Review: “Luke Cage” Season 2 Claims the Throne

“Everybody talkin’ about Luke Cage like he’s Jesus . . .” – Pastor Lucas, Luke’s father The Bulletproof King of Harlem is risen. In one fell swoop, the second season of Marvel’s “Luke Cage” erases all the recent misfires of “Jessica Jones Season 2,” “Iron Fist,” and the so-so crossover series that was “The Defenders.” In the same way that Marvel/Netflix’s co-production of “The Punisher” succeeded by embracing the realities of PTSD in veterans and the pathology of gun culture in the United States, this series digs deep and with precision. Driving the hard-hitting action sequences is a fully realized world with characters of color, both male and female, at the epicenter of hyper-capitalism, gentrification, and the purpose of family in such an environment.

“My Name is My Name” – Luke Cage via Pusha T Season 2 finds Luke as a man in the crossfire of not only his own personal and moral battles, but also a war of crime families for control of Harlem. Free from Seagate and with his name cleared, Luke patrols the streets of Harlem as the community’s “Soul Brother Number One.” At the same time, the realities and sacrifices of being a pro bono hero whom no one can pin his true allegiances inevitably drives a wedge between himself and Clare Temple. Meanwhile, he must contend with the violent return of John “Bushmaster” McIver, the Jamaican heir apparent of former business associates of the Stokes family. His presence introduces the larger mob world of the New York City into the show as…