Luke Cage quotes

Take my advice, brother. The past is the past. And the only direction in life that matters is forward. Never backwards.

Luke Cage

Dumb men like little girls. Me? I ponder a woman.

You like my Biggie photo? Me, too. You know what draws your eye when you look at that? The crown. Wanna know why? Huh? 'Cause everybody wants to be the king. [slaps Shameek] I slapped you like a little bitch. I'm not the kind of man to use a closed fist on a woman. Where's my money?

I, I didn't -

Cottonmouth

Uh-uh. Only thing worse than a thief is a damn liar. [smacks Shameek] Where's my - money? Hmm? You left Dante alive. He called Tone. And with his dying words, gave up you and your homeboy. We got your money. Now you're gonna tell us where Chico is so we can get the rest.

Cottonmouth

[laughing] Yeah. Thank you. Now I can hit you like a man. [throws Shameek to the floor and beats him to death]

Loneliness never goes away, especially in places like Seagate. If you don't make attempts to befriend someone loneliness is guaranteed to eat you alive.

You know Benjamin Franklin said that the only way that three people can keep a secret is if two of them are dead. First Dante, now Shameek. Chico's the last man standing.

Benjamin Franklin? Didn't he electrocute himself flying a kite in a rainstorm? I wouldn't base any theories on that fool.

Misty

Benjamin Franklin is on the $100 bill sir.

Scarfe

So? He wasn't a president!

Misty

That's even more impressive! Come on, give the man some credit.

Cottonmouth

What's your name again?

Luke

Luke.

Cottonmouth

Luke. Mmm, old school. Biblical. I'm all about the old school. You know that eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of thing. Fire and brimstone. See back then do someone wrong, wasn't no beggin' and pleadin'. Just took care of it. Handled your business.

What about turning the other cheek?

Cottonmouth

Mmm. Jesus saves. I don't.

Luke

I ain't guilty. But I ain't innocent either.

Mariah Dillard

You're wasting your gifts, my brother. This gangster life not what our ancestors fought for. Not what our people died for.

Cottonmouth

This is exactly what they died for. Self-determination, control, power.

Cottonmouth

What's wrong, Shades?

We should've waited.

Waited? [scoffs] Bump that noise! I got the call. It was me.

Cottonmouth

What happened?

Look, Turk calls me. Tells me, he saw Chic at the shop, slippin'. I came and ask you if it was important that the nigga was breathing. You seem non-committal, so I make an executive decision. [claps his hands]

Cottonmouth

[laughs] That's what you call it? An "executive decision"? [Tone nods and smiles] Okay. Mmm, so you caught him slippin' outside?

Nah, bro, I lit that shit up like a Fourth of July. It was all so Django Candieland shit for real. Lights, camera, action, baby! Somebody call Quentin! [laughs]

Shades

I suggested we wait.

[turns on Shades, annoyed] Wait? Wait for what, Shades? You ain't even down with the clique! You can't give orders. It was loud 'cause it's supposed to be! Niggas need to know you don't rob Cottonmouth!

Cottonmouth

[gets in Tone's face] MY NAME IS NOT COTTONMOUTH!!

[stammering] My--my bad. My bad.

Cottonmouth

[tensely] He's dead, right?

Shades

Chico's laid out. He's done.

[picks up Chico's backpack] It don't matter. We got the money!

Cottonmouth

You had to do it, I guess. Pops can rebuild. He won't like it but I'll donate some money anonymously. It's all gonna be okay...[He notices Tone and Shades are shifting around uneasily, and that Shades has removed his sunglasses] ...What?

Shades

[beat] ...Pops is dead.

A casualty of war. You know...shit happens.

Yo! Where's my money?

Cottonmouth

[confused] How the hell did you get up here?

I'm Turk Barrett, baby. The door ain't been built yet that can hold me back. Now where's my money?

Cottonmouth

Okay, Mr. Barrett. Tone promised to pay you for finding Chico, right?

Yeah.

Cottonmouth

[turns to Tone] That right? [Tone nods yes] Okay.

Cottonmouth

YOU CAN COLLECT YOUR MONEY FROM TONE DOWNSTAIRS, MR. BARRETT! [buttons his suit] I assume that completes our business.

…y'all Harlem niggas are off the hook. I'm going back to Hell's Kitchen where it's safe.

Cottonmouth

Me and Henry didn't see eye to eye. But I always had his back. He wouldn't want any drama. Especially here.

Luke

What Pop would have wanted is for you not to pay for his arrangements with bloody guilt money. We set a parley. I thought your word was bond.

Cottonmouth

It is. A former associate of mine was feelin' himself. He's not feelin' much of anything right now.

Luke

Doesn't matter. Pop's death is still on you.

Cottonmouth

Step off. Before you get hurt.

Luke

Why? I'm just getting started.

Cottonmouth

[laughs] Good to know. How's the job search coming? Dishwasher.

Luke

You're absolutely right. I'm not gonna touch him. Not the way I should. Since I can't touch the king, I'm gonna take his queen, his knights... his rooks... I'm knocking all his pieces off the board.

Cottonmouth

Pop was a friend. He deserves the best.

Yeah. I see you've been busy. [He brings Cottonmouth over to another sheet covering what's left of Tone's body] What about this man right here?

Cottonmouth

Tone? I had to let him go. Nothing humbles a man like gravity. [Cottonmouth grabs some money from his coat pocket and hands it to Spurlock] Remember, same as always. This body can't exist.

[pockets the money] ...What body?

Scarfe

See... I thought you didn't have a boyfriend because you love the brothers, and not many brothers can get with a girl who carry a gun and kick their ass. But that's not the reason.

Misty

Oh, so now you're an expert?

Scarfe

The reason is you're a Celtics fan living in New York City.

Misty

I like the Pistons.

Scarfe

[groans] Oh shit!

Scarfe

Damn it, you're doing it again.

Misty

Damn it, you just broke my concentration.

Scarfe

As usual, your priorities are all out of whack. Now, you're looking at a picture of an empty husk of a building. I'm looking at millions of dollars of contraband.

Misty

You know this money belongs to Cottonmouth, allegedly.

Scarfe

Allegedly. Thing I can't figure out why would somebody go through all this hell outside, cause all this mayhem, and then leave the money behind?

Misty

To take it off the streets. Once it's logged, whoever it belongs to doesn't have access to it anymore.

Scarfe

That's quite a message someone's trying to send.

Misty

All that gunfire and no bodies.

Scarfe

Oh, you got that right. They are nobodies.

Misty

I mean, no bodies. Not one. Some big black dude in a hoodie takes on direct bullet shots slaps, punches and pulls people all over the place and doesn't kill a single one? That doesn't seem strange to you? It's like this person wanted us to shut this place down.

Scarfe

Who cares?

Misty

What?

Scarfe

I'm serious. Who cares? How many investigations from the time we put boots on the ground, begin and end in these projects?

Misty

Dozens.

Scarfe

And now somebody comes along and wants to clean up a year's worth of patrol work by himself? I don't see anything wrong with that.

Misty

A vigilante? Yeah. There's something wrong with that: it's anarchy. A complete breakdown of the system. There are rules and regulations to what we do.

Scarfe

And lawyers and paperwork and excuses? [He and Misty sit back down at their desks] Other than mopping up blood... and arresting the same piece of shit over and over, you know, not much we can do as cops.

Misty

Jesus, Scarfe, whose side are you on?

Scarfe

I saw the Incident up close. What we can do as cops, what we can't do. [motions to his duty pistol] Now, unless this sidearm that I'm wearing suddenly turns into some kind of magic hammer, this whole job is irrelevant.

Misty

They have no training! No responsibility. You have to know what you're doing. They don't have the right to just start weeding out justice. Come on!

Scarfe

Some guy in a hoodie hits various gun running spots around the city today? I think that's wonderful. I think we should thank him.

Misty

For doing our job?

Scarfe

Exactly. I don't like paperwork. But I'd rather get a papercut on my finger than a bullet in my ass. Look at—look at all them rounds! Look! [motions to Misty's wall of crime scene photos] You really wanna be in the middle of all this? And for what? For-for a chicken banquet dinner, and a photo with the Mayor as a reward? Shit. Hell no.

Misty

Wow. You are a credit to the badge, Scarfe.

Shut up! In here you got no voice, you've got no rights. You used to be a citizen, but from the moment you reached the bottom of stupid, your dumb asses belong to the State of Georgia. If you are a recidivist, then you know the rules. If, however, this is your first visit to the Seagate theme park, let me just say. As long as you follow the rules, you'll be fine. Rule number one: You will obey every rule I say after rule number one. Rule number two: None but the righteous shall see God. And since we ain't got no righteous people in here, God ain't gonna have to worry about your shitty prayers. So that means I'm His mean, shitty substitute.