8) What Will Become Of Pop’s Barber Shop?
At the start of Luke Cage, Pop’s Barber Shop was Harlem’s ‘Switzerland’ – a safe haven from the gang wars going on in the rest of the town. Something even respected by Cottonmouth. After Pop was gunned down by Tone and Shades, however, that was all over.
Throughout the rest of the season, Luke and Fish try to renovate it and keep it running. By the end, though, they’ve realized that keeping it as a barber shop is a bad idea and it needs to be used as something else. So, what will Pop’s become next?
It could be used as Luke Cage’s base of operations, if he ever decides to turn his heroism into a business (more on that later). Or, and here’s our preferred option, maybe it will become the Defenders headquarters when they all eventually get together? Where else are they going to go? In terms of places with an emotional connection to why they become heroes, the only other option is Fogwell’s Gym from Daredevil.
7) Will Luke Ever Become A Hero For Hire?
In the comics, Luke Cage aka Power Man is most known as a self-styled Hero for Hire – unlike most comic book heroes, Luke charges his clients to save their hides and stop the bad guys. Hey, even super-powered people need to earn a living. Especially those who have to keep buying new clothes because their skin is bulletproof.
In the series, Luke is repeatedly told that he could make a lot of money by hiring himself out as protection. Every time, however, he refuses – presumably because he doesn’t believe in making those in need pay for it. That’s all well and good, but it would be strange to have an adaptation of Luke Cage not adapt one of the core facets of the character on the page.
Perhaps when Luke gets out of Seagate in season 2, he’ll realize that he needs to earn a living and decide to take up the offer of becoming a hero for hire. He shouldn’t feel bad about it either, as it’s not that far from what Jessica Jones is doing as a private investigator.