If you haven't seen the Netflix original television series Luke Cage, get to it! Based on the Marvel Comics superhero, this new series has peaked the interest of many. For those who may not be familiar with Luke Cage, here is a quick synopsis of who this hero really is:
- His real name is Carl Lucas, but he legally changed it to Luke Cage.
- Luke is a Harlem, New York native.
- He was framed and charged with drug possession, then sent to jail.
- A medical experiment done in the prison goes wrong leading to the super strength and durability in which Luke begins using to protect Harlem from local drug kingpins.
Marvel Comics fans, Netflix binge-happy viewers, and even Black Lives Matter supporters, all have expressed their wide range of opinions on this bulletproof, ex-con hero from the hood. Even with the different opinions and analysis, most can agree on one thing: during a time when the life of a Black man is so carelessly overlooked and threatened by a society that has been specifically set up for his failure, the image of an indestructible and heroic one is much needed.
We live in a world where Black men are getting killed and emasculated at the blink of an eye. This unspoken struggle is being silently destroyed by the new image of a Black man who cannot be hurt or killed by the guns that have taken the lives of more than 100 of our unarmed Black men today. Marvel Comics and Netflix could not have released this series at a better time. It was very necessary. Even though it is a fictional story, the Luke Cage television series helps to instill hope in the exact setting of the show; the Black "hood." Luke Cage is more than just a Marvel Comics hero. Luke Cage is our hero.
Thank you, Marvel Comics. Thank you, Netflix.
