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“I know this place, I know the players, and I can make a difference here.”
―Misty Knight to Gabe Krasner
Detective Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a superheroine from Marvel Comics. She is commonly an ally of street-level superheroes, notably Power Man. She appears as a central character in the Netflix/Disney+ TV series Luke Cage and a supporting character in the subsequent miniseries The Defenders.
She is a police officer investigating the gangs of Harlem lead by Cottonmouth. As a police officer, she is also able to carefully recreate and reconstruct the crime scene to deduce how the crime took place and find the suspect. After losing her arm in the line of duty, she received a cybernetic arm to continue her job.
Misty Knight was created by Jenny Blake Isabella and Arvell Jones.
Not much is known about Misty's backstory, but her father knew Henry "Pop" Hunter, a reformed gangster who runs a local barbershop. She is also a skilled basketball player, and played on the women's basketball team at Temple University. One summer, her cousin was raped and murdered in broad daylight, which inspired Misty to become a police officer.
Powers and Abilities
Master Detective: Misty Knight is a highly skilled and highly ranked detective. She is capable of reconstructing a crime scene in her mind simply looking at the photos taken at the scene; judging by Rafael Scarfe's remarks, Knight getting lost in her reconstructions is a common occurrence. She is also able to notice details that other detectives miss, such as Luke Cage being unharmed despite having bullet holes in his shirt.
In the first season, Misty is a detective at the 29th Precinct in Harlem, known by her colleagues for her tendency to visualize crime scenes through viewing photos. Unaware to Misty, her partner detective Rafael Scarfe was secretly working for Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes. During the season, she tries to unveil the multiplcrimes of Cottonmouth, along with those of Diamondback, Shades, and councilwoman Mariah Dillard while trying to figure out Luke's identity and his connection to all of their actions. After Scarfe is killed trying to shake down Cottonmouth, Misty is reassigned to work under Inspector Ridley and began expressing her dislike of the system. During a hostage situation at Harlem, Misty is shot in the right arm by Diamondback, and was warned by Claire Temple that her arm might have to be amputated if it does not receive further treatment, but it recovers. At end of season one, Misty goes undercover at Harlem's Paradise to spy on Mariah and Shades.
In the second season, set after the events of The Defenders, Misty is still in therapy, adjusting to life after losing her arm. When she returns to work, she also finds herself the subject of mockery from her coworkers and criminals alike, especially rival detective Nandi Tyler. After receiving advice from Colleen Wing, Misty agrees to be outfitted with a prosthetic arm from Rand Enterprises. Despite multiple attempts to halt her goals, Misty resumes her investigation into Mariah and Shades while also contending with Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton, a domestic abuser and murderer that she and Scarfe put away, but was released due to his conviction being overturned. When Cockroach sues Luke for assaulting him, Misty considers planting a Judas bullet in his apartment, but reconsiders at the last minute, only to find Cockroach murdered by Bushmaster. She chooses to resign in disgrace, but returns to her post after Captain Thomas Ridenhour is murdered. As a gang war breaks out between Mariah and Bushmaster, Misty and Luke work together to fight Bushmaster's gang and eventually arrest Mariah and Shades.
Misty appears in The Defenders. As of this series, she has been promoted to a citywide task force investigating crimes committed by the Hand. When Luke returns to Harlem, Misty seeks him out and informs him that someone is recruiting young men into a mysterious well-paying job and killed. Misty is later called to investigate a cache of explosives that Jessica Jones discovered in a dive apartment, only to find the latter stealing evidence and eventually arrest her. Misty attempts to interrogate her, but Matt Murdock bails Jessica out. When the Hand begin threatening Matt, Luke, Jessica, and Danny Rand's loved ones, Luke convinces Misty to use her precinct to hide them. After Elektra kidnaps Danny however, brings Matt, Luke, and Jessica in for questioning, though they refuse to cooperate to keep her safe and later escape. Stealing the explosives from evidence, Colleen, Misty, and Claire Temple attempt to destroy Midland Circle while Matt, Jessica, and Luke defeat the Hand. Though Bakuto gets involved and slices Misty's arm off, she, Colleen, and Claire succeed. Colleen later visits Misty in the hospital to inform her that Danny has arranged for her to receive a bionic arm.
Misty Knight on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
Mercedes Knight (Earth-199999) on the Marvel Database
