In just a few weeks, Marvel’s Luke Cage will get his own series on Netflix. And as we saw in Jessica Jones, it takes a lot to bring Cage down! How do you fight a bulletproof man with super strength? That’s simple: give the hero a villain who can strike at him in more than one way.
For Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali is stepping into the role of Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, an updated version of Cottonmouth from Marvel’s comic book universe. However, it appears that this incarnation of Cottonmouth is a much more worthy foe for Cage. This time, he’s the man who controls Harlem’s criminal underworld with impunity, while running his legitimate business interests out of the Paradise nightclub. The police haven’t been able to bring down Cottonmouth, and now it’s going to fall on Cage to protect the people of his adopted home.
Netflix has released a new clip from Luke Cage that features Ali as Cottonmouth, which firmly establishes his sense of menace. And yes, that’s definitely a photo of Biggie Smalls in the background, and it even plays into this scene.
Related: Mahershala Ali Talks ‘Luke Cage’ At Comic-Con
Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker has indicated that he’s treating Cottonmouth like “the other hero” of this series. Essentially, he’ll be like Wilson Fisk in Daredevil, a villain with some sympathetic qualities who isn’t around just as a foil for the hero to fight. Cottonmouth has his own agenda for Harlem, and Luke Cage happens to be standing in his way.
All 13 episodes of Luke Cage will premiere on Friday, September 30.
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