D.W. Griffith

: "Look, that's my job. I catch you as you are. If your friends can't show you the truth about yourself, what good are they?"
: ―Dave Griffith to Luke Cage[src]
David "D.W." Griffith is a young man living in New York City. He sold film footage of the Battle of New York on the street. He became associated with Luke Cage and, after the fight between Cage and Diamondback, migrated his business opportunities at Pop's Barber Shop.
== Biography ==
=== Making Businesses ===
==== Incident Footage ====
: "Hey, yo, my man, my man. All HD. Got it right here. Blu-ray, too, 'cause I'm nice like that. Tony Stark, the big blonde dude with the hammer, the old dude with the shield, the green monster, and I don't mean Fenway. You can't get better raw footage of the incident anywhere else than right here."
: ―Dave Griffith[src]
Dave "D.W." Griffith was trying to sell his DVD's with footage of the Battle of New York on the streets of Harlem. When he noticed Luke Cage he tried to convince him to buy a copy, saying that he has it in HD and blu-ray. Even though Cage ignored him Griffith still did his best, stating that it is the best raw footage of the incident available.
==== Search for Domingo Colon ====
: "Look, I hear and see everything. The streets know what you've been up to. Everyone's talking about it. But I ain't no snitch."
: ―Dave Griffith to Luke Cage[src]
One day, while trying to sell DVD's with footage of the Battle of New York on the streets of Harlem, Griffith was approached by Luke Cage. Griffith recognized Cage as being "one of them". Griffith tried to make a deal with Cage, in which he and Farley would film the next time Cage would do something, and they both could make $4000 dollar. Cage ignored the proposal. Since Griffith hears and sees everything Cage asked him for help. At first, Griffith was unwilling to give Cage information and be a snitch. Cage told Griffith that he just wanted to use his eyes. Griffith gave in and wanted to know who Cage was looking for, which turned out to be Domingo Colon. Griffith was able to give Cage the location.
==== Menace ====
The evening of the Jackie Albini killing, Mariah Dillard organized a community meeting at Harlem's Paradise. The main subject of the meeting was the danger Luke Cage formed for Harlem. Griffith noticed Cage and Claire Temple walking towards the meeting. Griffith called out to Cage and handed him a poster on which Cage was called a menace. Griffith promised Cage to tell nothing. Griffith hopefully asked Cage if he was not going to the meeting. Cage told him he. When Cage walked away Griffith looked worried.
==== Duel at Malcolm X Boulevard ====
During the Duel at Malcolm X Boulevard between Luke Cage and Diamondback the citizens of Harlem came out in force to support Cage. Among them were Dave Griffith and Farley. Farley used his camera to film the duel. At one moment Diamondback threw Cage out of the upstairs apartment. When Diamondback left the apartment via the front door Griffith told Farley to keep filming, while the two of them walked closer to the fight. Together with the other people on the streets Griffith began to cheer his name, which powered Cage into taking Diamondback down.
=== New Businesses ===
==== Cage's Fame ====
: "We got tour buses every other hour. This spot's world-famous now.""Well, your videos don't make it easier. The brother can't eat a sandwich without you pointing a camera in his face.""Look, I'm his Howard Bingham. I didn't choose Luke's life. Luke life chose me."
: ―Dave Griffith and Bobby Fish[src]
With the popularity of Luke Cage, Griffith started a business in Pop's Barber Shop to sell merchandise. He had to usher a Cage fan out of the shop as well. He then got word that his friend overdosed. He attended his funeral and returned to see Bobby Fish and Cage. Griffith pressured Cage to stop the drug trade in Harlem, but Cage said he only had one lead. Griffith was able to decipher the name and find Arturo Rey III. Unbeknownst to Cage, Griffith followed him to find Rey. Griffith then witnessed Cage get blown up by Rey, only to live and knock Rey unconscious. Griffith recorded him, so Cage looked at the camera and told the audience that nothing could stop him. If they want to try, do it, but they will be stopped. The next day, Griffith recorded Cage's media day at Harlem Jets Practice Field where he showed off his powers.
==== Filming a Viral Video ====
: "You think Howard Bingham put the camera down after Ali lost? Everybody wants to see the king get knocked down."
: ―D.W. Griffith to Luke Cage[src]
Using the Harlem's Hero app, Griffith found Luke Cage on the street and approached him filming. Out of nowhere, a man walked up the Cage and punched him. Cage flew backwards, laying on the ground. An astonished Griffith asked what the man's name was and he told him it was Bushmaster. He then made money selling footage of the video to everyone. His video even got featured on ESPN. Cage found him selling the video and was disappointed in Griffith. However, Griffith asked if Cage was leaving town because he saw Claire Temple leaving her apartment. Cage then ran off worriedly.
==== Warning Cage ====
Griffith called Luke Cage a few days later after seeing suspicious men walk through the back of Pop's Barber Shop with guns. The next day, he saw that Mariah Dillard's Brownstone was on fire and rushed to find Cage and tell him. With his help, Cage was able to save Mariah Dillard and Tilda Johnson.
==== Meeting Iron Fist ====
: "When someone comes after my friends, I make it my fight."""I make it my fight." This white boy got swagger, yo.""He's got to. He calls himself the Immortal Iron Fist.""Yo, that's hot! This cat understands the power of a brand.""See? Finally, somebody gets it."
: ―Danny Rand, Dave Griffith and Luke Cage[src]
Griffith walked into Pop's Barber Shop and found Luke Cage. They talked about Bushmaster's escape until Danny Rand arrived. Griffith met Rand and overheard them talk. Rand said a phrase that Griffith considered cool and complimented Rand. Cage said he calls himself the "Immortal Iron Fist." Griffith thought it was a cool brand. He later walked in on them meditating. He sat down and asked them what the plan is for Bushmaster. Rand and Cage talked and even showed off his Iron Fist, amazing Griffith. Rand and Cage then decided that Turk Barrett would know where the Stylers were.
==== Heroin Epidemic ====
: "Except for the Stokes, all these fools are neck-deep in the drug game, okay? They're guilty as sin. You should force all of them to use some.""What's with you, man?""You didn't see what I saw. Plus my girl almost got hurt. No. No, man, it ain't okay."
: ―Dave Griffith and Luke Cage[src]
Griffith was at a party when someone took Bushmaster Heroin, causing them to lash out at another person. The two were broken up, but Griffith's girlfriend almost got hurt. He went to Luke Cage and asked him to take care of the heroin as it was getting dangerous. Cage understood and went after Hai-Qing Yang.
=== Purchasing Pop's Barber Shop ===
: "When Ms. Hopson comes here, I'm giving her all the money I made selling this merchandise, and I'm taking over the lease of the barbershop. Because if this is the route that you're gonna go, you can come here and get your hair cut, but that's it. Can't talk shop around here. 'Cause this place is Switzerland. It has to be, and you know it."
: ―Dave Griffith to Luke Cage[src]
Griffith found Luke Cage at Pop's Barber Shop, who was smoking out of his hoodie due to the countless amount of bullets shot at him earlier. Harlem had become a war zone following Mariah Dillard's arrest. They talked about what he was going to do about it. They were then approached by Shades who told Cage that he should take over the criminal world to oversee it because they needed someone who loved Harlem. Cage thought about it. Later, Dillard was killed and Cage returned to Pop's with Sugar. Griffith told Cage that he bought the barber shop with the money he earned from his merchandise.
He then heard that Cage was taking the offer that Shades proposed. Griffith's attitude changed as he was disappointed and mad at his friend for his decision. He told Cage that Pop's was Switzerland and it was peaceful. Cage could come to get his haircut, but that was it, he could not talk shop in there. Cage complied and left with Sugar. Later, Griffith cleaned the windows and put up a help wanted sign, proud of his work.
== Personality ==
: "First, god, "n****s" always wanna be famous. Dancin' in the end zones, slam dunk, all of that was invented before I was born, and I don't remember Malcolm or Martin turning down many interviews.""That's 'cause they used publicity to communicate our message.""Money is the message. Or it should be. Get paid, black man. Get yours. Everyone else is."
: ―Dave Griffith and Bobby Fish[src]
Griffith is a fairly excitable young man, who takes an active interest in the pursuits of his friend Luke Cage. He and his friend Farley are amateur filmmakers equipped with RED and Canon DSLR cameras, which they use to shoot footage of events such as the Battle of New York or Cage's fight with Diamondback.
Although he may come across as obnoxious occasionally, he is loyal to his friends and those close to him. He cared about Pop's legacy as well, even going as far as to exile Cage from the barber shop when he gains ownership of Harlem's Paradise.
== Equipment ==
* Camera: Griffith, while on the streets of Harlem, carried around a camera that he, more than often, used to film many of the events that happen throughout the neighborhood, including the Battle of New York and the duel between Luke Cage and Diamondback. An avid fan of Luke Cage, he used his camera to record and distribute many of his heroics.
== Relationships ==
=== Allies ===
* Farley - Friend
* Luke Cage - Former Friend and Former Idol
* Bobby Fish - Friend
* Joey Ross
* Danny Rand/Iron Fist
* Aisha Axton - Girlfriend
* Sugar
* Hopson - Landlady	
=== Enemies ===
* Willis Stryker/Diamondback
* John McIver/Bushmaster
* Kiki
* Tyson
* Hernan Alvarez/Shades
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, D.W. Griffith was an audio-visual and film student that provided housing and aid to Luke Cage and allies.
* Dave Griffth's nickname "D.W." ironically gives him the same name as filmmaker D.W. Griffith, whose most famous film, The Birth of a Nation, is regarded as a groundbreaking and influential piece of cinema but is also considered controversial for its racist and stereotypical depiction of black people and its portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to D.W. Griffith.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to D.W. Griffith.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 Luke Cage: 2.01: Soul Brother #1
# ↑ Jump up to:2.0 2.1 Luke Cage: 2.10: The Main Ingredient
# ↑ Luke Cage: 1.01: Moment of Truth
# ↑ Luke Cage: 1.07: Manifest
# ↑ Luke Cage: 1.10: Take it Personal
# ↑ Luke Cage: 1.13: You Know My Steez
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.02: Straighten It Out
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.04: I Get Physical
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.06: The Basement
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.07: On and On
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.12: Can't Front on Me
# ↑ Luke Cage: 2.13: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
== External Links ==
* D.W. Griffith on Marvel Database