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| Image Courtesy www.tvinsider.com |
A massive
Cinematic Universe with over a dozen movies, two network TV series, a couple
dozen tie-in comic books, and three (and counting) Netflix TV series is prone
to a number of dangers. For one thing,
there is always the fear of oversaturation:
between Marvel Network, Marvel Netflix, DC Network, and the DCCWTVU, and
other comic properties, there is an enormous number of comic book-based TV
shows on the air today. Then there is
also the risk of continuity errors (such as Luke Cage name-dropping
Obama, though that’s easy enough to explain away as Obama also existing as a
popular politician in the MCU). But the
one I want to talk about in this review is the danger of repetition in
storytelling. Something I noticed in
both seasons of Daredevil as well as Jessica Jones season 1 is
that the flashback episode revealing the hero (or new hero)’s origin came in
episode 7. I was curious if that would
continue into Luke Cage (not necessarily a problem, but it does make the
show predictable), and fortunately it does not.
Instead, we get Luke’s origin a little sooner, in the fourth episode.
There is a
good deal of parallel between Luke’s comic book origin and the origin given to
him in the Netflix series. Both involve
Seagate Prison, both involve a guard named Rackham who despises Luke, and both
involve a Dr. Burstein conducting experimentation on prisoners. However, that’s about where the similarities
end. Rather than being a regular guy
accused of stealing drugs, Luke is a police officer (though he is still framed
for the crime). In the comics, Luke
agrees to the experiments willingly in exchange for a reduced sentence; in the
series, Luke is grievously injured by Shades and Comanche, and Reva convinces
Burstein to do the experiment. Instead
of Rackham practically running the prison before becoming a prisoner himself
when the new, no-nonsense warden arrives, the leadership of the prison is
actually in on everything Rackham is doing.
None of
these changes are necessarily bad; there’s a definite case to be made for the
need to update Luke’s origin to make it a little less “silly” (I mean, come
on: in the comics Rackham gets caught
mouthing off while sitting at the warden’s desk and that gets him arrested and
thrown in prison alongside Luke.
Seriously???). I just point out
these differences to acknowledge that it’s not the same. There are some places where I question the
decision to change it, such as Luke being an involuntary subject of the
experiment and Burstein becoming such a dark and morally-ambiguous character
when the comic book version was much closer to Abraham Erskine as a “good”
person, but as a whole I can appreciate the reasoning for most of the changes.
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| Image Courtesy www.twitter.com/LukeCage |
The origin
plays out very well in flashback form against the backdrop of Luke and Connie
trapped in the rubble of Genghis Connie’s while Luke tries to rescue them. There is an interesting parallel between Luke’s
concern for Connie in this episode and his friendship with Squabbles in the
flashbacks. There is also a nice parallel
between the two plots with Luke (in both cases) trapped by events outside his control
and needing to fight to survive. Luke’s
slow and steady downward spiral in the prison is a good background for who he
is now and how he eventually comes to be a hero to the people of Harlem. Considering Luke’s reaction to seeing Shades
at Harlem’s Paradise, I liked seeing the beginning of that “relationship,” with
Shades serving as a major prison antagonist and Rackham supporter.
I really
liked the nod to Luke’s comic book costume with the tiara, bracelets, jeans,
chain belt, and open yellow shirt. I remember
hearing there it would be there as an Easter egg, but I didn’t know if they’d
be able to pull it off. At the same
time, the way Luke creates his new name (“Luke Cage”) seems pretty forced. I don’t have a suggestion for a better way to
do it, but this way just felt forced.
I’m going to
end this review here because I’m not feeling well and need to rest up before
(hopefully) seeing Doctor Strange this afternoon/evening. I really enjoy Luke Cage and can’t
wait to get back to reviewing it.
What did you
think of Luke’s origin in the series? Do
you think he should have kept the comic book outfit a little longer? Let me know in the comments!
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