Luke Cage

Hero for Hire, Ace of Spades, Power Man, Mr. Street-Tough, Black Avenger (Aliases)

### Relatives

James Lucas (Father)
Esther Lucas (Mother, deceased)
Joanne Lucas (Stepmother)
James Lucas Jr. (Brother, deceased)
Danielle Cage (Daughter)

### Affiliation

Defenders (Founding Member)
Heroes for Hire (Co-Founder / Former Member)
The Resistance (Former Member)

## Biographical Information

### Residence

Gem Theatre Apt 311
972 42nd Street
Harlem, New York City, NY

## Background

### 1972 - 1996: Carl Lucas

The man known as Luke Cage was originally born as Carl Lucas. He was raised on the streets of New York in the district of Harlem. He was the son of Esther & James Lucas, a retired N.Y.P.D. detective. He spent his childhood with his two best friends, Willis Stryker & Reva Connors. Alongside Willis, the eventually joined a gang called The Rivals. Together, engaged in many gang fights with the rival gang the Diablos & committed various petty thefts, often on behalf of deformed crimelord Sonny Caputo a.k.a. Hammer.

Because of his gang association & various crimes, Lucas was in & out of juvenile homes throughout his teens. He dreamed of becoming a major New York racketeer until he finally realized how his actions were hurting his family. He sought to better himself as an adult, distancing himself from the Rivals & finding legitimate employment. Meanwhile, Willis rose through the ranks of crime but the two still maintained their friendship.

Eventually, Willis' activities came to the attention of the Maggia (a.k.a. the Syndicate) & a hit was ordered on him. Luckily, Luke was there to save him when he was badly inured. Rena Conners, now Willis' girlfriend, grew fearful of his line of work & break up with him. She begins hanging with Luke more, admiring him fo getting himself out of that violent lifestyle. This created a rift between the two former friends & Willis blamed Luke for the break up. In revenge, Stryker planted heroin in Luke's place & tipped off the cops. Because of his former record, no one believed him when denied it was his & Luke was wrongly imprisoned.

Lucas becomes consumed with hatred & rage towards his former friend's betrayal. He engaged in many jail fights & made numerous failed escape attempts. He lost contact with his family due to the resentment of his brother, who intercepted his brother's letters to their father & eventually led each to believe the other was dead. Dr. Noah Burstein soon came to the prison to carry out secret medical research on experimental cell regeneration based on a variant of the Super-Soldier process. Distraught over his father's death, Luke volunteered to shorten his sentence. Dr. Noah Burstein puts him in an electrical field with a chemical compound, leaving him unattended for a moment & leads to an overload. Pushed past its intent, Luke is empowered with super strength. Using his powers, Luke escapes the prison & makes his way back to New York City. Now a wanted man, he begins going by the alias Luke Cage.

## Romantic Relationships

* Claire Temple: Girlfriend (1996 - 1997)
* Jessica Jones: On & Off (2003 - 2005); Fiancée (2005 - 2006); Wife (2006 - )

### Ratings

* **Acumen:** Unknown
* **Might:** Unknown
* **Quickness:** Unknown
* **Mysticism:** Unknown
* **Gadgets:** Unknown
* **Projection:** Unknown
* **Tactics:** Unknown
* **Battle:** Unknown
* **TOTAL:** Unknown

## Trivia

* He regularly uses the catchphrase, "Sweet Christmas!"
* His alias "Power Man" come from the term "Black Power."
* His best friend is Daniel Rand, who is the godfather of his daughter & her namesake.

## Notes

* The original character of Luke Cage belongs to the Marvel Universe.