‘LUKE CAGE’ RETURNS TO NETFLIX JUNE 22

Luke Cage had to come correct in 2018.

The previous title holder of the blackest thing Marvel had ever done when it premiered back in 2016, “Luke Cage” enters its second season on Netflix (it begins streaming on June 22) following the hype of the black cultural phenomenon that was “Black Panther.”

The game changed once the world discovered Wakanda — the expectations for comic book-inspired black excellence have been raised.

Marvel’s bulletproof black man is up for the challenge. Season 2 of “Luke Cage” is spectacular, full of unforgettable performances, and has not one but two top-notch villains battling each other and Cage for the heart of Harlem. Season 2 gets off to a slow start, but Netflix was wise to release all 13 episodes to the media, as the second half is where the magic happens.

Mike Colter returns to the role of Luke Cage, ever the charismatic protagonist who finally begins to embrace the hero-for-hire mentality of his comic book roots when he realizes invulnerability doesn’t shield him from financial restraints.

Misty Knight (Simone Missick) is looking more like her comic book self as well, equipped with a bionic arm (after losing her limb in “The Defenders”) and trying to figure out if she should fight the good fight against crime on the right side of the law or embrace her newer super qualities outside of it.

There’s also tons of Caribbean pride and reggae-fused flavor. Luke Cage is a bad man, but the Jamaicans will tell him quick he’s no Usain Bolt, mon.

A heavyweight title match vibe takes over every time Luke Cage and Bushmaster go at it. And when Cage takes a punch (and plenty of kicks) from Bushmaster and is knocked to the ground, all of Harlem feels it.