The first season of Luke Cage ended on a really sad note. The Harlem hero parted ways with his new lady, Claire Temple, and headed back to Seagate Prison. Even though Cottonmouth is out of the picture, Black Mariah and Shades are still running the streets. Even more of a threat is Diamondback, who last we saw, was in Dr. Burstein’s hands. Luke Cage Season 1 took care of Power Man’s origins, but there’s still a lot more story to tell in Season 2. Here’s seven things we’re expecting to see.
Coffee With Claire Temple
Since we’ll see Luke again before the next season of his solo series, (maybe in Iron Fist but definitely in The Defenders ), it’s safe to say Claire is tagging along. Not only could The Defenders use someone to patch their wounds, she’s Luke’s only trusted ally at this point. Last we saw her, she was already working on getting Luke out of prison.
She’s also the first person he’s going to call once he gets out. In fact, that’s what we could be seeing in recently released The Defenders set photos where Claire and Luke passionately embrace against a chain-linked fence. It could be the first time they’ve seen each other since that night in the hospital where they shared their first kiss and Luke was taken away by police.
Misty Knight ‘got coffee’ with Luke in the first episode of Luke Cage. Jessica Jones and Luke also ‘got coffee ’ in Jessica Jones Season 1. It’s only right we’ll see him and Claire ‘get coffee’ in The Defenders. Jessica being part of the team does throw a wrench in things, especially since she and Luke haven’t spoken since the whole Kilgrave ordeal that killed Reva. Jessica and Luke end up having a baby together in the comics, but this is Marvel-Netflix and they’re known to switch things up. The history between Luke and Jessica may end up being too painful to work past.
Prison Break Out
In the last episode of Luke Cage , Claire tells Luke she “knows a great lawyer.” She referred to the lawyer as a ‘him,’ so it’s got to be Matt Murdock or Foggy Nelson. It’s likely we’ll see this hashed out in Iron Fist or The Defenders . Marvel-Netflix has no choice but to fill us in on, or at least tease, how Luke gets acquitted of his Carl Lucas crimes before his next appearance, which will happen before Luke Cage Season 2.
Diamondback set up Luke, ruining his career and sending him to Seagate prison. While we still don’t know exactly what went down, we’ll probably find out next time we see Bobby Fish, who currently has his hands on those old files Shades left at Pop’s after that fateful night. The files can supposedly exonerate Luke of all crimes from his days as Carl Lucas back in Savannah.
New And Improved Diamondback
At the end of Season 1, Dr. Noah Burstein’s came to Harlem for Diamondback. Earlier we learned Diamondback, now barely alive in a hospital bed, is actually Luke’s brother. This means they share DNA, which is exactly what Burstein needs to continue his experiments since he’s convinced it was something in Luke’s genetic makeup that made made the original test a success. Since Burstein recovered Reva’s Seagate files from back in the day, the doc has everything he needs to recreate the experiment that gave Luke his powers on Diamondback.
As test subject #2, Diamondback’s abilities could even be more powerful than his brother’s. If Diamondback’s skin can even stop those special ‘Judas’ bullets that nearly killed Luke, he may very well be unstoppable. Let’s just hope by this point, Luke has some friends who have his back.
Diamondback has already had some practice with a super suit developed by Hammer Industries, Tony Stark’s competitor. The suit, and gloves in particular, gave him the superhuman strength and durability necessary for an even match with Luke. Needless to say, he probably won’t be needing those power-gloves anymore.
Diamondback is Luke’s bastard brother and he’s wanted revenge on Luke, and his father, ever since he and Luke got arrested for stealing a Corvette. Luke’s dad cut a deal for his preferred son to join the marines, but left Willis (Diamondback) in prison. Luke went on to become a police officer in Savannah, GA while Diamondback served additional time for killing someone out of self defense in juvie.
Heroes For Hire
The Defenders are great and all, but any Luke Cage fan is also counting down the days until Heroes for Hire. Founded by two best friends who want to save New York and make money doing it, a live-action Iron Fist and Luke Cage team-up would be everything. Throw the badass female duo of Misty Knight and Colleen Wing in there and it’d be hard to screw it up. Elektra and The Punisher were also members at certain points in the comics, as well as characters from elsewhere in the MCU, such as Ghost Rider.
During Los Angeles Comic-Con, Comicbook.com asked series star Mike Colter about whether he and Iron Fist will be going into business together. Colter said, “We’re going to be getting ready to do Heroes for Hire eventually. We’re going to do it.”
Hoodlums For Hire
Luke Cage is ripe grounds for Heroes for Hire, but we’ve also been introduced to a character who recruited a friend and dubbed the villainous duo, “Hoodlums for Hire.” Remember when Luke screamed out the names Shades and Comanche in his sleep in the very first episode? That’s no coincidence. You’d probably have to go back and watch again to spot Thomas Q. Jones as Comanche, but we did get to know Shades very well by the end of the series.
In the comics, Comanche is originally one of Luke’s friends from back in the day. Comanche, Luke, Shades, and Diamondback were all in a gang called, The Rivals. An altercation gone wrong with another gang is what sent Shades and Comanche to Seagate. When Shades and Comanche returned to New York, they called themselves Hoodlums for Hire and clashed with Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
The two villains were eventually backed by Ward Meachum (who we’ll meet on Iron Fist in a couple months) . He gave them special weaponry. Shades got a visor that shoots energy blasts and Comanche some trick arrows. Considering Diamondback’s ‘Judas’ bullets didn’t work against Luke, I can imagine Shades and Black Mariah are looking for a new secret weapon. A partnership with Ward Meachum should not be off the table for characters like Shades and Black Mariah, who have proved to be more ruthless gangsters than Cottonmouth ever was.
Pop’s Becomes A Base
Pop’s days as a barbershop are over, but the space could become Luke Cage and Iron Fist’s Heroes for Hire bunker. Maybe even Misty Knight’s detective agency? Whatever it becomes, it’ll likely be Luke’s base of operations.
Misty Knight Bionic Arm
Misty Knight severely injured her arm at the end of Luke Cage Season 1. She was shot during a hostage situation at Harlem’s Paradise, then stuck in a basement with Claire Temple while bleeding for hours, until Luke Cage rescued them. We didn’t see her receive any news the arm would be amputated or paralyzed, but we didn’t really see her make a full recovery either. Could this mean Tony Stark will soon hook her up with a bionic arm?
"I think it was a great kind of teaser for the fans you know because everyone wants Misty to have that arm,"Simone Missick,who plays Detective Knight, told IGN. "I’ve never seen anyone want me to lose an appendage more. So I think that they wanted to play with that and give people the ‘Will it happen or will it not?'"
Release Date
Luke Cage Season 2 hasn’t been officially announced yet, but considering it was the most watched Marvel-Netflix series to date, it’s a safe bet Season 2 is on the slate. The bad news is there’s at least four shows ahead of Luke Cage Season 2 on the docket. It probably won't come until after The Defenders, The Punisher, Jessica Jones Season 2, and Daredevil Season 3. This means we’re looking at a release date window of sometime in late 2018- early 2019 if Marvel-Netflix continues it’s release pattern.
The good news is by the time Luke Cag e Season 2 rolls around, a lot will have happened in the Marvel-Netflix world. There will be many more characters to work with, and all of New York’s heroes will be acquainted. Let the adventures begin.
Iron Fist premieres on Netflix March 17, 2017.
