Sweet Christmas! One of the baddest asses in the Marvel universe, Luke Cage, is just around the corner from the debut of his brand new Netflix series. Thanks to a healthy blend of laying down beats and laying beatdowns, the trailers for Luke Cage have looked nothing short of spectacular. (A star-studded cast including Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick, and Alfre Woodard helps too!) While many of us grew to know and love Harlem’s very own Defender in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, many more people out there don’t know anything about Luke Cage’s comic book history. Why is he important? Why should you care? Does he really say “Sweet Christmas?” (He did.) Well, today on The Dan Cave, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about Luke Cage before you watch the TV show.
From his blaxploitation roots to his kung-fu-fueled evolution to the “street level” hero taking center stage in major Marvel events and beyond, today’s episode will break down the complicated history of the original hero for hire, Luke Cage. Oh, and we’ll explain exactly what happened here too:
What are your favorite Luke Cage stories? What do you hope to see from the Netflix series? Let me know in the comments below.
Luke Cage premieres on Netflix on September 30, 2016.
Images: Marvel/Netflix
Sources: Marvel, Wikia, ComicVine, Polygon
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter and ask him about all things anime (@Osteoferocious).
