Favorite Characters: John McIver a.k.a. Bushmaster (Luke Cage)

Luke Cage’s first season had a couple of strong villains in Cottonmouth and Mariah, as well as a not-so-good one in Diamondback, but the overall effect of juggling several villains over the season made it feel a little scattered and unfocused at times.  Season 2 also has multiple villains – with Mariah returning and a new addition in John McIver, better known as Bushmaster – and the balance this time feels a little better to me.  I really enjoy what Bushmaster brings to the mix (a few Bushmaster-related spoilers.)

When you get down to it, the Netflix branch of Marvel doesn’t have a ton of villains that lend themselves well to traditional superhero showdowns.  Characters like Fisk, Gao, Kilgrave, and, yes, Mariah, are certainly compelling, formidable adversaries for our heroes, and they’re great to watch, but they also typically prefer to work through other people, having henchmen/lieutenants/pawns handle the fighting.  This is one of the first strengths of Bushmaster as a character.

While Bushmaster’s powers come from a different source than Luke’s, he too has super strength and some healing ability.  A native of Jamaica, Bushmaster started using nightshade at a young age to help him heal and advance his strength – the first time, it was a last-ditch effort to save his life, but since then, it’s been for the power it gives him.  As such, he can withstand a lot of the same attacks that don’t phase Luke – for instance, he’s not bulletproof, but he can power through the pain of getting shot, pluck the bullets out of his skin after the fight is over, and wait a short time for the wounds to heal.  Similarly, Bushmaster may not be able to pierce Luke’s skin more than anything else can, but he packs enough of a punch that he can cause internal damage beneath Luke’s impervious outsides.

This gives Luke some real fights to take part in, and it’s a pleasure to watch Bushmaster in action.  He’s fast, sleek, and deadly, with the moves and the skill to back up the extra juice the nightshade gives him.  For once, Luke can’t just push his way through or patiently wait for the baddies to empty their magazines – Bushmaster can put him in some real danger.

A not-uncommon theme in stories about superpowers, especially when we’re talking supervillains, is the idea that their powers come at a cost.  I mean, how many mad scientists have been horribly disfigured by the accident that gave them their powers, or how many villains’ powers cause mental instability?  (There’s a fair amount of ableism in that trope, but I’m not getting into it today.)  In Bushmaster’s case, his abuse of nightshade is predictably taking its toll.  Like any other powerful substance, it grows less effective over time as his body builds a tolerance to it, but the more he takes, the bigger the comedown is as it wears off; though he’s more powerful than he’s ever been, he’s shortening his life with every dose.

Additionally, Bushmaster is just a good wildcard to throw into the proceedings.  He likes Mariah even less than he likes Luke, due to a longstanding vendetta between their families, and he causes some major shakeups in the criminal underworld.  You can never quite predict what he’s gonna do or how far he’s gonna go, which pretty much always makes for good television.