Thoughts on Luke Cage and Heroes for Hire

So one of the ideas on the back burner for the MCU right now is using Luke Cage and the Heroes for Hire. People have made the point that with Marvel going more and more cosmic, they need to pay attention to the "petty crime" world going on. With properties like Luke Cage/Heroes for Hire, Punisher, and Daredevil heading back into the arms of Marvel Studios, they've got plenty to work with. Luke Cage would also help fill out the demographic roster, as would Iron Fist, but would also fit in with the Harlem angle mentioned in my last post on the Falcon. He could also be used to fit the more normal-human/relatable hero role, somewhere between the powerless Black Widow and Hawkeye and the god of Thunder and the Hulk.

What kind of medium would be best though? If Luke Cage is your focus, films would work fine. If you want to add in Iron Fist, it could still probably translate well into a movie/franchise. But if you want to go bigger, and get the whole idea of the Heroes for Hire in there, films might not be the best way to go. Normally I'd say television would be a better fit for the rotating roster of the HFH, but with the SHIELD show debuting in the Fall, two TV shows might be a bit much. Maybe the show could evolve to show both sides of the hero work -- high tech SHIELD and HFH on the street.

Another option, one probably not akin to much thought, would be a series of short films. These could be released before the major pictures of Phase 2 and 3 (think Pixar animated shorts before their movies) and could be available on home media either as part of the blu rays of the bigger films, a collection of the shorts released when enough are made to be substantial (every 5 or so), or both.

So picture this. IM3 comes out in May, so that's too soon. Thor: The Dark World in Novemeber, also probably too soon.

But if you release a 15-20 minute short introducing Luke Cage (or have him introduced somewhere else and expand on him in the short) and release that with Cap 2 next April, then do the same with Iron Fist and throw it in on GotG in August, and expand upon the Heroes for Hire in Avengers 2, you've got an hour long Heroes for Hire story by the end of Phase 2, which could continue in Phase 3 with Ant-Man. Heck, you could even throw in info or plotlines into the show, to really tie the show together in with the movies, make it really comprehensive. Then, once a certain arc is complete, if could be released as like "Heroes for Hire: Part 1" or something on DVD.

While I'm on the topic, there were some rumors that the huge guard that Thor fought in his movie when he was trying to get his hammer back was unofficially Luke Cage (possibly before he got his powers). I would love if that were retconned to be true. In case you can't place the face, here's a photo.