TV Show review
September 30, 2016 · 46 min · TV-MA
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Marvel's Luke Cage is a TV show about a man who gains super strength and unbreakable skin from a sabotaged prison experiment. He tries to rebuild his life in Harlem but gets pulled into fighting crime, corruption, and threats to his neighborhood. The series centers Black identity, racial resilience, and community protection as core parts of the story, with recurring talk about race, police problems, and neighborhood changes that stand out to viewers.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Marvel's Luke Cage.
Woke representation / casting
Casting fits the comic source and Harlem setting with no mismatch or forced diversity beyond the established premise.
Woke political dialogue
Characters often discuss race relations, police accountability, and local corruption in ways tied to Black community experiences.
Identity-driven story themes
The narrative revolves around a Black hero protecting his Harlem neighborhood, with strong emphasis on racial identity, resilience, and cultural pride.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The show critiques the justice system, police violence, and gentrification as harms to Black areas, using modern racial injustice framing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; the adaptation stays close to the original comic without major ideological shifts.
Production
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Fringe 2016 social media backlash labeled it "too Black" or "racist" for its racial focus and lack of White characters; mostly troll-driven with thin mainstream coverage.
Creator track record context
Cheo Hodari Coker draws from hip-hop journalism roots to center Black culture and 1960s-style politics; clear pattern but not extreme activism.
