CAST
Dr. Elias Wirtham/Cardiac: Leslie Odom Jr.
The hero himself, Dr. Eli Wirtham is a surgeon at the top of his game in Baltimore, saving lives long before even thinking about putting on a suit to fight crime. An admirer of the now-famous New York vigilantes, Eli's world is turned upside down when his brother dies of a disease he learnscould have been cured if not for a corrupt consparicy within an international pharmaceutical company. Vowing to take down those the law can't touch, he becomes Cardiac, a formiddable defender straddling the lines between noble hero and deadly vigilante.
Styx and Stone: David Valcin and Jimmi Simpson
Gerald Stone was a close friend of Eli in medical school. After becoming involved in morally questionable studies ran by the company that would ultimately allow Eli's brother to die, he befriended homeless test subject Jacob Eichorn. Jacob was left with a living, walking cancer with a need to infect and drain the life of others to survive. When the project, Stone saved Jacob from being put down. The two take on the names Styx and Stone, becoming mercenaries to fund Gerald's repeated attempts to cure his friend. The duo come into the employ of the Hammer family, bringing Gerald towards a final confrontation with his old college friend Eli Wirtham.
Vick Christee: Glenn Powell
An original character. Vick is an idealistic young cop who is thrust into the dark corners of the law when his partner is murdered. Though the killer is caught by Cardiac, he is freed on a legal technicality. This prompts Vick to become Baltimore's second vigilante, The Badge, a decision complicated when his new partner Steve Busso, is imbroiled in a racially-tinged shooting and the highly publicized aftermath that will once again force Vick to question everything he believes.
Justine and Sasha Hammer: Camryn Manheim and Aubrey Plaza
The masterminds behind the season-long plot, Justine is reimagined as the sister of Sam Rockwell's younger Justin Hammer, who will make a special apperence in the final episodes. Following Justin's imprisonment, his assets have remained frozen. Justine has manipulated his many holdings from behind the scenes (Including the company that allowed Eli's brother to die) and numerous other illegal activities, with a long term plan of releasing her brother from prison. When Eli gets too close to HAMMER, Sasha is sent in to seduce him and record his investigations, becoming dangerously close to discovering his secret vigilante actions.
Detective Tork: Pedro Pascal
A rougish, "lone wolf" detective, Tork is a legend amongst Baltimore police circles for his daring busts and long-term undercover stings. He has been undercover for nearly a year when a sudden lead links his investigation to Justine Hammer, leading Cardiac and The Badge to hunt him down for more information on the villianous businesswoman's schemes.
Senator Evan Raliegh: Enrico Colantoni
Another original character, Sen. Raliegh is a staunch Republican representing Maryland. His political views are often at odds with Eli, who at first suspects him of implicity in his brother's death, but the two ultimately form an unlikely friendship in their mutual quest to root out corruption from the highest towers of society.
Steve Busso: Nathan Lane
A bit of an oaf, but a loveable one, Busso becomes Vick's new partner, but their pairing too will end in tragedy with the death of an unarmed black man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thrown under the bus by a corrupt police official to hide his own systematic discrimination and other illicit programs, Busso crumbles under the immense public anger before being assasinated in an outlash by an unstable protester, bringing the city to a boiling point.
Plot
Episode 1-5: Origin
After the death of his brother, a series of events leads Eli Wirtham to discover a massive pharmaceutical consparicy that kept hidden a drug that could have saved the brother's life. He launches an investigation, which takes him to Washington D.C. and the office of Senator Raliegh. Raliegh is ultimately proved innocent but sends Eli on the right path. He tracks down the man responsible for the consparicy, who reveals the company's ties to Justine Hammer. Furious, Eli beats the man within an inch of his life before Styx and Stone arrive to finish the job. The duo leave Eli seemingly dead in a HAMMER warehouse, where he discovers the gear needed to become Cardiac. His first mission in suit: Recovery of stolen organs in time to save the life of one of his patients. He returns to work with a renewed vigor and is suddenly met with the romantic attention of renowned heiress Sasha Hammer. Meanwhile, Officer Vick Christee's life is turned upside down when his partner is murdered. He is paired with veteran Steve Busso and things look up as Cardiac captures the man who killed Vick's ex-partner. But everything hits the fan during a raid when Busso shoots and kills an unarmed black man.
Episodes 6-9: Black and Blue
As protests mount in the city, the police force scrambles to maintain a clean public image, disavowing Busso after a bungled press conference. Meanwhile, the murderer who killed Vick's old partner walks free on a technicality. After Cardiac stops a hostage situation at Eli's hosptial, further raising his public image, Vick decides to create his own costumed identity: The Badge. Eli, meanwhile, is detirmined to root out alleged systematic racism within the PD, a mission complicated when Raliegh arrives, calling in his favor to help ease tensions. Things go from bad to worse when an unhinged protestor assasinates Busso and several other officers in the process. Cardiac captures the assasin, but as this happens, Vick, as The Badge, walks into a frame job originally meant for Busso, the murder of a protest leader. Eli falls for the frame and sets his sights on The Badge, while the grieving city, devastated by losses on both sides, teeters on the edge of chaos. After a fight, the two vigilantes discover the truth and expose a corrupt officer within the PD Training and Fitness programs. Together, Eli, Raliegh, and Vick help begin the city's process of healing. The Officer however, begins to offer plea deals in exchange for secrets involving corporations dealing weapons to local gangs, before being killed off by Styx and Stone.
Episode 10-13: The Hammer Girls
Connecting the two seperate hits together to target HAMMER, Eli gains his next target, hoping to use his relationship with Sasha to gain information, not realizing that she is following the same purpose and grows close to discovering his secret "side-job". Justine begins to worry, however, that Sasha is growing too attached to Eli, and orders her to eliminate him. Sasha delays compliance. Our heroes personal life is further complicated by the return of his old frend Gerald Stone, a reunion that couldn't come at a worst time, as Vick leads Cardiac to the legendary Detective Francis Tork who, deep undercover, reveals vital clues to HAMMER's dealings, as well as the origin of Styx and Stone. Able to decipher his old friends' secret, Cardiac and The Badge confront the assasin duo one final time. After an epic showdown, Eli reveals himself to Gerald and seems to promise to heal Styx, only to, finally reaching his breaking point, attempt to kill the metahuman. He is stopped by The Badge, who arrests both assasins and turns his back on Cardiac. Meanwhile, Justine succeeds in garnering her brother's release, only to make him disappear, leaving her full control over HAMMER, allowing her to enter into lucrative dealings with emerging neo-tech giant OsCorp. Sasha promises full obediance in the future to avoid the same fate. She returns to attempt to repair her relationship with Eli, who looks to the future, struggling to detirmine what it holds and if his fight for justice is worth the risk of his humanity.
Conclusion
And that's it for Season 1 of Cardiac on Netflix. Season 2 promises new moral delimmas and hot button issues for Eli to face, while continuing a complicated relationship with Sasha, Vick, and the others in his life. Mr. Negative may be a good pick for the main villain, if Cloak and Dagger doesn't use him. Of course, the HAMMER plot will continue, (perhaps with Ghost as the new go-to hitman) with the OsCorp merger tieing directly into the MCU. This is a plot worthy of multiple Netflix tie-ins. And I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Styx and Stone. I'd also like to introduce Thomas Fireheart/Puma in a secon season. Lastly, Detective Tork would become a new cross-series character along the lines of Claire Temple in the current Netflix series. I hope you enjoyed this pitch! It's time Cardiac finally get his due!