Luke Cage (Character)

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## Character

"*They can lock her up for that, I won't let that happen."
"Okay, okay enough, she saves you, you save her, then she has to save you again and neither one of you wants to be saved right?*"
—Luke Cage and Claire Temple[src]

**Luke Cage** is a character on Marvel's *Jessica Jones* and *Luke Cage*. He first appears in the first episode of the first season of *Jessica Jones*. He is portrayed by starring member Mike Colter.

## Biography

### Early Life

Luke Cage married a woman named Reva Connors. At some point Cage was involved in an experiment which granted him superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. Connors was tragically killed, seemingly in a bus accident. Believing that there was more to the case than was being revealed to him, Cage dedicated much of his life to learning more about the incident so he could find whoever was responsible.

### Luke's Bar

Cage opened a bar in New York City called Luke's, named after himself, where he employed Roy Healy as a bartender alongside him, taking great care of the bar and constantly ensuring it was as clean as possible. While working at the bar Cage tried to keep a low profile, avoiding complicated relationships and dealings with the police; he did however begin a sexual relationship with Gina, whom he had previously flirted with in the bar. As Cage looked out of his apartment window at the city one night, Gina walked over to him wearing only underwear and they had sex.

### Meeting Jessica Jones

As Cage took the trash out one night, he came across Jessica Jones looking through the bar's window and invited her inside, claiming he would make it ladies night if she agreed. Jones came inside and drank until all the guests and Roy Healy had left; Cage and Jones both avoided questions about their personal lives, although Cage learned that Jones was a private investigator. They both flirted with each other and Jones worked out that the bar was special to Cage.

When Cage asked Jones what she wanted, it did not take long until they were both upstairs in his apartment having sex. Due to his great strength, Cage felt the need to apologise when he feared he had hurt Jones, but she pushed him to continue. Once they were finished, they both lay silently on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Jones got up and went into Cage's bathroom for a while; when she returned, she hastily put on her clothes and left while Cage sat on the edge of the bed, only telling him that she was sorry without explaining why.

#### Exposed Secrets

Two police officers came into Luke's to speak to Cage; they revealed photographs taken by Jessica Jones and asked him about her, as she was being investigated as part of a homicide case. Once they had gone, Jones arrived and tried to explain herself to the angered Cage, claiming she had been hired by the suspicious husband of Gina. Jones admitted that she should not have slept with him and Cage told her to leave and not come back.

Cage was later visited by Gina who tried to flirt and have sex with him, but Cage refused as he did not wish to get involved with liars. She argued that she had never had a chance to lie to him but Cage explained he did not get involved with married women either. Gina claimed that her husband did not care and their marriage was over, but Cage informed her that her husband had hired Jones to investigate her affair. Although Gina claimed she did not believe him Cage told her to go home and ask her husband herself.

#### Discovering Jessica Jones' Powers

Gina's husband Andre came into Luke's that night to confront Cage, bringing a group from his rugby teammates to attack him. While Cage fought them off, he was joined by Jessica Jones who had come to help. Cage witnessed Jones throw men twice her size across the bar with ease, while Cage soon knocked out all the men. When Andre tried to stab Cage in the neck, his unbreakable skin saved him and he ordered Andre to return home.

Knowing that Jones' strength was superhuman, Cage went to her apartment to confront her about seeing her throw men across his bar with one hand, although she tried to claim it was adrenaline. Cage however insisted she was enhanced and admitted that he knew she had seen he was too. To demonstrate his powers, Cage picked up a nearby buzzsaw and pushed it against his stomach, causing sparks to fly off but not cutting his skin. As Jones touched his skin, Cage told her that she could not fix him as he was unbreakable.

Sexually excited by the idea of finding another enhanced person, Cage and Jones began taking off each others clothes while testing each other's strength, with Jones proving herself to match Cage. As the pair had sex against the wall, they would accidentally break various parts of the apartment due to their over enthusiasm. Jones at one point told Cage to put her down as she spotted her neighbour Ruben watching them from the hallway as his sister Robyn was complaining about the noise.

The couple went out into New York City to have some dinner together and discuss their gifts, with Jones asking how unbreakable he was, but Cage made it clear he was unsure about testing it. Jones revealed the extent of her strength and claimed she could not fly but jump incredibly high. Cage asked how many more gifted people she believed there were apart from them and the Avengers, Jones revealed she knew of one man. They talked about becoming heroes and Jones revealed she had tried, Cage then teased her about costumes.

They decided to go back to Cage's apartment and have sex again, even going as far as to break his bed. It was agreed that Jones would stay with him that night and she went to brush her teeth and wash her face, however Cage found Jones in his bathroom looking at a photograph of Reva Connors he kept. Believing that the photograph had upset and confused Jones, Cage revealed that Connors had died in a bus crash years earlier. Jones said she was sorry and decided to leave, claiming she had to work, leaving Cage alone.

#### Relationship Troubles

While cleaning up Luke's, Cage was visited by Jessica Jones who apologised for disappearing the night before, although Cage admitted he perhaps should not have mentioned his dead wife. Jones asked if Cage knew any drug dealers and he jokingly asked that as he owned a bar in Hell's Kitchen what did she think, Jones revealed that she needed a specific drug used to knock people out for surgery, but Cage admitted that he could not help there.

Instead of talking they decided to go upstairs and have sex. When they were finished and catching their breath, all Cage could think to say was Sweet Christmas. Cage pushed Jones to tell him what she was hiding from him, jokingly asking if it was a racial issue. Jones revealed that her mind was focused on a man with the power of mind control, Cage questioned if this had anything to do with the Hope Shlottman case he had been questioned about. Although Cage remained skeptical, Jones revealed that she believed Shlottman was telling the truth.

A few hours later Jones knocked on Cage's apartment door with a look of sadness and cuts across her forehead but refused to reveal what she had done. Although Cage invited her inside, she refused, claiming that she could not come in ever again as she believed it was not right, although Cage argued that it felt alright to him. Jones told him that she had unfinished business and he had already suffered enough because of her, however Cage became convinced she was leaving because of the drama surrounding his dead wife and told her to do what she needed to do.

#### Seeking Answers

Having heard that Serena Grier had information about Reva Connors' death, Cage agreed to help her find her brother Antoine Grier in exchange for the information. Cage at first confronted the man to whom Antoine owed money, but after a brief fight learned that Grier had disappeared without making payments. Cage travelled to the Alias Investigations Office to ask for Jessica Jones' help, offering to pay her; however he was confronted by an agitated Malcolm Ducasse, who threatened to fight him as he believed he had been Kilgraved.

Jones refused to help, offering him the name of another Private Investigator named Angela del Toro, but Cage insisted that he wanted her help, claiming that he needed the job handled fast. Once Jones agreed to help Cage explained the situation. Although Jones tried to hand his money back to Cage, claiming she owed him a favour, Cage insisted that she take it as he was not asking for a favour and she told him to text him information so they could explore Grier's home the next day.

The next day Cage went to Antoine Grier's Apartment and began exploring until Jones arrived a few hours late, which he confronted her about. He and Jones looked through Grier's possessions to try to find any clues about where he might have gone as Jones proved he had not been kidnapped due to his toothbrush also being gone. While going through his trash, Jones worked out that he liked to enter competitions and called his phone claiming he had won an Xbox, while Cage watched, amused.

As they stepped outside while discussing Jones' techniques, Jones confronted two men she believed had been sent by Kilgrave; however Cage recognized them as the men working for Len Sirkes whom he had beaten up the day before. They were then confronted by Sirkes himself who claimed not to have taken Grier, noting that he was also looking for him; Cage then proposed a deal where they work together to find him, despite Jones' protests. Once the deal was made, Cage gave Jones a lift home on his motorcycle, noting she had to wear a helmet as it was the law.

#### Understanding Jones' Past

Once they were outside Jessica Jones' Apartment Building, Cage asked what was next in finding Antoine Grier and Jones told him she would dig up information online and promised to call if she found anything. As Jones went inside, Cage was confronted once again by Malcolm Ducasse who wanted to know if his interests in Jones were his interests. Confused, Cage tried to leave but was asked about being approached by a British man, Cage simply told him not to get attached to Jones and was told she had been to hell and back.

Cage and Ducasse spoke in length about Kilgrave and Cage learned that Jones had spent months under his control being raped and mentally tortured. Mortified, Cage returned to the Alias Investigations Office and tried to apologise for not believing her when they had discussed Kilgrave's control over Hope Shlottman, promising to try and make it right. Opening the door, Jessica Jones told him he had not done anything wrong and she was a piece of shit; however, Cage told her that despite her flaws, she was not a piece of shit.

#### Locating Antoine Grier

Having spent the night together, Cage spent the morning watching Jessica Jones sleep, They discussed whether or not Jones would still be facing Kilgrave alone and she insisted she had to. They were interrupted when a man claiming to be Antoine Grier phoned to pick up his Xbox. Before they went to find him, Cage confessed to barely knowing Serena Grier and he was doing this as she had proof that Reva Connors' death was not an accident, telling Jones about what had happened after her death.

Cage and Jones met up once again to look for the man claiming to be Grier, with Cage buying coffee first. They soon spotted Victor storming out and followed him as he got into a taxi. They tracked him down to an abandoned warehouse where Jones gained them entry by ripping off the lock on the door. Once inside they discovered a massive stockpile of marijuana. As they explored the warehouse they were confronted by Victor's dogs Myers and Krueger, Cage decided to calm down the dogs while Jones looked for Grier, noting that sharp teeth were his specialty; while Jones was gone Cage subdued the dogs without hurting them.

Cage later found Jones with Grier, fighting Len Sirkes and his men. Cage joined the fight and easily knocked back Sirkes' men while informing Jones that he had not harmed Myers and Krueger. As Jones protected Grier, Cage fought Sirkes one on one before being put in a headlock and hit repeatedly in the chest by Sirkes' men, Cage then watched in disappointment as Jones escaped from the warehouse with Grier, leaving him to fight alone. However it did not take long for Cage to overpower them all.

Having caught up with Jones at Serena Grier's Apartment where she was handing over Antoine, Cage confronted Jones about leaving him. Grier handed over a file with the information Cage wanted, but Jones tried to convince him that it may not be worth finding out as it would only hurt him and those around him. Cage ignored her pleas and opened the file, learning that the bus driver, Charles Wallace, was drunk when he caused the crash that killed his wife and was still working. Furious, Cage stormed out to hunt down Wallace.

#### Revenge

Cage tracked down the bus Charles Wallace drove and boarded it, sitting at the back and riding all the way to the end of the line and waiting for everyone else to depart. Cage then asked Wallace if him before revealing that he was Reva Connors' husband, Wallace tried to express his grief and explained he had been sober since the accident. However in a fit of rage Cage threw him through the bus' windshield.

As Cage prepared to kill Wallace, Jessica Jones arrived and begged him not to; however, Cage proved unstoppable. Jones then revealed that Wallace did not kill Connors, but she did while under Kilgrave's control. Cage pinned Jones against the bus and told her to shut up, but she revealed she had hit her so hard her heart stopped. Enraged, Cage hit the bus and dented it before questioning why she had slept with him and if she would have ever told him the truth. When Jones did not answer Cage told her she was a piece of shit and left.

### Controlled by Kilgrave

Still furious about having been lied to, Cage followed Jessica Jones to a restaurant. However to his shock, instead of Jones leaving, he spotted Kilgrave running out with Albert Thompson. Enraged at seeing the man who had ordered his wife's murder, Cage charged at Kilgrave intending to kill him. Kilgrave however spotted him just in time to order him to stop before asking who he was; Cage revealed his name and that he had come to kill him.

Kilgrave ordered Cage into his car where he tried to convince Cage that he was not the one to blame for Connors' death, arguing that he could not allow her to go free after learning his origins and getting the video footage from her. When Kilgrave asked how Cage knew Jones, he admitted they had been lovers; Kilgrave rudely compared it to a pity shag, but Cage made it clear they had something special. Kilgrave demanded to know if Cage was responsible for ruining his chances of having a relationship with Jones, but Cage insisted that it was Kilgrave's fault alone.

In an attempt to horrify Jones, Kilgrave ordered Cage to return to Luke's and blow it up as soon as Jones arrived. Cage did as instructed; despite desiring to stop, he was unable to break free of Kilgrave's power. As soon as Jones came into view, Cage set the gasoline alight and his bar exploded. However due to his unbreakable skin, he was able to walk out safely, despite much of his body being aflame. Jones ran to his aid and managed to put the flames out. When the police arrived, the pair hid and Jones asked exactly what Kilgrave had told him to do. Cage informed her what had happened and confirmed he had not been ordered to die.

#### Tricking Jessica Jones

The couple went back to the Alias Investigations Office where Cage questioned why there were bullet holes and destroyed walls as if a fight had taken place. Cage admitted he had been a fool for trying to attack Kilgrave alone but Jones insisted he was not. Jones told Cage that when she had been forced to kill Reva Connors, it had broken his control over her. Cage told Jones he wanted to help kill him, but Jones insisted he wait at least twelve hours until Kilgrave's power wore off.

The next morning Jones told Cage to stay at his apartment, but he insisted he was free of Kilgrave, despite knowing that Kilgrave was indeed still controlling him. Jones suggested that he leave now, open a new bar and forget about her however Cage told her that he wanted to see Kilgrave dead and vowed to stay by her side until that happened, believing him, Jones allowed him to come along. As they were leaving they were discussing how Kilgrave would be using Albert Thompson to increase his power when they came across Malcolm Ducasse who was moving out to get away from Jones.

Cage and Jones travelled to the room she had first found Kilgrave's parents in the hopes to find a clue. They were confronted by the landlady who rudely told them they could not have Thompson's belongings as she had sold them when he failed to pay his rent. The woman told them about some chemicals he had left, but when she tried to make Jones pay for them, Cage easily picked her up and moved her aside. They worked out that one of the chemicals came from a nearby lab and decided to investigate it.

While Jones investigated the lab, Cage stayed back in case Kilgrave was inside. Jones informed Cage that Kilgrave had been in there and had forced the staff to work nonstop, causing many to urinate themselves and faint. Cage told Jones about how he had felt moments before destroying Luke's for Kilgrave, telling her that he was wrong to blame her for Reva Connors' murder. Following the orders Kilgrave had left him, Cage told Jones that he forgave her and would tell her everyday for as long as she needed to hear it.

Eventually a ZALK employee left with a bag of chemicals. Believing he would take them to Kilgrave, Cage and Jones followed him to Central Park. When they arrived however Jones told Cage not to follow incase he became controlled by Kilgrave. Cage soon learned that Kilgrave had taken the chemicals before Jones could catch him, forcing the man to commit suicide. Returning to the Alias Investigations Office, Cage comforted the disappointed Jones. They soon discovered Trish Walker outside her apartment, Cage left the two friends to talk, noting that his wife was a big fan of Walker's show.

Cage called Roy Healy and informed him of Luke's destruction until Jones returned. Jones went to her asked and pulled out a yellow USB stick which she told him belonged to his wife, explaining that there was footage of experiments on children, including Kilgrave. Once he had had a shower, Cage told Jones about how he had tested his powers like Kilgrave might be, noting that Kilgrave would have played it off a magic act, this led them to discover a case of an entire room of parties being ordered to shut up by Kilgrave.

#### Cage vs. Jones

The pair travelled to the hall where Kilgrave had been to try and get some answers, once inside they spoke to the Venue Manager where they claimed to be investigating underage drinking to get to the CCTV footage. The Manager reluctantly tried to look up the footage but found it had been erased. Looking at the screens they discovered that Kilgrave had arrived and was calling Jessica Jones to the stage, Cage was ordered to leave with the Manager while Jones confronted him.

However, following the orders given to him by Kilgrave, Cage returned to the room once Jones had learned the truth and hit her across the room with a single punch, while Kilgrave gloated about having increased his powers to last twenty four hours rather than the original twelve. Cage claimed that he could never forgive Jones for killing Reva Connors but Jones insisted that it was not him talking but Kilgrave. Kilgrave then claimed that Jones had failed his test and so he ordered Cage to kill her, which he attempted to obey without hesitation.

Cage and Jones engaged in a fierce some fight, while Jones tried to hold back and reason with Cage, Kilgrave's power over Cage proved too strong for him to be stopped. Equally matched in strength, Cage threw Jones across the room and protected Kigrave from her while the fight went through the building's many corridors and rooms. When Jones resorted to hiding, Cage soon found her and ripped her through a wall, although Jones' words began to break Kilgrave's connection, it proved too strong to stop Cage.

As Jones ran outside to escape, Cage followed and confronted by a police officer, Cage threw the man outside, knocking him and his partner out. Jones attempted to defend herself with the police car's door, but Cage continued to hit it repeatedly before throwing it aside, Jones then tried to hide in the door but Cage pulled her out. As Cage stood over her to deliver the finishing blow, Jones aimed a shotgun at his chin, begging him to stop. Cage told her to do what she needed to and she fired the gun, knocking Cage out.

#### Recovery

Jessica Jones rushed Cage to Metro-General Hospital, where doctors continuously tried to inject an IV into him, which failed each time due to his unbreakable skin. Claire Temple stepped in but still failed, allowing the doctors to confirm that he had super-powers. Knowing that Cage's life was in danger, Jones managed to convince Temple to help her take Cage back to Alias Investigations Office where she could treat him in secret. As Temple took Cage outside, Jones was forced to deal with an attack from the vengeful Kilgrave who continued to try and hunt her down and kill her.

Temple managed to get Cage back to Jessica Jones' Apartment Building without being seen and lay him on Jones' bed until Jones herself returned, having escaped the hospital. Although at first he appeared stable in his condition, without warning Cage began to have a seizure, but it was quickly established that an injection to stabilize him seemed to be impossible. As Jones walked in, Temple ordered her to use her strength to hold him still so she could drain the cerebral spinal fluid; with no other choice, Temple injected Cage through his eyeball, successfully stabilizing him.

Having been asleep for the last few hours, eventually Cage awoke, sore and confused about his situation. Temple told him that Jessica Jones had killed Kilgrave and Jones was in the process of being arrested. Knowing that Jones should not go to prison for killing Kilgrave, Cage tried to get up so he could help her, but Temple told him otherwise as it would only result in his own arrest. Cage asked Temple for a glass of water to help him recovery, but as soon as she went, Cage left the building.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Superhuman Strength**: During a fight in his bar where different opponents attacked him, Cage effortlessly tosses them from him and overpowers them. He is able to punch through solid walls and dent the auto body of motor vehicles with these punches. He is able to match Jessica Jones in strength, and push her back when she attempts to subdue him.
* **Superhuman Durability**: Cage has extremely durable skin. He demonstrated it to Jones using a circular saw against his own stomach, and he survived both being stabbed in the neck and being shot with a shotgun. A doctor's drill began to smoke when drilling against his skin. Cage's skin is also fire resistant as demonstrated by him being able to withstand a point blank explosion and not feel a thing when Cage emerged from the bar while on fire. Nevertheless, Cage is susceptible to internal injuries and treating such injuries are complicated by the fact that Cage's extremely durable skin makes invasive surgery practically impossible. Cage could be at risk of dying from untreated internal fatal conditions, such as hydrocephalus. A hypodermic needle managed to pierce his eyeball, however, meaning that some parts of him are not as durable.

### Abilities

* **Expert Combatant**: Cage resorts to using his strength while fighting, but he is nevertheless a skilled combatant, using brawling and street fighting techniques, especially when he does not want to injure his opponents.

## Appearances

* *Jessica Jones*
	+ *Season One*
		- *AKA Ladies Night*
		- *AKA Crush Syndrome*
		- *AKA It's Called Whiskey*
		- *AKA 99 Friends* (mentioned/photograph)
		- *AKA You're a Winner!*
		- *AKA Top Shelf Perverts* (mentioned)
		- *AKA I've Got the Blues*
		- *AKA Take a Bloody Number*
		- *AKA Smile*
* *Daredevil*
	+ *Season Two*
		- *New York's Finest* (mentioned)
* *Luke Cage* (unreleased)
* *The Defenders* (unreleased)

## Trivia

### Comic Notes

* In the comics, Luke Cage had Claire Temple as a girlfriend, but eventually married Jessica Jones; he founded "Heroes for Hire", a superhero protection agency, with his best friend Iron Fist. He was also wrongly convicted to Seagate Prison, where illegal experiments gave him his powers.

### Behind the Scenes

* Quentin Tarantino was once set to direct a film based on Luke Cage after the release of *Reservoir Dogs*. Tatantino wanted Laurence Fishburne for the role, but abandoned the film due to studio insistence that Wesley Snipes be chosen instead.
* Idris Elba expressed interest in portraying Luke Cage before Mike Colter was cast.
* Eric Thomas Wilson, who portrayed HYDRA Guard in the *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* episode *Bouncing Back*, campaigned to portray Luke Cage in 2011 with a video pitch.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 *Jessica Jones: 1.03: AKA It's Called Whisky* Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "JJ103" defined multiple times with different content
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 *Jessica Jones: 1.06: AKA You're a Winner!*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *Jessica Jones: 1.01: AKA Ladies Night*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Jessica Jones: 1.02: AKA Crush Syndrome*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 *Jessica Jones: 1.12: AKA Take a Bloody Number*
6. ↑ *Jessica Jones: 1.11: AKA I've Got the Blues*
7. ↑ *Jessica Jones: 1.13: AKA Smile*
8. ↑ That time Quentin Tarantino wanted to make a Luke Cage movie
9. ↑ Idris Elba On 'Mandela,' James Bond And Why He Wants His Own Superhero Movie
10. ↑ Avenger's Luke Cage