Luke Cage continues to tackle relevant social issues in "Take It Personal," especially coming off of the past week's presidential debates. Cheo Coker couldn't possibly have known that Donald Trump would have voiced his support of stop and frisk only days before his fictional superhero show tackled the same issue, but moments like these show just how much the showrunner wants Marvel's Luke Cage to exist as more than just an escapist drama. These moments show why Luke Cage is so important -- and the show is stronger for not pointing fingers, but shining a light on both sides of a problem.The mad science experiment opening to the episode was a prime example of how cartoony Luke Cage can get, but the show is stronger for being about real people dealing with real issues. What makes Luke a unique superhero out of the many superheroes on TV and in movies is that his identity isn't a secret; people on the street know who he is and know they can come to him (which, for what it's worth, ended up backfiring in a major way in this episode). Because Luke isn't hiding who he is from other people -- especially now that he's fully embraced his "Luke Cage" identity instead of Carl Lucas -- the show can take exploring who he is to really interesting places.
alt="LukeCage_Inline-2" width="720" height="142" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1631725" />