Viewer Log: Luke Cage ep 13

Let’s take a moment of silence for the deaths of the legendary mother and daughter actresses Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher. These women were legends of the silver screen, and will be hugely missed… Since I know Carrie Fisher’s work best, I’ll end this with the most appropriate line that I can think of. May the force be with you, always. Now, back on task.

Are you ready for a super powered smack down? Cause I’m ready for a super powered smack down. We have the superpowered Luke Cage vs. the technologically empowered Diamondback. Titans will fight, worlds will shake, and empires will fall. FYI I’m going to spoil the ending this time around. Why? Because I feel like it. Just skip the paragraph that starts with “At the police station” if you don’t want to know it. Let’s get to it.

Why must brother's fight?

We open to Willis Stryker aka Diamondback showing off his brand new battlesuit. It’s another Hammer Tech weapon that will hopefully give him an edge over his super powered brother. Side note, why the heck did Hammer Tech weapons suddenly become a good thing? Don’t get me wrong, obviously, Justin Hammer had something akin to an effective business model. He was a primary contractor to the US military, and built more than a few fancy machines. But, as shown in Iron-Man 2, Hammer tech is notoriously glitchy. Remember the Iron-Man style prototype that broke the pilot’s spine, or the missile ‘the Ex-Wife’ that didn’t actually go off? But, suddenly Hammer’s team could make an actual effective battlesuit? Or, more shockingly, a battlesuit that is specifically designed to combat a hero’s superpowers? Are you saying that Hammer himself was the worst part of Hammer Industries? Or something? Who knows? Back on task.

Luke and Willis throw down, further wrecking the Barbershop. After smashing all the stuff that wasn’t destroyed by the initial grenade toss, they move the fight into the street. Then it turns into a superpowered equivalent of a drunken brawl. Complete with a crowd of onlookers catcalling and encouraging our hero. Luke does try to reach out to his brother and reason with him, but Willis is far too interested in beating his face in. After a few more superpowered punches, a few more arguments, a couple of “Mama” jokes, and a few more catcalls from the crowd, Luke figures out the suit’s weakness. They don’t explain it too well, but it seems clear that the suit is designed to absorb kinetic energy. Basically, the more Luke strikes Willis, the more the suit powers up and the more Willis can throw back at Luke. So, Luke does the obvious thing and let Willis beat him up. Once the suit’s battery is drained, he’s able to defeat Diamondback and see him arrested. High Fives all around. Luke explains that he “stopped feeding” his brother hate. Is it a cheesy line? Yes, but then again, so is Sweet Christmas and they make both of those work.

Don't worry, he'll be back.

At the police station, Luke turns himself in and offers to lay the truth out for them. And also put into context the police dashcamera footage of Luke smacking the cops around. But, not everything works out. Mariah is able to wriggle out of being arrested. How? She blames Diamondback. She claimed that the crime boss murdered Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, and then demanded she lie about it. Misty knows that this is obviously BS, as the evidence she gathered makes it clear that Cornell was smacked around by several oversize blunt instruments, including a mic stand. And what’s missing from the Harlem Paradise’s inventory list? Yep. Unfortunately, this is somewhat circumstantial evidence, as mic stands are notorious for vanishing from clubs. And, the key witness, the Waitress, was murdered. She was tricked into leaving the protective custody of Claire’s mom’s house. Shades stole Misty’s phone, texted Waitress, and then shot her to keep her quiet. Also, two agents from Georgia arrive to arrest Luke. They found out that Luke Cage = Carl Lucas, and that he owes Georgia time served. He’s driven off, as Harlem’s Paradise is reopened, Bobby Fish finds Luke’s file that had been lost at the Barber Shop, and the Doc visits Willis’ prison hospital bed. So, some bad things, some good things, and a promise of evil’s return. That’s a pretty good way to end this season.

Overall, I liked Luke Cage. It has a nice atmosphere, great music, decent TV effects, and a lot of talented actors in it. I’d still have preferred that they saved Diamondback for season two and given Cottonmouth a proper send off, but it’s not the WORST villain transition that I’ve ever seen. I also liked the homages to the classic Luke Cage comics. Like Luke dressing in his custom costume from the 70s when he first gets his powers, same with Diamondback’s battlesuit, and reference to his original codename of Power Man. It was also nice to see a Marvel property that was largely cast by African American/Black actors. It’s taken the Marvel Movies over ten years to even put such a movie, Black Panther, on the schedule. Diversity is nice, isn’t it? It also had a lot of nice nods to Harlem, it’s history, cultural importance, and African American contributions to history in general. Luke has a lot of decent speeches, and I still love Mike Colter’s portrayal of the invincible, superstrong black hero. And, his facing off against Cottonmouth and later Diamondback is a much more even fight then Jessica Jones vs Kilgrave. Just saying. I’m looking forward to season two, and also Luke’s return in The Defenders later on this year. Have a Happy New Year, everyone.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/tv/marvel/luke_cage/spoilers-luke-cage-5-things-it-got-right-and-3-things-it-got-wrong-a145616?cp=5
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