History Characters / MCUCriminalsTerroristStokesDillardRing

* MissKitty: Her home doubled as a brothel of which she was the madam. It was most likely as a madam that she built her other connections and her criminal empire.

* {{Yubitsume}}: Mabel cuts off an associate's finger for selling drugs without permission. She also had Cornell give him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.

* CorruptTheCutie: Mariah mentions Cornell was a nice person and blame Mabel for his descent into crime. Flashbacks show that he was a cheerful child until he got old enough to be in the family business, and Tilda was very close with him.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Is killed in the seventh episode of ''Luke Cage'', making way for Mariah and Diamondback to take his place as the BigBadEnsemble of season one.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: When he hears that Luke Cage is the one that stole his money but has yet to hear he has indestructible skin, Cottonmouth immediately opts to shoot Luke with a rocket launcher.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Tries to garrote Shades in a freight elevator and has his two bodyguards stand with their backs to him. Shades is able to wrestle with him for a bit, get a gun and kills both of the bodyguards, then beats a confession out of Zip and shoots him in the head as well.

* DiabolicalMastermind: Played with. Much of the later troubles Luke is faced with is orchestrated by Mariah Dillard, even if his framing of Luke as a cop-killer got the ball rolling. And his hostage situation was most certainly ''not'' well thought out, only escaping by the skin of his teeth [[IndyPloy by thinking on the fly.]] On the other hand, in order to mass-produce a series of bullets based on an alien metal, you've gotta have a lot of powerful connections and considerable pull in military circles. Not to mention his other PowerFist gadgetry, and PoweredArmor. Shades seems to be disappointed that when he finally came out of the shadows, he wasn't thinking as clearly as before Luke Cage came into the picture.

* MadeOfIron: Willis can take some damage even without gear. Claire stabs his arm multiple times, enough to leave a TrailOfBlood that Luke follows across a street, yet he is able to wield a high power rifle and get into fistfight and win despite it. He also fell headfirst from a balconey to the floor below and got up unharmed while most people would die from a broken skull, neck and spine. However, its not enough to help him when Luke gets serious, who knocks him out by throwing himstones across a concert hall into a pillar, and then an uppercut from Luke results in him getting a neck cast.

* EvilFeelsGood: After her attempts of retiring from the criminal business fails, she embraces her Stokes heritage, being proud of all her horrible deeds.

* BaldOfEvil: He has a shaved head while in prison. Upon his release in Season 2, he's grown it out into dreads.

* HiddenDepths: As the second season rolls on, we see more and more of Sugar, such as being a football player during high school and how he feels indebted to Mariah and the Stokes/Dillards since they put him through college even though he had a bum leg. When Mariah died, he still felt sorry for her.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Tries to strangle Shades to death in a freight elevator and has his two armed men stand with their backs to him. Shades is able to wrestle with him for a bit, get a gun and kill all three. Zip probably should have just shot him.

* EvilMakeover: After Cottonmouth's death, Shades gives Zip a wad of cash to buy some new clothes to reflect the organization's new "first class" approach, so Zip goes from wearing leather jackets to fine suits.

* OverzealousUnderling: He is so aggressively loyal to his boss that when Shades doesn't show Cottonmouth the proper respect, Tone makes things difficult by insulting and threatening Shades. Later, when Chico steals money from him, Cottonmouth learns that Chico is hiding in Pop's Barber Shop. Cottonmouth is an old friend of Pop and respects his rule that the barber shop is neutral ground; Tone thinks that this makes his boss look weak, so he goes against orders and shoots up the entire shop, accidentally killing Pop while ''still'' failing to kill the target they were after. This move is so poorly thought out that it leads to Luke Cage declaring war on Cottonmouth. For this (and also generally being disrespectful to Cottonmouth), he gets tossed off the roof.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Doesn't have much screentime, but his decision to shoot up Pop's shop is what really gets the central conflict going.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: After most of his cash gets impounded, Cornell lists his remaining assets and mentions that he still has the profits from his club to keep him afloat. This implies that the club could actually function on its own as a legitimate business without the arms dealing. Justified when Mariah asks him why he is using legal money in his illegal affair, he has bigger plans for Harlem and greasing the wheels to ensure Mariah gets her housing projects through needs way more money. Also he has seven million in dirty money that would take years to launder just with the club.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Cornell did care for Pop in his own way. When Pop is killed, he furiously throws the murderer off the top of his club and is later seen weeping over an old photo of Pop. This also makes him a BruiserWithASoftCenter. Season 2 reveals that he was also very close with Tilda, more than Mariah ever was, as Tilda is seen laying a flower at his grave.

* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Mariah continually acts on impulse, without thinking about the consequences, and it is largely by luck and by the actions of others that she comes out on top. It is only because Shades was at the nightclub at the same time, and because he was also planning to kill Cottonmouth, that she got away with his murder. In addition, she only got off scott-free for said murder due to the fact that the fight between Diamondback and Luke Cage caused Misty Knight to lose her phone, which allowed Shades to kill off the only witness to her crime. Which is amusing given she was the most cautious of her crime syndicate until things went South.

** In season 2, Mariah is very hesitant about the gang bosses that seek to buy her guns, viewing Cockroach as impulsive and Nigel as too ambitious.

* EvilFeelsGood: After her attempt of retiring from the criminal business fails, she embraces her Stokes heritage, being proud of all her horrible deeds.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In season 2 the charges stick, and while she does take a stab at MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll, it [[KilledOffForReal doesn't last.]]

* PetTheDog: She does love Harlem even if she doesn't seem like it. She paid for Sugar's college tuition even though his ruined knee mean he'll never make pro, and her family first center was a genuine attempt to make the family mantra sounds good.

* RapeAsBackstory: Molested by her uncle when she and Cornell were young. She ended up giving birth to Tilda as a result.
* RetiredMonster: What she plans on doing in Season 2, by investing in Atreus Plastics. Bushmaster has other ideas.

* SaveTheVillain: Luke is the one to save Mariah when Bushmaster tries to kill her by blowing up her brownstone. Mariah even notes that Luke is the only person she can always rely on, which is why she decides to throw a free party at Harlem's Paradise as bait for Bushmaster, knowing Luke will come to save the innocent bystanders.

* VillainousLineage: She's the cousin of Cottonmouth (whom she's reluctant to embrace either privately or publicly), and was raised with him by "Mama Mabel" Stokes, her criminal grandmother. Rather than go for outright illegal activities like Cottonmouth, Mariah was instead drawn to Mabel's fixings and dealings in Harlem and became a career politician. The blood ties are made explicitly clear in "Manifest" where she viciously kills Cottonmouth in a rage, and she begins to act much more like Mama Mabel from then on.

* DarkIsEvil: He wears an all-black three piece outfit for the better portion of season 2: black dress shirt, black vest, black necktie and black suit.

* SharpDressedMan: He sports all-black three piece suits and neckties in season 2.
* SinisterShades: Alvarez wears his namesake sunglasses so often that his eyes are rarely seen, and makes it known that he means business when he takes them off -- any scene without them is usually a serious and pivotal one. (Theo Rossi has commented in interviews about taking a few cues from Charlie Cox's portrayal of Matt Murdock, as the role similarly required him to act without using his eyes to express emotion.)

* WildCard: For the first half of season 1, he operates as Diamondback's Dragon but clearly has his own agenda with Mariah. Once Diamondback actually shows up, he makes it apparent Shades has done some things without his consent.

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Organizations > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerrorists Criminals & Terrorists]] | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsOrganizations Criminal & Terrorist Organizations]] ([[Characters/MCUSharonCarter Sharon Carter]] | [[Characters/MCUUlyssesKlaue Ulysses Klaue]] | [[Characters/MCUArthurHarrow Arthur Harrow]]) > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsNewYork New York-Based Criminals]] ([[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsFiskCrimeRing Fisk Crime Ring]] | '''Stokes–Dillard Crime Ring''' | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsVulturesGang Vulture's Gang]]) -]]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Organizations > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerrorists Criminals & Terrorists]] | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsOrganizations Criminal & Terrorist Organizations]] ([[Characters/MCUSharonCarter Sharon Carter]] | [[Characters/MCUUlyssesKlaue Ulysses Klaue]] | [[Characters/MCUArthurHarrow Arthur Harrow]]) > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsNewYork New York-Based Criminals]] ([[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsFiskCrimeRing Fisk Crime Ring]] | '''Stokes–Dillard Crime Ring''' | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsVulturesGang Vulture's Gang]] ([[Characters/MCUAdrianToomes Adrian Toomes]])) -]]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Organizations > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerrorists Criminals & Terrorists]] | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsOrganizations Criminal & Terrorist Organizations]] ([[Characters/MCUSharonCarter Sharon Carter]] | [[Characters/MCUUlyssesKlaue Ulysses Klaue]] | [[Characters/MCUArthurHarrow Arthur Harrow]]) > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsNewYork New York-Based Criminals]] ([[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsFiskCrimeRing Fisk Crime Ring]] ([[Characters/MCUWilsonFisk Wilson Fisk]] | [[Characters/MCUBenjaminPoindexter Benjamin Poindexter]]) | '''Stokes–Dillard Crime Ring''' | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsVulturesGang Vulture's Gang]] ([[Characters/MCUAdrianToomes Adrian Toomes]])) -]]]

* HatedByAll: By the end of Season 1, '''nobody''' can tolerate Diamondback. Stopping him becomes Luke's number one priority. Even all of the villains turn against him, with Shades and Mariah rooting for Luke to take him down and [[EnemyMine even try to form a truce]] with him.
* HateSink: Diamondback is such an asshole to friend and foe alike that no one can stand him. Then he is eventually revealed as [[GreaterScopeVillain the force behind EVERYTHING wrong that has happened to Luke.]] Defeating him becomes Luke's number one priority, above everything else. Eventually, every single one of his allies ends up turning on him with Domingo trying and failing to execute him, and Shades and Mariah trying to strike up a truce with Luke to get rid of Willis by any means necessary.

* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: Her comic counterpart is often called Black Mariah, which hasn't been the case here. Cornell mockingly refers to her by this name once. [[BerserkButton Mariah made sure]] it was ''only'' once. In Season 2, Luke takes a liking to the name when he realizes how much she hates it, and how much it suits her given her recent criminal deeds.

* MamaBear: Played with. Mabel placed the safety of her family and community above all else, was famous for dealing with abusive parents and protected her granddaughter from Uncle Pete's sexual abuse. On the other hand, she was also emotionally (and occasionally physically) abusive towards Cornell so she could mold him into her enforcer. Also her way of protecting Mariah was simply to send her away rather than expelling Pete from the family. In fact, she didn't do anything about Pete

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In season 2 the charges stick, and while she does [[JustForPun take a stab]] at MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll, it [[KilledOffForReal doesn't last.]]

* NamedByTheAdaptation: Was only ever known as Black Mariah in the comics. The show gave her the last name Dillard, which shortly was adopted by the comics. Season 2 further reveals that Dillard is her married name and that her real name is Stokes, like her cousin.

* MadeOfIron: Willis can take some damage even without gear. Claire stabs his arm multiple times, enough to leave a BloodTrail that Luke follows across a street, yet he is able to wield a high power rifle and get into fistfight and win despite it. He also fell headfirst from a balconey to the floor below and got up unharmed while most people would die from a broken skull, neck and spine. However, its not enough to help him when Luke gets serious, who knocks him out by throwing himstones across a concert hall into a pillar, and then an uppercut from Luke results in him getting a neck cast.

* HiddenDepths: Isn't afraid to admit to Comanche that he cries watching ''Series/ThisIsUs''

* UndyingLoyalty: Subverted. He's absolutely loyal to whoever he's working for and won't snitch unless they've crossed the MoralEventHorizon in a particularly horrific and stupid fashion]] but if it's clear his employer is losing it, he will find a new employer. He won't cross them, but if they cross ''him'', [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal he's not holding back.

* PowerArmor: Dons one in the final battle against Luke Cage, made by Hammer Tech.

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Villainous Organizations > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerrorists Criminals & Terrorists]] | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsOrganizations Criminal & Terrorist Organizations]] ([[Characters/MCUUlyssesKlaue Ulysses Klaue]] | [[Characters/MCUArthurHarrow Arthur Harrow]]) > [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsNewYork New York-Based Criminals]] ([[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsFiskCrimeRing Fisk Crime Ring]] ([[Characters/MCUWilsonFisk Wilson Fisk]] | [[Characters/MCUBenjaminPoindexter Benjamin Poindexter]]) | '''Stokes–Dillard Crime Ring''' | [[Characters/MCUCriminalsTerroristsVulturesGang Vulture's Gang]] ([[Characters/MCUAdrianToomes Adrian Toomes]])) -]]]

* EvilAllAlong: At first, Mariah seems like a MoralityPet to Cottonmouth early on, albeit one that was in the grey due to benefiting off his corrupt dealings. Ultimately she proves she's no better when she does increasingly awful things, which eventually accumulates in her murdering her cousin, framing his death on Luke Cage, and taking control over his criminal empire. Season 2 shows that she is even more ruthless than Cottonmouth ever could be and she was kind of a RichBitch as a kid.

* JabbaTableManners: He invokes it during a meeting with Cornell for intimidation and voicing disrespect while depositing Milky Way wrappers on the floor.

* BadassBaritone: Courtesy of Mr. Ali, Cottonmouth has a very smooth, deep tone to his voice that only makes him that much more intimidating.

* BadassBaritone: Has a deep, husky tone to compliment his Bible-quoting.

* AdaptedOut: Shades's comic book counterpart has optic blast thanks to his signature shades. Here he just has regular Ray-Bans.

* GunsAkimbo: He's fond of dual wielding [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Berettas.]]

[[caption-width-right:300:''"I am your brother."'']]]]

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' [=LaTanya=] Richardson Jackson