Luke Cage Season 2: 32 Easter Eggs & References Explained
24. The Battle Of New York
Furniture salesman and drug dealer Arturo Rey III (Otto Sanchez) ends up arrested by Misty after attempting to subdue Luke with a Judas Bullet, at which point Misty notes the severity of being caught in possession of such an item.
Misty tells him, "You know what you get when you get caught in possession of weaponry related to the incident? It's like being caught with a nuclear weapon."
It's one of the season's few overt references to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, nodding towards the world-shaping impact of The Avengers' Battle of New York that's still felt today.
Moreover it also seems to be hinting at the severe punishments for those who attempt to follow in Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and Adrian Toomes' (Michael Keaton) footsteps by re-purposing Chitauri tech for nefarious means.
23. All These Classic Movies
There are a number of iconic movies referenced throughout the season, so here's everything we caught.
In episode two, Comanche compares Shades' (Theo Rossi) relationship with Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) to the 1980 Richard Gere crime romance American Gigolo.
Later in the episode when Luke calls Claire to help him fix his injured shoulder, she tells him, "That Lethal Weapon s*** only works in the movies."
In episode three, Misty is compared to "Private Ryan", referring to Spielberg's war classic Saving Private Ryan (where, like Matt Damon's title character, she's a PR emblem who must be protected at all costs).
Luke's father James (Reg E. Cathey) also makes two separate references to James Cameron's Titanic, mocking the much-debated finale in which Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) inexplicably can't both fit on the floating door.
In episode eight, Shades explains that he got his nickname after stealing a pair of Top Gun sunglasses in Times Square, and in episode eleven he's mocked by Mariah for his relationship with Comanche, which she calls a "Brokeback romance."
And finally, in episode twelve, Luke's pal Sugar (Sean Ringgold) refers to Chinese crime boss Hai-Qing Yang (Henry Yuk) as "Oldboy". Considering Oldboy's a South Korean movie, that's pretty damn racist.