Luke Cage

Latest revision as of 04:56, 19 June 2024

Luke Cage in Luke Cage: Gang War v1 #1.

Luke Cage is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Carl Lucas in Hero for Hire v1 #1.

Carl Lucas was a male human born as the son of Esther Lucas. (Cage v1 #15) He also had a younger brother named James Lucas, Jr.. (Cage v1 #3)

He often worked on behalf of a deformed crimelord by the name of Sonny Caputo who was known in the underworld as the Hammer. During this time, Lucas went in and out of juvenile homes throughout his teenage years where he dreamed of becoming a major New York racketeer but came to see that his actions were harming his family. This resulted in him looking to better himself as an adult and finding legitimate employment. (Cage v2 #3)

Whilst in prison, he came to hear on the news of Wakanda revealing its existence to the world. (Rise of the Black Panther v1 #3) He came to be enamoured at its ruler and king the Black Panther T'Challa as he saw a black man who was free which was something Lucas had wished he had in his life. (Black Panther v4 #10)

Hero for Hire

Starting his Hero for Hire business, he looked to grow it by targeting Diamondback's rackets where he offered a protection fee to neighbourhood businesses against the local crime syndicates. This led to Diamondback's men attempting to kill him but their guns could not hurt Cage who easily dealt with them. The entire incident was seen by a nurse named Claire Temple who initially looked to treat Luke's injuries but was amazed to find he had no wounds. She convinced him to follow her to her clinic as she would treat his bruises where they found the storefront clinic to had been trashed. Offering to help, he moved a large cabinet that had been thrown on her colleague where Luke was surprised to find it was Dr. Burstein. Afterwards, he looked for an office for his business leading to him choosing theatre owned by Dave Griffith. It was then that Cage learnt that Diamondback's men had kidnapped Claire with Luke looking to confront the villain on a rooftop. Stryker attempted to use specially created knives that he threw at Cage that had a different effect. Their fight though ultimately led to Diamondback falling through the rooftop window into a room full of explosives where one of his knives accidentally detonated thus killing him. (Hero for Hire v1 #2)

Luke was next hired by veteran Owen Ridgely who had learned about Col. Gideon Mace, an embittered veteran who planned revenge on the US government. Mace enlisted disgruntled veterans, to paralyze Manhattan for a day to distract the cops. However this was a decoy as he planned to attack and rob Wall Street. Ridgely was murdered by Mace's men so he hunted down Mace and attacked his hideout, but when Mace tried to flee in a helicopter, Luke caused it to crash into the Hudson River. (Hero for Hire v1 #3) After a ghostly attack at the Gem Theater in the middle of the night, Luke was confronted by Daily Bugle reporter Phil Fox who was interested in doing a piece about Cage. He refused but that only furthered Fox's interest in the Hero for Hire. Luke was next hired by Jasper Brunt to investigate the 'Phantom of 45th Street'. In investigating, Luke learned that the Phantom was really Armand Lorning, the son of Brunt's former business partner. The two men fought but they fell out the window to their deaths. (Hero for Hire v1 #4)

Luke had an appointment with a man named Frank Jenks in the upper balcony of the Gem Theater. Luke arrived to find two thugs beating on Jenks. He managed to fight off the attackers but not before Jenks was stabbed. Luke went to the lobby to call Jenks' wife to inform her of his death and then placed a call to the police. Returning to the balcony, Luke was shocked to learn that Jenks' body had already been taken away by an ambulance. Luke made a vow to Jenks' wife to find his body. Jenks' body had been taken by members of the Rat Pack, a group of criminals who use fake ambulances to rob dead people, working for Black Mariah, an obese crime lord. Luke tracked the ambulance back to a warehouse on 17th street. He noticed an ambulance pull out of the warehouse but once the driver spotted Luke he turned around and quickly drove back inside. Suspicious, Luke went in after him, fully expecting an ambush. His suspicions were confirmed when he was attacked by Mariah's men. Luke pretended to get knocked out and was dragged before Black Mariah herself. Luke sprung back into action and beat up his captors. Mariah attempted to shoot him but the bullets bounced off Luke's unbreakable skin. Mariah tried a different tactic and lunged at Luke, using her weight and enormous size to her advantage. Reluctant to hit a woman, Luke braced himself against a wall and let Mariah run into it. Thinking herself bested, Mariah tried to flee on a speedboat. Luke jumped from a gantry and landed on the boat, capsizing it and leaving Mariah floating in the water leading to her arrest. (Hero for Hire v1 #5)

When the Thing lost his superpowers, Luke Cage was hired by Mr. Fantastic to replace Ben Grimm's spot on the Fantastic Four. (Fantastic Four v1 #168)

Power Man and Iron Fist

Cage

He later came to be recruited by Nick Fury alongside other superheroes where he looked to depose Latverian ruler Lucia von Bardas after it was discovered she was financing a number of technologically-based supervillains within the United States. (Secret War v1 #2)

New Avenger

After the incident, he was at the hospital with Jessica when he was approached by Captain America who offered him membership in the New Avengers. He agreed but wanted his voice to be heard in the team and that he wanted to apply them in different ways with Rogers agreeing. (New Avengers v1 #3)

On the night before the Superhuman Registration Act, Iron Man and Carol Danvers visited his home to encourage Cage along with Jessica to sign the law otherwise it meant being unregistered was illegal with his being grounds for an arrest. Luke opposed registration and decided that he would not sign the act leading to his two former allies departing. Jessica and their daughter Danielle were sent away to Toronto whilst Cage stayed behind as he decided to defend his home. The next day, the home was attacked by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Capekiller agent squad that had come to arrest Luke Cage with him fighting back. He was swarmed by agents when the neighbourhood decided to support him and began to attack the armed Capekillers. The tide was only turned when Captain America and his Anti-Registration forces arrived on the scene to fight off the S.H.I.E.L.D. squad. Afterwards, Cage joined the Anti-Registration forces where he told Maria Hill to prepare for the revolution as he went on the run with his allies. (New Avengers v1 #22)

He later decided to make a deal with Director Norman Osborn to help interrogate Skrull prisoners to find the whereabouts of his kidnapped child. Osborn agreed to help where he tortured and killed captured aliens who died at the hands of his Thunderbolt operatives until they revealed a location. This saw Cage arrive at the site where the Jarvis impersonator arrived who begged to be allowed to leave Earth alongside his compatriots in exchange for the child. Luke agreed and baby Danielle was handed back but the Jarvis Skrull was killed by Bullseye. It was then that Luke met with Osborn as part of their deal but Cage attacked the Thunderbolts allowing for Jessica Jones along with their baby to escape whilst he stated that he owed Norman which was why he did not attack the Director. He then escaped and rendezvoused with the other New Avengers as they went into hiding to escape Norman Osborn who headed the new peacekeeping organization that targeted unregistered superheroes. (New Avengers v1 #49)

Barton later decided that the team needed some structure and leadership with the position being offered to Cage who refused where he suggested that Clint had the experience to lead the New Avengers. As a result, a vote was called and Clint was chosen to be team leader whilst Carol stayed as his second-in-command. (New Avengers v1 #51)

The team later came under attack from the Hood's gang after he was missing and leadership fell to Jonas Harrow who activated a Power Drainer device that removed the abilities of the New Avengers. (New Avengers v1 #56) Cage's body went into cardiac arrest leaving him in incredible pain and his life in danger when the heroes managed to escape. They took him to the hospital where the Night Nurse operated but she was unable to operate on him due to his invulnerable skin and the only hope for him was to use the Power Drainer to make him powerless so that they could medically intervene. To save his life, Luke surrendered to the Iron Patriot forces in the hope that Osborn would help him medically so that his life could be saved. (New Avengers v1 #57) He left the building and willingly surrendered to the H.A.M.M.E.R. forces that had come to arrest him allowing for the other New Avengers to escape. Jonas Harrow then performed the surgery that helped save Cage's life. (New Avengers v1 #58) He was transferred to the H.A.M.M.E.R. Helicarrier where he was placed under arrest but was offered the chance for his wife and daughter to remain free if he gave up the New Avengers. Meanwhile, the New Avengers launched their operation in freeing Cage where he was taken from the Helicarrier and brought back to their secret hideout. (New Avengers v1 #59)

In the aftermath, Steve Rogers looked to create a new incarnation of the Avengers to help protect the world. Cage, however, hesitant at the idea as he noted the events that occurred that led to the Civil War. Steve then decided to allow Luke to head his own Avengers team that could operate from Avengers Mansion with him being free to choose his own members. (New Avengers v2 #1) They experienced a disturbance when the Eye of Agamotto appeared leading to Luke being possessed by a force looking to claim the mystical relic that had similarly taken control of Doctor Strange and Daimon Hellstrom. (New Avengers v2 #2) This was until Iron Fist took the Eye whereupon Danny Rand vanished leaving the Avengers having to face demonic entities from a dimensional tear in the sky. (New Avengers v2 #3)

Following the recent crises, Cage was convinced by Jessica Jones that the life of a superhero was dangerous for their daughter. Thus, he decided to quit the team and sell the mansion but promised that he would aid the other heroes when called but that he had priorities to his family. (New Avengers v2 #31)

Thunderbolts

Warden Cage in Thunderbolts v1 #168.

In the aftermath, Steve Rogers came to speak to Luke Cage about being the head of the Thunderbolts program. This was because he felt that Cage could help turn around some of the criminals at the Raft and potentially even help them become superheroes. Luke then spent time in the office of the warden at the Raft as he became acquainted with the profiles of the in-mates. During the meeting, he was contacted by Professor X who requested Cage take on his half-brother the Juggernaut for the Thunderbolts team and took full responsibility for him. Hank Pym also lent a hand by introducing Luke to the Man-Thing who could serve as a mobile transportation system for the team. (Thunderbolts v1 #144) His first act for the team was a test where he made it appear that he was incapacitated by Baron Zemo who looked to claim the Thunderbolt members for himself. Only Crossbones would eagerly accept the jailbreak whilst the Ghost uncovered the deception. Ultimately, the test was not to see who was loyal on the team but rather to try the prison's new nanite control system. These allowed any guard to be able to incapacitate any prisoner at anytime regardless of range with Fixer highlighting its effects on Crossbones. With that done, Cage went to formally meet the Raft's warden namely U.S.Agent John Walker. Their first mission was to deal with escaped Troll prisoners that escaped from the city of Asgard's prison's after it was destroyed. Several of the creatures escaped into the wilderness outside Oklahoma where Cage at first struggled to keep the Thunderbolts in line. (Thunderbolts v1 #145)

Mighty Avengers

Afterwards, Luke decided to make Jessica and Danielle his priority with him not being part of any superhero team. Instead, he looked to solve small cases and crimes alongside White Tiger Ava Ayala and Power Man Victor Alvarez. One of these led to a fight against the Plunderer with Spider-Man intervening in capturing the villain. This encounter with Spider-Man led to a discussion on whether they were doing enough for the world though Luke was content to care for his family. It was then that the world faced an invasion by the forces of Thanos which was being headed by his generals in the Black Order. Luke Cage was one of many street heroes that came to fight against the alien invaders. (Mighty Avengers v2 #1)

During Hydra's rise to power Luke, alongside Jessica, Daredevil, and Iron Fist would form the Defenders. The Defenders, alongside Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Woman would team up to take on the Army of Evil however they would end up defeated by the super villain Nitro. Luke and the rest of his team would discover that Manhattan was covered in a dome made of Darkforce energy created by Blackout whose powers were enhanced by Baron Helmut Zemo using the Darkhold. (Secret Empire v1 #0)

When news spread that Wolverine's body had been removed from an unmarked grave, Luke and Jessica joined Iron Man and Spider-Man in investigating the whereabouts of the corpse. The first lead in the group's investigation brought them to a submarine where genetic material was being auctioned off. To Luke and Jessica's shock the genetic material belonged to their daughter Danielle. (Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda v1 #1) The auction was disrupted by Mister Sinister who attacked the unidentified seller, claiming they stole the D.N.A sample of Wolverine. Luke's body was used by Jessica to plug up the hole created by Mister Sinister. (Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda v1 #2)

He was met by Vision and Doctor Nemesis as they went to investigating the presence of Cotati plants in Central Park during their invasion of the planet. (Empyre: Avengers v1 #1)

Mayor Cage

Overview

Personality and attributes

One of the Defenders in Amazing Spider-Man v4 #18.

Originally, he was known as Carl Lucas but after his time in prison and his escape where he gained abilities he changed his name to Luke Cage. (Hero for Hire v1 #1) The name was said to had derived partly from his old one whilst 'cage' was chosen as a reminder of his time behind prison bars. (Hero for Hire v1 #2) When considering a superhero name, he once thought of using the identity of Ace of Spades. (Power Man v1 #17) For a brief, he assumed the identity of the Black Avenger when displaced into the past and working alongside the Invaders where he assumed the persona of that eras superhero. (Avengers/Invaders v1 #9)

As a young boy, he regularly was scolded by his father leading to the young James Lucas believing his dad hated him. Though his mother had always assured him that his father loved him more than he could ever know. (Cage v1 #3)

After gaining his powers, he settled on the idea of using his abilities to operate as a superhero and earn cash rewards that would help him operate his day-to-day living. (Hero for Hire v1 #1)

Luke longed to get vengeance against Stryker for the death of Reva Connors. (Hero for Hire v1 #2)

To Luke, Jessica and his daughter Danielle were his entire world. (Mighty Avengers v2 #1)

The Black Panther T'Challa came to be the only man Luke Cage had ever looked up to in his life. (Black Panther v4 #10)

Whilst seemingly not liking Spider-Man, Jessica Jones said that he actually saw the Wall-Crawler as a hero and had a man crush on him. (New Avengers v1 #55)

Powers and abilities

Luke Cage in Luke Cage v1 #1.

Carl Lucas innate nobility had earned him the respect and friendship from a good number of different persons. (New Avengers v1 #17)

He was originally an ordinary human being until he took part in a prison experiment. This saw him bathing in an electro-biochemical system designed to stimulate human cell regeneration. During the experiment, an explosion occurred that resulted in Luke being given superpowers. (Hero for Hire v1 #1)

The process meant that his body gained invulnerability with it said to be as hard as steel. (Hero for Hire v1 #1) Gunshots could not hurt him and left only small bruises on his body. (Hero for Hire v1 #2)

As a result, he gained super-strength where he was able to smash through solid walls as if his fists were made of iron or steel with his knuckles not even being skinned. (Hero for Hire v1 #1) This same strength allowed him to crush a gun and easily overpower a grown adult man. (Hero for Hire v1 #2)

Cage's herculean strength allows him to seamlessly move extremely heavy objects with ease or trade blows with insanely strong extraterrestrials resulting in mild seismic activity. (Mighty Avengers v2 #2)

After gaining powers, he looked to establish a business for himself which he named Hero for Hire where he would hire out his services out to people. (Hero for Hire v1 #2)

To combat the threat of Mayor Fisk, Cage looked to challenge his authority over New York City. To that end, he ran an election campaign where he was voted in as the new mayor of the city. (Devil's Reign: Omega v1 #1)

Notes

• Luke Cage was created by Archie Goodwin, John Romita, Sr. and George Tuska where he made his first appearance in Luke Cage, Hero For Hire v1 #1 (June, 1972).
• Roy Thomas had publicly discussed the characters creation, "In 1971, when the success of the movie Shaft had reached an interracial audience, Stan Lee decided it was time to go beyond Black Panther and Captain America's partner the Falcon as a support character. I think he briefly toyed with the notion of a Falcon comic book, but probably felt the Falcon was better off where he was, and that he was perhaps not as strong a character as was needed. When he mentioned that he wanted to work up a new African-American super-hero who would be a bit different and would start right out in his own comic, he asked me for my suggestions as to the writer. I didn't feel I should do the character myself, so I suggested Archie Goodwin, although Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and others must've crossed my (and Stan's) mind. Archie, Stan, and I--with John Romita perhaps present, spent a half hour or so in deliberations within the next day or so, and each of us contributed something to the mix. Stan's was definitely the guiding hand, because he knew he wanted a super-hero who was off the beaten track, off to make a living at crime-fighting (a la a private eye), and with a different look or feel than a typical super-hero, even a Marvel one. Romita helped provide that, of course, with the outfit that was perfectly suited to the 1970s, including the chains. Stan was looking for a name for the character, and I suggested Cage, which later I realized I'd seen some time before on a list of potential character names Gil Kane had shown me and had consciously forgotten about. Archie would add the "Luke" when he did the script later. Stan wanted an untypical name for the mag, too... not a usual super-hero name, but something indicating what he was. I'd recently written an Avengers issue titled "Heroes for Hire," so I suggested HERO FOR HIRE as the title. As for powers, I suggested he be very strong and bulletproof, though bullets could cause him some discomfort by raising temporary welts on his skin, etc.... Philip Wylie's Gladiator was my main inspiration here, though Stan and I agreed that we didn't want him to have Hugo Danner's leaping abilities (which had been borrowed by Superman years before). Archie, I believe, came up with the precise escaped-innocent-prisoner concept, though Stan probably contributed to that as well. And out of that committee of three (four, counting John's concept sketch) was Luke Cage, Hero for Hire born."

Alternate Versions

• In House of M v1 #2 (2005), an alternate version of the character appeared in the world of House of M that was designated as Earth-58163. This version remained Carl Lucas where he came to be arrested and put in prison where he came to volunteer for the Super-Soldier experiments conducted on in-mates during the Mutant-Human War. However, he came to tire of the treatment he suffered where he escaped where he took control of Stryker's gang and moved them to New York City that was now known as Sapien Town after Magneto led to Mutants taking over the world. From Hell's Kitchen, he came to head a crime syndicate in Hell's Kitchen which later turned into the Human Resistance Movement and included a number of superpowered humans such as Cloak who saw Cage as a father figure.
• In Dark Avengers v1 #179 (2012), an alternate future timeline was shown that was designated as Earth-32134. On this world, a global cataclysm erupted in the nation of Sharzhad leading to most countries instituting martial law to handle the chaos. An alien form of energy was released that irradiated the world causing the mutation rate on the planet to increase bringing about the rise in the number of mutants and paranormals. In time, a form of sterility impacted the human race leading to only the mutations being able to reproduce and forcing mankind to rely on cloning. The remnants of mankind formed large metro areas that were separated by a new form of force wall technology that covered several states at once leading to the formation of Mondo Cities. In these enclaves, Captain America recruited the many super-beings to form an army of Avengers who donated their genetic material so that the cities could arm their elite enforcement. A boss system was established whereby area enforcers were granted complete authority over criminal handling. On this world, Luke Cage had a grandson was cloned to become an enforcer known as Boss Cage. He was provided a gun that responded to his commands allowing it to travel to him and rode a motor cycle with a nuclear core as he dispatched criminals.
• In Heroes Reborn v2 #5 (2021), an alternate version of Luke Cage appeared in the new Heroes Reborn reality designated as Earth-TRN852. This version came to be arrested for a crime he did not commit and after his release he became the NYPD police commissioner who was an ally of Nighthawk.

In other media

Television

• In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Luke Cage appeared in several episodes of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Christopher B. Duncan.
• In Ultimate Spider-Man, Luke Cage appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Ogie Banks.
• In Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, Luke Cage appeared in the setting of the anime television series where he was voiced by actor Ryōkan Koyanagi.
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Luke Cage made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
  • In Jessica Jones, Luke Cage made his first appearance as a guest character in the Netflix live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Mike Colter.
  • In Luke Cage, Luke Cage appeared in the Netflix live-action television series where he was portrayed again by actor Mike Colter. He came to be known by people as the Bulletproof Man.
  • In Defenders, Luke Cage appeared in the Netflix live-action television series where he was once more portrayed by actor Mike Colter.

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Luke Cage appeared as a playable character the video game where he was voiced by actor Greg Eagles.
• In Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Luke Cage appeared as a non-playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Robert Wisdom.
• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Luke Cage was a playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Khary Payton.
• In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Luke Cage appeared as a playable character in the Facebook video game with his own Dossier profile entry.
• In Marvel: War of Heroes, Luke Cage appeared as multiple playable cards in the video game.
• In Marvel Heroes, Luke Cage was a playable character in the MMORPG where he was voiced by actor James C. Mathis III.
• In Marvel Contest of Champions, Luke Cage was a playable character in the iOS video game.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Luke Cage appeared as an unlockable playable character in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor James C. Mathis III.

Appearances

• Hero for Hire v1: (1972)
• Power Man:
• Fantastic Four v1:
• Power Man and Iron Fist v1:
• Cage:
• New Avengers v2:
• Avengers Origins: Luke Cage v1:
• Cage:
• Luke Cage:
• Defenders:
• Devil's Reign v1: (2022)
• Daredevil:
• Thunderbolts:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Marvel.Com Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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