Luke Cage season 2 introduces viewers to Mustafa Shakir's Bushmaster - and he's easily one of the best villains in the MCU to date. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is often criticized as having something of a "villain problem," and a major part of that is Marvel's dependency on 'mirror-image' villains - bad guys who are deliberate inversions of the heroes. That turns the villains into little more than a foil for the heroes, rather than a character in their own right.

The "villain problem" is gradually being addressed, though. Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming was a compelling, three-dimensional character in his own right, and it helped that Vulture's powerset was very different to Spider-Man's. Thanos was essentially the star of Avengers: Infinity War, complete with a twisted version of the Hero's Journey. And Michael B. Jordan was the proud recipient of MTV's Best Villain Award for Black Panther's Killmonger.

Related: Luke Cage Season 2 Sets Up Heroes For Hire

But the best bad guys in the MCU have always been found on the small screen, particularly in the Marvel Netflix shows. The classic examples to date have been Vincent d'Onofrio's Kingpin and David Tennant's Kilgrave. But how does Mustafa Shakir's Bushmaster compare to these characters?

Meet Bushmaster

Luke Cage season 2 finale - Bushmaster

Bushmaster is easily one of the MCU's most fascinating and complex villains. We're told his backstory early on, and ultimately shown it in a series of (largely unnecessary) flashbacks. We learn that Bushmaster's family suffered terribly at the hands of the Stokes family, and Bushmaster himself was forced to watch his mother burn alive. He has sworn vengeance, and to that end has cultivated a dependency upon the drug Nightshade. Nightshade reveals the man within; the child who burns with fury and rage, the unstoppable juggernaut who serves as an agent of wrath.

Crucially, though, Nightshade is clearly an addictive drug in all the worst senses of the word. Every dose becomes less effective than the last, meaning Bushmaster is forever having to treat himself with larger quantities of Nightshade. Meanwhile, Danny Rand suggested Nightshade actually causes an imbalance between body, soul, and spirit; that imbalance is gradually driving Bushmaster insane, and he's going to ever-greater and more brutal lengths to get revenge on Black Mariah and her family. Bushmaster's uncle desperately warns against it, but his advice is not heeded.

The Dynamic Between Luke Cage and Bushmaster

This creates a fantastic dynamic between Luke Cage and his new nemesis. At first, Bushmaster is interested in Luke Cage purely because he's in the way; little by little, though, the rivalry between the two physical powerhouses becomes intensely personal. By midway through the season, the two have begun to earn a grudging respect for one another; then, after Mariah commits an unspeakable atrocity against Bushmaster, they find themselves united in revulsion. That's when we actually get a brief but thrilling team-up between Luke Cage and Bushmaster, as they stumble into one of Black Mariah's traps - and work together.

Shakir and Mike Colter are a dream team, performing their nuanced roles with skill. Several scenes draw out a deliberate parallel between the two characters, one that's stressed early on when Luke's father preaches a version of the "Tale of Two Wolves." This imagines that there are two wolves fighting to control each person; one stands for hope, the other stands for darkness. One for righteousness, the other for vengeance. Which one will win? The one a person feeds. In the case of Bushmaster, he's been feeding the dark wolf for decades, and the desire for vengeance has consumed him. In contrast, Luke resists the howl of the dark wolf, and struggles to retain his innate goodness. That will no doubt prove far more challenging in season 3, given he'll be in a position of real temptation.

Page 2 of 2: Bushmaster's Arc and the Themes of Luke Cage Season 2

Family Matters

Luke Cage season 2 revolves around a single core theme; the importance of family. Every single one of the characters struggles with their family history. Luke must build a new relationship with his father; Claire must decide whether she's willing to risk allowing history to repeat itself; Black Mariah initially attempts to escape her family's legacy, then embraces it; Tilda Johnson is drawn into the family business against her wishes. Almost every one of the characters is damaged goods, wounded by their family background.

Bushmaster's history and motives tie into that theme perfectly, helping make Luke Cage season 2 an impressively cohesive story. Then, in a heartwrenching twist, Bushmaster's vendetta against Mariah costs him almost everyone he loves. Mariah personally leads a bloody reprisal against Bushmaster, gunning down almost all his family, and personally striking the match that sets his gasoline-soaked uncle ablaze. It's a horrific act, and it actually serves to unite Luke Cage and Bushmaster in their revulsion towards Mariah.

Related: Luke Cage Season 2 Ends In A Surprising But Cool Place

And yet, over the course of the season, Bushmaster's themes become increasingly complex. He finds himself indebted to Tilda Johnson, Black Mariah's daughter, and ultimately chooses to spare her from his wrath. Tilda, he realizes, is as horrified and disgusted at Mariah's evil as he is. And so Bushmaster ultimately chooses to allow a Stokes to live - and even treats Tilda with respect. He's proved right, given it is ultimately Tilda who kills her mother.

Breaking the Addiction

Bushmaster and Nightshade talk in Luke Cage.

Bushmaster is hardly a good man; he sticks men's heads on spikes, and has another left in a fish-tank. But the true villain of the show is the Nightshade that powers him, that feeds the dark wolf inside him, and thus encourages him to tread an ever-darker path. The addiction is at its worst towards the middle of the season, and Bushmaster is notably out-of-balance. He's haggard and weak, desperate to acquire more Nightshade and regain his strength. Tilda warns him, but still Bushmaster persists.

That comes to a head in Bushmaster's attack on Harlem's Paradise. Knowing he'll be faced with a greater challenge than ever before, Bushmaster injects himself with a super-shot of Nightshade that Tilda has prepared for him. When he attacks, he's almost out of his mind with rage and bloodlust, tearing through Mariah's guards like they're paper. He tosses Luke Cage around as though he's a rag doll. Bushmaster is eventually driven back, though, and Black Mariah is arrested.

The Nightshade has failed, and Bushmaster's target is now out of his reach. Tellingly, we don't actually see Bushmaster take Nightshade again. And the Bushmaster of the last episode is a very different man to the one we've seen before; there's a world-weary sense of balance to him, as though his body, soul and spirit are all beginning to recover from the torture he's put them through. He's stopped feeding the dark wolf at last. And so, in the end, Bushmaster pays one last visit to Harlem; to assure its new King that he'll stay out of the way.

-

The Marvel Netflix shows have featured some of the best villains in the MCU to date. Bushmaster clearly numbers among their ranks; he's a fascinating, three-dimensional character with complex character arcs and a powerful motivation. Bushmaster's is no redemption story; he doesn't end as a hero. Rather, though, he's simply no longer a monster - no longer the brutal creature who would raze Harlem to the ground if that were what it cost to get Mariah. It's a fantastic arc.

More: Luke Cage Season 2 Review: An Engaging, Satisfying Crime Drama