Sweet Sister!

Luke Cage might be best known for the catch phrase Sweet Christmas, but during his time with the Defenders, "Sweeet Sister!" was a close runner up. The Hero for Hire used the phrase when attacked or surprised in Defenders #17, 25, 42 and 44. He initially used that expression in a thought bubble in Hero for Hire #5 (January 1973), when he had reservations about hitting a woman.

Dear Diary

Hellcat used diary entries to narrate portions of Defenders #111, which delved into her family history. Fans may have remembered that Patsy Walker had indeed kept a diary long before she became Hellcat.

The cover of Patsy Walker #17 (July 1948) features her diary, although she doesn't write in the diary within the issue.

Comments to Cage: Hero for Hire

The following letter from #4 of his original series addressed Luke Cage's defining status as a hero.

Dear Stan,

Just read LUKE CAGE #2 and really thought it was great. It's about time you guys came up with a dude who fights against the Mafia rather than monsters from outer space. I hope you develop the character and the series.

One criticism, however. The idea of "hero for hire" is really unnecessary and phony. It only demeans Luke by saying that he's some absurd egotist (a device which works fine for some of the other Marvel characters, but is out of place as a characteristic of a black man fighting for justice in his community). You should stick to reality while the series is young and remarkably different from all the others.

Phil Trent

(no address given)

Luke doesn't see himself as "fighting for justice," Phil. To put it bluntly, he's mainly out for himself. This doesn't mean that he's against justice, nor that he wouldn't donate his services to a worthy cause. However, his prime motivating force isn't alturism—it's money.

This panel featuring Luke Cage's busines card comes from Hero for Hire #4 (December 1972).

Elf in Disguise

Elf with a Gun switched up his modus operandi in Defenders #38. In the Grand Canyon, he appeared as an American Indian before revealing his impish form and murdering an unsuspecting trail guide named Stu.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 38. August 1976. "Exile to Oblivion!" Steve Gerber (writer), Sal Buscema & Klaus Janson (artists), I. Watanabe (letterer), Don Warfield (colorist), Marv Wolfman (editor).

Comments to Cage: Strength

Questions about the strength level of Luke Cage go back to his earliest days fighting crime. The "Comments to Cage" letters column from Hero for Hire #4 incuded the following discussion about the topic..

Dear Stan, Archie, and George,

Luke Cage—no alien being, android, or superhuman do-gooder. No acquired-through-years-of-training acrobatic feats. No power to change himself into fire or ice or even emit dazzling energy bolts. NO—nothing but an honest down-to-earth person who got unexpectedly dipped into a tub of radioactive bath oil beads.

Actually, our new idol has not extra powers of strength than he normally had before. His skin cells were simply altered by an electro-biochemical system which went berserk (more probable than the majority of superhero origins) and caused his outer skin layers to harden to an immensely dense degree—much like a certain blue-eyed Benji we all know and respect.

Logically with normal strength, if you slammed your fist into a concrete wall, your fist will give out first since the concrete is stronger. On the other hand, if your fist was as hard as steel, the concrete would give out first; and therefore, no real super-strength is needed. Luke age doesn't seem to have any super-strength and neither do most people, so I can believe in him a great deal easier.

I will now say the same of LUKE CAGE, HERO FOR HIRE as I did about CONAN—"You've got a winner on your hands now, people!" So keep on truckin'—you can't afford to slow down now!

Jeff Young
Plantation, Fla.

The letter received the following reply:

Right now, Jeff, Mighty Marvel is movin' too fast for slowing down even to enter our minds! So, hang on, believer; there's much more magic to come.

About Luke Cage's strength: we think it was increased somewhat by his chemical sauna, just by virtue of the fact that his muscles, like his skin, increased in density. Whether or not this qualifies as "super-strength" is another matter, one we'd prefer to leave up to you readers. We'll just add that, while Luke isn't in the same league as Thor or the Hulk, he's probably at least as strong as, say Ka-Zar, who, in turn, is "stronger than mastodon—stronger than giant boar—" etc., etc.

"Comments to Cage" first appeared in Hero for Hire #3 (October 1972).