Mike Colter teases Luke Cage's "really cool" backstory

Luke Cage showcased his unstoppable brand of superheroics in Jessica Jones ahead of his own solo series later this year. The show's recent teaser trailer reminded us once again that this is a guy you don't want to meet down a dark alley - yet we're still in the dark on the specifics of Cage's origin. How did he become so powerful? And why is "Sweet Christmas" his go-to catchphrase?

At the Wizard World Comic Con in St. Louis, Mike Colter dropped a few hints regarding the upcoming series and briefly mentioned Cage's backstory. “I think we show it in a really cool way," he told crowds, implying that we're going to be in for more than a throwaway line alluding to the incident that gave him his powers. Seeing as the show's synopsis refers to a sabotaged experiment, it sounds like we could witness Cage's life-changing event in all its glory. And, like many heroes, there's going to be a period of adjustment. “He wasn’t trying to be a super hero [in Jessica Jones],” Colter added, “The series [Luke Cage] is about him growing into that.”

It might take him a while to get to grips with his abilities, but don't worry about the show taking its time. We can definitely expect to see more of the muscled do-gooder in action. “[Cage is] going to do a lot of badass stuff! Prepare for badassery!” he said, before confirming perhaps the most important thing of all: The unbreakable bartender will indeed be "saying 'Sweet Christmas' a lot." Phew.

Starring Mike Colter, Mahershala Ali, Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Rosario Dawson, Frank Whaley, and Sônia Braga, season 1 of Marvel's Luke Cage arrives in its entirety on Netflix September 30, 2016.

Images: Marvel/Netflix

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is 12DOVE's west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter. 

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