Luke Cage

The Known HIstory Of Luke Cage

The classic costume Luke Cage wore as "The Power Man."

Carl Lucas, previously an acclaimed officer in the New York Police Department, was fired from the NYPD, prosecuted for and found guilty of drug offenses he had never committed, and confined in Seagate Prison after being thus wrongly convicted. Luke's former love had been killed by gangsters when Luke's friend became involved in crime. Cage needed to get out and prove himself innocent. One of the guards of Seagate Prison was a captain named Rackham, who was a brutal man and extremely racist, and who personally hated Luke. Luke volunteered for a cellular regeneration experiment to win early parole. Luke got into the chemical bath, but found that he could not get out, as Captain Rackham had sabotaged the machine in an attempt to kill him. The machine's electrical power overloaded, and Cage broke free instead of being killed, punching Rackham through a wall, only to be gunned down and fall off a cliff. Luke found himself with steel-hard fists and a steel-hard body. Walking away from prison, he foiled a mugging and decided to become a "hero for hire." Subsequently, the charges against him were ultimately dropped and his name was cleared. After being exonerated, Cage worked for such teams as the Fantastic Four and the Defenders, eventually adopting the alternate alias of "The Power Man," before befriending Daniel Rand (see Iron Fist) to become a team called "Heroes For Hire."

Nick Fury's Secret War and Jessica Jones

After working together as bodyguards for Matt Murdock during the time when Murdock was suing the Daily Globe newspaper for claiming he was Daredevil, Luke Cage and former crusading adventuress Jessica Jones had a one-night stand which would change the flow of Cage's life drastically. While comforting Jones during a time in which she was dealing with the memories of her manipulation at the hands of the Purple Man, the couple's rapport with each other grew and Jones eventually revealed that her and Cage's one-night stand had gotten Jessica pregnant, prompting Cage to move in with Jessica.

After a while of living together, Cage was selected by Nick Fury to raid the Latverian capital to stop Dr. Victor Von Doom from mounting a technology-based terrorist attack on the United States. After the mission, Cage's memories of the war were erased and when Lucia von Bardas, former Latverian Prime Minister, attacked Cage and Jones at his home, he was unprepared for the assault, leaving him with internal injuries that put Cage in a coma, unable to be operated on due to his skin density. After surviving the aftermath of Fury's Secret War, Cage married Jones after his daughter's birth at the suggestion of Captain America, and went on to join the New Avengers, one of whose members he remained until the Civil War.

Civil War

Luke Cage, on his journey home, was beseeched by his neighborhood to protect them from the pro-Registration S.H.I.E.L.D squads. Being an adamant anti-registration super-human, he agreed. Balancing his communal and family obligations, Luke sent Jessica away to Toronto, and waited in his apartment for SHIELD. A SHIELD squad barged in with guns blazing, but the squad's ordnance was ineffective against Cage's impervious skin. The battle raged on, decimating the apartment building, and Cage had taken down many SHIELD soldiers and a lot of SHIELD equipment before he weakened, the sheer number of the soldiers tiring him out. Yet in the nick of time, a red, white, and blue vibranium-adamantium shield saved Luke from the last of the soldiers. In the quick respite, Captain America and Daredevil took Cage to join the rebellion.

After Captain America surrendered in consequence of the final battle in Civil War #7, Luke Cage took over the leadership of the New Avengers.

ARE you?

The New New Avengers

The New Avengers, now on the run from the law, hid out in Doctor Strange's Sanctum, which was disguised as a Starbucks Coffee house under construction.

Their first mission led them to Japan to retrieve Echo. While there, they fought "Elektra" and recruited the new Ronin. When they finally found Echo, Cage kicked "Elektra" in the crotch. "She" repeatedly attempted to harm him, but proved unable to do so. In the end, Echo ran "Elektra" through with a sword, and "she" fell to the floor, reverting as "she" died to "her" true form, that of a Skrull.

At the end of issue #31, Cage's baby revealed her eyes, and they proved to be like those of a Skrull, suggesting the baby, Jessica or Luke could be Skrulls.

After Spider-Woman took the Skrull impostor of Elektra to Tony Stark, the team aimed to take down a new threat. The Hood had assembled several super-villains, and all planned to steal from several banks. Luckily, the New New Avengers, led by Cage, temporarily brought a stop to that. The Hood's allies then attacked Strange's Sanctum, but Spider-Man, his spider-sense having warned him, managed to retrieve Cage's baby from the Sanctum. After he trounced the Hood's allies in cooperation with them, Dr. Strange resigned from Cage's New New Avengers, and Jessica signed up at Stark Tower.

In issue #38, Cage and Jones disputed, over the phone, about whether Jones had done the right thing. When Cage walked straight up to Stark Tower, Jones tried to talk to him. The Mighty Avengers intervened, however, and Cage told them about the Skrulls, thinking they knew, and he told them to ask their leader.

Secret Invasion

The Known Super-Human Powers Of Luke Cage

Impenetrable Skin

Initially, Luke Cage's strength was roughly in the Marvel Class 7-10 (7 to 10 ton lifting capacity) area at his maximum level, about the same as Spider-Man. A second treatment has blessed him with strength in the Class 20 range, enabling him to lift a little over 25 tons.

Luke Cage owns a jacket that is as durable as his skin, having been exposed to the Power Man Experiment. He does not wear this jacket often, however, which is the reason his shirts rip and tear.

Vital Statistics:
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 425 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Alternate Realities

Earth-8545

On Earth-8545, also known as the Legacy Planet, Luke Cage was known as Power Fist having both his own powers and Iron Fist's powers. He was one of the last heroes on earth, and a member of the Avengers. Most of this earth's heroes and villains were turned into evil techno-organic creatures, but the Exiles came to help and they got rid of the techno-organic virus. Later Power Fist joined Quentin Quire's Exiles.

Earth-2149

Earth-2149 Zombie Cage

In the Marvel Zombies Universe, Luke Cage is turned into a zombie. Luke Cage is one of the first to be infected with the virus along with Colonel America, the Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. He gets infected by encountering with the Sentry. Luke Cage is one of the few to eat the Silver Surfer and gain some of the Power Cosmic. He then gets involved in the fight with Galactus and uses his Power Cosmic energy portion to power up a machine made by Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Hulk. The beam subdues Galactus and Luke Cage fights the zombie villains alongside heroes to see who would eat Galactus. He then eats part of Galactus and gains some of Galactus's powers. He is seen with the others that ate Galactus entering an alien planet. Later on, however, he loses his hunger and finally realizes what he has done and fights against the zombies alongside Spider-Man.

Earth-58163

In the House of M Reality, Luke Cage is the leader of the Human Resistance Movement.

Earth-1610

In the Ultimate Universe, Luke Cage is a member of the Defenders and has no super-human powers.

Other media

Luke Cage makes his debut onto the video game stage in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. The powerhouse makes his first appearance a good one being one of the major playable characters either as a hero for hire; as Power Man, or most recently as leader of the New Avengers.
Luke is also a NPC in the game Spider-Man Web of Shadows.

Nicholas Cage was born Nicholas Kim Coppola and changed his last name in honor of his favorite marvel superhero.