As we’ve already had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Luke Cage‘s titular hero over the span of the first season of another Marvel/Netflix collaboration, Jessica Jones, the first full trailer for the new series has the luxury of introducing us to an entirely separate central character: Harlem. The northern Manhattan neighborhood takes center stage in this latest promotional video for Luke Cage, identifying as the faceless family member that the bullet-proof loner (Mike Colter) has reluctantly avowed to protect against all threats.
And the threats do seem to be plentiful. The trailer, which we spotted over at i09, also introduces criminal kingpin Cornell Stokes (Mahershala Ali), perhaps better known to Marvel Comics fans as Cottonmouth, apparently hellbent on waging gang warfare across the city. And though Luke Cage may be personally inclined toward a life of solitude, he’s clearly got enough people on retainer to talk him into heroism: Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) reminds Luke that you occasionally have to take matters of justice into your own hands; barbershop proprietor and ostensible father figure Pop (Frankie Faison) lays down the ol’ Uncle Ben routine with his version of the “With great power comes great responsibility” speech; and Misty Knight (Simone Missick) insists that Harlem can’t handle the grade of crime and violence presently being enacted by the likes of Cottonmouth—and, perhaps, provoked by Luke himself. Clearly, nobody is planning to let Luke off easy here.
The first season of Luke Cage hits Netflix on September 30. Will you be tuning in to watch the continuing adventures of the impenetrable force with a somewhat less impenetrable heart? Let us know!
Images: Disney/Marvel/Netflix
