Let's Talk: Luke Cage

Hello and welcome back to the Guide to Geekdom. Today I wanted to discuss with you the power man, the hero for hire, the strongest man to ever wear a tiara: Luke Cage. I think it was time that one of Marvel’s recent rising stars should get the analytical treatment (and it was a request). So let’s talk about Luke Cage.

History

I wouldn’t say that Luke Cage is one of Marvel better known superheroes, so I will go into the details of his origins. Carl Lucas was a normal man who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. In order to try and get out of jail early he agreed to take part in a scientific experiment. Just before the experiment, a dirty cop sabotaged the process in the hope that it would kill Lucas. Instead the changes to the experiment actually granted Lucas immense strength and invulnerability, and caused that section of the building to explode. Realizing he would probably be blamed for the deaths of the scientists and the cop, Lucas escaped and went into hiding. Lucas then decided to use his new powers to start up a superhero detective agency called Hero for Hire, as well as changing his name to Luke Cage and using the code name Power Man. Eventually he was able to prove his innocence in these crimes and became an Avenger.

It’s interesting to discuss Luke Cage, because he hadn’t really gained heavy popularity and recognition until relatively recently. The reason why Luke Cage starting getting popular was due to Brian Michael Bendis creating a superhero detective series starring Jessica Jones (his own creation). The book was incredibly popular, though the reason I bring this up is that Luke Cage was a supporting cast member and eventually become Jessica Jones’ husband. It was this key act that brought Luke Cage into the public eye again after having relatively nothing important happening for the character over the course of several years.

The Character

Luke Cage’s detective agency eventually got more members, with Cage usually being the leader of the team. Cage is a strong leader within superhero teams; this is something that has carried over to his time with the New Avengers. When Luke Cage first joined the New Avengers he acted as just the side character that was really strong, but when the superhuman registration act was enacted, it was Luke Cage that took over as team leader and successfully led his team through that dark time. Who would have thought that Luke Cage could be as strong a leader of the Avengers as Iron Man or Captain America?

Luke Cage is a very compassionate man. He feels for other people’s problems, it’s one of the reasons why he is such a good hero. On many occasions he has refused the money offered to him by his clients because he felt bad for their conditions. Cage has gone through hard times, and this has caused him to gain empathy toward the down trodden. Luke Cage will always fight for the oppressed because he doesn’t want anyone forced into the situation he found himself in before his transformation. The helpless need someone to defend them, and Cage is just the hero to do that.

Villains

Luke Cage suffers from a similar problem that a lot of lesser known heroes from Marvel suffer from: he has no well established Rogues Gallery. It’s sad but true. Marvel doesn’t put in the time and effort to make well established villains for new upcoming superheroes (I covered this in my Abused Super Villains post. Read that for more information). This is a major problem for setting up film franchises as film makers usually try to write the film around the concept of a main villain and what they mean to the hero. Without a well established archenemy to depend upon, a new superhero franchise could be impossible to establish, which is really a shame because I have been hoping for a Luke Cage film forever.

 If Luke Cage does have a recurring villain it is the Purple Man. In the previously mentioned Jessica Jones series, Jones was kidnapped and tortured by the Purple Man for months before being rescued by Luke Cage. She recovered from the traumatic events, but the Purple Man has been a returning threat for both Jones and her new family with Cage. The Purple Man on a regular basis threatens their family, but Cage has always had something up his sleeve to stop his mind control powers. Cage was manipulated once, and he will be damned before he or his family is manipulated again by some crazed psychopath.  

Supporting Cast

If there is one person that should be mentioned in this section, it’s not Jessica Jones, it’s Iron Fist. This superhero relationship is played down so much by Marvel, but personally I think that these two are one of the greatest Dynamic Duos in comic book lore. Marvel usually just puts them together because they’ve always been a team, but that is exactly the point. These two have been a team forever, and they should be recognized for it. They operate like brothers in arms, being constant partners who always watches the other’s back. It was their close friendship that allowed the two of them to break free of their mind control when Norman Osborn had captured them. These two heroes have both risen to social prominence due to their inclusions in the Avengers; I only hope that someday they can get their own book again.

Jessica Jones is a fairly interesting character. She has gone from superhero, to private investigator, to stay at home mom, and back to superhero all within a small timeframe. Her character has evolved from the love and support given to her by Luke Cage. It was a love that was recently written, but is incredibly strong. Everyone can feel the love and admiration Luke Cage feels for his wife and child. It’s amazing how truly well handled this relationship has been knowing the track record Marvel has for ruining good romantic relations between characters. I sincerely hope that no future writer tries to destroy this love for sales; it is one of the best relationships in comics right now.

One last thing I want to mention about Cage’s supporting cast is how he is a part of most other superhero’s supporting casts. Luke Cage has been everywhere (it happens when you’ve been a background character for too long). He has good relations with a lot of the street level heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, as well as being a helping hand in training new heroes like the latest White Tiger or the recent incarnation of the Thunderbolts. Luke Cage is an ally to everybody. If you’re in a jam expect Luke Cage to be somewhere right behind you, supporting you all the way.

What Doesn’t Work

What doesn’t work is the original comic. Like I mentioned, it does a poor job at establishing the key elements necessary for long lasting superheroes. He never had a well established archenemy or any recurring villains for that matter. He didn’t have any real supporting cast members (mind you Iron Fist didn’t become his partner until a later time period. Why, he didn’t even have an Aunt May. A well rounded superhero builds up these key concepts. Why do you think most of Spider-Man’s supporting cast is well known? I’m pretty sure most average fans could tell me that Flash Thompson was Spider-Man’s high school bully, and why, because his supporting cast was well established straight from the get go. Luke Cage had to have these things eventually added into his story and that is exactly where the problem lies, with the treatment of his character. The only thing that hasn’t been added in yet is a strong villain, sure Purple Man is a good one, but he feels more like a Jessica Jones villain than a Luke Cage one.

Another problem with Luke Cage is his costume. I’m not talking about the disco yellow with the tiara; they ditched that costume forever ago. The problem is Luke Cage has never had a costume stay for too long. He keeps shifting between what he fights crime in. Sometimes it’s his regular street clothes, sometimes it’s a yellow t-shirt with black pants, and other times it’s a yellow shirt with street clothes with a bunch of chains all over that have his name on them.  As I stated, the problem is in having a well-established hero story, part of that includes the iconic costume they fight in, when you can’t even decide what he wears to fight crime in on a regular weekly basis, you have a problem.

What Can Be Done

Luke Cage needs a major overhaul. As I have stated his story is something that isn’t especially well rounded or established. If Marvel wants to make Purple Man be a major recurring villain for Luke Cage then they should actually establish him as a real threat for Cage to face, so that actual encounters between the two aren’t incredibly one sided. If this is not done, maybe they should establish a new villain or a past villain and work that character into having a strong rivalry with Cage.

Other than that, I actually really like what Marvel is doing with Luke Cage right now. They took one of their more relatively unknown characters and have transformed him into an incredibly strong character who is the leader of multiple super teams. This is exactly how you bring the obscure out of the shadows and make them relevant with today’s comic book readers. I never would have heard of Luke Cage if it weren’t for his inclusion on the New Avengers, and ever since then he has become one of my favorite characters.

In Conclusion

Luke Cage suffers from a lack of establishment that could ultimately cause him to fall back into the unknown recesses of the Marvel Universe. Luke Cage has the potential to be one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes. A little more time taken to round out his personal character arc could change everything for him. Hopefully someday this great character will get the proper treatment a superhero deserves.