The 8 Best Characters Of Luke Cage

A big part of the success of Marvel's Netflix TV series is due to how great the characters are. It has been said before, but these shows are in effect 13-hour movies, which allows for a deeper look at the main players than in, say, The Avengers films. Think Matt Murdock with his conscience split between his vigilantism and his catholic faith. Or Jessica and her post-traumatic stress disorder. Now that we've seen Luke Cage, we can let out a collective sigh of relief that it is at least on a par with the previously released shows in this neck of the MCU woods. Obviously, its central hero should take a lot of the credit, but the supporting cast that surrounds him is also very strong, perhaps the best of all three series so far. And so, with a big spoiler warning attached, here are the eight most significant characters of the show, ranked from worst to best. 8) Diamondback The addition of Willis Stryker AKA Diamondback is perhaps the one big contentious point of Luke Cage’s debut run. While Cottonmouth, Mariah and the police all after him, Luke had enough on his plate without chucking in his ultimate nemesis, as well. On reflection, he probably should have been saved until season two. He also suffers from having cliches heaped on him. As Luke’s best friend gone bad and his secret evil brother and the secret mastermind in the background, Diamondback is every supervillain trope rolled into one. As such, he feels more like a contrived way to up the stakes for the second half of the season than part of the natural progression of the narrative. That's not to say that it's not enjoyable to watch this very unpredictable character at work. Erik LaRay Harvey also brilliantly plays him like a mad preacher, what with his penchant for quoting bible verse. 7) Pop Despite only appearing in two episodes, Pop makes a big impression in the show. From the opening moments, where he is set up as Luke’s only confidant and friend, it is clear that Pop will do an Uncle Ben. He’s going to have to bite the bullet so that Luke can start his hero’s journey. Sure enough, he's killed by Cottonmouth’s goons in episode two, but it’s no less impactful for being obvious. Not only does Luke lose the one person who gave him safe haven, but also his final connection to his late wife Reva is severed. Interestingly, Pop is similarly responsible for creating Cottonmouth – punching out his teeth when he himself was a young thug, thereby giving Cornell Stokes his nickname. 6) Shades At first, Shades is presented as a generic thug, on loan from the initially mysterious Diamondback to handle the trouble Cottonmouth’s been having with Luke Cage. He also provides an unwelcome link back to Luke’s past, as he was in prison with him at Seagate – and knows his true identity as Carl Lucas, ex-convict. However, new shades (heh) are added to the character as his manipulative nature is revealed halfway through the season. In goading Mariah into covering up the murder of her cousin Cottonmouth, he's the catalyst for her embracing the family business. Shades also displays a eerie sexual attraction to her, or at least the crime boss he thinks she could be. In that way, he actually has the upper hand on both of the show’s two main antagonists, content to remain pulling the strings in the background. 5) Cottonmouth In pre-publicity for the show, Cottonmouth was being talked about as the next great Marvel TV villain, a successor to Daredevil’s Wilson Fisk and Jessica Jones’ Kilgrave. In the result, the talk of him being the show’s main antagonist was just smoke and mirrors. While it resulted in a shocking moment part way through the season, it meant that Cottonmouth wasn’t as strong a character as he could have been. Though Mahershala Ali gives a strong performance in the role, as a king of crime whose empire is dwindling before him, he just doesn’t have the fear factor of the previously mentioned villains. Cottonmouth is the Kylo Ren of the Marvel Netflix world – a more impulsive, ill-controlled antagonist who, while being fascinating to watch, does not quite cut it compared to the might of Fisk or the unstoppability of Kilgrave. 4) Mariah Dillard Thankfully, after Cottonmouth kicks the bucket, an arguably even more interesting character takes his place. While Cottonmouth’s brand of thuggishness recalled Fisk, Mariah Dillard’s quest for political power offered something unique from previously seen villains. The public face of Harlem’s bright future, Mariah pretends that she's nothing like her criminal family but, deep down, she has inherited the ruthless streak of her grandmother, Mama Mabel – a fierce family woman and crime boss. Sexually abused by her uncle, Mariah is doomed to never escape her genes and her upbringing. This is also true of Cottonmouth (who had his dreams of becoming a pianist dashed), but the theme is more effective with Mariah. 3) Claire Temple Though the likes of Jeri Hogarth and Luke himself have appeared in a couple of these shows so far, it is Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple who is the glue that holds this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, interacting with – and generally saving the life of – Daredevil, Jessica Jones and now Mr Cage. Claire provides a useful role in the show as someone who completely has Luke’s back and believes in what he's doing. After all he goes through in the series, he needs a moral compass to keep him on his mission and Claire fills that role admirably. She has had a lot of practice, after all. This is probably the best use of Claire in any of the shows so far, and her mostly platonic chemistry with Luke is actually superior to her romantic one with Matt. 2) Misty Knight On the comic book page, Misty Knight is a kung-fu practicing private eye and ally of Power Man. Oh, and she has a bionic arm. In Luke Cage, however, Misty is a talented detective (completely with Sherlock-like ‘Misty- Vision’) who is out to bring down the unbreakable vigilante. It’s a big change, but thankfully it only makes the character more interesting. In essence, Misty fills the role of an antagonist, as her and Luke are definitely not on the same side. Despite this, the pair really want the same thing. To rid Harlem of the crime and corruption it is riddled with. As such, she's basically the secondary protagonist on the show who is only doing what she believes is right. That the law is everything. 1) Luke Cage No one else could take the top spot but Power Man himself, Mr. Luke Cage. First of all, Mike Colter is terrific as Luke. We got a taste of him in Jessica Jones, but here he proves that he's a terrific leading man with a lot of charisma. Despite possessing bullet-proof skin, the great thing about Luke as a character is that he is a reluctant hero who, just like the best of them, is forced to face up to his responsibilities when tragedy strikes. A real man of the people, he will not stop until his town is safe. Just because he wears a hoodie instead of a cape doesn’t mean he isn’t a fully-fledged hero. The best example yet of a street-level superhero, the team behind Luke Cage should be commended for giving us another great Defender to add to the line-up.