Over the past few decades, Hollywood has done a great job at telling and re-telling origin stories. Simply put, origin stories are much easier to tell than second or third films in a superhero franchise. The reason why? It’s a much easier to define emotional journey. It’s easy to see where the character begins, how he grows, and how he ultimately turns out by the closing credits. Then, going into another film, you’re suddenly faced with the realization that this character still has a lot of growing to do. Sometimes, studios make the mistake of backpedaling a character’s emotional journey just so that they have somewhere for them to go, and that’s when you hit the sophomore slump.
Marvel and Netflix will have such obstacles to overcome for Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist in their second seasons (Though Iron Fist will likely have the easiest job of the three). They already hit a home run with Daredevil Season 2, but seeing as these other three will have seasons following The Defenders limited series crossover, you wouldn’t be alone in your concern that future seasons will give them less room to grow. But how are they going to keep things going? What aspects of these characters will they be focusing on?
Speaking at a panel at Denver Comic Con, actor Mike Colter said that for Luke Cage Season 2, and other shows, some of the focus will be on the fact that “superpowers don’t fix your life.†Indeed, that’s very much something every superhero goes through at one point or another. Spider-Man is probably the hero who gets that message the most, but it’s certainly something that can carry over to these folks.
However, that being said, I only foresee two real candidates for that focus: Luke Cage and Iron Fist. As it stands, Daredevil has had his abilities for years, so he’ll have already gone through that emotional journey himself. Jessica Jones already went through her “exciting superhero phase†before falling under the control of Kilgrave, so it’s safe to say that she understands that point all too well.
With Luke Cage, he’s a man who is only just deciding to embrace his abilities, so he’ll inevitably hit the point where he realizes that his brute strength can’t fix all of Harlem’s problems. Similarly, Iron Fist is really only just discovering the extent of his own powers, and as he gets stronger, he seems the most likely to become corrupt and mad with power.
What do you think of Colter’s statement? Do you think that’s a good direction for some of the Marvel shows to go in? Let us know your thoughts down below!
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