Marvel's Luke Cage S1E5: Just To Get A Rep review

Cornell Stokes is one scary man.

The man better know as Cottonmouth is supposed to be the crime boss that runs Harlem, but in one night Luke Cage managed to put a massive dent in Stokes' reserves.

Cottonmouth took it exactly as expected, and it doubles as one of Mahashala Ali's finest moments in the season.

In one, four-minute sequence, Cottonmouth is elevated to level-pegging with Daredevil's Wilson Fisk.

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Both are at their most powerful, and memorable, when the city, its people, and Marvel's heroes push back. Luke Cage, forced to literally and figuratively pick up his life (again), pushes harder than anyone else before.

When Cottonmouth tries to turn the city against Cage, the man formerly known as Carl Lucas confronts the crime boss face to face.

It is then Cottonmouth fully learns how much of a threat Cage is, as Shades Alvarez, who spent time in prison with Cage, reveals everything he knew of the man with whom he was in prison.

Diamondback, who is yet to appear, is mentioned again, and given just how badly Cage damaged Cottonmouth his on-screen debut may be closer than ever.

A major character from the Netflix series makes their first appearance in Marvel's Luke Cage, which only adds to the excitement for the long-awaited crossover series The Defenders.