What makes superheroes great aren’t just what they can accomplish, but what they stand far. Whether it’d be Superman’s “Truth and Justice” slogan or the Green Lantern’s Oath, you can always look at their core meaning and be inspired. What makes superheroes even greater is that they evolve through time and become more relevant to us, through the nature of our time and although I love what Captain America, Superman, Spider-Man, and countless other heroes stand for, I truly believe that the hero we need now more than ever is Luke Cage.
Come September 30th we’ll be able to see him in action and I hope with a very powerful message. The Marvel Netflix series have so far been, in my opinion, stellar; although only two shows have aired, they both are distinctly different. Daredevil is a action-drama that deals with guilt and trying to find the right thing to do, in a world where justice seems to be absent. Jessica Jones shows a troubled character, with a real issue of being a victim of rape and abuse which leads her to suffer from PTSD, but refuses to let her pain define her is inspiring. At its core, it’s a show about control and I hope Luke Cage goes around the same route, adding real world issues, in superhero show.
Luke Cage is a is a convicted felon, with a very shady past, but he wishes to move on from that and become the hero he can be. Originally, the character just wanted to be amongst us and live out his life as quietly as possible, but that can’t happen to him. Actor Mike Colter has stated, “And hopefully, he can represent a lot of what they’re anticipating to be current topics and what they want to explore.” What this show can explore the inequality that is very relevant today; it can elevate the character and become one of the most relevant heroes out there.
From the beating of Rodney King, to the killing of Alton Sterling, the black community are tired of injustice and scream for their voices to be heard and demand for a proper change to take place. The social issues need to be seen and understood by everyone and this series has the opportunity to do so.
To give a quick and simple example, a scene I would love to see in the show is just Luke Cage casually walking on the streets and he gets stopped by the police. Why, because he “looks suspicious.” What then? I honestly don’t know, but I am certain that a scene like that can have an impact in us, especially now more than ever.
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