like mere bullets, and who has super human strength due to a medical experiment gone awry, has to use his street smarts and the aid of loyal friends to counter the attacks of his enemies. Probably the most irritating thing about the first season story is how Councilwoman Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) constantly avoids being nailed for her involvement in the Stokes murder and the illicit drug trafficking in her Harlem district.
One thing I've been keeping an eye on in these Marvel/Netflix series is the possibility of catching Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee in a cameo or bit part. Unsuccessful so far with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist, I think I finally caught his likeness on a storefront poster in Episode #1.12, where he asks neighborhood citizens if they 'See a Crime, Report It'. It's around the 17:32 mark if you want to check it out. I might be wrong but I want to believe Lee made an appearance here, if only on paper.