- "Your name is all over Harlem today. Not in a good way."
"I'm about to change that." - ―Eddie Axton and Luke Cage
Just to Get a Rep is the fifth episode of the first season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
Cottonmouth strikes back at Luke by taking his vengeance out on the people of Harlem, while detective Knight and Rafe face an unexpected threat.
Plot[]
The Stokes Crime Family's business is in shambles after losing $7.000.000 because of Luke Cage. Cottonmouth orders his men to attack the Harlem citizens and extort them for money, telling everyone that Cage is the sole reason why all of this is happening. Shades notes that it would not be enough to recoup the money he lost at the Crispus Attucks Complex, but Cottonmouth is desperate to bring Cage down. Zip and his gang hit the streets, taking money from everyone and turning them against Cage.
Cage and Bobby Fish prepare for Pop's funeral service, before Aisha Axton tells him about Cottonmouth's rampage, as Zip stole her father's ring from her. In response, Cage hunts down all of the Stokes Family goons he can find and returns what they stole to their owners. At that time, Cage sees Sugar who was shot by Axton as a retribution for what Zip did to her shop. Cage is concerned that Axton might do something reckless, but gets stopped by Misty Knight and Rafael Scarfe. Knight warns Cage that his feud with Cottonmouth puts the people of Harlem in danger, telling him to either be a part of the solution or leave.
Shades tries to convince Cottonmouth to let go and focus on rebuilding his empire, but he refuses to let Cage ruin his reputation. Cottonmouth then watches Cage enter Harlem's Paradise to confront the Stokes Family on the chaos on the streets. Cage easily takes out all of Cottonmouth's men, as Shades recognizes him as Carl Lucas, who was supposed to be dead after the Seagate Penitentiary beatdown. Cottonmouth warns Cage that he is starting a war, but Cage replies that he is unkillable, telling Cottonmouth to get his name out of his mouth.
Claire Temple leaves Hell's Kitchen and moves to Harlem and visits her mother Soledad at Train Diner. Temple tells her mother about the Hand's attack on Metro-General Hospital that resulted in Temple being fired from her job as a nurse. Temple then recalls her experience with Cage and Daredevil, saying that she wants to help enhanced people in need, when no one else can help them. Soledad remarks that the world has changed after the Chitauri attack and the Avengers' arrival, suggesting that Temple might be a part of something bigger that is going to happen in the future.
Shades tells Cottonmouth about Carl Lucas and what happened at the Seagate, as well as the experiment that made Cage bulletproof. He then presents Cottonmouth with the Judas Bullet, a Hammer Industries' Chitauri-based ammo that is able to kill even someone as strong as Cage. Cottonmouth wants to get his hands on the Judas, but Shades tells him that Diamondback will not help him, considering the current state of Stokes' business. Cottonmouth decides to get back his weapons from the NYPD custody and finish the deal with Domingo Colon, so Diamondback could do him a favor.
At the 29th Precinct Police Station, Betty Audrey and Perez inform Knight that there is an internal investigation on Scarfe, regarding his suspicious activity. They tell her about the inconsistencies in the case of Chico Diaz, but Knight refuses to believe that her partner might be dirty. Meanwhile, Scarfe receives Cottonmouth's order to return his weapons and Perez informs him about the IA's investigation. Scarfe successfully gets the guns from the lockup, however, he decides to hold onto them for the time being, instead of giving them to Cottonmouth right away.
Cage confronts Zip and returns the ring he stole from Axton, but when he comes to the shop to return it, he only finds Eddie Axton there. They talk about Eddie's baseball career that was ruined because of his addiction, as Eddie says the ring is worthless, but Cage knows that for Aisha it means a lot. Being aware of her desperation, Cage goes out to find Axton and stop her before she does something that she will regret.
Knight, Axton, Cottonmouth and Shades attend Pop's memorial service, among the others, as Axton plots to kill Cottonmouth for everything he had done. Cage then goes to the service as well, telling Axton that he had handled everything, and stops her from attacking Cottonmouth. Cottonmouth comes forward with a speech to pay respects to his friend, but Cage counters it with a more moving speech, publicly embarrassing Cottonmouth in front of the crowd. Knight is concerned about Cottonmouth's retribution and wants to bring him down the right way, but Cage has no trust in the system. She tells Cage that Harlem will suffer unless he leaves, but Cage is determined to stay and fight Cottonmouth with all of his might.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Mike Colter as Luke Cage
- Mahershala Ali as Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth
- Simone Missick as Misty Knight
- Theo Rossi as Hernan Alvarez/Shades
- Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
Guest Stars:
- Frank Whaley as Detective Rafael Scarfe
- Sônia Braga as Soledad Temple
- Ron Cephas Jones as Bobby Fish
- Sonja Sohn as Captain Betty Audrey
- Manny Pérez as Lieutenant Perez
- Ninja Devoe as Aisha Axton
- Mike Britt as Eddie Axton
- Jaiden Kaine as Zip
- Stephen Grove Malloy as Darrell Mitchell
- Kelvin McGrue as Koko
- R. Marcos Taylor as Amos
- Sean Ringgold as Sugar
- Stephen Hill as Bert Hunter
- Jade Johnson as Blue
- Corri English as Alicia
- Ian Unterman as Jerome
- Brian D. Coats as Pablo
- Dared Wright as Sergeant MacLean
- Michael Basile as Cop
- Wayne W. Pretlow as Banker
- Nore Davis as Bystander #1
- Mark Badaczewski as Gangster
- Ignacyo Matynia as Thug
- Dapper Dan as himself
- Jidenna as himself
- Haaron Hines as Rocky (uncredited)
- Emmanuel Brown as Small-Time Hustler (uncredited)
- Leroy Phillips Jr. as Parishioner (uncredited)
- Shemeka Wright as Family Member (uncredited)
- Frankie Faison as Henry Hunter/Pop (archive footage; uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Harlem's Paradise
- Pop's Barber Shop
- Mount Olivet Baptist Church
- Eddie's Memorabilia
- Sugardaddy's
- 29th Precinct Police Station
- Train Diner
- Jackie Robinson Park
- Saint Nick's Playground
- Genghis Connie's
- Crispus Attucks Complex (mentioned)
- Metro-General Hospital (mentioned)
- Statue of Liberty (miniature)
- Mount Calvary Baptist Church (mentioned)
- Seagate Penitentiary, Georgia (mentioned)
- Boston, Massachusetts (mentioned)
Events[]
- Attack on Lenox Avenue Businesses
- Attack on Pop's Barber Shop (flashback)
- Raid of the Crispus Attucks Complex (mentioned)
- Ambush at the Harlem Junkyard (mentioned)
- Destruction of Genghis Connie's (mentioned)
- Attack on Metro-General Hospital (mentioned)
- Battle of New York (mentioned)
- Escape from Seagate Prison (mentioned)
Items[]
Vehicles[]
To be added
Species[]
Organizations[]
- Stokes Crime Family
- New York City Police Department
- New York Bulletin
- Fire Department of New York City
- Hammer Industries (logo)
- Hand (mentioned)
- Avengers (indirectly mentioned)
- New York Nine (mentioned)
- Los Angeles Dodgers (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Diamondback
- Joel Spurlock
- Reva Connors (picture)
- Louisa Delgado
- Daredevil
- Claire Temple's Grandmother (picture)
- Thor
- Hulk
- Albert Rackham
- Domingo Colon
- Chico Diaz
- Justin Hammer
- Claire Temple's Father
- Robert Moses
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
- Richard Nixon
- Mike Tyson
- Mitch Green
- John Shaft
- Les Paul
- Percy Sutton
- Jesus
- Henry Houdini
- Muhammad Alì
- Jackie Robinson
- Billy Strayhorn
- Teddy Riley
- Big L
- A$AP Rocky
- Bill Clinton
- Barack Obama
- Kennedy family
- Blackmar–Diemer Gambit
Trivia[]
- Just to Get a Rep is a song from the album Step In the Arena of the hip-pop duo Gang Starr.
- The number used for "Charlie Mack" is the actual number of Peter Gelfman, the property master of the show. According to Gelfman the number must have wounded up in the show on accident.[1]
- When Luke Cage transitioned from Netflix to Disney Plus, the episode's title was changed to Just Get a Rep.
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Long Live The Chief | Jidenna |
Jidenna performs as Cottonmouth watches; Luke Cage helps clean up the debris from Genghis Connie's publicly displaying his powers; Claire Temple is mugged she chases her mugger down; Misty Knight finds a picture of Reva Connors. |
| It's Everything About You | Lee Williams and The Cymbals |
Claire Temple talks with her mother about the Hand, quitting her job at Metro-General Hospital then tells her about the enhanced individuals she's come in contact with in the past couple of months and how she's now wants to help people like them. |
| It Serves You Right to Suffer | The Avener & John Lee Hooker |
A man makes out programs for Pop's funeral then places in them pews of the church; Dapper Dan and Bobby Fish compliment Luke Cage on the suit Dapper Dan made for him as he tries it on; Fish gives Cage advice on the memorial services then gives him the keys to Pop's upstairs apartment. |
| Trouble Of The World | Mahalia Jackson |
|
