• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comic Book Herald

A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans

  • Reading Orders
    • Marvel
    • My Marvelous Year
    • DC Comics
    • All Comic Book Publishers
    • Most Recent
  • Beginner Guides
    • Beginner’s Guide To Comics In 2023
    • Marvel 2023: Where to Start?
    • DC 2023: Where to Start?
    • Best of Lists
    • Tablets for Comics
    • Guides for Digital Readers
  • Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
    • DC Comics
    • Comic Book Movies
    • Comic Book TV
    • Video Games
  • Podcasts & Video
    • My Marvelous Year
    • Best Comics Ever (CBH)
    • CBH on Youtube!
  • About Me
    • My Favorite Comics of All Time
    • Columns
    • CBH Email Newsletter
  • Support Comic Book Herald
    • Ways to support
You are here: Home / Featured / State of Marvel Netflix: Luke Cage & Iron Fist Season Two Reviews!

State of Marvel Netflix: Luke Cage & Iron Fist Season Two Reviews!

October 19, 2018 by Dave Leave a Comment

As a Chicago Bears fan, there’s such a low bar for quarterback play that even the slightest signs of skill require rapturous applause. The Bears are notorious for a long lineage of untalented underachievers, which means that when the likes of a Grossman or a Trubisky (#itgetsbetter?) actually complete even a 15 yard out, you better stand and yell like we won the big one. There’s no telling when it might happen again.

* Spoilers for Luke Cage and Iron Fist Season Two follow *

This is also how I feel now when Marvel Netflix shows Luke Cage and Iron Fist do something even slightly unexpected or outside the lines in their second season. Oh, the boys are teaming up! Way to offer Colleen the fist, Danny! Wait, Shades is actually kind of compelling when he’s revealed as bisexual?!

It wasn’t always this way, of course. Nonetheless, since Iron Fist‘s first season dragged a glowing hand through an office complex and called it art, Marvel Netflix has become a dumping ground for tedious studies in lowest common denominator superhero. Among a mind-numbing run of Iron Fist S1, Defenders, Punisher, Jessica Jones S2, Luke Cage S2, and Iron Fist S2, only The Punisher stands out as above average.

Like the worst continuity-rich comic book events, the remainder of the lineup are merely feats of endurance, begging viewers to question what better uses of their time could be had instead.

Support For Comic Book Herald:

Comic Book Herald is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a qualifying affiliate commission.

Comic Book Herald’s reading orders and guides are also made possible by reader support on Patreon, and generous reader donations.

Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards, or Donate here! Thank you for reading!

Oddly, Iron Fist season two is clearly an improvement over its league worst predecessor, and it could pretty easily be argued that Luke Cage season two is stronger as a whole than its uneven first season. Neither show is out and out bad. That’s the thing about Marvel Netflix’s second act, though: The expectations are so low, it’s far too easy to celebrate mediocrity.

Related Reading Orders:

Luke Cage

Iron Fist

Defenders

Luke Cage and Misty Knight team-up

Truth be told, I quite liked Power Man and Iron Fist teaming up late in Luke Cage season two, both in action fighting together and quipping in quieter moments. There was a clear sense that this was the comics dynamic of the duo Netflix had been looking for, and it ends far too quickly, without carrying over into Iron Fist season two.

Luke is still the least compelling character on his own show. It’s… odd to say the least. He really works so much better playing off other heroes, like his debut in Jessica Jones season one, or the Iron Fist team-up, or any time Misty Knight walks into a room. I still can’t quite get my head around how the hero for hire with so much personality was adapted into this humorless wall of mope.

Danny suffers from similar problems, losing the spotlight to Colleen Wing, the Meachems, Davos, and Typhoid Mary, sometimes in the same scene. In some ways, compelling supporting characters speaks to the success of Marvel Netflix’s approach to TV, giving long-winded depth to every corner of the drawn out story. Still, for my money, the equation of prestige TV with Slow Force pacing is precisely the wrong lesson to cling to.

It’s hard not to lament what wrong with Marvel Netflix after such a promising start. If you’ve invested to this point, and enjoy the shows, then absolutely Luke Cage and Iron Fist’s second season are recommended viewing. They won’t change any minds, though, meaning for me, the best thing Marvel can do is wrap the whole thing up with Daredevil season three, and move on to the next draft class.

Luke and Danny team up in Luke Cage season two

Where Does Luke Cage S2 and Iron Fist S2 Rank in The Marvel Cinematic Universe Power Rankings?

Tier 1: The Best

1) Avengers: Infinity War
2) Jessica Jones (Season 1)
3) Avengers
4) Guardians of the Galaxy
5) Captain America 3: Civil War
6) Thor: Ragnarok
7) Black Panther

Tier 2: Great

8) Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
9) Spider-Man: Homecoming
10) Daredevil (Seasons 1 & 2)
11) Iron Man

Tier 3: Good

12) Captain America: The First Avenger
13) The Punisher
14) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
15) Iron Man 3
16) Ant-Man & The Wasp
17) Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
18) Ant-Man
19) Doctor Strange

Tier 4: Mixed Feelings

20) Runaways
21) Luke Cage (Seasons 1 & 2)
22) Thor 2: The Dark World
23) Defenders

Tier 5: I’ll Watch With a Comic In Hand

24) Thor
25) Agents of SHIELD (Seasons 1 through 4)
26) Agent Carter (Seasons 1 & 2)
27) Iron Fist Season Two
28) Incredible Hulk

Tier 6: Nope

29) Iron Man 2
30) Jessica Jones (Season Two)
31) Pineapple on pizza
32) Iron Fist Season 1
33) Toe fungus
34) Inhumans

Filed Under: Featured, Reviews Tagged With: Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Netflix

Heroically Support Comic Book Herald!

If you like Comic Book Herald, and are able to donate, any small contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Donate here! Or, support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards! Thank you for reading!

Become a Patron!

About Dave

Dave is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Comic Book Herald, and also the Boss of assigning himself fancy titles. He's a long-time comic book fan, and can be seen most evenings in Batman pajama pants. Contact Dave @comicbookherald on Twitter or via email at dave@comicbookherald.com.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Comic Book Herald Podcast!

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsRSS
My Marvelous Year reading club helps Marvel fans become comic book experts

Recent Posts

  • Pax Americana and The Infinite Loop Of Imperiums March 25, 2023
  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live! March 24, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review! March 23, 2023
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided March 22, 2023
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107 March 21, 2023
  • 2002 Pt. 3: Daredevil & Elektra March 20, 2023
  • Immoral X-Men #2 and Wolverine vs. Dark Beast! | Comic Book Herald Live! March 17, 2023
  • X-Men: The Animated Series Season 2 Rewatch! March 16, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 5: Nightcrawlers #2—in Review! March 15, 2023
  • My Marvelous Interview: Paul Jenkins on Wolverine Origin, Inhumans, Spectacular Spider-Man, & More! March 13, 2023
  • The Dark Knight Trilogy 15 Years Later: Film & Comic Influences! March 11, 2023
  • Sins of Sinister: Nightcrawlers, X-Men #20, New Mutants: Lethal Legion #1 | Comic Book Herald Live! March 10, 2023
  • 2002 Variant A: Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania TAKEDOWN! March 6, 2023
  • Steve Orlando’s Marauders #1-5—Annotated! March 4, 2023
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 4: Immoral X-Men #1 in Review! March 3, 2023

Popular Articles

DC Rebirth Guide

Batman Reading Order

DC New 52 Reading Order

Marvel Ultimate Universe Guide

Civil War Reading Order

Marvel Cosmic Reading Order

The Best Comics of All Time!

Deadpool Reading Order

Justice League Reading Order

Complete Thanos Reading Order

X-Men Reading Guide (Modern Era)

Age of Apocalypse Reading Order

Modern Marvel Universe in 25 Trades

Best Tablet For Digital Comics

Is Marvel Unlimited Worth It?

Footer

New to Comic Book Herald?

Hey there - my name's Dave and this is my comic book blog. It's my way of sharing my borderline obsessive addiction to the comic book medium, and I hope you like some of what's going on here.

Most people that come here are looking for my (WIP) Marvel reading order guide. You can probably also get a sense if CBH is for you by taking a look at some of my columns.

If you like what you see, let's connect on Facebook or Twitter. Or, leave a comment on the blog here, I'm always looking for new awesome people in the comic book community.

More on Comic Book Herald

  • Home
  • About
  • Support CBH
  • My Marvelous Year
  • Join!
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Recent Posts

  • Pax Americana and The Infinite Loop Of Imperiums
  • Fall of X Teasers & Al Ewing’s Sins of Sinister | Comic Book Herald Live!
  • “Sins of Sinister” Part 6: Immoral X-Men #2—in Review!
  • DESTINY OF X | The Krakoan Empire Divided
  • “Secret Identity” with Alex Segura | CBH Interviews #107

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in