Luke Cage is living his best life. He's an exonerated man, he saved New York City in The Defenders, he's a local celebrity, and he's in a happy in love with Claire Temple. When we last saw some Luke Cage Season 2 footage, Luke was showing off his powers to the entire neighborhood. But the new trailer takes his heroics to another level; he's out here making threats on social media. "You wanna test me, you know where to find me." Cocky isn't always the best strategy when you're a hero. There's only one thing that tone brings: trouble.
This season's trouble will come from Bushmaster, played by Mustafa Shakir, who wants to take Luke down and control Harlem for himself. Alongside his fairly simple motive, we also know he has some sort of elevated invulnerability. Bullets don't bounce off him, but they don't kill him either. His strength rivals Luke's too. In the trailer, Luke gets a concussion after an aggressive encounter. Luke is more of a brawler, but Bushmaster appears to have more skilled training. A quick cut does give one small hint to this enhanced villain's origins, showing Bushmaster kneeling in a ring of candlelight grinding and burning what appears to be some sort of herb.
The footage also gives spotlight to Claire Temple, who warns Luke about the repercussions of his lack of impulse control. "I've seen you raw, but never brutal," she tells him after he's hurt by Bushmaster. Luke and Claire's relationship has always been perfect, but the romance is about to be tested. As for his old flame, Misty Knight, she's been gifted a new arm by Rand Industries. At the end of the trailer, Misty jokes about Luke being her sidekick instead of the other way around. Hopefully, we'll get our fair share of Luke and Misty working together this season.
The late Reg E Cathey narrates this generous batch of footage. Cathey plays Luke's father, James Lucas and, aside from his position as a pastor, we know very little about him. The Lucas family has a rocky past, but Cathey does give Luke some important advice. "The darkness that you deal with every day. It can consume you whole, if you let it. Don't let it." Bobby Fish also continues to be a warm voice of reason for Luke after Pop's death, "One man cannot save a community." The trailer doesn't reveal too much aside from debuting Bushmaster, but it's clear Luke is not the reserved, humble hero he was in Season 1. He's got admirable conviction, but how far is too far?
It also wouldn't be another year of Luke Cage without some solid musical choices by showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker. We've got Eric B. & Rakim's "I Ain't No Joke" as well as "Ante Up" by M.O.P. A quick look at Harlem's Paradise shows an appearance from Gary Clark Jr., so it's safe to expect more musical performances throughout the season. What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments. Luke Cage Season 2 arrives June 22.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Autumn Noel Kelly started as a staff writer for Newsweek in 2015. She covers anything in the comic book world—TV ... Read more
