Phantom of Gem Theater

Luke Cage spent much of his crimefighting career with an office above the Gem Theater, a movie house that specialized in old films. Soon after moving in, the Hero for Hire discovered that the building was (allegedly) haunted by the Phantom of 42nd Street (Hero for Hire #4). The phantom turned out to be two crooks in disguise.

While investigating the case, Luke Cage wore a yellow shirt that differed from his signature look. He explained that his last shirt ripped during his previous adventure and he was waiting for a new order to arrive. His skin may have been invulnerable but his silk shirts were not!

Hero for Hire. Vol. 1. No. 4. December 1972. "Cry Fear … Cry Phantom. Archie Goodwin (writer), Billy Graham (artist), John Costanza (letterer), Roy Thomas (editor).

Career Girl

When high school student Patsy Walker considered future employment opportunities, she thought about becoming a nurse, an aviatrix, or a lawyer. She finally decided on career girl as her occupation of choice. Although boyfriend Buzz Baxter was dismissive of women in the workforce, Patsy's father was supportive (Patsy Walker #21). After Patsy graduated from high school, comic books billed her, and friend Hedy Wolfe, as career girls (Patsy and Hedy #96-108).

These covers show Patsy Walker #21 (March 1949) and Patsy and Hedy #96 (July 1964).

Masked Man

There was plenty of humor within Patsy Walker #19 (Nov. 1948), but the cover image of Patsy and boyfriend Buzz Baxter at the beach was the best part!

Cloak and Dagger

The heroic duo Cloak and Dagger played prominent roles in Defenders of Light and Dark #2 (Oct. 2026). The cosmic entity known as the In-Betweener explained to the crimefighting pair that the balance of Lightforce and Darkforce was off, having repurcussions on their powers and well-being. Created by Master Order and Lord Chaos, the In-Betweener was essentially the personification of balance bwtween these two extremes.

The Model Mutant

Bizarre Adventures #27 (July 1981) included three vignettes starring past or present X-Men: Iceman, Phoenix, and Nightcrawler. Iceman's story took place at a winter carnival featuring ice sculptures of numerous superheroes. In his civilian identity as Bobby Drake, the mutant hero noticed that Angel was the only X-Man with a sculpture. It doesn't seem fair, he thought, and then used his powers to add an Iceman sculpture to the display.

At this point, Angel had a unique place among the X-Men. In spite of the public's prejudice against mutants, Angel had publicly disclosed his true identity as Warren Worthington III. His feathered wings had a favorable connotation, in contrast to Nightcrawler's blue skin and tail. Additionally, Angel's ability to fly made his mutation largely unthreatening. This combination of factors made Angel more palatable to the general public than most mutants.