I didn't know about the Luke Cage series until Netflix started having it show up on my feed about a week ago. I was surprised it went live today (yesterday?). Watched the first episode; it was really good. Much better than Jessica Jones, IMO. Better than Daredevil, too, but I've said before (and think some of you have too) that Daredevil takes a few episodes to start getting good. This one is good right off the bat. I like the character and the chemistry between the actors, not to mention how his powers are revealed. Great stuff.
Yeah, I've watched the first 3 episodes already. Pretty neat show.
I wonder how they are going to present him with challenges when all he fights so far are normal street level thugs.
Also, will they merge his show with the upcoming Iron Fist show after a while to make a Heroes for Hire show? (I know a Defenders show is already planned)
I'm glad it doesn't have such long dull stretches as Daredevil. But it also hasn't equaled some of the amazing scenes in DD, either.
And, while a few of the actors in LC are good, I've not seen anything to rival D'Onofrio or Bernthal's awesome performances in DD. Not even close.
Still prefer DD, even considering far too much whiny Karen & Froggy in it.
EDIT: Although Frank Whaley has been pretty good thus far. Still not quite to the above referenced levels though.
I just finished watching the season.
Nice show.
I'd have like to discuss it more, but considering how new it is it would be best not to spoil.
All I can say is I like the tiny hint they left at the end for the next Marvel/Netflix show, Iron Fist (who is Cage's best buddy in the comics).
First time I've ever "binge" watched a show. Kill most of my weekend, but it was worth it. Well written. Good actors. Decent action. O0
My wife and I watched the first two episodes.
They were very well acted. Good scripts. Very violent. Almost all of the characters are pretty rotten individuals. The three good characters with screen time in the first two episodes have flaws either currently or in the past. The bad people are just evil - although even many of the bad people have some good qualities. Thank God, no Rap music. The dialogue is understandable (if it was "real urban Harlem thug talk" it would not be understandable to most of the rest of the world).
I would not let even a young teenager (13-15) watch it. For adults, it is good. Dialogue has a lot of depth referencing classic Black American literature and dosed with a very heavy level of Biblical references. But if you get neither set of references you can follow the plot line without realizing what you are missing. The dialogue between Cottonmouth and Pops on Old Testament vs. New Testament justice was pretty deep for any TV show.
I like it a lot better than Jessica Jones so far. They have given Luke a great motivation to kick some butt.
It's just not clicking for me. Cage just isn't a very interesting character as far as I'm concerned. His invulnerability to damage removes any sense of danger or tension. Also, compared to Daredevil, the fight scenes just aren't that well done. I don't think the actor playing Cage has the martial skills necessary for visually exciting scenes. There seem to be a lot of jump cuts and Cage doesn't really do much other than lumber around and fling people through gyp rock walls. I guess from a story perspective it would make sense that he doesn't need to be a great fighter if he's invulnerable but it doesn't make for very interesting viewing.
I'm 3 episodes in but I don't really care if I see any more.
To be fair, lumbering around invulnerable to normal weapons and throwing a few people through walls, is pretty much what "Power Man" does. His bff Danny Rand, "Iron Fist", is the flashy style fighter.
I'm not against a Power Man show, but why call it "Luke Cage", and... really, why bother? Diversity I guess? He's very much a good supporting character. Nothing I've heard or read even from people who liked the show, sounds to me like they succeed in making him more than that. :(
No doubt I'll watch it eventually. I'm glad to hear a lot of people do like it. O:-) But I still haven't heard anything to inherently justify its existence.
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMI'm not against a Power Man show, but why call it "Luke Cage", and...
Because "Power Man" sounds like it belongs on the Saturday morning cartoons, and b/c they introduced him as Luke in JJ... who also doesn't really have a nickname in the MCU
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMreally, why bother?
They're setting up The Defenders as the street heroes by giving them all their own shows before bringing them together
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMDiversity I guess?
Not the worst reason in the world, especially if it nets you a few more eyeballs
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMHe's very much a good supporting character. Nothing I've heard or read even from people who liked the show, sounds to me like they succeed in making him more than that. :(
For the past 30 years, Iron Man was essentially a supporting character
Dr Strange was a supporting character
Yes, they carried their own books... barely
Jessica Jones - supporting
the Agents of SHIELD - supporting, and not even in their own books!
Black Panther - supporting
Ant-Man - the ultimate supporting character
The Inhumans have had multiple books canceled out from under them; still getting their own movie
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AM
I'm not against a Power Man show, but why call it "Luke Cage", and... really, why bother? Diversity I guess? He's very much a good supporting character. Nothing I've heard or read even from people who liked the show, sounds to me like they succeed in making him more than that. :(
We've been praising some of Netflix' shows. But they're not really too focused on one genre or viewer group. If you look at all of their original offerings, lately, you'll see that they're spraying the focus all over the place.
Some of it is bound to stick with some of it's viewership, in this shotgun blast approach. I'm sure gathering as many diverse viewers as they can is on the agenda, since they're making whole seasons to relatively obscure superhero characters. I'm sure Netflix would like to use a higher profile female or black superhero than Jess-EE-cuh or Cage, but they have only been given that one small Marvel microcosm of heroes to use. Not many to choose from. So there we are.
I had to look up Cage in Wiki because, while I knew a bit I didn't know the actual comic history of him. Skimming the article I found something about how he had a relationship with Jessica Jones.
I couldn't get into the Jessica Jones series, but I'll try again, as I will with Daredevil, at some point - it's all tied together it seems.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 05, 2016, 10:24:30 AM
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMHe's very much a good supporting character. Nothing I've heard or read even from people who liked the show, sounds to me like they succeed in making him more than that. :(
For the past 30 years, Iron Man was essentially a supporting character
Dr Strange was a supporting character
Yes, they carried their own books... barely
Jessica Jones - supporting
the Agents of SHIELD - supporting, and not even in their own books!
Black Panther - supporting
Ant-Man - the ultimate supporting character
The Inhumans have had multiple books canceled out from under them; still getting their own movie
Bingo. Marvel had sold away the rights to most of its A-list lineup before it struck gold with the first Iron Man flick. Most of the MCU characters are historically lesser heroes in the comic books. Who the hell had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie? Only a few diehard Marvel fans. The rest of us were on wikipedia trying to figure out who Star Lord was.
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMWho the hell had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie?
ME!
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMOnly a few diehard Marvel fans.
Well, that explains it...
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMThe rest of us were on wikipedia trying to figure out who Star Lord was.
Fuckit... half of you guys are on Wikipedia trying to figure out where Stalingrad is ;)
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 06, 2016, 11:14:12 AM
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMThe rest of us were on wikipedia trying to figure out who Star Lord was.
Fuckit... half of you guys are on Wikipedia trying to figure out where Stalingrad is ;)
That's in the Delta Quadrant, right?
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 06, 2016, 11:14:12 AM
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMWho the hell had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie?
ME!
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMOnly a few diehard Marvel fans.
Well, that explains it...
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AMThe rest of us were on wikipedia trying to figure out who Star Lord was.
Fuckit... half of you guys are on Wikipedia trying to figure out where Stalingrad is ;)
Brant is claiming high level geek cred for his Marvel Universe knowledge.
Is anyone willing to go up against him Mano-A-Mano? My knowledge stops around 1980-1984 for Marvel.
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 06:15:20 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 05, 2016, 10:24:30 AM
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMHe's very much a good supporting character. Nothing I've heard or read even from people who liked the show, sounds to me like they succeed in making him more than that. :(
For the past 30 years, Iron Man was essentially a supporting character
Dr Strange was a supporting character
Yes, they carried their own books... barely
Jessica Jones - supporting
the Agents of SHIELD - supporting, and not even in their own books!
Black Panther - supporting
Ant-Man - the ultimate supporting character
The Inhumans have had multiple books canceled out from under them; still getting their own movie
Bingo. Marvel had sold away the rights to most of its A-list lineup before it struck gold with the first Iron Man flick. Most of the MCU characters are historically lesser heroes in the comic books. Who the hell had heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before the movie? Only a few diehard Marvel fans. The rest of us were on wikipedia trying to figure out who Star Lord was.
I know nothing about any of these universes or comics or books - nothing.
The only thing I recall is Batman and Robin and the villains - and not even all of them.
So if Iron Man etc are not the A-listers - then who were?
Spiderman and the X-Men top the list. Fantastic Four is up there too.
Cap and Hulk are A-listers who have made into the MCU. Though it took a long while for them to cast Banner correctly and they have yet to do a really good standalone Hulk movie.
My Marvel Nerd-Cred extends from the 60's through the 70's only. I am often confused and feel left-out concerning all things Marvel after than time period. Girls became the new 'Marvel' for me by then.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 06, 2016, 11:42:06 AM
Girls became the new 'Marvel' for me by then.
Hence why Brant is such a Marvel expert.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 06, 2016, 11:31:46 AM
So if Iron Man etc are not the A-listers - then who were?
For Marvel?
The X-Men
Spider-Man
Incredible Hulk
I think Iron Man, Captain America, and a couple others were quite recognizable by the general public, to some extent, in the past. But they didn't have as good or regular exposure as the above, for many years. Until the Marvel movies started making it big in recent years. Mainly because the above had been around, in various television series for awhile, and people recognized them from those. The '70s Hulk tv series, Spider-Man cartoons in the 80s, for example.
IIRC actual comic-wise, the X-Men series was probably their biggest & most popular one in the 80s and 90s. I've seen it cited as boosting a resurgence in comic purchasing, back in the late 70s/early 80s, and again in the early 90s. Guess it had some popular spurts. I recall reading a couple, myself, in the early/mid-80s, and I never went out of my way to read comics as a kid. So it must've been widely available. Their popularity is why Fox Studios wanted the exclusive IP so bad (and got it). I'm not sure how many more years Marvel is locked out of doing X-Men stuff, before they get the rights back, but I imagine the current people running the Marvel business would do better than Fox has with it. They just got the Spider-Man IP back (from Sony?), so that may highlight the differences between plain 'ole Hollywood doing superhero movies, and the company that lives & breaths it.
Stuff like Fantastic Four, and Captain America, were pretty old and became less popular later in the 20th C.
My in-depth Marvel knowledge starts to fall off in the mid-00s. But 80s-late 90s is pretty good. I worked next to a comic book store for a year, and was good friends with all the guys there, and I've got 8-10 full-length boxes of my collection up in the Man Cave™
I think the licenses are tied to how often movies get made. So, if Sony didn't do a Spiderman movie for x-number of years, the rights would revert to Marvel. That's why you see these franchises rebooted with new movies churned out so frequently. It's to maintain the license.
It's also why you don't see more marketing support in the way of new comics and merchandise built around the Xmen and Spiderman movies. Marvel/Disney controls those rights and doesn't want to support the movies from competing Studios.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 06, 2016, 11:59:05 AM
I've got 8-10 full-length boxes of my collection up in the Man Cave™
O0
I really, really, really hope a Moon Knight series happens.
Moon Knight? Sure.
Micronauts and/or ROM: Spaceknight? AWW HELL YEAH (http://www.cbr.com/paramount-hasbro-to-unite-g-i-joe-rom-and-micronauts-in-one-universe/)
Quote from: mirth on October 06, 2016, 12:09:33 PM
I really, really, really hope a Moon Knight series happens.
Just make sure to keep the full schizophrenic nature of him and not water it down with too much mystical Khonshu bullshit. He's a low-rent Batman with copycat gadgets but more mental issues and it's the craziness that makes him work
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on October 06, 2016, 08:00:42 PM
Moon Knight? Sure.
Micronauts and/or ROM: Spaceknight? AWW HELL YEAH (http://www.cbr.com/paramount-hasbro-to-unite-g-i-joe-rom-and-micronauts-in-one-universe/)
They're all toy licenses that marvel got the rights to from the manufacturers, but they don't have the movie rights to comics from 30+ years ago
ENEMY ACE! Bring back Enemy Ace Dammit! And give him a brooding, movie role too along with his Fokker DR 1 that calls him "Killer" every time he shoots-down a Spaz in a Spad. I'd pay $8 to see that.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 06, 2016, 09:57:45 PM
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on October 06, 2016, 08:00:42 PM
Moon Knight? Sure.
Micronauts and/or ROM: Spaceknight? AWW HELL YEAH (http://www.cbr.com/paramount-hasbro-to-unite-g-i-joe-rom-and-micronauts-in-one-universe/)
They're all toy licenses that marvel got the rights to from the manufacturers, but they don't have the movie rights to comics from 30+ years ago
Way to go, Captain Buzzkill.
Isn't ROM still in continuity? Anyway, yeah it would be kind of like Marvel doing Godzilla again (which was great -- Toho even still uses the design Herb Trimpe drew as their official product icon!). Or Star Wars again (which was great, but owned by Disney... now... ........)
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 05, 2016, 10:24:30 AM
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 05, 2016, 08:46:15 AMI'm not against a Power Man show, but why call it "Luke Cage", and...
Because "Power Man" sounds like it belongs on the Saturday morning cartoons
LIKE DAREDEVIL! :D :2funny: And like Iron Fist, sort of.
JJ has a reason not to have a nickname that is inherently bound up in her backstory: she did, as "Jewel" (I think, can't recall for sure), but that got ruined when {spoilers spoilers} happened. She isn't that kind of person anymore and doesn't really want to be either. (I haven't watched the show so I don't know if she ever had a superhero identity there. Given where the MCU is overall, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't, which makes sense enough.)
Setting up the Defenders as street heroes isn't an inherent reason for Power Man to have a show all to himself as "Luke Cage". But then again, I get the impression Luke hasn't worked as "Power Man" per se in the comics and related media (like
Spiderman: Web of Shadows) for a while.
Diversity isn't the worst reason in the world, I agree, but that's an external reason for him to headline a show by himself. The creative challenge of making a viable Luke Cage show is also not the worst reason in the world, but also an external reason. It also makes sense to use a fairly cheap superhero concept.
But since I can already foresee the probable riposte, I'll forestall that by admitting that when we're talking about fictional realities
every reason for doing them is an 'external' reason. ::) O:-) So I should adjust my thinking around on that for better perspective. Just because a traditionally team-player guy doesn't seem exciting to me in a solo story, doesn't mean it can't work, much less that other people wouldn't appreciate it a lot more than I do. Maybe a "Cloak" mini-series would work, too, as an artistic attempt.
They were spinning Luke off of JJ, which is fine in the way they're setting up the backstory for the street heroes.
It's going to be interesting to see when / if / how they roll out Hellcat.
Since they're spinning "Iron Fist" as the last Defender, evidently Hellcat won't be joining up anytime soon (despite her character being introduced in JJ).
Also, as I quipped over in the "Iron Fist" thread: they're calling that show "Iron Fist" instead of "Danny Rand". ::)
Turns out, there's a perfectly canonical reason why the series devs went with "Luke Cage" -- because "Power Man" was a later development, coined by Cage to make his persona more marketable as a "hero for hire".
This is a pretty big piece of Marvel canon I never even knew about. Every day, I grow more geeky. :smitten:
My favorite part: how Cage (possibly also the writers) came up with the new nickname. How can Cage bust down a door? "Chalk it up to the black power, man!" He liked the sound of it after the fight, and partially inspired by Tony Stark (whom he was teaming with) using "Iron Man", added the moniker.
I read the original series run's (Luke Cage Hero for Hire) collection (via Comixology) after watching the show.
He's always been one of the cooler heroes out there.