Season 2 of "Luke Cage" just dropped on Netflix and fans are able to stream all 13 brand-new, butt-kicking episodes about Marvel's most iconic "Harlem Hero."
And while critics and fans enjoyed season 1, both the showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker and star Simone Missick, who plays gritty detective Misty Knight, wanted to make the new season even better!
(MORE: 'Luke Cage' star says Reg E. Cathey's last performance in Season 2 is a 'beautiful gift')Missick spoke to "Good Morning America" ahead of the show's release and called the series and her character a "tremendous responsibility."
Cage and Knight have been Marvel heroes for decades, and Missick said to have her character, the show and her performance so embraced by die-hard fans has been "awesome."
"You can't wait 40 years for something like this and then mess it up!" she said.
A cast and crew of perfectionists, Missick said the team and Coker came back and wanted to fix anything they felt wasn't 100 percent in season 1.
"He chose some very, very exciting villains," she said. "Mustafa Shakir does a fantastic job as Bushmaster. There is just a colorful tapestry of actors that come on the show this season."
It's Bushmaster's time. Listen to @_mustafashakir_'s @Spotify playlist: https://t.co/GI5gQtbEde pic.twitter.com/Ubu1vGcmpL
— Luke Cage (@LukeCage) June 21, 2018
But it's not just Shakir playing an intriguing villain in season 2, but Missick's own husband in real life, Dorian, who plays the gangster Cockroach. And, yes, the two definitely have some heated scenes together, her playing a detective and Dorian, a heartless thug.
Missick said everyone -- including returning stars like Mike Colter, who is Luke Cage, and Alfre Woodard, who returns as Mariah Dillard -- came to set firing on all cylinders.
These comments reflect similar sentiments that Coker had earlier this week at the shows' premiere inside the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
She's ready to take Harlem for herself. pic.twitter.com/FP1E47fRl6
— Luke Cage (@LukeCage) June 16, 2018
"Luke Cage season 2, I don't mean to brag but I really feel like it's a level up," Coker told the audience in D.C. Tuesday. "I really feel like as good as the first season was, if you all can forgive me for killing Cottonmouth, I feel that season two is even better."
He continued, "Season 2 is a ride that wants it starts it just won't quit."
The one thing that Marvel has been so great at on Netflix is letting the comics greatly inspire the shows. In the books, the female superheroes are just as fierce as the men and in this show, Misty Knight is no different.
Knight lost an arm in the events of "The Defenders" and season 2 begins with her dealing with that physical and mental loss. Later in the season, you see the emotional layers within this no-nonsense character. This is all starts at the top, Missick said.
"More than an arm. It's a chance to get back to work." pic.twitter.com/V2dXIfwOF8
— Luke Cage (@LukeCage) June 11, 2018
"What is really great about Cheo, is that he grew up with strong women and he married a strong woman," she said. "So, he doesn't have to be educated on how to craft a strong female character."
Missick said it shows in season 1, where both Misty and Claire (Rosario Dawson) had either a past or present relationship with Cage and there was no rivalry between them at all.
"Misty was like, 'Live your life with your man and let's move on and save Harlem,'" she said. "In season 2, you see this wonderful relationship between Misty and Colleen (Jessica Henwick) onscreen. Again, you have two strong women, Misty is dealing with what she's dealing with and Colleen is like, 'Get it together! Pick yourself up off the ground.' To have her actions being motivated by another strong woman is important to see played out onscreen."
Missick said the women in this series and other Marvel Netflix shows like "Jessica Jones" have the female characters not behind a man, but right "beside them." Even the female villains are equals if not in front of their male counterparts.
"Look at Alfre Woodard as Black Mariah, she steps into her power in a way that is sexy, smart and deliciously devilish all at the same time!" she added. "[With] Shades (Theo Rossi), she teaches him how to run things."
"I love how Marvel positions women in powerful roles and allow for us to do what women all across the world do every day, which is lead," she said.
"Luke Cage" season 2 is out on Netflix now.
ABC News and Marvel are both part of parent company Disney. Mia Fields-Hall contributed to this report.
