Luke Cage - Soul Brother #1

You know, it would be easier to take Luke Cage seriously if the all the villains on the show didn't appear to have been transplanted from a Steven Seagal movie. A bad Steven Seagal movie. Since we last saw Luke Cage (Mike Colter) his celebrity around Harlem has only grown stronger (his appearances are even the subject of a new phone app). Of course there are still threats, such as a new street drug being sold under his name and Shades (Theo Rossi) and Mariah (Alfre Woodard) are still around with a score to settle and plans to sell off their business and go legit. Misty (Simone Missick) is still around as well. Despite her handicap, she decides to return to the job.

While we see multiple criminals jockeying to take over Mariah's operation, keeping to the often-reused format of the Netflix Marvel shows, the only new villain of interest appears at the end of the episode with a dramatic introduction. While it appears Luke Cage is invulnerable from anything other than a threat against his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson), Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir) might offer a new challenge for Harlem's hero (although his Silly Putty abs aren't necessarily as impressive as he seems to think they are). "Soul Brother #1" is a lukewarm (heh) reintroduction of the character and Harlem which doesn't do enough to sell me, at least not yet, on the show's Second Season.