Forget Cage. The cops are gonna flood this place in a minute.
No. We're staying. Nobody leaves. Not until we have them.
What you talkin' about, Willis?
You got jokes?
S1 E11Now You're Mine
[Diamondback is directing his men to move the hostages]
Take Diet Obama upstairs, Ty! Keep a gun on him till I get up there.
DBDamon Boone
Take your hands off me! You can't do this!
Yes, we can!
Ah. Nothing like an aged Scotch. You know there was a time you'd cross a Scotsman and he wouldn't think twice about cutting your head off with a sword. I like a drink that encourages such decisiveness.
I wish you could have met Dana, my mother.
[Diamondback shows Boone a picture]
BBoone
She's beautiful.
Yes. She was a secretary for a big-time preacher. A bold, charismatic man who loved to talk loud and dress fancy.
BBoone
Like you.
Exactly. They worked long, stressful hours and... Well, they had a lot of laughter in that back office. Something was bound to happen and it did. I was born. But he was married. And everything was good until the preacher's wife, two years later, had a baby boy. A miracle child. And everything changed. The great Reverend Lucas wasn't man enough to give his first son his last name. You see, I was still Willis Stryker. But his real son was Carl Lucas. But here's the crazy thing. Nobody said nothing. And Carl and I we grew up best friends, but there was all this tension. You could just feel it like a draft coming in from under a door. I just wanted him to see me. I was a good boy. I did well in school. But he always loved Carl more.
Pressure brings the best out of certain people. So where was I? Together we were bold. We stole a red Corvette, just like the song. Just for a joyride. You see, I was a Prince fan, and Carl was all about Michael. We were so busy arguing, we didn't even see the cop. But Carl was a Lucas. I was a Stryker. It was over before it even began. When it came time for sentencing, the preacher convinced the judge to let his golden boy join the Marines. Me? Juvie. Got jumped two days in. Boy drew a shank and I killed him in self-defense. So I got sent away to hard time. And sweet Dana? Oh, her cancer ate her alive and she died alone in a shelter without a friend in the world. You see, the good Reverend Lucas…well, he stopped caring for her after I was gone. He was free of her and I was powerless. But she, oh…oh, she still loved him and well, she wanted me to have something of my father's. God had me at hello with Genesis. The story of Cain and Abel. When God asked Cain where Abel was after he killed him Cain asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" See I thought that was some cool shit Wesley Snipes made up in New Jack City. Turns out it's real. So after I kill Luke Cage I'm gonna stand over him and say, "Yes, I am."
BBoone
Why are you telling me all this?
Because you're about to meet my mother, Damon. Tell her I love her. [punches Boone in the chest with his powered glove, killing him instantly]
S1 E12Soliloquy of Chaos
IPInspector Priscilla Ridley
[Interrogating Shades] You should be at Rikers right now, but I held you because I think you have something to say.
Lawyer.
PPriscilla
I know your record Mr. Alvarez. Came up in Harlem, rode around with Cottonmouth in the late '90s, spent some time at Spofford, Sing Sing, then you made it to the big time. Went to Seagate.
Lawyer.
PPriscilla
Cornell Stokes is dead, yet you're still alive. And I've never seen an arraignment happen so quickly. Two million dollar bail? And someone paid it in cash. Who's your new sponsor? [beat] Is it Willis Stryker?
Law. Yer.
PPriscilla
You were part of a hostage situation, Hernan. Even if your lawyer does get you out, you won't be walking away from that. That's multiple kidnapping with weapon charges. How does 25 years to life sound to you? Minimum.
Are you serious?
PPriscilla
Yep.
[sighs] Okay. Okay, I was in the club. I saw what happened. I know who did it.
PPriscilla
Okay, we can protect you, but I need a name to verify. Who was it? Was it Stryker?
He goes by....."lawyer". [beat] You need me to spell it?
[Priscilla angrily marches out of the interrogation room and Shades laughs]
[The cops search for Luke at Pop's barbershop]
That was a close shave.
Bad pun.
What the hell did you even come back for man?
I had to. For Harlem. Take care of Diamondback before he made it bad for everyone.
Well, forget Harlem. Forget your brother. You're on the road in a brand new car and a woman that fine? And you're bullet-proof! You'd have never seen my black ass again. I'd rob the occasional bank and never look back.
[Answering her phone] What do you want?
That's no way to speak to a business partner.
After what you did to my club, do you really think I'm gonna shuck and jive with you?
You might want to check your attitude. If you're not any use to me, then you're not any use to anyone. Shades would tell you, if he was still alive.
What the hell are you talking about?
I had to let him go. So now, I'm giving you the chance to tell me where you stand. I've taken Shades and Damon Boone off the table so you can grow. I'd hate for us to part, too.
I wasn't particularly fond of Shades. And the death of Damon Boone, although unnecessary, was appreciated. [stands up] But you need to know this: I'm out of the political game. I'm focusing on Harlem's Paradise; using it for, uh, a power base for community relations. [Diamondback enters the room from behind Mariah]
That's a smart move. But you've made some dumb ones, also. You should never talk about murder on an open line.
[Mariah and Shades enter Pop's barbershop]
I should've kept my coat on, hell just froze over.
[Diamondback enters Pop's barbershop, wearing an armored suit]
What kind of Jean-Paul Gaultier shit is this? What are you, a pimp storm trooper?
No, I'm the angel of death.
S1 E13You Know My Steez
AAAisha Axton
All these people were talking bad about Luke Cage. But they didn't stop for one minute to look at the good he had done. Cleaning up Crispus Attucks by himself, lookin' out for people. Most of these guys wear spandex. Who would have thought a black man in a hoodie would be a hero?
I couldn't just lay in the gutter anymore. Pop knew about my abilities, so I put them to good use. I shut down Crispus Attucks personally.
That wasn't your job.
People needed someone who didn't require a warrant or shield to get things done. Call it a vigilante or a superhero, call it what you will. But like it or not, I finally accepted that that someone had to be me.
Maybe I could've helped you.
This burden is bigger than you. Or me. People are scared but they can't be paralyzed by that fear. You have to fight for what's right every single day, bulletproof skin or not. You can't just not snitch, or turn away or take money under the table because life has turned you sour. When did people stop caring? Harlem is supposed to represent our hopes and dreams. It's the pinnacle of black art, politics, innovation. It's supposed to be a shining light to the world. It's our responsibility to push forward, so that the next generation will be further along than us. Pop said his mantra aloud twice a day. Kids in the shop were pissed, but they could never unhear it. Never backwards.
PPop
[in flashback] Always forward.
Forward...
Always. [pause] You forget I grew up around the man.
I wish I could've met him.
In a way you have.
He was smashed by a heavy circular base. The coroner thought it was maybe the heavy wastebasket, but my vote? It was a mic stand. I went through Harlem's Paradise's inventory records with the stage manager and it turns out there was a mic stand that was unaccounted for.
I've been around the music business my whole life, equipment goes missing. You can't trust niggas around equipment.
We have a lot to talk about though.
Like... what?
Your future, your next moves.
I don't want to talk about that right now. I just want to chill. It's been a long day.
It can wait. You want to get coffee when we get out of here?
You accused me of not liking coffee. That's not true, it just depends on the blend. I hear that Cuban coffee is particularly robust.
That might be the corniest thing you've said yet. It also happens to be true.
[hands Mariah the gun he used to shoot Candace] It's old-school, has a nice feel.
It belonged to Cornell.
It suits you.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Luke Cage pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.