Luke Cage

Season 1

TV · 2016

Luke Cage, a man with unbreakable skin, is laying low in Harlem, sweeping floors at a barbershop and washing dishes at a nightclub, until a robbery gone wrong gets his mentor Pop killed. He sets out to dismantle the criminal operation of club owner Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes, which is tied to his cousin, the politician Mariah Dillard, and her fixer Shades. Detective Misty Knight investigates the violence while Luke becomes a public hero, until Mariah murders Cottonmouth and Luke is framed for it. A new threat emerges in Willis Stryker, who is Luke's former friend and half-brother and calls himself Diamondback; he supplies weapons that can hurt Luke and is tied to Luke's wrongful imprisonment and the experiment that gave him his powers. After Diamondback shoots Luke and nearly kills him, nurse Claire Temple helps him recover, and he confronts Diamondback in a final fight, defeating him. Luke is left in police custody at the end while Mariah and Shades remain powerful in Harlem.

Follows on from

Jessica Jones: Season 1
direct-sequel · optional — Luke Cage is introduced in Jessica Jones S1, and his backstory and the wider events with Jessica and Reva Connors that precede this season are rooted there; his own season is largely self-contained.

Leads to

The Defenders: Season 1
direct-sequel · optional — Luke Cage season 1 ends with him arrested; the miniseries opens with him released and his name cleared.
Luke Cage: Season 2
direct-sequel — Continues Luke's story in Harlem after Cottonmouth's death, with Mariah Dillard and Shades carrying on the Stokes operation.

Luke Cage

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Episodes