Cheo Hodari Coker, ‘Luke Cage’ Creator, Responds To Criticism Of Show’s Black Villains

Cheo Hodari Coker was trying to use Luke Cage to keep Black folks “gainfully employed” — even if people got the wrong idea. In January, a fan took to X/Twitter to observe how the Marvel and Netflix series only featured Black people as villains. 

“Obviously Luke Cage was created in the 1970s, but did y’all peep how the Marvel series depicted him having to fight MORE Black people to SAVE Harlem than white villains? I did,” they xweeted. 

Coker, the show’s creator, saw the analysis and offered his reasoning for the move. According to the showrunner, it was less about vilifying Black people than it was about keeping Black people paid. “I was trying to keep Black people gainfully employed. LOL. Just saying…” he responded. 

Another fan criticized people saying that the show used “too many Black villains.” They stated that if they were all white people, they would then have an issue with that instead. They essentially stated that, given the story taking place in Harlem — a place historically populated with more Black and Brown people — there should be more Black characters. “If he was only fighting white people they would complain that there are too many white folks in Harlem,” they typed with the eye-rolling emoji. 

Can’t believe how viral this went.

— Cheo Hodari Coker (@cheo_coker) January 31, 2024

Coker responded to this xweet as well. He spoke on the matter of white people appearing in the series. The creative mind said that white characters didn’t speak on the show for the first 13 minutes. But he said this wasn’t even an intentional move, and people still “complained.” “A white person didn’t have a speaking part for 13 minutes and major dialogue until minute 29. People actually complained. Scarfe’s scene in the club got cut, so it wasn’t even intentional,” he recalled.

Luke Cage debuted on Netflix in 2016 and ran until 2018. Mike Colter starred as the titular character. Marvel and Netflix’s series followed Cage as he attempted to rebuild his life in Harlem after a failed relationship with Jessica Jones. He learns of his troubled and complex past along the way while stopping those threatening Harlem’s well-being. The series lasted for two seasons. Luke Cage also starred Mahershala Ali, Simone Missick, Alfre Woodard, Theo Rossi, Method Man, Rosario Dawson, and more. 

A white person didn’t have a speaking part for 13 minutes and major dialogue until minute 29. People actually complained. Scarfe’s scene in the club got cut, so it wasn’t even intentional.

— Cheo Hodari Coker (@cheo_coker) January 31, 2024