Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Luke Cage season 2
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Luke Cage season 2 opens the door for Heroes for Hire, a superhero team that Luke Cage and Iron Fist founded in the comics... but is it a door that Luke will walk through? In episodes 5 and 6, Luke finds himself in a tight spot financially, and so he is hired by Raymond "Piranha" Jones - first as entertainment, and later as a bodyguard. While Luke's first work as a "hero for hire" doesn't go as planned, it opens up the possibility for him to create his own superhero business in the future. However, since Luke has just become the owner of Harlem's Paradise, he may not need to start "Heroes for Hire" in order to pay the bills.
In the original Luke Cage comics, the secondary title was "Hero for Hire" from issue 1 to issue 17, after which it became "Power Man". The Heroes for Hire comic series took its name from the superhero team and business that Luke Cage created to balance his superhero work and paying the bills. Along with Iron Fist, Luke was the original hero for hire, but the organization's many iterations also included many other heroes, including Colleen Wing, Misty Knight, White Tiger, Human Torch, and even Ant-Man and Black Panther.
- This Page: How Luke Becomes a Hero For Hire
- Page 2: Luke's First Job & The Future of Heroes For Hire
How Luke Becomes a Hero For Hire
At the beginning of season 2, Luke adjusting to his newfound celebrity while trying to fight back against crime in Harlem. After the drug lord Arturo Rey is killed, Luke realizes that Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton is one of two other possible criminals whom Mariah and Shades could partner with. Luke goes looking for Cockroach, and he's called into action when Cockroach beats up his girlfriend and son. Furious, Luke intervenes and attacks Cockroach, almost killing him.
After Cockroach is rushed to the hospital, he sues Luke, saying that Luke's attack was unprovoked. Cockroach's girlfriend and child are too afraid to corroborate Cockroach's actions, and so Luke is threatened with a court date if he can't come up with $100,000 to settle with Cockroach. His lawyer, Foggy Nelson (yes, of Daredevil), advises him to make a celebrity appearance so that he can pay off Cockroach quietly.
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Foggy sets up a celebrity appearance for Raymond Jones, who is revealed to be Piranha, Mariah's crooked lawyer. Piranha is throwing a party, and he's a big Luke Cage fan. When Luke signs a contract to make an appearance at Piranha's party, he discovers that the wall of Piranha's office is covered with Cage memorabilia - including a lock that Luke crushed and a fake Seagate prison jumpsuit. Foggy begins to suggest $50,000 for Luke's appearance, but Luke cuts him off and says he'll go to Piranha's event for $150,000. Piranha enthusiastically agrees without negotiating.
Luke feels humiliated being forced to attend Piranha's party. Piranha requires Luke to wear his signature bullet-torn black hoodie with the yellow hood. His guests ask for photos with Luke and one guest even hits him with a beer bottle. As for Piranha, he asks Luke to stand guard at the bottom of the stairs while he has a threesome. At the end of the evening, Piranha calls Luke onstage and offers to let guests shoot the bulletproof Luke for fun.
However, before anyone gets the chance, other guns go off. Piranha is being targeted by Bushmaster's crew. Piranha, as Mariah's lawyer, has been given sole control of all of her assets, which he has sent to an off-shore account. Bushmaster wants to steal everything from Mariah, and Piranha is the key. Suddenly, Luke isn't a novelty, he's a necessary security. When Piranha asks Luke to save him, Luke doubles his price to $300,000.
Page 2: Luke's First Job & The Future of Heroes For Hire
Luke's First "Hero for Hire" Job Takes a Dark Turn
Luke tries his best to protect Piranha from Bushmaster's men. They flee the gunfire, and Luke throws Piranha onto the roof of a neighboring building. Once they are able to evade Bushmaster's men, Luke begins to question why Piranha is being hunted, and when he discovers that Piranha works for Shades and Mariah, Luke tells Piranha he's on his own. Piranha exasperated responds, "You work for me. I'm paying you. You're my hero for hire!" explicitly invoking Luke's comic book alter ego. Luke doesn't care about the money, but when Piranha points out that Luke gave him his word. Once it becomes a question of honor, Luke feels that he can't refuse to help the shady lawyer.
Luke and Piranha lay low in an abandoned theater. Bushmaster's men track them down and capture Piranha, but Luke is able to disarm them. Luke takes Piranha to his father's church to hide, telling Piranha to stay put. He tells his father to call Misty at the NYPD if he doesn't come back in an hour.
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Then, Luke uses the phone of one of Bushmaster's men to call Bushmaster himself. They meet face to face, and in the ensuing showdown, Bushmaster throws Luke off of a bridge. By the time that Luke awakens and returns to his father's church, Piranha is gone. He refused to stay put and tried to make a run for it on his own. As a result, he is captured by Bushmaster and tortured to get access to all of Mariah's assets. Then, Bushmaster has Piranha killed and beheaded. It seems that Luke isn't going to be paid for his heroics after all.
Heroes for Hire Isn't a Business... Yet
Luke Cage season 2 references the "Heroes for Hire" comics not just off-handedly, but pointedly. The plot arc that revolves around Piranha i a tribute to Luke's comic roots, and later in the second season, Mariah also tries to hire Luke to act as her body guard. Luckily, Luke isn't that desperate for money, even though Mariah repeats the offer several times. We also see the classic duo in action in episode 10, "The Main Ingredient," when Danny Rand shows up to help Luke hunt for Bushmaster (and gently encourages him to do some work on his Chi).
Will "Heroes for Hire" appear again in Luke Cage season 3? While there are clear signs of this being set up, the end of season 2 seems to move in a different direction. Luke takes on his role as the new owner of Harlem's Paradise, the club that once belonged to villains Cottonmouth and Mariah, and becomes the "Sheriff" of Harlem. Of course, Luke could begin his official "Heroes for Hire" business while he's based in Harlem's Paradise, but his acquisition of the club solves the financial problems that would drive him to be a hero for hire. Additionally, a formalized "Heroes for Hire" organization may be too close to Jessica Jones' Alias Investigations in structure and available plot lines.
Mike Colter, who plays Luke Cage, has said that a "Heroes for Hire" partnership between Luke and Iron Fist is not off the table, but is also not the inevitable development it seemed after The Defenders. Audiences may not see "Heroes for Hire" any time soon in Luke Cage, but the show still includes a name-drop and plenty of set-up for Iron Fist and Power Man to become Heroes For Hire in the future. Speaking to Newsweek, showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker argued that "Luke Cage is ultimately, if you look at the roots of the comic books, a hero for hire... he's gonna be a hero, but at some point he’s gonna want to get paid."