I made it about five episodes in before taking a break - I decided I'd rather not watch the entire thing in one sitting, since I just get burned out that way. So far, though, this is my favorite of the Netflix Marvel series - granted, it was bound to be in a way, but it really has a much more...relatable atmosphere than the mystic/legal clean feel of Daredevil, or the noire feel of Jessica Jones. Unlike them...
*cough* spoilers for eps 1-5 below...
the Neighborhood - Harlem - feels like it's a character in the show in and of itself. This is somewhat needed for a nearly invincible man like Cage, since he's essentially fighting for the neighborhood via the people who live in it. As one example, there's a minor character who is surprisingly well fleshed out, for someone that may or may not appear in the future. And while Pops is killed at the end of episode 2, you're still getting his backstory, how he was seen by various characters, how and why his barbershop was such a center to the neighborhood - at least up until his funeral three episodes later.
Also, the difference between the long, brutal fight scenes in Daredevil and the quick-cut scenes that Cage gets work for the two characters. Murdock's a ninja, he's almost flowing through the entire brawl - but at the same time, he's a normal guy with enhanced senses, so the sheer length make you understand exactly how much those brawls wear on him, with him almost gasping for air and fighting off pain in the end. With Cage, the poor mooks don't stand a chance - the break-in at the Crispus Attucks is a bunch of cuts of him casually knocking people into walls, tossing them into ceilings, completely ignoring their attacks except possibly to crush their guns in his hands, all set to "Bring Da Ruckus" by Wu-Tang Clan in the best possible music choice. both the long DD brawls and Luke Cage's break-in are in long, heavily constricted spaces, but the two very different characters get very different cimematography, and thus very different feels.
Now I can read your spoilers.
In the comic books, Luke Cage is not as powerful as Hulk or Thor, but he is one of the heavy hitters in the Marvel universe, so you're right. He can wade through underworld goons like no one's business. From what we've seen in the show, it's not hard to imagine that super groups will try hard to recruit him based on the rep he's building for himself in the show. Good.
I'm almost at the halfway point, so I feel like I can comment a bit on the series as a whole.
For one thing, the pacing is much slower than Daredevil or Jessica Jones, and that's not a bad thing. Not at all.
I was worried that the series would shy away from commentary about Black Lives Matter, African-American issues, political issues, police corruption, etc., and am not disappointed. This show tackles that stuff dead on for anyone willing to read between the lines of the themes and symbols.
The main actor (Mike Colter) is
very charismatic and more than good enough to carry a whole series on his shoulders. Not quite as angry as the character from the source material, but I really like this version of the character.
We get to learn more about the Claire Temple character. (Yay!) I don't care if Marvel has declared that this is not "the" Night Nurse, this version of Claire Temple is amazing and I look forward to seeing more of her.
I really, really like this version of Misty Knight even though they changed a few things from the comic books. I can't wait to see more of her, and I hope she gets her own hero's journey in Iron Fist. This version is not quite as sassy, but more thoughtful. Most importantly, she is her own woman and not defined by the men around her.
