It isn't out until September 30th, but Netflix have released the first teaser - apparently at the end of Daredevil series 2, but available for viewing here - so I figured we could start a thread for it.

I'm not overly familiar with him beyond his appearances in Jessica Jones, but he was one of the best bits of that show, so I'm really looking forward to this.

 

I'm looking forward to more Claire, given her history in the comics, it's quite likely she'll end up in Harlem.

 

Bump because new teaser! And it's fucking awesome, IMO.

 

I couldn't get into Jessica Jones for some reason, but this looks pretty decent. Don't know anything about the comics, so nothing to be offended by for me.

 

I liked his character in Jessica Jones so looking forward to this and Iron Fist later

 

Official Luke Cage trailer out! I gotta say, my hype is building. Also, that 30 second Iron Fist teaser was pretty hype worthy, in my opinion.

 

That ... wasn't very good.

It looks like a rather uninspired wu tang music video.

And since this is a spinoff from Jessica Jones they really needed to show something that would make me want to watch it despite all the angst wanking this show is probably going to have. Instead they seem to have doubled down on all the angst. So meh out of 5.

 

Luke cage has unbreakable skin and is super strong. The trailer looks awesome and the series will not disappoint. I am getting excited for when all the marvel super heroes team up in one series

 

Finally, someone saying what I was thinking. I loved Jessica Jones, but Luke Cage's parts were my least favorite. None of the teasers/trailers have made me feel like I will love this. To be fair, I'm pretty meh on Daredevil as well. I've watched the first season, about the time S2 came out, but haven't had the motivation to go and watch S2 yet.

 

Luke Cage really came out of no where for JJ, there was very little development for luke cage in my opinion.

I am wondering if this story starts before or after the events of JJ. That was not made clear. I think with a little back story and development, LC has the potential to be really go. We do not have many black heroes with their own shows. A good change of pace

 

Another new trailer for Luke Cage. Pretty good, in my opinion. Fair warning, though, this one is a touch more spoilery than the previous two. It definitely provides some interesting insight into what the relationship between Black Mariah and Cottonmouth will be like. As always with the Netflix Marvel series though, it could be more smoke and mirrors than anything else.

Also, early critical reviews of Luke Cage on RottenTomatoes have it at 100%. Pretty psyched.

 

Out today. First impressions of episode 1: Music is a lot more focused on in this than I remember it being in DD or JJ. Certainly can't complain. Cottonmou- I mean, Mr. Stokes, is really selling this for me. That beatdown, damn.

Also: "I don't even like these niggas, man."

EDIT: Episode 2's one moment. Not really surprised, just expected it to take longer.
Thinking about it, this feels a lot like Shaft. Blaxploitation movies without the exploitation.

EDIT: "Nothing humbles a man like gravity."

 

Just starting episode three. Really good so far. The reviews I'd read before watching suggested Cottonmouth wasn't up to par with Kingpin and Kilgrave, but I'd disagree, especially after episode two. Mike Colter is fantastic too.

 

I just finished ep 1 and I like what i see so far. They are exploring black NY culture but not so deep that people from other cultures cannot relate or understand. I look forward to watching more episodes.

 

So far the reviews have actually made me a lot more interested in this than I thought I'd be. Show about an unkillable dude beating people up is not so interesting, but if it actually becomes a social commentary then it's something a lot more palatable.

 

For some reason, luke's indecision in regards to cottonmouth reminds me of Hamlet. He has the motivation, power, and justification to stop him but he does not. He sits on the side and allows bad things to happen to the people around him while making empty threats for no reason........Do something bitch

 

Just finished episode 7. Did not see that coming at all. Hell of an effective episode, too.

Edit:

Finished the series. Really enjoyed it, but I'd probably put it bottom of the Netflix entries into the MCU thus far, largely because things got a little less interesting in the second half.

Spoiler

Great performances throughout, largely cool action scenes - the final punch up between Luke and Diamondback was a bit uninspiring, largely because I kept thinking "When's he going to punch the obvious power pack and disarm him?" - and a political theme that walked the line between heavy-handed and necessarily blunt mostly successfully, with a few wobbles into "WE'RE SAYING IMPORTANT THINGS HERE GUYS!!!" towards the end.
Main drawbacks were Diamondback, who started out well but quickly descended into fairly hammy daddy issues, and a far less interesting plot for the second half. Luke versus the gangster/politician duo trying to control Harlem was compelling; Luke versus his crazy half-brother we didn't know about until nine episodes into a thirteen episode show...not so much.

Standouts: Colter was great, sure, but Alfre Woodard, Mahersala Ali, Theo Rossi and Simone Missick were all fantastic additions to the franchise. Rossi's 'Shades' may be one of the best villains Marvel has done period, a worthy successor to the brilliantly genre-savvy Wesley from DD series 1, although Cornell and Maria were fascinating. Really looking forward to more of Missick in the Defenders as well.

 

Alright, so I've finished the series and rewatched part of it, and I think I've figured out what exactly rubbed me the wrong way about this series.

Spoiler

The acting, by and large, was great. The fight scenes, well, were mostly pretty okay. I think they did a pretty good job integrating the music and culture that people associate with Harlem in a meaningful way into the series, and I think they did a mostly okay job of making a few political statements, that didn't usually come off as too hammy. But past the first four to five episodes, while all my previous statements still hold true, the plot becomes so paper thin that you can practically see through it, at times. And that's not even getting into how hammy, how terribly written comic-book style evil that Diamondback came across as.

Cottonmouth was a fairly compelling villain; an excellent example, in my opinion, of the types of villains we have so far come across, mostly, in the Netflix MCU: bad, yes, but bad for reasons and in such a way that come across as at least a little sympathetic, a little compelling. The evil half-brother who is evil, apparently, just because? Or because he had some mommy issues? Not so much. And while the Mariah/Shades dynamic was interesting, they would have needed to focus on it a great deal more in the first half of the season to let it carry the last half of it.

So while it was a pretty good series, and does well some of the things that Daredevil S2 shit the bed on, it falls into some of the same pitfalls. Instead of focusing on one main, compelling villain, a la Jessica Jones S1 and Daredevil S1, they instead choose to focus on multiple villains, with only one or two coming across as particularly compelling, a la Daredevil S2. Mind, though, I think Mariah and Shades have a great deal of potential for Luke Cage S2. So while not the weakest season of the Netflix MCU series released so far, it's still decidedly below the first seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones.