Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 3

Let’s marvel for a second at the wonder of modern weapons. It used to be that it’d take years of training and disciple to master a particular weapon, to use it to it’s full effectiveness. Nowadays, any schlub with the right hardware can cause a massacre with the click of a trigger. I still marvel at the irony that gunpowder was originally created in an attempt to make a philosophers stone, and with it gain immortality. Enough discussion about firearms, you’re here to hear me talk about a bulletproof superhero. Let’s get to it.

When we last left Luke, he’d just lost his mentor, his main source of income, and yet another shirt to bullets. Because the gangster formally known as Tone thought it’d be best to show Harlem what happens when they mess with Cottonmouth. And this time, the superpowered ex-con has had enough of this biz. Vengeance, thy name is Luke Cage.

Everybody wants to be the king.

Things begin relatively calmly. Cottonmouth is watching a news report about Pop’s death, and is visibly torn up about it. Death of former friends hit hard. We learn that while Pops died, Chico, who I swear was hit multiple times and in very life-ending places, is alive but in critical condition. Cottonmouth’s plans are further complicated by Domingo’s goons, who are attacking and killing his goons without hesitation. So not a great week for Cottonmouth.

Meanwhile, Luke is preparing for Pop’s funeral. Death is expensive, and Luke is rather hard up for cash. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, Cottonmouth arrives and reveals that he’s planning on paying for everything. Payment for Pop’s death, I suppose. These two are about one direct comment away from killing each other, but they remain civil in the funeral home. After that confrontation, Luke has a much better conversation with Bobby Fish, a regular at the barbershop that played chess constantly. Bobby used to do Pops taxes for him, and has some idea about what sort of capital they’d need to keep the barbershop going. They need a lot of money. Thankfully, Luke has an idea that fits in perfectly with his plan for vengeance. He can’t attack Cottonmouth directly, so he decided to play it like a game of chess, take out Cottonmouth’s important pieces to leave the crime boss vulnerable. And the best way to take out Cottonmouth’s pieces? Take his money.

Back with the bad guys, Cottonmouth officially pays for Pop’s funeral, and unofficially pays for the morgue director to get rid of Tone’s body. From their dialogue, this is pretty standard procedure for them, which is pretty messed up when you think about it. How many goons does Cottonmouth kill to make this a normal thing? Honestly. Back with Luke, he speaks with the now awake Chico. While Chico’s pal Dante had been the inside man of Cottonmouth’s operations, he informed Chico about everything. How convenient. Cottonmouth and Mariah have their fingers in a lot of pies, which makes getting at the majority of their funds difficult. But, Chico does know about their emergency contingency plan. If Cottonmouth or Mariah felt their dealings were in danger, they’d move everything to Mariah’s campaign headquarters, the Crispus Attucks building. They’d refitted the building into a fortress, all the walls are reinforced, there’s only one main entrance and it’s filled to capacity with goons. Someone would have to be superstrong and nearly invulnerable to get in there. How convenient for Luke.

Blood is thicker then water.

Luke hit’s Cottonmouth’s operations hard, messing up his goons and stealing lots of money. Stealing from bad guys is cool, right? Right. After Luke hits five or six safehouses, Cottonmouth starts getting nervous and transfers the majority of his capital to the Attucks. And once Cottonmouth had most of his money transferred, Luke struck. Bulletproof man vs. goons = unconscious goons. Lots and lots of unconscious goons. After Luke absconds with the majority of Cottonmouth’s ill-gotten gains, Misty, who’d been investigating this whole thing, finally realizes that Luke’s involved. The cops shut down Crispus Attucks, and most of Cottonmouth’s remaining funds and equipment are seized. Score one for Luke.

Chico, who’d been moved by Pop’s death and Luke’s desire to do right by their deceased mentor, calls the cops and agrees to tell them everything he knows. Misty’s partner Scarfe goes to pick him up. After learning that Chico does know somethings, and hearing him name drop Luke’s name, Scarfe takes off his tie and chokes Chico to death with said tie. Yeah, he’s in Cottonmouth’s back pocket. At Harlem’s Paradise, Cottonmouth is… unhappy with this situation. But he kind of goes about dealing with his anger the wrong way. You’re basically destitute and you’re smashing your own stuff? That’s just dumb. Scarfe arrives, arranges for Cottonmouth's guy to deal with Chico's corpse and lets the boss know that Luke Cage has been the one robbing him. How does Cottonmouth react? In a word, aggressively.

Luke is taking a moment to relax after busy busy few days, eating some Chinese food at his landlord’s restaurant. He has a nice little chat with said landlord, Connie, and notices at the last second that Cottonmouth has fired a freaking missile at them. The episode ends with Luke and Connie being buried in rubble. I think the scores all tied up again…

Luke’s been pretty calm up to this point. He’s used his powers pretty defensively, only protecting others and not really using his superstrength. That changed completely when Pop’s died. He goes HAM on Cottonmouth’s goons in search of payback. It really is kind of unfair that he’s not only superstrong but also bulletproof. At least Spider-Man’s opponents have a chance of breaking his skin if they shoot him. As unlikely as it may be. Cottonmouth is also very good in this too. We get to see what happens when this particular viper is backed into a corner. He fires rockets at it, which, not going to lie, is much more effective than just having a venomous bite. Do not mess with this guy. Overall, solid episode, and can’t wait for more. Part 4 is next. 

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http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/09/28/meet-luke-cages-enemies