- "Wall Street is full of great white sharks. So no one sees a piranha coming. They're small, tenacious. So, sometimes you want to stay small. Then other times you wanna play it large!"
- ―Piranha Jones[src]
Raymond Jones, known as Piranha Jones, was a financial expert of Uptown Investments. He advised Mariah Dillard on business opportunities. Jones was captured and killed by Bushmaster as part of his plan to ruin Dillard by stripping her of her money and business. His severed head was left in a tank of piranhas.
Biography
Early Life
Meeting Mama Mabel
- "See, my mother was one of Mama Mabel's hoes. Her best one."
"You sound proud of that."
"Desiree. One of her regulars was a banker. He's big-time. You know. He promised to get her out the life. He fell in love with her hard. But that was bullshit, because he wasn't gonna leave his wife. So my mom just had me, and he stopped calling." - ―Piranha Jones and Luke Cage[src]
Raymond Jones is the son of Desiree Jones and an unnamed father, who was a wealthy banker whom had an affair with Desiree. Desiree was one of Mama Mabel's best prostitutes, who was promised by the banker to get her out of that life, but never left his wife. Raymond grew with his mother in New York, who was know working for the Stokes Crime Family, and befriended Mariah Dillard when he was kid.
Plastics Deal
Working for Mariah Dillard
- "I been knowing Mariah since I was a kid. My whole life, man. My mom was working for the Stokes. So when I started making noise on Wall Street, she was one of the first people to support me. You know, giving me clients, downtown connections."
"What did she want?"
"Money. Real money. She wanted to know more about offshore banking and stocks. The crooked legal ways white folk get down when it comes to protecting their green." - ―Piranha Jones and Luke Cage[src]
Growing up, Jones decided to make noise on Wall Street, and was given the nickname "Piranha", believing that everyone there were sharks, and no one would expect a piranha to come. When first starting in Wall Street, he found support in Dillard by giving him clients, and downtown connections. For the support, Jones would supply Dillard with "real money", and knowledge on offshore banking and stocks so she could do it herself. Jones succeeded with giving Dillard the information, and this would fuel the Stokes Crime Family with success.
Advising Mariah Dillard
- "You've already given me power of attorney, so you're insulated."
"Mark Higgins won't wanna sell that company."
"But if you can convince Mark Higgins otherwise, you'll never have to worry about money another day in your life. Legitimate millions. Nothin' to launder." - ―Piranha Jones and Mariah Dillard[src]
Piranha Jones met Mariah Dillard and Shades at the Ginny's Supper Club. With Dillard looking to move out of the crime business and got legit, he advised her to buy a controlling interest in Atreus Plastics before they sold out to Glenn Industries. Using inside information, Jones told her that Atreus had a paper-thin OLED monitor that they could roll up that only Glenn was aware of. A twenty million dollar investment could turn into billions. Jones set up a shell company in the Cayman Islands, and had power of attorney over Dillard's assets.[3]
Hiring Luke Cage
- "We went and hit it big with this Atreus Plastics merger and I'm throwing a celebration. I want to do something special. Now, anybody can go and get a DJ. Trust me, you know I know 'em. You know, D-Nice, Flex, Mark Ronson. But a celebrity superhero, that's some next-level shit right there."
"It's just taking pictures and shaking hands, right?"
"That's it. And you'll be well rewarded for your time."" - ―Piranha Jones and Luke Cage[src]
Wanting a celebrity superhero by his side, Jones met with Cage and Foggy Nelson, and admitted to them of being a fan of the hero. Cage agreed after seeing a photo of him with Dillard, and signed the contract to protect the businessman.
Protected by Luke Cage
Jones decided to go out to a party with Cage and Nelson, wanting the hero to stand guard and take pictures with him. At the platform, Jones called upon Cage to meet him there, who was confronting Hernan Alvarez before it could become a fight. Jones told the crowd that he was going to have fun by shooting Cage despite the latter's protest that a bullet would ricochet. Before he could fire the handgun, Jones was disarmed by an assailant, and being taken as Cage fought off the Stylers. Jones was saved by Cage who told him that the price of hiring a hero doubled, and the two left the party to get Jones somewhere safe.
Getting to an abandoned cinema, Cage interrogated Piranha for information the importance of Dillard and Alvarez. Jones revealed that he is responsible for Dillard's vast wealth and power, and kept under watch by Cage. Waiting out, Jones and Cage talked about their fathers, revealing that he never knew his father since he didn't leave his wife for his mother. Eventually, Cage decided to call the police for safety, but Jones was captured by Stylers who sneaked inside. Cage successfully rescued Jones from the Stylers, and decided to take him to church and ask his father for safety. Jones was left in Father James Lucas' care while Cage called Bushmaster for another fight, but this as an challenge over Piranha.
Bushmaster's Custody
- "You know Luke Cage is coming for me, right?"
"Me nah think so."
"You can't kill Luke Cage. Nobody can kill Luke Cage."
"Type faster, man." - ―Piranha Jones and Bushmaster[src]
Jones was held captive in a warehouse as McIver went to fight Luke Cage once again, with Cage being defeated and losing the challenge. Jones was asked by McIver to move Dillard's money assets, but refused due to professional integrity. Lying that he has nothing to do with the Dillard's business, McIver became aggressive, but then tried to persuade to do the right thing. Jones gave in, and type the code into the laptop, and heard that Cage was coming for Jones as McIver cackled. Piranha told Bushmaster that he couldn't kill Cage, angering McIver and telling the former to type faster. Despite giving him what he wanted, Bushmaster ordered his men to decapitate Jones and place his head on a piranha tank. [4]
Legacy
Public Execution
- "Bailey, dudes are getting murdered by fish. I think we are way past protocol at this point."
"Both of y'all think the rules don't apply. Poor Piranha was used as bait to lure a bigger fish. Hope it was worth it, hero." - ―Misty Knight and Nandi Tyler[src]
Jones' head was founded by Cage and Misty Knight, who defeated the Stylers and called the police on the situation. The two were told to leave the crime scene, with Knight being critiqued by Mark Bailey for their lack of protocol in fighting criminals.
Personality
Piranha Jones showed himself to be a crooked businessman, secretly giving Mariah information on how to do offshore stocks so that she could become a powerful woman. He showed himself to be arrogant and reckless, wanting to shoot Luke Cage at a party despite not thinking that one of the bullets would ricochet and kill someone. With his high status, he believed himself to be above it all, stating that he wanted a celebrity superhero to be his guard, thus showing off his image to the public. He was also hypocritical, as he told Bushmaster that he didn't want to hurt his professional integrity despite being a criminal. Despite his arrogance, he showed himself to be proud of his mother, as she took care of him despite being heartbroken that her lover didn't keep his promise. In addition, he also was a big fan of Luke Cage, possibly seeing him as a beacon of hope in Harlem, but showed little respect when being captured by the Stylers. That being said, he also knew that Cage was someone who was hard to kill, as he told McIver that he couldn't kill the hero.
Abilities
- "I went from taking copies of Black Enterprise from my dentist's office to having a crib and an office bigger than anything Earl Graves could ever dream of."
- ―Piranha Jones[src]
- Expert Businessman: Raymond Jones was a successful businessman in New York, making noise in Wall Street with the aid of Mariah Dillard. He was responsible for getting Mariah vast amount of money, and making her a powerful figure in Harlem.
Equipment
Weapons
- Handgun: During his party, Piranha had attempted to show off by drawing his gun and offering his guests the chance to shoot at Luke Cage, although Cage objected to the concept as he feared that the bullet would then ricochet off his body and kill somebody nearby. However, before Piranha could fire the gun, it was then shot out of his hand by the Stylers who had arrived in order to kidnap Piranha.
Other Equipment
- Luke Cage Collection: Piranha had a collection of Luke Cage, being a big fan of the Harlem hero presumably since he started his vigilantism. He would hire Luke Cage out of being a fan, and would show his collection to get him to be his guard.
Facilities
- Uptown Investments Building: Gaining a high status in the business world, Jones worked in the Uptown Investments Building, where his office had many photos of him with well known people, such as Barack Obama.
Relationships
Family
- Father
- Desiree Jones - Mother
Allies
- Stokes Crime Family
- Uptown Investments
- Lola - Employee
- Barack Obama
- Luke Cage - Idol, Employee and Savior
- Foggy Nelson
- James Lucas
Enemies
- Stylers
- John McIver/Bushmaster - Killer
- Sheldon
Appearances
In chronological order:
- Luke Cage
- Season Two
- Soul Brother #1
- Wig Out
- All Souled Out
- The Basement
- On and On
- If It Ain't Rough, It Ain't Right (mentioned)
- The Main Ingredient (mentioned)
- Can't Front on Me (mentioned)
- Season Two
Trivia
- In the comics, Piranha Jones was a criminal based in New York City who, alongside his enforcer Cockroach Hamilton, clashed with Luke Cage.