Marvel’s Luke Cage is due to drop on Netflix this Friday, September 30 and it is an unfortunately timely show. Just as the nation is once again beset with outrage, Netflix is delivering us a black superhero who can’t be shot. As he strides through the streets of Harlem, bullets ricochet off of him and his enemies don’t stand a chance. Luke Cage is a hero whose very existence screams “Black Lives Matter!”

And yet, it’s a massive disservice to the show to reduce it to just a dramatic commentary on race. Luke Cage wouldn’t be all that intriguing if that’s all Luke Cage was. Instead, Marvel’s Luke Cage is innovative in the exciting ways it blends classic film and television genres — such as noir, crime, western, and superhero — together to create its own unique vibe. It offers a vision of black female characters who are just as important to a police force or a narrative arc as the men around them. It presents a spectrum of nuanced perspectives on class, race, and crime — all of which ring true to life. Most of all, it says that the superhero story is not limited to one demographic. It’s an uber-story that speaks to the age-old fight in all of our hearts: How can we find the strength to be good in a world gone all too bad?

So here’s the gist of Marvel’s Luke Cage: After the devastating events of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Luke Cage has been laying low in Harlem. He’s sweeping floors and washing dishes and just trying to have a quiet life. Fate, though, has other ideas. Luke soon finds himself at the center of a mob war and he finally snaps. He finally chooses to stand up and defend the innocents in his community. By doing so, he puts a massive bullseye on his back. You’ll notice that this show is called “Luke Cage” and not “Power Man.” Once Luke asserts himself as a hero, he doesn’t have a mask or costume to hide behind. He is the raw deal on the streets, putting his life and his name on the line to protect others.

Another Marvel property, Spider-Man, has hammered home for decades that “with great power comes great responsibility,” but standing up for the little guy also makes you a target. That’s why it’s easier for so many of us to keep our heads down and keep ourselves safe. This is why good people let evil happen. As long as it doesn’t touch us, we can sleep sound at night. Luke Cage challenges this complacency. It brings the fight to your front door and asks if not you, then who? So Luke Cage is a meditation on morality even more than it is on about race because this is a universal battle we all decide to fight or take flight from.

Luke Cage is a brilliant show that sings with the voices of Harlem and hits the streets of New York City with a swagger. It challenges our preconceptions of what a hero could and should be. Most importantly, it tackles a community’s struggle to clean up its own messes. Luke Cage is full of characters who say enough is enough. They decide to walk tall in the shadows and to stand up to the specters of the past. Luke Cage isn’t just a show about a black superhero — it’s a show about the superhero hidden in all of us. We can all be Luke Cage if we all just stand up for what’s right.

[Marvel’s Luke Cage debuts on Netflix September 30]