After season 2 of Marvel's Luke Cage, four Misty Knight spin-offs that we can't wait to see
Everyone loves a superhero who doesn't possess supernatural power. Case in point, perennial favorite comic book characters like Batman, Black Widow, Hawkeye, or even Tony Stark's Iron Man - whose claim to heroic fame is his technological prowess, rather than a gifted ability like supersonic pace, laser-emitting vision, inexplicable strength or sorcery skills.
This is perhaps one of the reasons why a certain, one-arm less Misty Knight (portrayed by Simone Missick) has found such a fond place in the hearts of Marvel fans, especially those fresh off watching the second season of Netflix's 'Luke Cage', starring Mike Colter in the titular role.
Introduced as a police officer for the New York City Police Department, the character arc of Misty aka detective Mercedes Knight has come a long way since her debut in season 1 as a rather righteous cop character.
Her very first Luke Cage scene, in fact - where she makes an appearance at the shady Harlem's Paradise club, dressed in an outrageously low-cut outfit, and following it up with that hot and heavy bedroom scene with the titular hero - stands in complete contrast with Misty's transformation towards the latter half of the season. By the end of season 1, Misty has completely immersed herself in the issues of Harlem, confiding every now and then in Luke - who in the process, serves as the perfect foil to the ideologically-driven NYPD officer.
From righteous to rational, the story of Missick's character, however, comes a full circle only in the recently-released second season of the Netflix thriller. For the uninitiated (and those yet to catch up with the latest episodes of Luke Cage), the struggle is evident right from the very start of the season. If losing her better arm (after the turn of events in 'The Defenders') was not enough, then I honestly don't know what other sorts of tragedy can be meted out to the character. But that's just me, a regular fan.
Unlike us, the legion of fans, Luke Cage creator Cheo Hodari Coker exactly knew the direction to be followed in order to completely fracture Misty's universe and drive her to the point she is closest to her comic book iteration. Without divulging much details, here's what goes down - following first four episodes of moderate Misty, Luke Cage showrunner brings in a certain [spoiler alert] Danny Rand into the mix, who ends up gifting a bionic arm to Misty, marking a huge leap towards her superheroic avatar.
The robotic addition not only brings out the best in Missick's heroine for the rest of the season but also renders a stronger version of her, as she kicks butts and matches her punches with none other than Luke Cage. In fact, there's a standing joke that Luke is not her sidekick.
Moving past the banter though, season 2, in it's truest terms delivered the best of Knight - who is a legit badass in the comics - and there is no way fans are ready to let go of the character yet. In these circumstances, we couldn't help but conjure four possible spin-off ideas that would ensure our favorite NYPD officer is here to stay, even apart from Luke Cage.
Misty and Colleen - Daughters of the Dragon
Okay, not so much of a brainstormer this one. The roots of a Misty-Colleen spinoff lies in the comics itself, where the cop - in her post NYPD days - continues with her policing in collaboration with a Japanese martial artist, Colleen Wing (who also happens to be a descendant of a Samurai family and a close ally of another Marvel hero, Iron Fist).
Brought together by similar ideologies, Misty and Colleen started their own private investigation firm before being recognized as the crime-fighting duo, the 'Daughters of the Dragon'. What's even better is that hints of a prospect series with these two characters in the front and center of all action have been dropped by Missick as well, who teased: "Hopefully it will lead to a separate series. Hopefully it will lead to the fans getting Daughters of the Dragon, but we won't know until it happens. I always say, if you tweet it, it will come."
Misty Knight with Claire Temple
Seriously jeopardizing the rules of Bechdel test here, but we all need to see a second rendition of that basement scene - in the 11th episode titled “Now You’re Mine” - where both the romantic interests of Luke Cage (Misty Knight and Claire Temple) are left alone, all by themselves.
The Netflix thriller has made no secret of the change in its strategy when swiftly, after just one steamy scene, Misty was rendered more as a foil to the titular character than his leading lady. Instead, a former nurse takes this spot - with season 2 going on to fully develop this romantic angle between Luke and Claire. Regardless, there's a certain catty energy between the two women and we would be lying if we say that we don't want these two fierce, feisty and strong-in-their-own-ways, ladies to not share screen-space again. Preferably tight corners.
Detective Misty versus Nightshade aka Tilda Johnson
In Harlem, if Mariah Dillard is a force to reckon with, then wait until her daughter Tilda Johnson aka Dr. Nightshade makes an entrance. Dedicated to the welfare of people who come seeking her earthly medicines, Tilda, an expert in herbal and homeopathic science, suddenly crosses over to the dark side by the end of Luke Cage season 2 once she has been introduced to her mother's world of gangsters and rampant killings.
The very life she hated so far and even tried to stay away from - she embraces it now, and owns it, as reflected in the scene where she helps Bushmaster kill her mother, before putting Mariah to sleep herself with a poison kiss. However, Luke Cage has a history of killing its villains within a season, hence if this newly-emerged antagonist - better known as Nightshade in the comics - were to be kept around longer, we say, pit her against Detective Misty.
Misty and Luke, a love story
What was left unfinished between our titular hero and the favorite detective - Luke Cage season 1 episode 1: "Moment of Truth" - we demand, be brought to a close in a Misty Knight spin-off. Focussing on the insane chemistry between these two characters, a glimpse of which was offered in a scene lasting just a few minutes, the Luke and Misty spin-off could pick up right where they left off, in medias res.
It doesn't hurt, after all, to wonder how it would have all panned out had Luke given in to the charms of the super-sensuous, off-duty detective after that one night outside Harlem's Paradise.