Luke Cage

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For the television series, see Luke Cage (TV series).
"Hero for Hire" redirects here. For the DuckTales episode, see Hero for Hire (DuckTales
episode).

Luke Cage

Luke Cage

Art by Stuart Immonen

Publication information

Publisher Marvel Comics

First appearance Luke Cage, Hero For Hire #1 (June 1972)

Created by Archie Goodwin

John Romita Sr.

 In-story information

Alter ego Carl Lucas

Team affiliations Avengers

Heroes for Hire

Fantastic Four

Defenders

"Marvel Knights"

Thunderbolts

Partnerships Iron Fist

Misty Knight

Colleen Wing

Jessica Jones

Power Man (Victor Alvarez)

Notable aliases Power Man

Superhuman strength and durability

Abilities
Unbreakable skin

Accelerated healing factor

Luke Cage, also known as Power Man (real name Carl Lucas), is a
fictional superhero appearing in American comic bookspublished by Marvel Comics. Luke Cage
first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie
Goodwin and John Romita Sr. He was the first black superhero to be featured as the protagonist
and title character of a comic book.[1]
Created during the height of the Blaxploitation genre, Luke Cage is an ex-convict imprisoned for
a crime he did not commit, who gains the powers of superhuman strength and unbreakable skin
after being subjected voluntarily to an experimental procedure. Once freed, Cage becomes a
"hero for hire" and teams up with fellow superhero Iron Fist as part of the duo, Power Man and
Iron Fist. He later marries the super-powered private investigator Jessica Jones, with whom he
has a daughter. In 2005, writer Brian Michael Bendis added Luke Cage to the lineup of the New
Avengers, and he has since appeared in various Avengers titles, and became the leader of a
group of reformed supervillains called the Thunderbolts.
Actor Mike Colter played the character in the first season of Jessica Jones, a live-action
television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and headlined his own series, which
premiered in September 2016 on Netflix. Colter reprised his role in The Defenders which
premiered in August 2017.

Contents
[hide]

1Publication history
 2Fictional character biography
o 2.1Origin
o 2.2Superhero ties
o 2.3Power Man and Iron Fist
o 2.4Chicago
o 2.5Heroes for Hire return
o 2.6Jessica Jones and the New Avengers
o 2.7Thunderbolts
o 2.8Reforming the Avengers
o 2.9Marvel NOW!
o 2.10All-New, All-Different Marvel
3Powers and abilities
4Other versions
o 4.1Earth X
o 4.2Exiles
o 4.3House of M
o 4.4Marvel Noir
o 4.5Marvel Zombies
o 4.6Ultimate Marvel
5In other media
o 5.1Television
o 5.2Film
o 5.3Video games
o 5.4Motion comics
6Reception
7Collected editions
8See also
9References
10External links

Publication history[edit]

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire#1 (June 1972), the debut of Luke Cage; art by John Romita.

Luke Cage was created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita, Sr. shortly after blaxploitation films
emerged as a popular new genre.[2] He debuted in his own series, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire,
initially written by Goodwin and pencilled by George Tuska. The character was the
first black superhero to star in his own comic-book series,[1] which was retitled Luke Cage, Power
Man with issue #17. Cage's adventures were set in a grungier, more crime-dominated New York
City than that inhabited by other Marvel superheroes of the time.[2]
As the blaxploitation genre's popularity faded, Cage became unable to support his own series
and was paired with the martial-arts superhero whose popularity was based on a declining film
genre, the martial arts hero Iron Fist, in an effort to save both characters from
cancellation.[2] Though the series title would remain Power Man in the indicia for a while longer,
with issue #50 (April 1978) the cover title became Power Man and Iron Fist. It would remain thus
until the series' cancellation with issue #125 (September 1986). The series' final writer, James
Owsley, attempted to shed Cage's blaxploitation roots by giving him a larger vocabulary and
reducing usage of his catchphrase, "Sweet Christmas!"[2]
In 1992, Cage was relaunched in a new series, simply titled Cage, set primarily in Chicago. The
revived series updated the character, with Cage symbolically destroying his original costume on
the cover of the first issue. The series, written by Marc McLaurin, ran 20 issues. Cage received
exposure in other books at the time, including his own serial in the anthology series Marvel
Comics Presents. In the aftermath of the "Onslaught" and "Heroes Reborn" companywide
storylines, Cage was included in the series Heroes for Hire, written by John Ostrander, which
lasted 19 issues.
Subsequently, Cage was featured in the Brian Michael Bendis-written series Alias, Secret
War, The Pulse, Daredevil, and New Avengers.
In 2010, Cage became a regular character in Thunderbolts, starting with issue #144,[3] and
continued as leader of the team when the title transitioned into Dark Avengers beginning with
issue #175. Cage also reappeared as a regular character in the second volume of the New
Avengers series.[4]

Fictional character biography[edit]

Origin[edit]
Born Carl Lucas and raised in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, he spends his youth in a
gang called the Rivals. With his friend Willis Stryker, he fights the rival gang the Diablos and
commits petty crimes, often on the behalf of deformed mobster Sonny "Hammer" Caputo.[5] In
and out of juvenile homes throughout his teens, Lucas dreams of becoming a major New York
racketeer until he finally realizes how his actions are hurting his family. He seeks to better himself
as an adult by finding legitimate employment. Meanwhile, Stryker rises through the ranks of
crime, but the two men remain friends. When Stryker's activities anger the Maggia crime
syndicate, he is badly beaten in a mob hit, saved only by Lucas's intervention. When Stryker's
girlfriend, Reva Connors, breaks up with him in fear of his violent work, she seeks solace with
Lucas. Stryker is convinced that Lucas is responsible for the breakup, so he plants heroin in
Lucas's apartment and tips off the police. Lucas is arrested and sent to prison where contact with
his family is sparse due to the resentment of his brother James Jr., who intercepts Lucas's letters
to their father James and eventually leads each to believe the other is dead.[citation needed]
Lucas is consumed by rage over Stryker's betrayal and his father's supposed death, engaging in
frequent brawls and escape attempts. Eventually transferred to Seagate Prison off the coast of
Georgia, he becomes the favorite target of racist corrections officer Albert "Billy Bob" Rackham,
whose sadistic brutality ultimately leads to a demotion that he blames on Lucas. Research
scientist Dr. Noah Burstein recruits Lucas as a volunteer for a cellular regeneration experiment
based on a variant of the Super-Soldier process he had previously used to empower Warhawk.
Burstein immerses Lucas in an electrical field conducted by an organic chemical compound;
when he leaves Lucas unattended, Rackham alters the experiment's controls, hoping to maim or
kill Lucas. Lucas' treatment is accelerated past its intended limits, inducing body-wide
enhancements that give him superhuman strength and durability. He uses his new power to
escape Seagate and makes his way back to New York, where a chance encounter with criminals
inspires him to use his new powers for profit.[citation needed]
Adopting the alias Luke Cage and donning a distinctive costume, he launches a career as a Hero
for Hire, helping anyone who can meet his price. He soon establishes an office above Times
Square's Gem Theater, where he befriends film student D. W. Griffith.[6] Burstein, aware of his
friend's innocence, also relocates to New York and opens a medical clinic, assisted by Dr. Claire
Temple, whom Cage begins dating. Although Cage is content to battle strictly conventional
criminals, he soon learns that New York is hardly the place to do so. Stryker himself has become
a Maggia agent known as Diamondback and dies battling Cage.[7] Subsequent opponents
included Gideon Mace, an embittered veteran seeking a U.S. takeover; Chemistro (Curtis Carr),
whose Alchemy Gun is a weapon later used by others, including his brother after Curtis
reformed; and Discus, Stiletto, Shades, and Comanche, all criminals with ties to Cage's prison
days who face him repeatedly over the years.
Superhero ties[edit]
Although Cage has little in common with most of New York's other superhumans, an ill-
conceived attempt to collect a fee from a reneging Doctor Doom leads him to befriend
the Fantastic Four.[8] Via a later retcon, Cage also befriends Jessica Jones, a young woman
whose superhuman strength and unconventional style match his own.[volume & issue needed]During a
mission in which Cage and Iron Man track down Orville Smythe, who had duped him into stealing
an experimental starsuit from Stark International, Cage follows the example of his new peers and
takes the codename of Power Man.[9] Cage battles a rogue Erik Josten for the use of the Power
Man name, winning the right.[10]
Shortly afterward, Luke Cage begins associating with the loose-knit super-team the Defenders,
alongside whom he battles the Wrecking Crew[11] and the Sons of the Serpent.[12]Called to assist
the Defenders against the Plantman, Cage begins to complain that his participation in their group
is interfering with his paying work. Wealthy Defenders member Nighthawk solves this problem by
placing Power Man on retainer, giving Luke a steady paycheck for his Defenders activities. For
some time thereafter, Power Man serves as a core member of the Defenders. Together, they
defeat minor threats including the Eel and the Porcupine, and major menaces such as
the Headmen, Nebulon, Egghead's Emissaries of Evil, and the Red Rajah; but Cage feels out of
place in the often-bizarre exploits of the Defenders and eventually resigns.[citation needed]
Power Man and Iron Fist[edit]
Main article: Power Man and Iron Fist
Having obtained proof of Cage's innocence in his original drug charges, the
criminal Bushmaster abducts Burstein and Temple, using their safety and the hope of acquittal to
blackmail Cage into abducting detective Misty Knight, who humiliated Bushmaster in an earlier
encounter. Cage's efforts lead to a fight with Knight's boyfriend, the martial artist Iron Fist, who
had spent most of his life in the extra-dimensional city of K'un-L'un and was unfamiliar with Earth
society. Upon learning of Cage's situation, Iron Fist and Knight help him defeat Bushmaster and
rescue his friends.[13] Cleared of criminal charges, Power Man legally changes his name to "Lucas
Cage".[14] He briefly works for Misty Knight and Colleen Wing's detective agency, Nightwing
Restorations, but soon elects to join Iron Fist in a two-man team, Heroes for Hire,[15] founded by
attorney Jeryn Hogarth and staffed by administrative wunderkind Jennie Royce. Although the
streetwise Power Man and the unworldly Iron Fist seem to have little in common, they soon
become the best of friends. Cage's relationship with Claire Temple proves less durable, and he
instead begins dating model Harmony Young.[citation needed]
Power Man and Iron Fist achieve great success with Heroes for Hire, earning an international
reputation and fighting a wide variety of criminals. Their partnership's downfall begins when the
mysterious government agency S.M.I.L.E. manipulates Power Man and Iron Fist into the
employment of Consolidated Conglomerates, Inc., which eventually frames Cage for the
apparent murder of Iron Fist, causing Cage to become a fugitive.[16]
Chicago[edit]
A fugitive again, Cage breaks contact with his New York friends and relocates to Chicago,[17] but,
with Hogarth's help, he is cleared of criminal charges when Iron Fist turns up
alive.[volume & issue needed] Cage discovers that Iron Fist had been replaced by a doppelganger of the
plantlike H'ylthri race, K'un-Lun's ancient enemies during his treatment. This doppelganger's
existence and destruction at the hands of the Super-Skrull are part of a bizarre scheme
engineered by Iron Fist's enemy, Master Khan.[volume & issue needed]
Wanting a new start after his murder charge is dropped, Cage abandons his Power Man guise
and begins operating out of Chicago as the plainclothes Luke Cage, Hero for Hire; he makes
arrangements with the Chicago Spectator for exclusive reports of his adventures and frequently
works with detective Dakota North. On his first mission in Chicago, he assists the Punisher in
battling drug dealers.[18] Cage attracts the interest of the refined assassin Hardcore, an employee
of Cruz Bushmaster, son of the villain whose defeat cleared Cage's name the first time.[19] Cage
learns that Cruz, following in his father's extortion footsteps, has abducted Noah Burstein's wife
Emma to force the scientist to recreate the process that had empowered Cage. Cruz undergoes
the procedure himself, but the elder Bushmaster drains the power from his son, reversing his
near-catatonia and declaring himself the Power Master. Cage teams with Iron Fist to thwart their
plans, freeing the Bursteins while the Bushmasters apparently perish. Cage's power is
augmented further by exposure to the Power Man virus.[20]
While Cage tries to locate his surviving family members with the aid of Dakota North, his brother
keeps moving his father around to keep Cage away from them. James, Jr., is eventually recruited
by the criminal Corporation, whose power-enhancing scientist Doctor Karl Malus mutates him
into the superhuman Coldfire. As Coldfire, James, Jr., hopes to be a match for his brother, whom
he regards as a threat. Though James, Jr. works with the Corporation quite willingly, Malus has
James, Sr. held hostage as extra insurance of Coldfire's cooperation. When Cage learns the
Corporation is holding his family, he invades their headquarters and battles Coldfire. The
brothers ultimately join forces to rescue their father from Malus, and Coldfire sacrifices himself to
destroy the Corporation's headquarters.[volume & issue needed]
Heroes for Hire return[edit]

Cover of Heroes for Hire#1 (July 1997); art by Pasqual Ferry.

A few months later, Cage investigates the murder of Harmony Young and fights her killer, the
demon Darklove, alongside Ghost Rider.[21] The mystic Doctor Druid recruits Cage to serve in
his Secret Defenders against the sorcerer Malachi. Cage returns to New York and, deciding his
heart is no longer in superheroics, becomes co-owner of the Gem Theater with his friend D.W.
Griffith. Even an invitation from Iron Fist to join a new and expanded Heroes for Hire fails to
interest him; yet when the Master of the World tries to recruit Cage as a spy within Iron Fist's
team, destroying Cage's theater in the process, a curious Cage plays along. Cage joins Heroes
for Hire and serves with them for some time while reporting to the Master. Cage begins to
sympathize with the more benevolent aspects of the Master's goals, but in the end, Cage can
neither betray Iron Fist nor reconcile himself to the tremendous loss of life the Master's plans of
conquest will entail, and he helps Heroes for Hire destroy the Master of the World's plans. Cage
remains with the group thereafter, and dates a fellow member, the She-Hulk. When the Stark-
Fujikawa Corporation buys out Heroes for Hire, Cage and Ant-Man are fired because of their
prison records, and the rest of the team quits in protest.[volume & issue needed]
Cage, bitten by the hero bug once more, continues to share adventures with Iron Fist and other
heroes. Briefly resuming his Power Man identity, he is hired by Moon Knight to join an unnamed
team of street-level New York vigilantes, but mere days after he joins, the group dissolves
following clashes with the forces of Tombstone and Fu Manchu. Deciding that a return to basics
is in order, he re-establishes his Hero for Hire activities, intervening in a gang war between
Tombstone, Sonny "Hammer" Caputo, and Clifford "Clifto" Townsend,[5] and soon learns that,
despite his international fame, he is almost forgotten on the streets where he originally made his
reputation. He invests his money in a bar and sets about ridding his immediate neighborhood of
criminal elements, deciding that the business of world-saving is best left to others.[volume & issue needed]
Jessica Jones and the New Avengers[edit]
After a sexual encounter with a drunken Jessica Jones, now a private investigator, Cage's life is
briefly thrown into disarray by Jones's reaction to the incident.[22] The two make peace while
working as bodyguards for Matt Murdock.[23] Cage extends emotional support to Jones when she
is forced to revisit past abuses by the villainous Purple Man, and Cage's feelings for her
grow.[24] After Jones reveals that she is pregnant from their tryst,[25] she and Cage move in
together.[volume & issue needed] Soon afterward, Jones becomes a superhuman consultant with the Daily
Bugle.[volume & issue needed] After she is attacked by the Green Goblin during a Bugle investigation, Cage,
helped by Spider-Man, deliberately attacks Norman Osborn in order to provoke him into
revealing he is the Goblin.[26]
Months afterwards, Cage is present at the breakout at the supervillain prison 'The Raft' and
becomes a founding member of the re-formed Avengers.[27] Luke and Jessica Jones then have a
daughter, whom they named Danielle, in honor of Danny Rand.[28] Soon thereafter, he a