Dylan Bruce and Parisa Fitz-Henley are no strangers to passionate fans of genre material. Bruce spent three seasons on the popular BBC America series Orphan Black while Fitz-Henley appeared as Luke Cage's wife Reva Connors on both Netflix-Marvel series Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.

Bruce is amused when it's pointed out to him that he has hopped from one character with a funny name ("Big Dick" Paul) to another ("Bobo"). "Bobo is actually derived from the French word 'beau' which is 'handsome' so I'll take it. There's worse things to be called."

Fitz-Henley is more than happy to join in at poking fun at Bruce. "I wish they could've gotten a handsome guy, though. That would've been helpful. They were like, 'He's such a good actor it doesn't matter that he's not that good-looking.'"

Of course they are more than professional enough to also introduce their characters. Bruce begins by introducing Bobo Winthrop. "He's the proprietor of the local pawn shop that's been there since the late 1800's. There's a lot of interesting relics in there. He comes to Midnight to escape a nefarious past that ends up catching up with him and jeopardising everything he's built in Midnight. He's a good guy but if you mess with his peeps he'll mess with you back."

I play Fiji Cavanugh," begins Fitz-Henley. "I'm a witch in the town. I didn't grow up there but I grew up with a relationship with the town. It's become my real home and I protect it as much as I can with whatever I can and I protect it's inhabitants however I can. This guy, Bobo, is Fiji's best friend and she's head over heels in love with him but for a very, very, very, very, very big reason she can't ever let him know."

"But Bobo's a dodo, he thinks she's out of his league so we got that going on. Fiji's out of everyone's league, man. She's in a world of her own," beams Bruce.

"You see our friendship develop and go through the ups and downs that a friendship goes through but in Charlaine Harris land, those ups and downs are pretty intense," says Fitz-Henley.

The show offers not only a diverse cast bringing to life romance, action, and all the supernatural goodness one would expect from a Charlaine Harris property adapted for live-action. It also brings social commentary that relates a world of fantasy to the world of the viewers.

"I think it's really important in this day and age to have that," says Bruce. "I'm glad we have our little things that we add in there that people will catch onto. It's all about togetherness though."

Fitz-Henley was amazed at just how much the show's writing related to socially relevant issues, even before certain topics became as big in the news and social discourse. "I saw things that were reflected in the society around us after we shot them, where I was like, 'Wait, where did you get that from?' Because it's in the news today and we're shooting it today so you wrote it months ago. I feel like our writing team is so on point and so cares about what's happening in the world that you see it come through in what we do."

Bruce gets exposed for being a bit of an overachiever in his extensive preparation for the role. Sarah Ramos, who plays Creek on the series, had claimed in an earlier interview that Bruce finished reading all three of the books of the series in one day. "I don't think it was one day," says a bashful Bruce.

Fitz-Henley is quick to chime in on the matter. "How did you know he was an overachiever? He is!"

"Not only the Midnight books, Bobo's in a different series called the Lily Bard series and I read those as well," continues Bruce.

"And then he read all the books that his character reads," adds Fitz-Henley.

"Yeah, I did cause he likes Jack Reacher. I like to read!" admits Bruce.

Fitz-Henley may not be as voracious a reader as Bruce but she had her own back-knowledge that further incentivised her to joining Midnight, Texas. "I wasn't as familiar with Charlaine Harris' writing as I was with Monica Breen's work. I'm huge into Lost, huge into Fringe, so when I saw she was doing this, I was just like, 'Oh my god! This is crazy! I really want to work with her!' I just had this every strong, intuitive feeling that this was the right project for me."

Watch our interview with Dylan Bruce and Parisa Fitz-Henley here:

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Wizard World held another jam-packed convention in Philadelphia that invited guests from hit properties spanning film, television, and the comic book industries.

Friday is typically the calmest day, as many of the celebrity guests wait till Saturday or sometimes even Sunday to begin their attendance. At this event, one exception to this tendency was actor Theo Rossi, most notably known to fans for his roles on Marvel's Luke Cage and Sons of Anarchy.

In a panel moderated by Vantage Inhouse's Victor Dandridge, Rossi shared about his recent film Lowriders, playfully teased his tightlip status regarding season 2 of Luke Cage, and answered fan questions about his professional start in the industry and fan-favourite roles.

At the artist alley, we met writer Dirk Manning, who was kind enough to gift us with one of his books, Love Stories (To Die For), which we've now read and reviewed for your convenience here:

 Dirk Manning & Friends Serve "Love Stories (To Die For)"

One of the largest crowd-drawers was the attendance of all four of the main leads on CW's Riverdale series. Due to the show's appeal to a younger audience, the con received many first-time attendees from the adolescent female demographic. We observed a number of them asking various questions about the logistics of how they would proceed with being able to meet and get photo ops with the actors attending. One issue that arose significantly was a repeated shifting of schedules on Sunday for the series stars. Those attending were trying to manage when to queue and for whom, but problems began to pile up as the repeated changes in scheduling caused confusion and delays, particularly for the attendees under time pressures due to travel plans already set to leave at specific times on Sunday afternoon. In the future, Wizard World organisers would benefit from working with the management of the talent, particularly when so many stars are attending from the same property, to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible. Not only is there a balance required between autograph and photo-op scheduling, there is the additional element of individual and group photo-ops to take into account.

Still, overall, the con left many attendees satisfied due to the guests in attendance and additional panel programming addressing interesting topics pertaining to media content.

You can watch our more extensive recap of the weekend here:

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The season nears its end and Luke and Stryker must have their final confrontation. But first, we get the deeper insight into the origins of their conflict. In a series of flashbacks, their early relationship is presented. A young Luke (still 'Carl' at this time) is trained by Stryker to become a boxer. Stryker continued to coach Luke until he won an important boxing match.

In the present, Luke and Stryker are still in the barbershop fighting in an even match due to Stryker donning this superset that enhances his strength and invulnerability by a considerable amount. Mariah and Shades have fled the shop and Mariah is determined to not be caught by Misty, whom she knows is determined to bring her in. The fight between Luke and Stryker spills into the streets and some of the locals come out to cheer Luke on, from a safe distance of course. Stryker resents Luke for the fact that Luke's father was going to leave Luke's mother for Stryker's mother but didn't. Law enforcement arrives and work to intervene in the fight while Misty watches everything unfolding and Mariah addresses the gathered media.

Claire coaches Luke from afar to remember who he is, when Luke is struggling to fair well in the fight. The neighborhood begins to chant Luke's name and encourage him on. He is encouraged to fight on and manages to knock Stryker out after the suit's power system fails. Misty proceeds to arrest Mariah for the murder of Stokes. In the commotion, Misty has lost her phone. Shades had retrieved the phone and uses it to lure Candace out from hiding at Soledad's place. Shades kills Candace in order to prevent her from testifying against Mariah. Nothing else is left to prove Mariah's guilt and so she has to be released from custody. Misty is reprimanded by Inspector Ridley for keeping Candace at a private location instead of in official protective custody.

Luke brings himself to the station to give his statement and clarify things about his true identity and past. They can prove that Luke didn't kill the people he was framed of. But federal marshals still arrive and arrest him for escaping from Seagate. Luke and Claire share a passionate kiss before he is taken away, and she promises to call a skilled lawyer she knows in order to help get him released.

Mariah had lost the files she had that would exonerate Luke by proving that Stryker had orchestrated the original crime he was framed for. But when Fish returns to the barbershop, he finds the files there. Mariah reopens Harlem's Paradise with Shades working closely by her side. Misty resumes her undercover work to try to bring Mariah down. Claire contemplates taking up self-defense lessons, seeing them as important to her survival in the battles to come. Stryker is still being treated in the hospital, and Burstein enters him room, perhaps to run some more experiments with the recovered research.

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Luke Cage is arrested and in transport but he is easily able to escape from his restraints and run out of the armored truck. He moves with stealth to avoid being shot by the officers carrying Judas bullets. Luke is cornered by an officer and Luke says that he would rather die than go back to prison. The officer had his hair cut by Pops for twelve years and hopes that Pop was right about him before letting him go and tells him to catch Stryker and stop him, adding that many people in the neighborhood are still rooting for him.

Misty is holding steady, despite her injuries, and works hard to prove Luke's innocence. She speaks with Candace, who calls her on a prepare phone and is willing to recant her testimony against Luke, especially after he saved her life at the club when Stryker threw her off the balcony. Misty meets with Candace, who reveals the truth about the night Stokes died and Misty records her statement on her phone. She is willing to testify against Mariah but only if she can be offered protection, fearing for her life after the murder of Stokes. Shades was the one that offered to pay her $50,000 if she testified against Luke. Candace fears Mariah more than Stokes ever did. Misty brings Candace to Soledad's to hide out for the time being.

Luke interrupts a robbery and remains unphased by the shots the robber fires off at him. He swaps hoodies with one of the customers, Method Man, who is more than happy to help him out and have such an impressive souvenir in return. Luke uses the phone and the shopkeeper tells Luke there are many that would be willing to pay him for that kind of protection but Luke assures him that he doesn't require any payment for helping. Method Man goes on to speak on Sway's radio show and share about what Luke has done and the broadcast pick up traction so even more of the public begins to believe that Luke is innocent and a true hero. The police remain determined to find Luke but the Harlem locals all resent their presence on the streets. More people begin to wear hoodies with holes as a sign of solidarity with Luke.

Inspector Ridley interrogates Shades but he won't say anything about Stryker or otherwise, simply demanding a lawyer each time he is asked a question. Stryker pays to get Shades released on bail and has his men led by Zip bring him to a warehouse. The men attack Shades in an elevator, having been ordered to kill him, but Shades fights back and manages to kill them all and escape. Stryker calls Mariah and informs her that he killed Boone and Shades because they were holding her back and she responds that she is focusing her efforts on Harlem's Renaissance project. He emerges, having been hidden in her house, and offers a sizable sum of money for her to use on her latest endeavors in exchange for her swearing loyalty to him. Stryker says he'll be leaving after he'd killed Luke but promises to return from time to time moving forward.

Luke tracks down Barrett, who has been working for Stryker, and forces him to reveal where he is before locking him in a dumpster. Colon and his men attack Stryker and all his mercenaries he has brought with him. There is an extended shoot-out but Stryker is able to escape into a side room where he has a bomb hidden. He arms it at leaves. Luke gets there in time to get Colon out of the building before it explodes and Colon warns that Diamondback used something he'd never seen before and not even Luke will be able to stop him.

Shades visits Mariah and turns over a champagne bottle he had kept that had her prints on it as well as Stokes' blood. It's the only leverage he had on her but is prepared to swear loyalty to her and proposes that they work together. Shades proposes they work with Luke long enough to defeat Stryker, even revealing the files he absconded on Stryker. Mariah notes that if Luke and Stryker take each other out, then that would solve even more of their problems. Shades admits he had gone to the club that night to kill Stokes but Mariah beat him to it.

Luke meets with Misty and gives her information on his investigation of Stryker. He also suggests he question Barrett to get more on Stryker. Mariah and Shades arrive at Pop's shop to parley with Luke. He does not like the idea of working with them, and is prepared to get violent with them but Mariah is offering a truce. She has the files on Stryker that will prove that he was the one to frame Carl Lucas and will give up his location so long as he lets go of his grudge against them. Mariah swears to tell the truth about how Luke didn't kill Stokes. Misty emerge from the back, having followed Luke there and gets into a stand-off with Shades. Misty wants to arrest Mariah and demands Shade reveal what he knows about Stryker's whereabouts. Stryker attacks the shop in a new power-suit that gives him the strength and invulnerability to be evenly matched against Luke. The two begin to fight after Luke tells Misty to go after Shades and Mariah, who have fled the shop.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Luke, Claire, and Misty are all hiding in the club from Stryker, Shades, and the mercenaries. Luke carries Misty back to the kitchen, shielding her from the gunfire with his body. Claire however is captured and brought to Stryker. Luke blocks the door with a large fridge. Shades believes the best course of action is to flee before the cops arrive but Styrker won't leave. Shades reminds him that he only has one Judas bullet left but Stryker doesn't seem particularly worried. Luke knows about some secret tunnels so he takes a rapidly bleeding Misty down into the basement so she can sit there in safety before the mercenaries get into the kitchen. Stryker is holding everyone inside the club hostage, including the worker Candace that gave the false testimony against Luke. Shades feels strongly that Stryker is behaving irrationally but Stryker is not interested in taking Shades' advice. Stryker is determined to kill Luke and turn the public against him, as the media have gathered outside.

Stryker gets a false narrative out to the law enforcement that Luke is holding everyone hostage. Inspector Ridley maintains an unwavering level-headedness and thus will not authorise an assault on the club when there is so little information on the matter. She gets a call from Misty but they aren't able to communicate because of the poor signal from the basement. Misty encourages Luke to get back upstairs but Luke doesn't want to leave her alone in such an unstable medical state. Claire learns about the basement from Candace after tending to her wound. She's able to slip away and get into the basement where she begins treating Misty's injury.

Luke leaves the basement to confront Stryker, who had demanded he come and meet by threatening to kill the hostages over the loudspeakers. Stryker has Mariah's fellow party member Boone hostage in the main office where he is waiting for Luke. He shares about how the tragedies in his life that sent him spiraling on this path of vengeance against Luke. Stryker then kills Boone and throws him outside to make it seem like Luke killed him.

Shades finds the secret entrance in the kitchen that leads down to the basement. When he reaches it, he attacks Claire and Misty, who are able to work together to beat him in the fight and knock him out.

After the death of Boone, Inspector Ridley can't stop the tactical teams from arming themselves to storm into the club to try to stop Luke even though she still believes he may be innocent. Luke is able to knock out the other guards and free the hostages but after they walk out, he is confronted by Stryker, who has taken Candace as his own personal hostage. He throws Candace off the balcony but Luke is able to catch and shield her from Stryker's latest attempt to shoot him with the Judas bullet. Stryker escapes while the SWAT team break into the club. Candace apologised to Luke, but it appears to be too little, too late. Stryker gets away with some henchmen while Luke, Alvarez, and other mercenaries left at the club are arrested.

Misty is wheeled out to be put into an ambulance but before she is loaded into it, she insists to Inspector Ridley that Luke Cage is innocent.  She gives the name Stryker/"Diamondback" and Ridley tells her to heal while the rest of them will take care of things. Misty refuses to be taken to the hospital, saying that she needs to stay put at the scene to make sure Luke is let off. When Luke is lead outside, some of the locals that have gathered shout out that they know he is innocent.

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Luke has gone into cardiac arrest due to his being in the vat of acid. Claire's quick thinking saves him when she shocks him back into a regular heartbeat. They neutralize the pH of the solution and Claire then realises that they need to turn up the heat of the solution since it may have been the heat of the explosion that made the reaction work when Luke gained his abilities. Once the heat is high enough, Claire is able to dig into Luke's wounds and dig out the pieces of shrapnel. She has to work fast so Luke's vitals don't stay at a critical level but in the end, Luke is saved and can begin to heal properly.

Stryker is determined and lacking in patience in regards to selling the Judas bullets to police officers. Mariah doesn't believe that he can start selling them just yet until she can convince the law enforcement and public of the necessity for them. Stryker then kills a police officer and frames Luke for it in order to hasten the turning of public opinion against him. Misty Knight is the only one in law enforcement that is rightfully suspicious of the theory that Luke killed the officer but is unable to stop others from buying into the propaganda.

Luke and Claire investigate further into what Burstein claimed about him having already been chosen to take part in the experiment before it was necessary to save his life. Upon digging through the files on the drive they discover that Reva was the one that had chosen Luke to take part. Luke feels deeply betrayed and saddened by this revelation. He then threatens Burstein with violence if he ever dares to attempt to replicate the experiment in any way. Burstein tries to plead with Claire to make Luke see that it should continue but she warns him that if he had done such a thing to her, she would have killed him. She then leaves with Luke but Burstein is revealed to still have a copy of the data even though Luke and Claire had left with the drive.

The police grow increasingly aggressive and violent in terrorizing the neighborhood in their efforts to find Luke. The tensions escalate until a detective badly beats an innocent teenage boy. Mariah uses this incident to turn the media and public back to her side. She makes speeches and statements about police brutality while also reiterating that Luke must be caught and stopped. She holds a ceremony in Harlem's Paradise to benefit the boy and show her support - all for publicity and as part of her political scheming. At the ceremony, she reiterates that Luke Cage is to blame and declares that the police need to arm themselves against him. However, another member of her party, Damon Boone, discretely tells her that he knows the truth about what has transpired. Misty is also at the event and attempts to arrest Stryker but he shoots her, causing the party to be broken up in chaos. Luke intervenes and saves her from further gunshot that would have killed her. He continues to shield her when mercenaries open fire in their direction and continues to try to save her. He jumps down from the second-story balcony and runs with Misty still in his arms and ducks down beneath the bar to get some coverage.

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Misty is formally reprimanded for her conduct with Claire so she has to meet with a police psychologist. Throughout her session with him, she comes to realise that her need for control is at the root of why she lashed out at Claire.

Luke is still riding in the back of a garbage truck and suffering from his wounds from the Judas bullets. Luke pulls himself out of the truck and tries to get to safety but is confronted by some police officers that try to hold him up at gunpoint.  When one tries to arrest him, Luke knocks the man out. When the other officer begins shooting, Luke shields the unconscious officer from bullets, knowing that these shots won't hurt him. He then knocks the other officer out and lays both gently on the sidewalk before getting away in the squad car.

Stryker heads to the club and blames Shades for Stokes dying. Shades later visits Mariah at the morgue where she is expressing remorse for things ending so violently with Stokes. Mariah then meets with Colon and convinces him to organise a meeting for all the local crime bosses to get together.

Luke drives to meet with Claire, who determines that the best course of action to treating his injuries is to find Burstein, the doctor whose experiments gave Luke his abilities. They have brought along the jump drive that contains all the data from the experiments and this gives Burstein the information needed in order to start up his experiment again. He has the machinery in his barn that has stayed untouched since the prison breakout. Luke learns that even though Reva had begged Burstein to save him, Luke was still tapped to be a part of the experiments regardless. They must first get a blood sample from Luke in order to cross-check it with Reva's findings and they are only able to get it through Claire's quick-thinking so they decide to go through the mucas membrane at the back of Luke's throat.

Mariah and Shades attend the meeting with the crime bosses but Stryker shows up to crash the gathering and kills every additional crime boss present with the exception of Colon. Mariah is able to appease Stryker's anger at their going behind his back by revealing how the dash cam footage of Luke fighting the police officers has been circulated to the public and worsened his stance in public opinion. Stryker will now have the opportunity to sell more Judas bullets directly to the NYPD.

Burstein determines that the best option to try to treat Luke is to submerge him in the tank similar to how he was when he first gained his abilities but the tank will be filled with acid. The hope is that this will soften his skin just enough to allow them to be able to remove the shrapnel from his body. Unfortunately, the pain of doing this sends Luke into cardiac arrest.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Following Diamondback's attack on Luke, Claire calls for an ambulance to take Luke to the hospital. However, Diamondback attacks the ambulance, which gets flipped on its side. Luke and Claire are forced to run away.

Misty is called in to Stokes' club with other law enforcement after Mariah calls it in his murder. Shades continues to coach her and encourage her rise to power. Mariah has had a waitress and hostess named Candace claim that Luke was the one to kill Stokes, and uses his death to start up more traction with the media again. Misty remains suspicious of Mariah's story since there were blood traces found in the club shower even though it had been heavily bleached. Misty implores Candace to tell the truth but Candace sticks to her story. Misty points out to her superior that Mariah may have called in the murder but she also immediately called the press to be able to publicly attack Luke Cage.

Luke and Claire get into a women's clinic where Claire attempts to find a way to treat Luke's wound but struggles since despite there being soft tissue exposed, it's proving to be just as impenetrable as the rest of his skin. There are many pieces of shrapnel from the Judas bullet that need to be removed so Luke can heal and recover. While performing an ultrasounds, Claire finds that there is no bullet but only shrapnel in his abdomen. Misty calls them to say that Luke needs to come in and answer quests about Stokes' death but Luke simply tells Claire to shut down the call before they can be traced. However, they were on the call long enough for another officer to triangulate an area and Misty deduces that they are hiding in the clinic. Misty arrives and wants to arrest Luke but they are interrupted by Diamondback who attacks again by shooting up the clinic. Misty heads out to try to find him but when Diamondback tries to reach through a window and grab Claire, Luke pulls him inside. Luke recognises him and the two fight, since Diamondback has run out of bullets. Diamondback takes Misty out at gunpoint after shooting Luke with some regular bullets. He reveals to her that Luke's real name is Carl and tries to get Misty to beg for her life but she refuses, despite being afraid.

Claire tends to Luke once again, and he is insistent that he must go after Diamondback. Misty is knocked unconscious and left in the alley. Luke finds her and Claire promises to tend to her injuries and look after her. Luke follows Diamondback to the local United Palace and it's revealed that Diamondback is Luke's childhood friend, Willis Stryker. The two argue, as Stryker blames Luke and claims he abandoned him and left him to rot in a horrible life. Stryker says he was responsible for Luke being wrongly sent to prison and also for all the bad things that happened while inside. But now Stryker is even more upset because Luke was able to escape and get superpowers in the process. They fight and Luke is able to get the upper hand but Stryker still manages to get away.

Claire is brought in to the station and interrogated by Misty who demands answers regarding Luke, who he is, and what he has done. Claire is not afraid of Misty and her attempts to strong-arm information out of her. Misty assaults Claire and as a result, Misty's superior steps in and reprimands Misty after letting Claire go since she was never being charged in the first place.

Mariah makes a payment to Candace for playing her part in framing Luke for the murder. Candace appears conflicted for lying but she needs the money. Mariah tells Shades that if Candace goes back on her story then they will have to kill her and everyone in the apartment and stage it to look like a home invasion.

Stryker finds Luke once again in a side street and reveals that they are actually brothers. He has another Judas bullet armed and ready. He shoots Luke and the blast knocks him into a garbage truck which immediately drives off afterward.

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Luke stops an illegal arms deal and learns from one of the sellers that Stokes is being exonerated and released because Scarfe's ledger has been declared inadmissible due to his loss in credibility. Misty wants to confront Stokes but is warned by her boss to remember what position she is in and that this isn't the right way to take down Stokes. Stokes immediately makes moves to try to fight back against Luke. They set a meeting and Stokes threatens to expose Luke's former identity and get him sent back to prison if he doesn't leave Harlem. Luke appears resigned to agree to do so until Claire convinces him that he needs to stay and fight to free the community and finally free himself.

Stokes reminisces about his upbringing and viewers learn about how he and Mariah grew up together under the hard rules of their mobster grandmother, Mama Mabel. Stokes was interested in music, playing the piano and showing a real talent for it. His uncle Pete was encouraging of these pursuits but Mama Mabel forces Stokes to kill him when is is revealed that Pete had been conducting business deals on the side with her rivals and also had molested Mariah. Mariah is visited by Shades, who gives her a pep talk and shares how he was just another rough kid in the neighbourhood and was always impressed by her and wants her to reclaim that power again.

Audrey is forced to resign at the precinct due to everything that happened with the corruption from her own officers. Her replacement is Inspector Priscilla Ridley, who sparks doubt in Misty's mind in regards to Luke. When digging into his past, his records are too clean and he keeps himself so far off the grid that it's almost as if the man he claims to be doesn't exist. Misty is further suspicious of Luke once he returns the stolen weapons he had stolen back from Colon.

Mariah is forced to resign from her political position and this stress escalates the tension in her relationship with Stokes. They get into a heated argument, as Stokes resents being 'forced' into the family business of crime when Pete was the only one he regards as having encouraged his musical passion. Stokes hits a low blow of insinuating that Mariah wanted to be molested by Pete. She flies into a rage and throws him through a window from which he falls one floor down. She charges after him and beats him to death with a microphone stand. Shades emerges, having witnessed the whole thing, and is in awe of her reclaiming her power. He helps her to clean up the scene and frame Luke for the murder.

Luke begins to confide in Claire about his past but before they can proceed any further, Luke is shot by Diamondback, who refers to him as "Carl" from his hideout. Luke collapses due to the wound being from a Judas bullet that penetrates his skin and burrows into his abdomen.

Dillard is forced to resign from the council, leading to an argument with Stokes in which he insinuates that she liked being abused by Pete. Dillard kills Stokes, and Shades helps her frame Cage for the murder. Cage tells Claire about his past, just as he is shot by Diamondback—who knows him as "Carl"—with a Judas bullet.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Luke begins to pick up traction helping the people of Harlem and as a result, the neighbourhood is increasingly supportive of him instead of buying into Stokes' attempts to turn public opinion against him. But Stokes finds himself more focused on meeting with Scarfe, who has attempted to turn the tables by blackmailing him in order to get the weapons he was after but Stokes assaults him and shoots him. Scarf takes cover behind his car and Stokes warns him that when he catches him again, he will kill him.

Luke has a brief encounter with Mariah in which they size each other up but there is no major confrontation as both seem content to fight that battle another day. Luke and Fish have breakfast at Soledad's restaurant to talk about how to best ensure the future of the barbershop and this is where Luke is reunited with Claire. They talk about his abilities, which he is more open to sharing considering the whole neighborhood knows about his strength and Claire had saved his life. When they return to Pop's barbershop, they find an injured Scarfe hiding out there and Claire agrees to treat his gunshot wounds.

Misty is assigned a new partner after Scarfe disappears, named Lieutenant Perez. Perez is also working with Stokes and has been ordered to finish the job and kill Scarfe. Misty figures this out and is able to trick Perez into implicating himself so she can arrest him.

After Luke and Claire talk to Scarfe about what he's done and what he knows, they go to his apartment so Luke can retrieve an incriminating ledger. But when they are spotted by Misty, the trio have to flee. They are making their way towards 1 Police Plaza in order to turn over both Scarfe and the evidence they have acquired but are ambushed on the way by mercenaries Stokes hired to stop them. Luke is successful in fighting them off but Scarfe succumbs to his injuries.

Mariah is being interviewed by a reporter on a live television broadcast but shuts it all down when they inform her that Stokes has been arrested due to the evidence Scarfe provided and now she is under suspicion for being involved in his criminal activities.

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Claire Temple comes to Harlem in order to visit her mother, Soledad Temple, but has her purse stolen right after arriving. She chases down the robber, watched up to him, and beats him enough for him to give up her bag.

Stokes meets with some associates about the significant loss in his funds and what must be done in order to start making back their money. Stokes kills one of the men when they suggest that they should just leave Luke Cage alone to take his portion of the city and they will focus on theirs. The plan that's formed is for Stokes to send his men to turn up the pressure on the citizens of Harlem. By extorting more money from them, he will be able to make back the money that was taken from him. Stokes also tells his men to tell these citizens to confront Luke Cage is they have a problem with the increase in the 'tax' rate.

A woman seeks out Luke's help after some of Stokes' men steal her father's championship ring while roughing up her shop to extort money. She delivers the message that Stokes has had his men extorting the neighborhood and telling the people to ask Luke Cage why they need money. Stokes hopes that the people of Harlem will force Luke out since he can't be killed. Luke is willing to leave Harlem but only after he does right by Pops.

Claire finally reunites with her mother and tells her about her experiences helping enhanced people, including Luke Cage. Claire feels that this is her calling in life. Luke has begun fighting back against the men Stokes has unleashed on the neighborhood and returns the belongings stolen from them. This leads to Luke confronting Stokes at the club and Shades recognises and identifies him as Carl Lucas, as the two were in prison together. Shades reveals a new, high-tech weapon called the Judas bullet that is strong enough to have a shot at killing Luke. It is built from alien material and designed from a prototype stolen from Hammer Industries that is undetectable using metal detectors, burrows into the subjects, and explodes and incinerates all forensic evidence. Stokes can't afford the bullet so Shades says the only other option to access it is to call Diamondback in to kill Cage himself in exchange for handing over control of Harlem to him. But Stokes doesn't want to give up Harlem so he comes up with an alternative approach which is to steal the weapons from the deal-gone-wrong with Colon. From there, he can sell the weapons to buyers that can give him enough money to afford to buy the bullet.

Misty is informed by NYPD Captain Betty Audrey that her partner, Scarfe, is under investigation but Misty is skeptical that her partner could be dirty. He later takes the weapons from the police evidence that Stokes is after but doesn't actually deliver them to him. Stokes tries to make a play during the memorial service for Pops but Luke gives a speech immediately thereafter that rallies the neighborhood to his side and to not allow Stokes to easily muscle them and extort money.

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Luke is lying unconscious in the rubble of the restaurant Stokes blew up as an act of revenge against him. While Misty Knight, other law enforcement, and the firefighters ponder whether there are any survivors or casualties from the explosion, Luke has a flashback to his life before he was virtually indestructible.

Luke was a policeman named Carl Lucas that was sent to prison after being framed and convicted for a crime he didn't commit. At Seagate Prison, C.O. Albert Rackham is in charge. The private detention facility is also home to Shades, a fellow prisoner. This is also how he meets Reva Connors, who works there as a psychologist to the inmates and will later become Luke's wife (and Jessica Jones' plot device). Luke becomes friends with an inmate named Squabbles but is forced into an illegal series of ring fights run by Rackham after he fights off another inmate that had attacked him. Through this fighting ring, Luke encounters Shades. As Luke grows closer to Reva, he admits to her about the ongoings with the ring fights and they decide to work together to try to expose Rackham for these actions.

When Luke admits of his plans to Squabbles, Luke loses his closest friend because Rackham tortures him to death for information. Desperate to keep his secrets, Rackham sends some inmates to beat Luke to death. Luke is barely alive when Reva brings him to Dr. Noah Burstein. Burstein has been conducting an illegal experiment on inmates under the terms that their participation will lead to time shaved off of their sentences. Reva is determined to save Luke from certain death but when Burstein is just beginning to put the procedure into effect, Rackham storms in and sabotages the equipment meant to save Luke. This interference causes an electrical surge and explosion of sorts and the results from this mishap is Luke gaining his virtually indestructible anatomy.

This newfound strength gives Luke the means to escape with Reva and this is when he takes up the new name "Luke Cage". They marry and start a new life together that leads into the events of Jessica Jones season 1.

Returning to the present plot, Luke wakes and emerges from the rubble of the destroyed restaurant, having also rescued his landlady in the process. As the media is present to cover the explosion, Luke takes the opportunity to not only reveal his abilities but announce himself as Luke Cage.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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The episode opens with Luke Cage heading into Crispus Attucks and taking back Stokes' money. His reason for doing so is because Pop's funeral is set to close due to the many bills that require payment. Luke has a tense meeting with Stokes in which Stokes offers to pay for Pop's funeral and shares that he did not know about Tone's plan beforehand. Luke determines from this that Stokes is not someone he wants to go after for Pop's death. Luke wants to re-open Pop's shop once he has used the money to make the necessary repairs and pay off the bills.

Chico is still in the hospital and is visited by Misty Knight and her partner who continue to question and put pressure on him regarding his criminal activities. He is later visited by Luke and learns from Chico that Stokes had planned to move a significant sum of money to Crispus Attucks during a crisis. This is a segway into the opening scene of Luke taking the money back. Further information in Luke's plan that leads up to this taking back of money is that he targets Stokes' club and frames Colon for this attack.

This attack on the club results in Stokes moving his money to Crispus Atttucks and while Mariah is out of the building, Luke breaks in and steals the money after taking down the guards she had left behind to monitor the building. He also intends for part of this money to go to Fish.

Misty and her partner Rafael head to the scene to impound what's left of the money in the building. Chico later visits Rafael and offers himself up as a witness to testify in the case against Stokes. He shares how Luke was the one to attack the complex but Rafael kills Chico instead, revealing that he is on Stokes' payroll. He then later tells an angry Stokes about how Luke was the one to steal the money. Stokes retaliates by going to the restaurant/building where Luke is living and fires a missile at it with every intent to kill Luke for what he has done.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Pop asks Luke where he is from, knowing he's not really from Chicago. Luke admits he's from Savannah, Georgia. It's all part of a larger pep-talk to convince Luke to find Chico, who has fallen into trouble. Luke is indebted to Pop for keeping his criminal past and super strength a secret. Luke has to quickly slip into the back when he sees that Shades has arrived while accompanying Cottonmouth who is looking for a shave. Luke continues to work to sweep the floors while avoiding letting Shades see his face. Pop's shop is supposed to be the "Switzerland" of neutrality for Harlem. Pop wants Luke to not only find Chico but bring him to the barbershop. Shades eventually does see Luke's face and it's unclear if he recognises Luke, as he seems more concerned with questioning him on the whereabouts of Chico. Luke subtly asks Pop if he should kill Cottonmouth but Pop subtly tells him not to. Cottonmouth and his men leave without any trouble and Luke agrees to find Chico. Pop is also revealed to have known Luke's widow Reva before she got married to Luke.

Luke begins his search for Chico and during it, he sees Cottonmouth visiting Mariah Dillard's Crispus Attucks Complex to deliver Shameek's money that she plans to use for her campaign since she had used some of her campaign funds for Cottonmouth to refurbish his club, Harlem's Paradise. The money from the arms deal is Cottonmouth's way of repaying her.

Luke finally tracks down Chico, who holds him at gunpoint with no idea that there's no damage he could do to Luke with it. He eventually convinces him to comes hide out at the barbershop instead. Pop has a talk with Luke about his past as a gangster and how he decided to turn his life around after serving ten years in prison. Pop had a pregnant girlfriend when he went in but lost track of them and never knew where they were since getting out. He didn't have any skills but was eventually able to start up his shop and make a respectable life for himself.

Misty an her partner visit Pop's shop looking for Chico but Pop claims to not know where he is. He then sends Luke to visit Cottonmouth at the club to offer a parlay that will allow Chico safe passage out of the city and never to return again. Cottonmouth agrees to come by, due to his having grown up on the streets with Chico's father and Pop. One of Cottonmouth's men, Tone is tipped off to Chico's location by Turk Barrett. Tone disregards Cottonmouth's orders to leave things alone and to only take out Chico if he sees him out on the streets. Shades drives Tone to the barbershop, asking if he's going to at least wait for Chico to come outside first. But when Tone gets there, he shoots up the shop, injuring Chico and killing Pop in the process while Luke looks on horrified, having shielded a young customer that was in the shop at the same time. Tone walks in while Luke pretends to be dead and shields the young boy, having told him to pretend to be dead. Tone leaves with Shades, having taken back the money, and Luke cradles Pop in his dying moments. Pop advises him to always move forward before bleeding out on the floor as police arrive. Misty questions Luke about what happened and learns that Cottonmouth was at the club with an alibi so they have no leads on who could've done this.

Tone and Shades return to the club with the money in hand. Cottonmouth is happy to have the money back until Tone reveals that he didn't wait for Chico to be outside and shot up the shop instead. Shades says that he had suggested Tone wait and Cottonmouth says that he'll send money to Pops to help him rebuild the shop. Shades then reveals that Pop is dead. Turk Barrett then appears to ask for the money Tone had agreed to pay him in exchange for Chico's location. Cottonmouth throws Tone off the roof and tells Turk to get his money from Tone, prompting Turk to say he's going back to Hell's Kitchen where things are safer. Cottonmouth then gives the money to Mariah, fulfilling the rest of his payback to her.

Misty ponders to her partner how it was that Luke didn't get hit in the shootout despite having shielded the kid in the shop and ending up with bulletholes in his shirt.

Cottonmouth mourns Pop's death, while Luke dons a hoodie and prepares to make good on his promise to Pop to do better. A young delinquent holds Luke at gunpoint and Luke lectures him before telling him to shoot him. The kid hesitates and Luke takes the gun and shoots himself in the abdomen and the kid runs off frightened when he witnesses Luke's invulnerability. Luke then watches Mariah Dillard bring the money into the Crispus Attucks building.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Luke Cage is living a quiet life, by his own choosing, sweeping hair up at Henry "Pop" Hunter's barbershop. He is an escaped convict trying to live a life of integrity to the best of his ability. He also happens to have incredible strength and virtually indestructible, impenetrable skin. But we'll learn more about the origins of these features as this show progresses. Pop thinks that Luke should use his skills to help people, and Luke ponders how his dead wife Reva used to say the same thing. Luke also works part-time as a dishwasher at Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes' nightclub, Harlem's Paradise. Cottonmouth is a high-ranking crime boss. Luke heads to work determined to get his next portion of salary so that he can pay what he owes in rent to Connie Lin, his landlady. At work at Harlem's Paradise, Luke is put on shift as a bartender to fill in for another employee called Dante who had called in sick to work. While working, Luke meets a beautiful woman named Misty Knight.

Meanwhile, Dante isn't actually sick. The reason he's not come into work is that he's interrupting an arms deal that's set to go down between some of Cottonmouth's men and another gang leader named Domingo Colmon's men. Dante is engaging in this shootout with his friends Shameek and Wilfredo "Chico" Diaz. When the situation goes bad, Dante begins to panic about the circumstances to Shameek kills him so he and Chico can get away with the money from the deal.

Luke and Misty go home together and have sex. She gets called away to investigate the crime scene of the shoot-out, as she works for the NYPD as a detective. She lies to Luke about her job when he asks her what she does for a living. He wants to see her again, and she says she'll know where to find him since she knows where he works. Misty looks over the crime scene with her partner Rafael Scarfe. The two of them impound the Hammer Industries weapons that Stoke was selling in the deal.

Cottonmouth meets a man called "Shades" Alvarez, who has been sent by Stokes' supplier Diamondback to help him with the situation that has flared up with the deal going wrong. Cottonmouth's cousin is Mariah Dillard, who works as a city councilwoman. She wants more money to fund her cause and is determined to get it to keep from being audited.

Luke is at work at Harlem's Paradise when he spots Shades walking in. He recognises him from prison, knowing his name to be "Shades", and keeps a low profile to prevent being noticed by him. Once Shades has walked by, Luke leaves.

Cottonmouth tracks down Shakeem, steals back his share of the money, and beats him, demanding to know where the rest of the money is. Shakeem doesn't want to talk so Cottonmouth proceeds to beat him to death. Some time after, Misty and Rafael are tasked with examining Shakeem's body after it's dumped onto the street.

Mariah has Cottonmouth send some of his men to extort money out of the local business owners through intimidation and threats. Luke walks in on Connie Chin and her husband being threatened by these men. They try to attack him but Luke easily overpowers theme to his superstrength. The men are either beaten by Luke or flee once they see how strong he is. Connie tries to pay Luke as a token of gratitude but he refuses the money, saying he's he one that owes her money. She tries to hire him but he won't take on the responsibility as a paid job, simply promising that he will protect them without receiving money for it.

Marvel's Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Meet 'Luke Cage' Mike Colter At Wizard World Comic Con Portland Mike Colter, who portrays "Luke Cage" in the Netflix series "Jessica Jones" and will reprise the role in the upcoming series in his character's name as well as "The Defenders," will make his Wizard World debut in Portland on Saturday and Sunday, February 20-21. Colter first gained wide acclaim for his role as "Big Willie Little" in the Clint Eastwood feature Million Dollar Baby in 2004, then had recurring roles in "Ringer" and "American Horror Story" and work on Men in Black 3 and Zero Dark Thirty. Welcome this dashing star to Wizard World at the Oregon Convention Center next month. Find Your WW Portland Admissions Here! ★ ★ ★  Wizard World Gaming To Debut In Portland Wizard World will press START on its Wizard World Gaming series in conjunction with Wizard World Comic Con Portland, February 19-21 at the Oregon Convention Center. Wizard World Gaming Portland attendees will participate in video game tournaments and eSports competitions for prize pools, meet top gaming influencers and pros, attend game developer panels, sample free-play demos from top publishers and interact with like minded fans in the Pacific Northwest. Dedicated Wizard World Gaming only admissions will be available; all Wizard World Comic Con Portland attendees will also have full access to the Gaming area. Find Your WW Gaming Admissions Here!  ★ ★ ★ BANDAI NAMCO America Joins Wizard World As Official Anime Partner For 2016 Gaming Tour Wizard World and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. have announced an agreement by which the leading interactive entertainment publisher will become the Official Anime Entertainment Partner for the 2016 Wizard World Comic Con and Gaming Tours, bringing BANDAI NAMCO games to fans throughout the country. As part of this designation, BANDAI NAMCO will provide major live event experiential activations that will give event attendees the opportunity to experience some of its most anticipated video games, such as NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Dark Souls III and more. Esports fans can view tournament competitions and gaming celebrity content via live stream, while Wizard World event attendees can meet BANDAI NAMCO game talent, Pro-Gamers, experience gaming specific content and be a part of cosplay contests thriving in the Anime pop-culture community. Learn more here. ★ ★ ★ WWE® Superstars The New Day™, Roman Reigns™, Diva Paige™ To Appear at Wizard WorldComic Con Portland It will be a big weekend for WWE® fans when Superstars The New Day™ and Roman Reigns™ and Diva Paige™ appear at Wizard World Comic Con Portland, February 19-20. Xavier Woods™, Kofi Kingston™ & Big E™, who collectively wrestle under the moniker "The New Day™," will host a Q&A panel from 4-4:45 p.m, followed by photo ops at 5:30 p.m. and video game play beginning at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, February 19. Also on Friday, Reigns will conduct photo ops beginning at 5 p.m., autographs at 6 p.m. and a Q&A panel at 7:30. Paige will appear on Saturday, February 20, with photo ops at 11 a.m., autographs at noon and her Q&A panel at 1:30 p.m. See them all at the Oregon Convention Center next month. Find Your WWE Platinum VIP Admissions Here! Find Your Roman Reigns VIP Admissions Here!Find Your Paige VIP Admissions Here! Find Your New Day VIP Admissions Here!     'Deadpool' Creator Rob Liefeld Returns To Wizard World Portland Rob Liefeld, creator of "Deadpool" and artist on such notable Marvel titles as "The New Mutants" and "X-Force," returns to Wizard World in Portland on Friday and Saturday, February 19-20. Liefeld founded Image Comics more than 20 years ago, changing the comicbook landscape with the popular "Cable" and "Youngblood," which was the first book published under the Image label. Meet this self-taught, superstar writer, illustrator and publisher in Artist Alley at the Oregon Convention Center.   2016 SCHEDULE ADMISSION VIP ADMISSION

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