Mike has dropped on Hulu with the first two episodes and viewers will learn a lot about the famed heavy champion of the world.
Episode 1: “Thief”
The show begins with the infamous scene of Mike Tyson biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the ring, but Mike (Trevante Rhodes) stands on the stage at the Majestic Theatre wanting to take the audience back to an earlier time, his youth.
Asking the audience if they know who he is, viewers will be transported to Brownsville, New York in 1974. Mike Tyson as a kid was a far cry from the boxer of later years. Mike is picked on and bullied, whose family is poor, and no one thinks highly of the youngster. Beaten on by his peers and seeing the violence his mother endures from a string of boyfriends, Mike is living a poor life, that has little respite. Skipping school, the only joy that Mike finds is looking after pigeons.
Told he needs to fight back, Mike finally snaps, when a bully kills one of his beloved pigeons. The beating Mike instills on the kid creates a whole new child. Mike Tyson isn’t going to be pushed around. Over the blood of a bird, Mike Tyson becomes a fighter.
Flash forward, we see clips from Mike’s fight against Leon Spinks in 1988, where the announcers declare Mike a menacing predator. Everything that Tyson does is intimidating. Back to Tyson’s youth, Mike has joined a gang, and a crime spree ensues. Friends are killed, and Mike is first arrested at age 10.
He was known for having no compassion because he felt like he had no future. Seeking out his past bullies, Mike was a vicious thug bent on revenge. Each time he would be arrested, his mother Lorna Mae (Olunike Adeliyi) would come and bail him out, but not without her own form of punishment for the boy.
Mike describes how the beatings he would get from his mom was not because she hated him, but because she was trying to keep him alive. Lorna Mae would die before Mike became a big success. A regret from present day Mike.
No matter his strength with a fist, Mike gets arrested and sent to a juvenile facility. There he starts boxing and learns to pull his grades up. Impressed by his willingness to learn, Mike is introduced to Cus D’Amato (Harvey Keitel). Cus, a famed boxing promoter, is willing to take Mike on and train him.
Episode 2: “Monster”
Cus D’Amato has a plan for Mike Tyson. They will bide their time training, and when the time is right, Mike will rule like the gods. Cus tells him that to be a good fighter, one must be able to shut off their emotions.
As Mike reflects on this moment, he tells the audience that it was one of the only times that someone cared about him. To help Mike become the great fighter he is poised to be, Cus needs to approach his mother and ask her to let Mike stay with him and his family.
Lorna Mae doubts Cus and his plan for Mike. Even though Cus tries the soft approach, Lorna Mae doesn’t think Cus can do anything for Mike. To Lorna Mae, Mike is only valuable to Cus because he can do something for him, what happens when Mike is no longer useful to the promoter? She tells him to take him but warns Cus that Mike will only disappoint.
Living with Cus, Mike trains everyday but the criminal element of Mike’s youth is not forgotten. It’s hard for Mike to move beyond. Even though he is fourteen, Cus arranges a fight for Mike against a much older opponent. Mike wants to flee the arena but comes back and easily knocks the guy out.
Cus’s plan is working. They head to the junior Olympics where Mike wins the gold medal. This causes the older Mike to reflect. Here he was a gold medalist, and all his friends were dead.
Helping a friend rob a home, Mike’s pal wonders what he is doing here. He wants him to leave. Though his friend is impressed with his success, Mike finds little love at home. His mom Lorna Mae is very negative. She tells him that Cus don’t love him. Mike stands up for himself and says that he has pride and discipline now.
When his mother dies of cancer, Mike stays with Cus and his wife Camille. To Mike, he loved Cus and wanted to make him proud. At the Olympic trials, Mike loses and is heartbroken that he has let down Cus. But unlike the harsh treatment Mike is used to, Cus tells Mike not to worry and continues to show his love and resolve for Mike’s success.
For the next six years, Mike wins every fight. Cus is so invested in Mike’s future, that he takes him to a hypnotist to help his focus. While Mike is on the rise in the ring, his personal life is nonexistent, and Cus is getting sick.
The father figure that Mike always wanted apologizes for breaking his promise. Cus tells him that he won’t be around to see Mike become a champ. During his championship fight, it’s the long remembered moments with Cus that help Mike focus and become the champion.
Bill’s Perspective:
Wow, if even half of what you see in the first couple of episodes of Mike is true, then it’s incredible that Mike Tyson has achieved what he has done in the boxing ring.
Trevante Rhodes is phenomenal as Tyson. From his mannerisms, body movement, and tone, Rhodes has done an incredible job not only playing Tyson, but also bringing his spirit to the series. Trevante Rhodes is a star and easily makes viewers want to see more.
Who else could play the famed box trainer Cus D’Amato then Harvey Keitel. The man is a legend, and in his role as Cus, we get to see a different side of the actor. Keitel is not the lead, nor the tough guy, rather the father figure, and his performance is phenomenal.