During Jessica Jones, Luke Cage was able to maintain a low profile despite getting involved in some sketchy activity with the lead heroine. Even though the show didn’t delve deeply into his past, it was clear this was a guy that didn’t want a lot of attention drawn to him. Fortunately, even after falling under Kilgrave’s control and being discovered as as a powered person at a hospital, he managed not to draw any attention to himself from unwanted parties. Luke will continue to keep this low profile in his solo series, but new set photos indicate he won’t be able to stay hidden for long.
Warning: spoilers for Luke Cage are ahead!
About three weeks ago, Mike Colter was photographed on the Luke Cage set shooting a scene with his titular ass-kicker taking on a group of NYPD officers. You can check out the pictures over at ComicBookMovie, but the scene involves several officers with their guns pointed at Luke. He then manages to get close enough to knock them unconscious, but carries one of them off the street so that they don’t get hit by any cars. The last photo also shows Colter wearing one of the cop’s jackets near one of the police cars, so we may see Luke hightail it out of the crime scene disguised as a police officer.
It’s unclear how exactly Luke will draw police attention in that scene, but it’s safe to say that they’ll catch him in some act that looks worse than it actually is. Getting the wrong idea, they’ll presumably attempt to arrest him, but Luke will prove how futile that is. It’s also worth noting that there are “blood stains” on the front and back of Colter’s sweatshirt following his confrontation with the police, so he will endure some gunfire.
Like in the comics, the MCU’s Luke Cage is a convict who escaped prison after going through the experiment that gave him his super strength and indestructible skin. That explains why he wanted to live a quiet life before meeting Jessica. Since he’s a fugitive, showing off his abilities was going to draw attention, and once the police notice him, they’ll realize he’s an escaped prisoner and try to haul him back to prison. So long, quiet life. Hello, citywide manhunt.
This police confrontation looks like it will place Luke more in the anti-hero category for Luke Cage. He’s still a good person and wants to stop the villains at work (namely Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes), but now that the authorities are on his tail, that’s going to make his job a lot harder. Even once his conflict with the central criminals is finished, there’s no guarantee that the police won’t stop looking for him. In order to protect the law, he’ll have to keep working in defiance of those who enforce it.
Luke Cage will premiere on Netflix later this year, with the latest rumor implying it might arrive in November.
