Page - 134 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

134 | Ken Derry et al. www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 123–155 sile attack, he is advised to consider his next actions carefully: “[it] costs to be a savior. Ask Jesus” (e05). And when shades tells Cornell about the Judas bullet, he points out, “if you wanted to kill Jesus, that’s the bullet you’d use” (e05).23 As many critics have noted, simply labeling a character as a “Christ-figure” is not in itself all that meaningful, as it begs the question: “so what?”24 in most superhero narratives, i would argue, presentation as a messiah is used to sup- port the perspective of zealous nationalism. this perspective depends heavily on claiming the moral authority to decide who is good and who is evil; align- ing your hero with Christ conceivably can do a good deal of work towards this end.25 Luke Cage (2016), however, explicitly tells us that Luke will be a very dif- ferent kind of savior when he recites Luke 4:18 and re-names himself after the gospel writer: “the spirit of the Lord is on me, because i have been anointed to preach good news to the poor. he sent me to proclaim freedom for the prison- ers, and recovery of sight for the blind. to release the oppressed” (e04). Luke will thus be a savior more interested in helping people in need than in defeating evil. this is a much more down-to-earth mission, a more human mission, than we see in most superhero stories. in this regard, while Luke is clearly special in many ways, the show also works to humanize him. this is evident in his fear of being recognized and sent back to jail, and his determination to earn a living with honest work, whether sweeping up hair, washing dishes, or tending bar. there is also the simple but important fact that he can be physically hurt: he is shot by Diamondback, he bleeds, he almost dies. When Cornell facetiously comments that people act as if Luke “can walk on water”, shades asks in all seriousness, “Can he?” (e07). this question, along with Mariah’s suggestions for killing Luke – drowning, burning, poisoning (e06) – points to the vulnerabilities that he shares with the rest of humanity. this shared connection is movingly underscored when men in the community wear hoodies with holes in them, risking their own safety to 23 See Campbell 2016 for a theological discussion of the ways in which Luke functions as a Christ-figure in comparison to Matt Murdock from Daredevil (Netflix, US 2015, 2016). Campbell argues that each hero represents very different aspects of the Christian messiah’s salvific role, with Matt as the suffering Je- sus and Luke the risen Christ. he contrasts the fact that Matt’s “body is broken time and time again for the sake of those he seeks to save” with the understanding that Luke is “indestructible”: “freed from death and physical pain, after his resurrection, Luke Cage is able to tackle oppression in harlem fear- lessly. Mostly.” While Campbell makes many good points, his use of “mostly” here is, i would argue, an understatement. Unlike Daredevil, who is in fact called “the man without fear”, Luke is filled with a great deal of anxiety – and (arguably) fear – about taking on oppression. And while he is certainly much less susceptible to physical harm than Matt Murdock, Luke Cage (2016) makes the point in several ways noted below that Luke is far from indestructible. 24 See, e.g., Deacy 2006; Derry 2012, 189–191; Jasper 1997; Lyden 2003, 24; Plate 2003, 158, 160 n. 12. 25 It is thus not surprising that most superhero films end with a huge, enormously destructive fight. The protagonist essentially becomes the savior figure of Revelation, triumphing in an apocalyptic battle against evil.