Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’: Mike Colter Talks Black Lives Matter Correlation, Says Defender Is A ‘Renaissance Man’

The Luke Cage Netflix series is next on deck in the Marvel TV line-up, following Jessica Jones and the upcoming Daredevil Season 2. Actor Mike Colter talks about the show via an interview with the LA Times. He made his first appearance as a love interest of Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter.

In the Marvel comic, Luke Cage Hero For Hire #1, which debuted in 1972, he also went by the name Carl Lucas, by birth. His abilities in the comic book mirrors the hero in the upcoming Netflix series as he has “unbreakable skin” and super strength, per Wikipedia. This was demonstrated when Kilgrave attempted to blow up Cage’s bar with him in it. He walked away unscathed, and around the beginning of the series he was able to subdue some rowdy bar patrons with ease.

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Luke Cage’s comic book story origin also tells of some prison time he served. It was then when he acquired his powers, was married to Jessica Jones, and even teamed up with Iron Fist. Colter was asked if the story about his time in prison would also be addressed. He said since there are flashbacks in both Daredevil and Jessica Jones, efans should expect the same in Netflix’s Luke Cage TV show.

“There are flashbacks in ‘Jessica,’ and there are flashbacks in ‘Daredevil’ as well, so we should expect to see some flashbacks in ‘Luke Cage.’ Every series has used their flashbacks in a different way to tell a different part of the story.”

Mike Colter addresses the Black Lives Matter movement and answers the question posed to him in correlation to his false imprisonment and the show environment. Colter says he has an awareness of the current environment in which society exists, but the reality of the situation is that everything can all be resolved. The plus side is it does allow for an inspiration of sorts and make us take a look at ourselves and our actions. The Netflix star mentions that he thinks the show could be relateable to not only law enforcement, but also to people on the street.

Mike Colter addresses the Black Lives Matter movement and answers the question posed to him in correlation to his false imprisonment and the Luke Cage show environment. Colter says he has an awareness of the current environment in which society exists, but the reality of the situation is that everything can all be resolved. The plus side that this does allow for an inspiration of sorts to take a look at ourselves and our actions. The Netflix star mentions that he thinks the show could be relate-able to not only law enforcement, but also to people on the street.

“I don’t think you can effectively do anything to resolve all of the issues that we have as a society, but we can inspire people to look at themselves and to think about their actions. The things that he’s going through will ring true for a lot of people in law enforcement and for those who are not in law enforcement. And people who are on the street will also relate to this character.”

Luke Cage was also touted by Colter as a “renaissance man” and considers the superhero living in a gray area when it comes to deciphering what is right or wrong. He talked about how we are all sometimes guilty of how we think we “know a person based off their visuals.” As far as being a “renaissance man,” Colder expressed that Luke Cage is always striving for improvement. To better himself is how it is in the game of life.

“It’s also about redemption. He’s a renaissance man, he’s trying to better himself and there’s something to be said about someone who’s always trying to make themselves better, trying to change. That’s what life is about, to me, anyway. That’s what life seems to be about for Luke Cage.”

Colter also talked of how Luke Cage will differ from the Jessica Jones series. He says he doesn’t know much about the differences, but did address comparisons between his show and that of the previous two Marvel Netflix series, according to Science Fiction.

“Jessica’s storyline is so different from Daredevil’s storyline. Daredevil’s storyline is so different from mine. There’s a social aspect involved with Luke Cage, there is a criminal element involved, and there is a procedural element involvement.”

Luke Cage is scheduled to come to Netflix’s online streaming come 2016. Mike Colter is also to be joining the Marvel team-up of The Defenders.

[Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images Entertainment]