Luke Cage: Black Masculinity Across the Decades
Luke Cage originally debuted in 1972, becoming the first African American superhero to headline his own comic book. Yes, while T’challa was the Black Superhero in mainstream comics, he started life as a spinoff character of the Fantastic Four. And while Sam Wilson/Falcon followed after, he was designed to be a partner for Steve Rogers/Captain America. So, Luke Cage was designed, from the beginning, to be a solo hero with his own mythos, his own narrative, and his own agency. Through the years, Luke Cage has changed significantly, but the one thing that has not changed is his representation of how Black masculinity is perceived by the mainstream. Luke Cage, more so than T’challa, Sam Wilson, or James Rhodes, has always been a character that examines the changing tides of Black manhood. From his early 1970’s phase, inspired by Blaxplotiation films of the era, all the way to the present where he now resides as mayor of New York City. Luke Cage’s characterization has always kept a pulse on how Black men and Black boys perceive themselves.
Blaxploitation:
Luke Cage was inspired by the Blaxploitation films of the 1970’s. During this period, films that centered around Black people were growing in popularity. Films that set up Black men to meet corrupt or unjust systems with force, physicality and strength was a revelation for a lot of movie goers in the 70’s. Movies like Sweetback, Shaft and Superfly all centered on strong Black men who used their strength to make changes in their neighborhoods. Luke Cage, with his bulletproof skin and super strength, is a clear reference to this image. In the earlier comics, Luke Cage: Hero For Hire, Cage acted as a kind of strong man who was hired to take care of issues that ordinary citizens could not handle on their own. Through each of his adventures, Luke Cage was a tough talking Black man who had no fear and never stood on formalities. He spoke hard and punched harder. Strength, and specifically the strength of Black communities, was something to be celebrated during the Blaxploitation era of film. Because Luke Cage got this powers through America’s experimentation on Black bodies, Luke Cage became a metaphor for the Tuskegee Syphilis Incident. A time in American history where Black men were injected with Syphilis without their knowledge of consent. Luke Cage opened the doors for discussion on why American felt it had probable cause to harm Black bodies. According to Sharon Packer’s essay, “Luke Cage and Race-Based Unethical Medical Experiments,” Luke Cage’s comic book helped to open discussions about the Tuskegee Syphilis incident and explore other medical practices against Black men and women. And as the 70’s came to an end, so did the film craze that gave birth of Luke Cage. The image of Black men was changing into something else.
1980’s The Buddy Cop.
In the 1980’s, a new film genre took hold. The buddy cop genre where mismatched police officers would need to work together to solve a case. Normally, one cop was a by the book rule follower and the other was someone who had closer ties to the streets. During the 80’s, when Luke Cage’s solo comics were losing ground, Marvel teamed him up with Iron Fist, a comic character who had been inspired by Kung Fu films of the 70’s. The pairing would prove to be a success and Luke Cage’s comic Hero For Hire was changed to Heroes For Hire. In this new iteration, Luke Cage maintained his strong personality and his ability to get the job done, but now he was given a partner whose focus was more on spiritual pursuits. Luke Cage had now become a business partner. Granted, Luke Cage was already a successful business man before Iron Fist’s arrival. Cage created the Hero For Hire business, but what’s interesting is how (after teaming up with Iron Fist) Cage’s narratives also began to reflect the logistics of running a business. There were times in the comics where Iron Fist and Luke Cage needed to discuss and strategize and even run numbers to see if the pursuit would be profitable for them. Of course there was still punching, but there was also navigations of the business world. During the 80’s many Black Americans waded into the world of American commerce. They became business owners, managers, and ran their businesses on their own. Luke Cage, in the 80’s, represented the duality of this new venture. Of being both a business man and someone from the streets. Being a man who could handle administrative roles and still be able to handle oneself in physical conflict.
2000s
In the early 2000s, Luke Cage’s image undertook another radical change. Brian Michael Bendis, a writer at Marvel Comics, took Luke Cage and turned him into the leader of The New Avengers team. But even more so than Luke Cage being the leader in Marvel’s flagship team, Luke Cage became a family man. In 2005, Luke Cage married Jessica Jones. And frankly, the two have been one of the longest lasting (and healthy) romantic couples in Marvel’s history. The two had a daughter, Danile Cage (named after Luke’s best friend Danny). During this era Luke Cage was now a family man. Someone who cared more about maintaining his family rather than simple busting heads. In the early 2000’s many Black men had emerged as fathers (or even father figures) for the upcoming generation. Spreading knowledge about the world of business, romance, and helping younger people navigate an ever changing world. With the growth of the Black middle class, and the breakdown of certain glass ceilings, Luke Cage began to represent a middle class Black manhood that continued to flourish through the spheres of commerce, family, and education. Luke Cage showcased leadership as both the head of The New Avengers, and the head of a family.
2010’s
With the election of Barack Obama in 2009, Black masculinity had entered a sphere that most Americans would never thought possible, the Presidential Office. For two terms, Barack Obama showed an image of Black leadership, grace, and temperance that had always been at odds with how Black masculinity had been perceived centuries before. In the 2010s, Luke Cage also enjoyed a mainstream introduction through the Netflix show Luke Cage, starring Mike Colter as the titular character. Within the show Luke Cage was no longer a high talking, tough guy with a heart of gold. He was more soft spoken, did not want to draw attention to himself, and spent more time reading in his apartment than breaking heads. As the first season of the show went on, Luke Cage learned to appreciate his new home in Harlem, and grew to love the people who made it what it was. Netflix’s Luke Cage showcased a Black masculinity that both appreciated African American history and used the knowledge of the past for forge the future. Modern writers such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Cornell West have used structures of the African American past to chart a path forward and open conversations about modern complexities of African American life. And this same exploration was found in the music of Kendrick Lamar and his song “We Gonna Be Alright” that became an anthem for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Luke Cage, in the series, often wore a yellow hoodie, a tribute to the young Trayvon Martin who was shot on February 26, 2012. A lot of controversy for this action was blamed on Martin’s hoodie, some even stating that a Black man (or a Black child) walking around with a hoodie is a clear sign of danger. Mike Colter, the star for Luke Cage, even commented on the direct choice to have a bulletproof Black man wear a hoodie throughout the show in a The Root article
It’s a nod to Trayvon, no question,” Colter said. “Trayvon Martin and people like him. People like Jordan Davis, a kid who was shot because of the perception that he was a danger. When you’re a black man in a hoodie, all of a sudden you’re a criminal. That’s something we shouldn’t have to deal with, but we do. It’s a double standard. We can’t cover our head when it’s cold and raining because God forbid someone sees us and puts our life in danger. We wanted to pay homage to that—it’s not something we were shying away from.”
Through both the comic books, and the streaming program, Luke Cage celebrated this shift towards a modern Black consciousness, and the tribute to Trayvon Martin was only a small part of it. In the Netflix show, Luke Cage is seen reading the works of Walter Mosely and Ralph Ellison and fanboying over 90’s hip hop rappers such as Method Man. Luke Cage represents the dichotomous identity of Black manhood, appreciating the artifacts of both the intellectual and the street. Luke Cage never really chooses to embrace all aspects of his identity. Being an Ex-con and being a hero. And films of the 2010’s did the same thing. Get Out (2017), Candyman (2021), and Moonlight (2016) are all films that explored the multifacility of Black Manhood, and each of the men within these films never feel the need to separate their identities from their Blackness. Intersectionality begins to reign within these new narratives.
2020’s
In this new decade, Luke Cage’s stories have taken another change. 2022 was the 50th anniversary of Luke Cage’s debut comic. And since that time, he was morphed into a multitude of different identities. In the 70’s he was a Blaxploitation character, and through the years he has become, a representation of the Tuskegee Syphilis incident, a family man and a Black Lives Matter icon. In the comics books, as of the time of this writing, Luke Cage is currently mayor of New York City. He entered his hat into the race to oppose Wilson Fisk’s political ambitions. Through his tenure as mayor, Luke Cage must straddle the line between being a politician and being a superhero. It’s strange having bodyguards that insist on accompanying you, when you yourself are bulletproof, right? But this change only signals how the character continues to represent the malleability of the Black identity. Black men and Black women are capable of almost anything, and a deep exploration of our history proves that.
Final
In the modern era, Luke Cage may not have the same tenure that T’challa and the mythos of Wakanda has, and he may not have the same push to the forefront that Sam Wilson is getting with as the new Captain America, but Luke Cage’s influence is still felt throughout the eras. Cage’s multifaceted identity is proof of this face. Ironically enough, it was Cage’s existence that gave rise of DC’s Comics first Black superhero Black Lightning. Created by Tony Isabella who, after working on Luke Cage, pitched Black Lightning to DC Comics.
Regardless of outside factors, one thing does remain constant. Luke Cage has always been a character that reflects independent African American fortitude, and the flexibility of Black Manhood. Black men are capable of becoming anything, and I’m glad there is a superhero that reflects that.