6) Shades
At first, Shades is presented as a generic thug, on loan from the initially mysterious Diamondback to handle the trouble Cottonmouth’s been having with Luke Cage. He also provides an unwelcome link back to Luke’s past, as he was in prison with him at Seagate – and knows his true identity as Carl Lucas, ex-convict.
However, new shades (heh) are added to the character as his manipulative nature is revealed halfway through the season. In goading Mariah into covering up the murder of her cousin Cottonmouth, he’s the catalyst for her embracing the family business. Shades also displays a eerie sexual attraction to her, or at least the crime boss he thinks she could be.
In that way, he actually has the upper hand on both of the show’s two main antagonists, content to remain pulling the strings in the background.