What Happened To Luke Cage In ‘Jessica Jones’? A Refresher Before He Returns Sept. 30

Luke Cage is coming back! The man that viewers met in “Jessica Jones” Season 1 will get his own series, “Marvel’s Luke Cage,” on Sept. 30, but first, audiences might want to remember where he left off before the premiere. He didn’t exactly ride off into the sunset when he ditched Hell’s Kitchen.

Luke Cage (Mike Colter) met Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) when she was hired to see if Luke was having an affair with someone’s wife. Luke didn’t realize that though, and after hooking up with her, he was angry that she was only interested in him because he was a case. Jess went to Luke’s bar in Hell’s Kitchen to apologize. The two both used their super strength to break up a bar fight and they realized they clearly had a few things in common. A romance quickly started.

Unfortunately, more than superpowers connected them. Jessica eventually revealed that she killed Luke’s wife Reva (Parisa Fitz-Henley) while under Kilgrave’s (David Tennant) control. She only came clean because he was going to get revenge on the bus driver he thought was responsible. When Luke heard the truth, he felt betrayed that Jessica maintained their relationship without telling him. He turned his back on her.

When Luke saw Kilgrave later, all he had on his mind was revenge. Yet Kilgrave was able to use his mind control powers to stop Luke, and then he made the bartender blow up his own business while he was still inside. He didn’t realize that Luke would be able to withstand the blast.

After being controlled by Kilgrave, Luke knew he couldn’t blame Jessica for killing his wife. It was Kilgrave’s fault. The villain wasn’t done with him yet, though. He ordered Luke to kill Jessica, and the private investigator had to shoot her boyfriend with a shotgun to knock him out.

Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) took care of Luke at Jessica’s apartment. Though his skin is unbreakable, his eyeballs apparently aren’t. The nurse used his eye as a way to drain spinal fluid from his head. When Luke finally woke up, Jessica had killed Kilgrave. Claire told him that Jess was arrested, and if Luke went to help, he’d be behind bars too. He asked Claire for a glass of water, and he bolted while she had her back turned.

In “Luke Cage” Season 1, audiences will see that Luke has left Hell’s Kitchen for Harlem. While mind-controlling villains are left in the past, there are still plenty of other criminals. He’ll be dealing with gangsters like Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali) and his politician cousin Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard). He’ll also have a new love interest in the form of Misty Knight (Simone Missick). Familiar faces like Claire will show up too, but it hasn’t been revealed yet if Jessica will make an appearance.

All 13 episodes of “Luke Cage” Season 1 will be released Friday on Netflix.