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 ore 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).

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.