Moment of Truth is the first episode of the first season of the television series Luke Cage.
Synopsis[]
With tension building in the streets of Harlem thanks to ruthless club owner Cottonmouth, Luke finds it increasingly difficult to live a quiet life.
Plot[]
In the wake of events in Hell's Kitchen, Luke Cage moves to Harlem and started working as a sweeper at Pop's barbershop. Cage discusses basketball players with Pop, Bobby Fish, Chico Diaz and Shameek Smith. Later, they meet at the storeroom where Pop says that Cage must use his abilities to help people, but Cage only wants a quiet life.
After his shift in the barbershop, Cage spots Diaz with a gun. Diaz refuses to explain himself to Cage and drives away with Smith. Cage then walks through Harlem to his second job - to Harlem's Paradise nightclub where he works as a dishwasher. In the club, Nate asked him to replace Dante Chapman as a bartender.
Meanwhile, Cottonmouth meets with Mariah Dillard at the club to discuss Stokes' criminal business which keeps Dillard's political projects afloat. Then Domingo Colon joins them to celebrate their weapon deal. While they're talking, members of Stokes Crime Family meet with members of Colon Crime Family at the Harlem junkyard to exchange to sell them assault rifles designed by Hammer Industries. However, Diaz, Smith, and Chapman ambush them and quickly kill all criminals at place to steal money. Chapman grows nervous and Smith shoots him before he and Diaz grab the money and run away.
Behind the bar, Cage meets Misty Knight who orders a Cosmopolitan. He notes that she watches on Stokes but thinks that she was one of his women. After a brief flirt, Cage is asked by Candace Miller to go with her to the VIP lounge to bring Stokes his order. There, Stokes approaches Cage and offers him another job for a man of his size. Chapman manages to call Tone before his death and informs him about robbery.
Later, Cage meets Knight outside of the club and they spent the night together at Cage's apartment. At night, Cage dreams about the time he went to Seagate Penitentiary where he was beaten by fellow inmates. In the morning, Knight received a call from her job and leaves Cage. Knight and the New York City Police Department, arrive to the junkyard where Rafael Scarfe examined the crime scene and confiscates Stokes' weapons. She then unmasks the body of a recognized Chapman.
Stokes contacts with Colon to be clear about robbery, but Colon refuses to listen to him. Then, Shades arrives to his office to speak with him on behalf of Diamondback who provided Stokes with weapons to sell. Cage learns from newspaper that Chapman was killed and discusses his death with Pop who was Chapman's mentor. Pop immediately realizes that he was killed by Smith and Diaz.
Dillard works on her New Harlem Renaissance project while Stokes' men guards her. She then gives an interview to Megan McLaren about the history and possible future of Harlem. She talks about her project for re-building Harlem before Stokes comes to speak with her. Dillard informs Stokes that she needs that money because if she does not pay for her project, her assets will go on audit and Stokes' illicit activity will be exposed. Tone informs Stokes that information about the robbery was confirmed, but Smith and Diaz disappeared. Stokes orders to pay double to find the location of them.
Tone manages to find Smith in a strip club and brings him to Harlem's Paradise. Cage notices Shades, who was his co-inmate in Seagate. Stokes then takes Smith's money and brutally beats him to death, ordering Tone to dump his body on the streets. Knight and Scarfe find Smith's body and make conclusions about the robbery case.
At night, Zip and his fellow gang members go to Genghis Connie's to demand contribution to Dillard's project from Connie and Jin Lin. However, Cage stops them and quickly defeats all of them. Connie asks if she could hire Cage to protect them. Cage refuses payment but promises that he will protect them.
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
- Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard
Guest Stars:
- Frankie Faison as Henry Hunter/Pop
- Frank Whaley as Detective Rafael Scarfe
- Parisa Fitz-Henley as Reva Connors
- Dawn-Lyen Gardner as Megan McLaren
- Jacob Vargas as Domingo Colon
- Brian 'Sene' Marc as Chico Diaz
- Cassandra Freeman as Patricia Wilson
- Ron Cephas Jones as Bobby Fish
- Darius Kaleb as Lonnie Wilson
- Jermel Howard as Shameek Smith
- Jade Wu as Connie Lin
- Clem Cheung as Jin Lin
- Warner Miller as Tone
- Hugues Faustin as Dante Chapman
- Deborah Ayorinde as Candace Miller
- Steven Ted Beckler as Nate
- Arethea Brooks as Sheila
- Justin Swain as Mark Bailey
- S. Robert Morgan as Oliver
- Jaiden Kaine as Zip
- Kelvin McGrue as Koko
- Sean Ringgold as Sugar
- R. Marcos Taylor as Amos
- Jeremiah Richard Craft as D.W. Griffith
- Ester Jiron as Girl #1
- Megan Gabrielle Harris as Girl #2
- David Chen as Thug
- Christopher Chirdon as Schmidt
- LaShonda Reese as Lip Syncer
- Raphael Saadiq as himself
- D-Nice as himself
- Thomas Q. Jones as Darius Jones/Comanche (uncredited)
- Craig Walker as Big Al (uncredited)
- Nancy Cejari as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- Gina Diaz as Resident (uncredited)
- Olivia Rose Eierman as Student #3 (uncredited)
- Nick Gifford as Passerby (uncredited)
- Miguelangelo Hexylvania as Passerby (uncredited)
- Mohammed Hossain as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Decater James as Hustler (uncredited)
- Cassandra Jeudi as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- Phil Oddo as Pedestrian (uncredited)
- Alexandra Santini as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- Phil Sarpong as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- Mike Scerbo as Bar Patron (uncredited)
- Ann Marie Seall as Bartender (uncredited)
- Nora Sommerkamp as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- P. Strathen as Clubgoer (uncredited)
- Unknown Actress as Marisol (uncredited)
- Unknown Actor as Tony (uncredited)
- Unknown Actress as Passion (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Pop's Barber Shop
- Genghis Connie's
- Harlem's Paradise
- Crispus Attucks Complex
- Mount Olivet Baptist Church
- Colon's Gym (mentioned)
- Cotton Club (mentioned)
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building (mentioned)
- Rucker Park (mentioned)
- Georgia (flashback)
- Seagate Penitentiary (flashback)
- Fenway Park (mentioned)
- Miami, Florida (mentioned)
- Russia (mentioned)
- Latvia (mentioned)
- Puerto Rico (mentioned)
- Jamaica (mentioned)
Events[]
- Ambush at the Harlem Junkyard
- Attack on Zip's Gang
- Duel of Delaney Hall (mentioned)
- Battle of New York (mentioned)
- Arrest of Wilson Fisk (mentioned)
Items[]
- Hammer Industries Assault Rifle
- The Incident
- Ace of Spades
- Mjølnir (mentioned)
- Captain America's Shield (mentioned)
- Kool-Aid (mentioned)
Vehicles[]
Creatures[]
- Cockroaches (mentioned)
Organizations[]
- New York City Police Department
- Stokes Crime Family
- Colon Crime Family
- New York Bulletin
- WJBP-TV
- New Harlem Renaissance
- New York City Council
- SLAM Magazine
- The New Yorker
- Avengers (mentioned)
- Hammer Industries (logo)
- Dominican Mob (mentioned)
- Cuban Mob (mentioned)
- New York Knicks (mentioned)
- Kumon (mentioned)
- United Parcel Service (mentioned)
- Uber (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Jessica Jones
- Fredo Diaz
- Bessie
- Tony Stark
- Thor
- Steve Rogers
- Hulk
- Mama Mabel
- Pistol Pete
- Salvador Colon
- Wilson Fisk
- Justin Hammer
- Diamondback
- Kobe Bryant
- Derek Fisher
- Phil Jackson
- Pat Riley
- Kristaps Porziņģis
- Charles Oakley
- Patrick Ewing
- Anthony Mason
- John Starks
- Lebron James
- Kevin Ollie
- Rick Pitino
- Doc Rivers
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
- Ray Charles
- Langston Hughes
- Malcolm X
- Zora Neale Hurston
- Duke Ellington
- Crispus Attucks
- Biggie Smalls (picture)
- Benjamin Franklin
- Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- Pop's Free Hair Cut List
- The Godfather
- Scarface
- Carlito's Way
- Stone Rollin'
- Ghostbusters
- Green Monster
- Jedi
Trivia[]
- Moment of Truth is the name of a song included in the album of the same name of the hip-pop duo Gang Starr.
- When Connie Lin says that she wants to hire Cage, an offer which he turns down by saying, "I'm not for hire", it is a subtle reference to the group Cage formed with Danny Rand in the comics: Heroes for Hire.
- The episode features the MCU's second use of the expletive 'fuck', after New York's Finest. It is spoken by Tone after a dying Dante calls him about the robbery.
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Dap Walk | Ernie and The Top Notes, Inc. |
|
| Funky Four Corners | Richard Marks |
|
| Feel It in Your Bones | Directory |
|
| Missionary | 21 the Producer |
|
| Good Man | Raphael Saadiq |
|
| Angel | Raphael Saadiq |
|
| The Sure Shot | Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge |
|
| Think Deep | Coleman Hawkins |
|
