Marvel's Luke Cage Review: 9 Spoiler-Free Reasons It's Awesome

I enjoyed Mike Colter in Jessica Jones; his Luke Cage was was cool, charming, a little mysterious, and capable of kicking a whole lotta ass. But I’ll admit I wasn’t entirely sure how he’d then make the transition to heading up his own series. It’s one thing to be a supporting player in someone else’s show, and quite another to lead your own.

As it turns out, any such doubts were unfounded, and what we saw of Colter in Jones barely scratched the surface of what he’s capable of bringing to the role of Luke Cage.

There’s an easy but understated confidence to Cage, that of a man who knows how powerful he is but has a reluctance to use it. He’s cool, charismatic, and he has fantastic chemistry with pretty much everyone he comes into contact with.

Colter gives Cage a great presence, without ever needing to raise his voice beyond the smooth low tone we’re used to, and he’s engaging whether bar-tending or beating up bad guys. There’ll be times when the show needs to rest its weight on his shoulders; Colter is more than strong enough to carry it through.