Luke Cage Season 2: What’s in Store for the Unbreakable Man?

If you’re still reeling from Avengers: Infinity War and looking for some more Marvel to whet your appetite before Ant Man and the Wasp swoop in, I have good news for you! Luke Cage Season 2 hits Netflix on June 22nd. If you’ve been following the man with unbreakable skin, you’ll remember that after the events of the first season, he was jailed for crimes he didn’t commit. In Defenders, Foggy Nelson was able to help Luke earn his freedom back. Now that you’ve had a brief refresher, let’s get into what to expect from season 2! 

Returning Characters 

You can expect all the villains who survived the first season to make another appearance. In the official trailers we see both Mariah Dillard and Shades, the two primary non-Cottonmouth villains from season one. Additionally, Netflix series stable Claire Temple makes another appearance. In this season it looks like she’s still dating Luke, as the trailers show them living together.  

Misty Knight, who had her arm severed by villain Bakuto in the Defenders, returns with a prosthetic arm. In the original comics Misty’s prosthetic arm came courtesy of Tony Stark, but it seems this time it was made by the Rand Corporation. Speaking of Rand, that company’s CEO, Danny, will be making an appearance this season as well… 

Luke Cage and Danny Rand: Heroes for Hire? 

Danny, who is also known as the Immortal Iron Fist, will be returning this season to help Luke train in the martial arts. This could set up for a potential crossover for the two heroes. In the comics, Luke and Danny are the two main members of the Heroes for Hire. The for-profit super-heroics of that group often entice heroes like Daredevil, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing to join the fray. 

And while we’re talking about Colleen Wing, it’s worth noting that Danny’s presence could suggest she’ll make an appearance too. Colleen and Misty hit it off in the Defenders, so maybe we’ll see a hint of their team-up as the Daughters of the Dragon. 

New Villains: Nightshade and Bushmaster 

The trailers heavily focus on a dangerous new entity in Harlem: Bushmaster. John McIver, AKA Bushmaster, is a Caribbean supervillain with enhanced strength and durability like Luke’s. In the comics, Bushmaster forced the scientist who experimented on Luke to repeat those same experiments on him. This gave McIver the same powers as Luke and allowed him to fight the Heroes for Hire with his bare hands. It’s unclear where McIver has acquired his powers in the show, though. Some scenes in the trailer make look like he may even be using a mystical source, such as voodoo. 

Also appearing this season is Tilda Johnson, a villain also known as Nightshade. In the comics Nightshade is primarily depicted as being a manipulator of werewolves. It seems unlikely that the relatively grounded Netflix Marvel universe will be using her in that capacity. We’re looking forward to seeing what she brings to the table when Luke Cage premieres on June 22nd! 

Feature Image Credit: Next Episode