Mayor Luke Cage? Why Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 Could Adapt A Crucial Comic Arc
Now that the seat of the mayor is up for grabs, who’s to say it won't be filled by a certain bulletproof hero?
Considering how much the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of New York City is a hotbed for superhero activity on the film side of things, it’s a shame that the major events unfolding on the television side don’t get as much emphasis as they should. The first two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again depict the ascension of career criminal Wilson Fisk to the realm of politics, winning the seat of mayor, much to the chagrin of his longtime vigilante nemesis Daredevil. Such a radical shift of the status quo would surely have rippled out beyond Hell’s Kitchen into the wider universe (and in the source material, it very much does), but as shown by the teaser for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the Kingpin’s newfound office and the anti-vigilante legislation he championed don’t seem like it’ll have many repercussions outside of Born Again.
And now, after last night’s season finale, Wilson Fisk is officially out of office, deposed after the reveal of Daredevil’s secret identity, lost him the support of the courts, and a civilian riot lost him the support of the people. The trailer for Brand New Day also seems to have revealed that Wilson’s former Chief of Staff, Sheila Rivera, will be taking over for him as interim mayor until such a time as a new mayor can be elected. It’s an interesting twist of fate, one that promises to get even more intriguing with the return of the Defenders next season, a team that includes a certain hometown Harlem hero who served as NYC’s mayor in a recent Marvel Comics storyline.
The first trailer for Brand New Day spoiled the fact that Sheila is now acting as mayor, but will that be a permanent change?
It’s been eight years since we last saw Luke Cage, with Netflix canceling his titular show back in 2018, and now Mike Colter’s depiction of the character is set to return in the upcoming season of Daredevil. The last time he was on-screen, he was taking over the Dillard nightclub, a backhanded gift from beyond the grave meant to accompany Luke’s new position as Harlem’s “sheriff” of crime, a transition that would certainly have led to some sort of crisis of conscience for the character had we received a third season. That plot thread appears to be largely abandoned, as Born Again revealed Luke now has a daughter with Jessica Jones and has been off doing God knows what under the employ of Mr. Charles. But just because we probably won’t get “Sheriff of Harlem” Luke doesn’t mean the MCU has no plans for him moving forward, and if his recent comic book adventures are any blueprint, those plans could feature a drastic career change.
In the Devil’s Reign miniseries, which a large portion of Daredevil: Born Again is based on, the heroes of NYC present an alternative candidate to Mayor Fisk’s campaign: Luke Cage. However, what they eventually uncover is that Fisk has actually been exploiting the powers of an imprisoned Zebediah Killgrave, aka the Purple Man, to manipulate the citizens into voting for him, effectively rigging the vote. A combined force of multiple vigilantes, including Cage, Jessica Jones, Spider-Man, Captain America, Daredevil, and the Purple Man’s son Joseph, was able to defeat Killgrave and the Kingpin, effectively leaving the mayoral seat to the only other candidate on the ballot. As mayor, Luke set out to reverse Fisk’s anti-vigilante efforts and transform his villain-infested Thunderbolts secret police (the comics equivalent of the show’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force) into a legitimate organization, while also contending with an escalating gang war in the aftermath of Fisk losing his mayoral position.
Becoming mayor was a great culmination of Luke’s increasing aptitude for leadership, which started all the way back with 2005’s New Avengers.
Considering the major differences in how the MCU adopted the Devil’s Reign miniseries, it’s unlikely we’ll see Luke as mayor, but not entirely impossible: the interim mayor was actively complicit in Fisk’s murder of the chief of police in the finale of Born Again season 1, which means we could eventually see her tossed out of office due to corruption as well. Having Luke take over could be a great storytelling decision for two reasons: one, the strain of political office and the compromises he’s forced to make while immersed in office could create an interesting divide between him and his superhero comrades (including his own wife), and two, it would be a great opportunity to bring the New York of the TV shows and the New York of the films together (Mayor Kingpin could never serve this purpose due to the complex rights issues between Marvel and Sony, who owns the cinematic rights to the Kingpin). There’s an incredibly slim chance that Harlem’s Defender will be sworn into office, but it would certainly be a perfect way to affirm the character’s importance now that he’s officially crossing over into a larger world.
