Jeph, how would you describe Shades and his role in Luke Cages story?
LOEB: The responsibility that we have, in telling the story of Luke Cage, is enormous. Were talking about, for all intents and purposes, the first black superhero from the streets. Were talking about a character who, in the early 70s, came out and really spoke to an audience in a way that no one had ever done before. In many ways, it woke up a young Cheo Coker, who suddenly could relate in a way that had been very different. Being able to take that responsibility on, particularly now with whats going on in our world, is something that we take very seriously. When we started talking about what that show was going to be and who the characters were going to be, the first character that everybody asked us was, What are you going to do about Shades?, because he is so important to Lukes origin and to the way that the world grew out of these two characters. When Theo walked in, there was a confidence there that we immediately were drawn to. If youve got Mike Colter playing Luke Cage, youre going to have a larger life presence. Youre going to have somebody who brings with him that superhero quality, not just as a superhero, but as a person and as a personality. And so, what was great about Theos take on it was that you could see two people standing on equal footing.
What drives him, as a character?
LOEB: We talked a lot about how theres a game of chess thats being played. Theres a game of power thats being played. What Shades is, in many ways, is an opportunist. Hes someone whos looking for what the next game is that hes playing, who the next player is that hes playing, what the next level is, and how hes getting there. If that means he has to change allegiances, in order to better himself, than maybe thats what hell do. If he can find a way to make the Luke Cage thing work for him, hell see how that plays. If he has to figure out how to make Luke Cage go away, in order to make things work, than that works on that particular day.
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