Raise your hands if you're excited for Luke Cage! (We have to go on the honor system for this one). The upcoming Netflix show premiered an excellent new trailer at Comic-Con that got everybody talking about how cool and powerful Luke Cage is and the efficiency of car doors. You'd think that would mean Cage himself would be the standout character, but according to showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, there's another character who might be JUST as cool as Cage and honestly, it's pretty unexpected. The little known Marvel baddie Diamondback might just be the big scene stealer.
While speaking to Empire Magazine about all things Luke Cage, Cheo Hodari Coker got on the subject of Diamondback. We haven't seen any footage of the character, but we know that he's played by Erik LaRay Harvey, best known for his role as Dunn Purnsley on Boardwalk Empire. Apparently, he's doing some very good things with Diamondback because Coker was very excited for us all to see his take on the villain.
He is the character we're keeping close to the vest. He is so cool. I'm not gonna know if the series is a success unless rappers start calling themselves Diamondback and Cottonmouth.
Cool enough to be a rapper name? That's some high praise. It's very interesting that Diamondback is the one who's going to be a scene stealer on a show that has a man who is literally bulletproof. The only characters people have really been talking about are Luke Cage, Misty Knight, and Cottonmouth, while mentions of Diamondback haven't exactly quickened anyone's pulse. This could come down to Harvey's performance more than anything else, but Diamondback certainly has my attention now.
For those curious on Diamondback's backstory, it's interesting for how little there actually is. Four different characters have gone by the name Diamondback, but Harvey will be playing the original, Willis Stryker. Stryker appeared in all of two comics; Luke Cage: Hero for Hire #1 in 1972 where he was introduced, and Luke Cage: Hero for Hire #2, where he died. Not exactly Spider-Man levels of history. He was a childhood friend of Luke Cage who got involved in gang life, eventually going on to lead one of his own. He had no superpowers to speak of but he was extremely skilled and quick with a knife. Marvel.com ranks his fighting skills at a 5/7, giving you an idea of how competent he was.
How does a guy with only two issues to his name become one of the coolest characters on Luke Cage? Well, because his source material is so limited, the show can basically change and do anything they want to him. They can bend and twist him to their needs and no one will really raise a stink over it because he was already obscure to begin with. He's a blank slate and it'll be very interesting to see what the show does with him.
You can see Diamondback, the coolest character in Marvel history, on Luke Cage, which premieres on September 30, 2016. To see everything else coming this fall, check out our Fall TV Schedule.
