Luke Cage

Luke Cage
Luke Cage as depicted in New Avengers vol. 2 #1 (June 2010). Art by Stuart Immonen.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972)
Created by	Archie Goodwin George Tuska Roy Thomas John Romita Sr.
In-story information
Alter ego	Lucas Cage (legally changed from Carl Lucas)
Team affiliations	Avengers New Avengers Heroes for Hire Defenders Fantastic Four Marvel Knights Thunderbolts The Crew
Partnerships	Iron Fist Misty Knight Colleen Wing Jessica Jones
Notable aliases	Power Man
Abilities	Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability Regenerative healing factor Nigh-invulnerability Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first African–American superhero by Marvel Comics to be the main character in his own series. Stories featuring Luke Cage often relate to issues of race and class. His origin invokes criticism of police brutality and the prison system in the United States, and his 1970s stories focus on his efforts to support himself as a businessman. His creators were initially inspired by Blaxploitation cinema and subsequently by the Black Power movement. The character was intensely masculine and sexualized in his 20th century appearances, but these aspects were tempered as Cage's focus shifted to his life as a husband and father.

Cage was introduced in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972); he was the first Black superhero to star in his own regular title. His series was renamed Power Man with issue #17 (1974) and then Power Man and Iron Fist with issue #50 (1978), when Iron Fist became his costar. The series ended after issue #125 (1986), and he then briefly starred in the miniseries Cage (1992). The character was generally neglected and received little commercial sucess or broad popularity in the 1990s.

However, writer Brian Michael Bendis redesigned Cage for Alias (2001), and the character then appeared in another series titled Cage (2002) under the Max imprint. In 2004, Bendis incorporated Cage into the Avengers. He wrote Cage as a main character in The New Avengers (2004–2010), The Pulse (2004), The Mighty Avengers (2013–2015), and The Defenders (2017–2018). Other series featuring Luke Cage have been published, such as Luke Cage: Noir (2009), a new volume of Power Man and Iron Fist (2016), the comedic series CAGE! (2016), and Luke Cage: Gang War (2023).

Carl Lucas gained superhuman strength and unbreakable skin after being the subject of an experiment while in prison. Having been falsely imprisoned, he uses his powers to escape and starts a business as the Hero for Hire under the name Luke Cage. He then teams up with Iron Fist and clears his name. He marries Jessica Jones and they have a daughter together while Cage joins the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, and the Defenders. Cage runs in the New York mayoral election against Wilson Fisk and is elected mayor. Along with Iron Fist and Jessica Jones, Cage's supporting characters include his friend David Griffith and the doctor Claire Temple. His archenemy is Diamondback, a career criminal and Cage's friend-turned-enemy who caused him to be wrongfully arrested. Other recurring villains faced by Cage include Black Mariah, Cockroach Hamilton, Comanche, Cottonmouth, Gideon Mace, and Shades.

Mike Colter portrays Luke Cage in Jessica Jones (2015), Luke Cage (2016), and The Defenders (2017) in Marvel's Netflix television series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.