Misplaced Pages

#637362

127-544: Power Man may refer to: Luke Cage , a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man Erik Josten , a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas Victor Alvarez , the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series Shadowland: Power Man Power Man and Iron Fist , a comic book series about Luke Cage's adventures with Danny Rand (Iron Fist) See also [ edit ] Powerman (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Index of articles associated with

254-585: A US$ 1 billion lawsuit against POW! in May 2018, asserting that POW! had not disclosed the terms of its acquisition by Camsing to him. Lee stated that POW! CEO Shane Duffy and co-founder Gill Champion had presented him with what they said was a non-exclusive license for POW! for him to sign, under Camsing, to use his likeness and other intellectual property. This contract turned out to be an exclusive license, which Lee claimed he would never have entered. Lee's lawsuit contended that POW! took over his social media accounts and

381-517: A dress cutter , worked only sporadically after the Great Depression . The family moved further uptown to Fort Washington Avenue , in Washington Heights, Manhattan . Lee had one younger brother named Larry Lieber . He said in 2006 that as a child he was influenced by books and movies, particularly those with Errol Flynn playing heroic roles. Reading The Scarlet Pimpernel , he called

508-514: A 1982 one-shot drawn by John Byrne , the Judgment Day graphic novel illustrated by John Buscema, the Parable limited series drawn by French artist Mœbius , and The Enslavers graphic novel with Keith Pollard . Lee was briefly president of the entire company, but soon stepped down to become publisher instead, finding that being president was too much about numbers and finance and not enough about

635-531: A Cotati only for Vision to correct them by stating that his opponent is actually Plantman . Doctor Nemesis, Luke Cage, and Vision continue their fight with Plantman and his Sprout Soldiers. They managed to defeat Plantman, but are unable to make contact with Black Panther. When Fisk attempts to start a new campaign against superhumans, the heroes decide to oppose this plan by having Luke Cage run for mayor against him (Tony Stark initially volunteered, but others noted that this would involve two rich men competing for

762-424: A chance encounter with criminals inspires him to use his new powers for profit. Adopting the alias Luke Cage and donning a distinctive costume, he launches a career as a Hero for Hire, helping anyone who can meet his price. He soon establishes an office above Times Square 's Gem Theater, where he befriends film student D. W. Griffith . Burstein, aware of his friend's innocence, also relocates to New York and opens

889-459: A character as was needed. When he mentioned that he wanted to work up a new African-American super-hero who would be a bit different and would start right out in his own comic, he asked me for my suggestions as to the writer. I didn't feel I should do the character myself, so I suggested Archie Goodwin , although Gerry Conway , Len Wein , and others must've crossed my (and Stan's) mind. Archie, Stan, and I--with John Romita perhaps present, spent

1016-537: A crime-fighting duo in the renamed title Power Man and Iron Fist . He later marries the super-powered private investigator Jessica Jones , with whom he has a daughter . In 2005, writer Brian Michael Bendis added Luke Cage to the lineup of the New Avengers , and he has since appeared in various Avengers titles, becoming leader of a group of reformed supervillains called the Thunderbolts , and eventually becoming

1143-818: A daughter, whom they named Danielle , in honor of Danny Rand . Soon thereafter, he and Jessica are married. He also meets the Black Panther (revealed to be one of Luke's personal heroes), joining him and several other superhumans of African descent on a mission against vampires in New Orleans. When the Superhuman Registration Act is enacted, Cage refuses to register, comparing the act to Jim Crow laws . He and Jessica agree that she will take their newborn daughter away to Canada where they can be safe, though he himself refuses to leave. S.H.I.E.L.D. forces come to arrest Cage, but he fights his way to safety with

1270-530: A distinct connection to unethical medical experiments; his comics presumably enhanced awareness of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments that made New York Times headlines in the very same month and year that Luke Cage debuted. Dr. Altman published a book on self-experimentation ethics, one of many texts discussing ethical breaches in medical experiments at that time, meaning that the Luke Cage stories likely picked up on

1397-475: A drunken Jessica Jones , now a private investigator, Cage's life is briefly thrown into disarray by Jones's reaction to the incident. The two make peace while working as bodyguards for Matt Murdock . Cage extends emotional support to Jones when she is forced to revisit past abuses by the villainous Purple Man , and Cage's feelings for her grow. After Jones reveals that she is pregnant from their tryst, she and Cage move in together. Soon afterward, Jones becomes

SECTION 10

#1732854734638

1524-418: A faster-than-normal recovery time from injury. Luke Cage is an exceptional street fighter and was a gifted athlete before receiving superhuman abilities. He has also studied martial arts under Iron Fist 's instruction, learning how to couple leverage with his strength to increase his combat effectiveness against more powerful opponents. He owns a jacket that is as durable as his skin, having been exposed to

1651-484: A fee from a reneging Doctor Doom leads him to befriend the Fantastic Four . Via a later retcon, Cage also befriends Jessica Jones , a young woman whose superhuman strength and unconventional style match his own. During a mission in which Cage and Iron Man track down Orville Smythe, who had duped him into stealing an experimental starsuit from Stark International , Cage follows the example of his new peers and takes

1778-555: A fight with Knight's boyfriend, the martial artist Iron Fist , who had spent most of his life in the extra-dimensional city of K'un-L'un and was unfamiliar with Earth society. Upon learning of Cage's situation, Iron Fist and Knight help him defeat Bushmaster and rescue his friends. Cleared of criminal charges, Power Man legally changes his name to "Lucas Cage". He briefly works for Misty Knight and Colleen Wing 's detective agency, Nightwing Restorations, but soon elects to join Iron Fist in

1905-550: A figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions. Lee and John Romita Sr. launched the Spider-Man newspaper comic strip on January 3, 1977. Lee's final collaboration with Jack Kirby, The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience , was published in 1978 as part of the Marvel Fireside Books series and

2032-446: A friendly, chatty style. Lee remarked that his goal was for fans to think of the comics creators as friends, and considered it a mark of his success on this front that, at a time when letters to other comics publishers were typically addressed "Dear Editor", letters to Marvel addressed the creators by first name (e.g., "Dear Stan and Jack"). Lee recorded messages to the newly formed Merry Marvel Marching Society fan club in 1965. By 1967,

2159-455: A gang called the Rivals. With his friend Willis Stryker , he fights rival gangs and commits petty crimes. In and out of juvenile homes throughout his teens, Lucas dreams of becoming a major New York racketeer until he finally realizes how his actions are hurting his family. He seeks to better himself as an adult by finding legitimate employment. Meanwhile, Stryker rises through the ranks of crime, but

2286-406: A half hour or so in deliberations within the next day or so, and each of us contributed something to the mix. Stan's was definitely the guiding hand, because he knew he wanted a super-hero who was off the beaten track, off to make a living at crime-fighting (a la a private eye), and with a different look or feel than a typical super-hero, even a Marvel one. Romita helped provide that, of course, with

2413-548: A hole in the submarine as Jessica Jones uses Luke Cage's body to help plug it up. After Mister Sinister is defeated with the help of X-23 and the seller Declan Foy is questioned, Luke Cage is given a special Iron Man armor as part of their attack on Mister Sinister's base on the Kerguelen Islands . After the database was destroyed and the mission was over, Luke and Jessica head home with Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and X-23 where Iron Fist had been babysitting Danielle Cage. After

2540-478: A kid has to go to a dictionary, that’s not the worst thing that could happen.” Following Ditko's departure from Marvel in 1966, John Romita Sr. became Lee's collaborator on The Amazing Spider-Man . Within a year, it overtook Fantastic Four to become the company's top seller. Lee and Romita's stories focused as much on the social and college lives of the characters as they did on Spider-Man's adventures. The stories became more topical, addressing issues such as

2667-451: A larger vocabulary and reducing usage of his catchphrase , "Sweet Christmas!" In 1992, Cage was relaunched in a new series simply titled Cage , set primarily in Chicago. The revived series updated the character, with Cage symbolically destroying his original costume on the cover of the first issue. The series, written by Marc McLaurin , ran 20 issues. Cage received exposure in other books at

SECTION 20

#1732854734638

2794-407: A medical clinic, assisted by Dr. Claire Temple , whom Cage begins dating. Although Cage is content to battle strictly conventional criminals, he soon learns that New York is hardly the place to do so. Stryker himself has become a Maggia agent known as Diamondback and dies battling Cage. Although Cage has little in common with most of New York's other superhumans, an ill-conceived attempt to collect

2921-583: A medical emergency earlier in the day. Lee had previously been hospitalized for pneumonia in February of that year. The immediate cause of death listed on his death certificate was cardiac arrest with respiratory failure and congestive heart failure as underlying causes. It also indicated that he suffered from aspiration pneumonia . His body was cremated and his ashes were given to his daughter. Roy Thomas , who succeeded Lee as editor-in-chief at Marvel, had visited Lee two days prior to his death to discuss

3048-774: A member of the Defenders alongside Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones. They alongside Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Woman fought the Army of Evil during Hydra's rise to power where they were defeated by Nitro. Luke Cage and those with him were trapped in the Darkforce dome by Blackout when his powers were enhanced by Baron Helmut Zemo using the Darkhold . During the " Hunt for Wolverine " storyline, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones assist Iron Man and Spider-Man in finding Wolverine when his body has gone missing from his unmarked grave. When

3175-619: A memorabilia collector, had been isolating Lee from his trusted friends and associates following his wife's death in order to obtain access to Lee's wealth, estimated to amount to US$ 50 million . In August 2018, a restraining order was issued against Morgan to stay away from Lee, his daughter, and his associates for three years. The Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed that Morgan was charged in May 2019 with five counts of abuse for events that had occurred in mid-2018. The charges were false imprisonment , grand theft of an elder or dependent adult, fraud, forgery, and elder abuse. Another figure in

3302-545: A new and expanded Heroes for Hire fails to interest him; yet when the Master of the World tries to recruit Cage as a spy within Iron Fist's team, destroying Cage's theater in the process, a curious Cage plays along. Cage joins Heroes for Hire and serves with them for some time while reporting to the Master. Cage begins to sympathize with the more benevolent aspects of the Master's goals, but in

3429-460: A period between 2001 and 2017 during which Lee's partners Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman were said to have misled Lee about various intellectual property rights deals. In June 2020, Judge Otis D. Wright II dismissed J.C. Lee's lawsuit against POW! Entertainment, declaring it "frivolous" and "improper", sanctioning J.C. Lee for $ 1,000,000, and sanctioning her lawyers for $ 250,000 individually and severally . The court also gave POW! Entertainment

3556-472: A position of power, and they wanted to establish themselves as different from Fisk, and the "Tony" who volunteered was later revealed to be the Chameleon in disguise ). After Fisk was forced to flee the city, Cage won the election by default, but is forced to maintain the anti-vigilante laws as he lacks the authority to have them dismantled right away. His first step to control these laws is to appoint Clint Barton

3683-434: A result of a cellular regeneration experiment which fortified the various tissues of his body. His skin can resist large-caliber bullets, puncture wounds, corrosives, biological attacks, and extreme temperatures and pressures without sustaining damage. A second exposure to said experiments further enhanced his strength and durability. The same experiment which granted him his great strength and durability has also given him

3810-413: A return to basics is in order, he re-establishes his Hero for Hire activities and soon learns that, despite his international fame, he is almost forgotten on the streets where he originally made his reputation. He invests his money in a bar and sets about ridding his immediate neighborhood of criminal elements, deciding that the business of world-saving is best left to others. After a sexual encounter with

3937-486: A reverse merger structured by investment banker Stan Medley in 1999, but, near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon. Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001. Paul was extradited to the U.S. from Brazil and pleaded guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading his stock in Stan Lee Media. Lee

Power Man - Misplaced Pages Continue

4064-468: A sense of community between fans and creators. He introduced the practice of regularly including a credit panel on the splash page of each story, naming not just the writer and penciller but also the inker and letterer. Regular news about Marvel staff members and upcoming storylines was presented on the Bullpen Bulletins page, which (like the letter columns that appeared in each title) was written in

4191-574: A sequential art story in 2014 by Lee and Bruce Timm in Marvel's 75th Anniversary Celebration . Lee graduated from writing filler to actual comics with a backup feature, "'Headline' Hunter, Foreign Correspondent", two issues later, using the pseudonym "Reel Nats". His first superhero co-creation was the Destroyer , in Mystic Comics #6 (August 1941). Other characters he co-created during this period, called

4318-576: A superhuman consultant with the Daily Bugle . After she is attacked by the Green Goblin during a Bugle investigation, Cage, helped by Spider-Man, deliberately attacks Norman Osborn to provoke him into revealing he is the Goblin. Months afterwards, Cage is present at the breakout at the supervillain prison 'The Raft' and becomes a founding member of the re-formed Avengers . Luke and Jessica Jones then have

4445-578: A talk with X-23, Tony informs Luke and Jessica that the destroyed database reveals that one of the X-Men members is not a mutant and there is a genetically altered sleeper agent among them. During the " Empyre " storyline, Vision and Doctor Nemesis meet up with Luke Cage as they investigate the Cotati 's plants that have taken over Central Park. As Vision brings the fight with his plant-like opponent outside of Central Park, Luke Cage and Doctor Nemesis mistake it for

4572-489: A two-man team, Heroes for Hire , founded by attorney Jeryn Hogarth and staffed by administrative wunderkind Jennie Royce . Although the streetwise Power Man and the unworldly Iron Fist seem to have little in common, they soon become the best of friends. Cage's relationship with Claire Temple proves less durable, and he instead begins dating model Harmony Young. Power Man and Iron Fist achieve great success with Heroes for Hire, earning an international reputation and fighting

4699-568: A usual super-hero name, but something indicating what he was. I'd recently written an Avengers issue titled "Heroes for Hire," so I suggested HERO FOR HIRE as the title. As for powers, I suggested he be very strong and bulletproof, though bullets could cause him some discomfort by raising temporary welts on his skin, etc.... Philip Wylie 's Gladiator was my main inspiration here, though Stan and I agreed that we didn't want him to have Hugo Danner 's leaping abilities (which had been borrowed by Superman years before). Archie, I believe, came up with

4826-431: A wide variety of criminals. Their partnership's downfall begins when the mysterious government agency S.M.I.L.E. manipulates Power Man and Iron Fist into the employment of Consolidated Conglomerates, Inc., which eventually frames Cage for the apparent murder of Iron Fist, causing Cage to become a fugitive. A fugitive again, Cage breaks contact with his New York friends and relocates to Chicago, but, with Hogarth's help, he

4953-495: Is also the New York state motto ). To maintain his workload and meet deadlines, he used a system that was used previously by various comic-book studios, but due to Lee's success with it, became known as the " Marvel Method ". Typically, Lee would brainstorm a story with the artist and then prepare a brief synopsis rather than a full script. Based on the synopsis, the artist would fill the allotted number of pages by determining and drawing

5080-686: Is apocryphal, and so is his story of a life-changing plea from the editor, because the likelier story is that Lee won a seventh-place prize of $ 2.50 and two honorable mention awards. He graduated from high school early, aged sixteen and a half, in 1939 and joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project . From 1945 to 1947, Lee lived in the rented top floor of a brownstone in the East 90s in Manhattan. He married Joan Clayton Boocock , originally from Newcastle , England, on December 5, 1947, and in 1949,

5207-590: Is arrested and sent to prison where contact with his family is sparse due to the resentment of his brother James Lucas Jr., who intercepts Lucas's letters to their father James and eventually leads each to believe the other is dead. During this time, Reva is killed by members of the Maggia, whose drugs Stryker had stolen to frame Lucas in the first place. Lucas is consumed by rage over Stryker's betrayal and his father's supposed death, engaging in frequent brawls and escape attempts. Eventually transferred to Seagate Prison off

Power Man - Misplaced Pages Continue

5334-468: Is cleared of criminal charges when Iron Fist turns up alive. Cage discovers that Iron Fist had been replaced by a doppelganger of the plantlike H'ylthri race, K'un-Lun's ancient enemies during his treatment. This doppelganger's existence and destruction at the hands of the Super-Skrull are part of a bizarre scheme engineered by Iron Fist's enemy, Master Khan . Wanting a new start after his murder charge

5461-596: Is considered to be Marvel's first graphic novel . Lee and John Buscema produced the first issue of The Savage She-Hulk (February 1980), which introduced the female cousin of the Hulk, and crafted a Silver Surfer story for Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980). He moved to California in 1981 to develop Marvel's TV and movie properties. He was an executive producer for, and made cameo appearances in, Marvel film adaptations and other movies. He occasionally returned to comic book writing with various Silver Surfer projects including

5588-554: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Luke Cage Created during the height of the blaxploitation genre, Luke Cage had been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and gained the powers of superhuman strength and unbreakable skin after being subjected voluntarily to an experimental procedure. Once freed, he becomes a " hero for hire " and has forty-nine issues of solo adventures (comic title renamed to Luke Cage, Power Man with issue #17). In issue #50, Cage teams up with fellow superhero Iron Fist as part of

5715-616: Is dropped, Cage abandons his Power Man guise and begins operating out of Chicago as the plainclothes Luke Cage, Hero for Hire; he makes arrangements with the Chicago Spectator for exclusive reports of his adventures and frequently works with detective Dakota North . On his first mission in Chicago, he assists the Punisher in battling drug dealers. Cage attracts the interest of the refined assassin Hardcore, an employee of Cruz Bushmaster, son of

5842-575: Is interfering with his paying work. Wealthy Defenders member Nighthawk solves this problem by placing Power Man on retainer, giving Luke a steady paycheck for his Defenders activities. For some time thereafter, Power Man serves as a core member of the Defenders. Together, they defeat minor threats including the Eel and the Porcupine , and major menaces such as the Headmen , Nebulon , Egghead's Emissaries of Evil , and

5969-462: The Mail Online alleged that Lee was accused by a small number of nurses of sexually harassing them at his home in early 2017. Lee denied the allegations and claimed that the nurses were attempting to extort him. In April 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published a report that claimed Lee was a victim of elder abuse ; the report asserted that, among others, Keya Morgan, Lee's business manager and

6096-534: The Comics Code . The U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare had asked Lee to write a comic-book story about the dangers of drugs and Lee conceived a three-issue subplot in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 ( cover-dated May–July 1971), in which Peter Parker's best friend becomes addicted to prescription drugs. The Comics Code Authority refused to grant its seal because the stories depicted drug use;

6223-520: The Eye of Agamotto —to destroy existence, culminating in the apparent death of Brother Voodoo. Although initially against the idea of being paid for being on the team, Cage is convinced to accept the offer. Following his imprisonment on Utopia, he decides, following a conversation with Daredevil , to resign from his Avenger duties to ensure the security of his wife and child. After the X-Men are defeated, Cage, Jessica, Squirrel Girl , and Iron Fist resign from

6350-586: The Fantastic Four in 1961. The team's immediate popularity led Lee and Marvel's illustrators to produce a cavalcade of new titles. Again working with Kirby, Lee co-created the Hulk , Thor , Iron Man , and the X-Men ; with Bill Everett , Daredevil ; and with Steve Ditko , Doctor Strange and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man , all of whom lived in a thoroughly shared universe . Lee and Kirby gathered several of their newly created characters together into

6477-1019: The Flash , and later in 1960 with the Justice League of America super-team. In response, publisher Martin Goodman assigned Lee to come up with a new superhero team. Lee's wife suggested that he experiment with stories he preferred, since he was planning on changing careers and had nothing to lose. Lee acted on the advice, giving his superheroes a flawed humanity, a change from the ideal archetypes typically written for preteens. Before this, most superheroes had been idealistically perfect people with no serious, lasting problems. Lee introduced complex, naturalistic characters who could have bad tempers, fits of melancholy, and vanity; they bickered amongst themselves, worried about paying their bills and impressing girlfriends, got bored or sometimes even physically ill. The first superheroes Lee and artist Jack Kirby created together were

SECTION 50

#1732854734638

6604-518: The Golden Age of Comic Books , include Jack Frost , debuting in U.S.A. Comics #1 (August 1941), and Father Time , debuting in Captain America Comics #6 (August 1941). When Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left in late 1941 following a dispute with Goodman, the 30-year-old publisher installed Lee, just under 19 years old, as interim editor. The youngster showed a knack for

6731-523: The Inhumans and the Black Panther , an African king who would be mainstream comics' first black superhero. The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement is the three-part " Galactus Trilogy " that began in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus , a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer . Fantastic Four #48

6858-669: The Mayor of New York City at the conclusion of the 2021–2022 crossover event " Devil's Reign ", succeeding the Kingpin . The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Mike Colter portrayed the character in the Netflix television series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016–2018), and The Defenders (2017). Roy Thomas publicly discussed

6985-640: The New York Police Department . An alternate universe variant of Luke Cage from Earth-58163 appears in " House of M ". This version is the leader of a crime syndicate in Hell's Kitchen, which he later turns into a resistance against Magneto . Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber / ˈ l iː b ər / ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer , editor , publisher and producer. He rose through

7112-459: The Vietnam War , political elections, and student activism . Robbie Robertson , introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #51 (August 1967) was one of the first African-American characters in comics to play a serious supporting role. In the Fantastic Four series, the lengthy run by Lee and Kirby produced many acclaimed storylines as well as characters that have become central to Marvel, including

7239-522: The Weapon Plus program, specifically, Weapon VI. Burstein immerses Lucas in an electrical field conducted by an organic chemical compound; then he leaves Lucas unattended, Rackham alters the experiment's controls, hoping to maim or kill Lucas. Lucas' treatment is accelerated past its intended limits, inducing body-wide enhancements that give him superhuman strength and durability. He uses his new power to escape Seagate and makes his way back to New York, where

7366-586: The X-Men , Iron Man , Thor , the Hulk , Ant-Man , the Wasp , the Fantastic Four , Black Panther , Daredevil , Doctor Strange , the Scarlet Witch , and Black Widow . These and other characters' introductions in the 1960s pioneered a more naturalistic approach in superhero comics . In the 1970s, Lee challenged the restrictions of the Comics Code Authority , indirectly leading to changes in its policies. In

7493-426: The "Power Man" treatment during his second exposure. Sharon Packer of Priory Group made connections between Cage's origin story and historical events taking place in the time of the comics' publication. Carl Lucas uses his newfound power to crash through the prison's cement barricades, he symbolically breaks through barriers that were once closed to him, similar to other black people of his era. Luke Cage's story has

7620-434: The 1950s, Lee teamed up with his comic book colleague Dan DeCarlo to produce the syndicated newspaper strip My Friend Irma , based on the radio comedy starring Marie Wilson . By the end of the decade, Lee had become dissatisfied with his career and considered quitting the field. In 1956, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the superhero archetype and experienced significant success with an updated version of

7747-650: The 1970s they owned a vacation home in Remsenburg, New York . For their move to the West Coast in 1981, they bought a home in West Hollywood, California , previously owned by comedian Jack Benny 's radio announcer Don Wilson . The Stan Lee Foundation was founded in 2010 to focus on literacy, education, and the arts. Its stated goals include supporting programs and ideas that improve access to literacy resources, as well as promoting diversity, national literacy, culture and

SECTION 60

#1732854734638

7874-514: The 1980s, he pursued the development of Marvel properties in other media, with mixed results. Following his retirement from Marvel in the 1990s, Lee remained a public figurehead for the company. He frequently made cameo appearances in films and television shows based on Marvel properties , on which he received an executive producer credit, which allowed him to become the person with the highest-grossing film total ever . He continued independent creative ventures until his death, aged 95, in 2018. Lee

8001-490: The Avengers, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark sell the newly renovated mansion to Luke Cage for a dollar, allowing him freedom to recruit his own Avengers team and operate without directly taking orders from Rogers, though Rogers insists on having Victoria Hand join them as a liaison. Cage and his team are forced to assist Doctor Strange , Daimon Hellstrom , and Brother Voodoo in thwarting an attempt by Agamotto—the original owner of

8128-466: The Avengers. In volume 2 of The Mighty Avengers , Luke Cage wears a costume reminiscent of his yellow Bronze Age outfit, with a yellow top and blue jeans. During the series The Superior Spider-Man , Cage assembles an incarnation of the Mighty Avengers, and officially declares the new assembled group to be Avengers. As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel", Luke Cage and Iron Fist take on

8255-661: The Bronx. In his youth, Lee enjoyed writing, and entertained dreams of writing the " Great American Novel " one day. He said that in his youth he worked such part-time jobs as writing obituaries for a news service and press releases for the National Tuberculosis Center; delivering sandwiches for the Jack May pharmacy to offices in Rockefeller Center ; working as an office boy for a trouser manufacturer; ushering at

8382-580: The Bursteins while the Bushmasters apparently perish. Cage's power is augmented further by exposure to the Power Man virus. While Cage tries to locate his surviving family members with the aid of Dakota North, his brother keeps moving his father around to keep Cage away from them. James Lucas Jr. is eventually recruited by the criminal Corporation , whose power-enhancing scientist Dr. Karl Malus mutates him into

8509-570: The Corporation's headquarters. A few months later, Cage investigates the murder of Harmony Young and fights her killer, the demon Darklove, alongside Ghost Rider . The mystic Doctor Druid recruits Cage to serve in his Secret Defenders against the sorcerer Malachi. Cage returns to New York and, deciding his heart is no longer in superheroics, becomes co-owner of the Gem Theater with his friend D.W. Griffith. Even an invitation from Iron Fist to join

8636-473: The Red Rajah; but Cage feels out of place in the often-bizarre exploits of the Defenders and eventually resigns. Having obtained proof of Cage's innocence in his original drug charges, the criminal Bushmaster abducts Burstein and Temple, using their safety and the hope of acquittal to blackmail Cage into abducting detective Misty Knight , who humiliated Bushmaster in an earlier encounter. Cage's efforts lead to

8763-688: The Rivoli Theater on Broadway ; and selling subscriptions to the New York Herald Tribune newspaper. At fifteen, Lee entered a high school essay competition sponsored by the New York Herald Tribune , called "The Biggest News of the Week Contest." Lee claimed to have won the prize for three straight weeks, goading the newspaper to write him and ask him to let someone else win. The paper suggested he look into writing professionally, which Lee claimed "probably changed my life." However, Lee's story

8890-670: The Siege of Asgard, Steve Rogers appoints Luke Cage leader of the Thunderbolts program. Soon after, he begins to recruit new Thunderbolts, a balanced mix of former and older members, personally inducting the Ghost , Moonstone , the Juggernaut and Crossbones , with MACH-V , Fixer and Songbird 's cooperation, and using the Man-Thing 's powers for long-distance transportation. To convince Cage to rejoin

9017-498: The aforementioned public opinion. An alternate universe variant of Luke Cage from Earth-9997 appears in Earth X . This version is a police officer. An alternate universe variant of Luke Cage, amalgamated with Iron Fist, appears in Exiles : Days of Then and Now . An alternate universe variant of Luke Cage from Earth-21798 appears in " Heroes Reborn ". This version is the commissioner of

9144-563: The alleged abuse was Lee's former business manager Jerardo Olivarez, who was introduced to Lee by J.C. after his wife's death. Lee filed suit against Olivarez in April 2018, calling him one of several "unscrupulous businessmen, sycophants and opportunists" that approached him during this period. According to Lee's complaint, after gaining Lee's power of attorney, Olivarez fired Lee's personal banker, changed Lee's will, convinced him to allow transfers of millions of dollars from his accounts and used some of

9271-524: The anti-drug context was considered irrelevant. With Goodman's cooperation and confident that the original government request would give him credibility, Lee had the story published without the seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts. The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms. Lee also supported using comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about

9398-584: The arts. Lee regularly donated papers, photographs, recordings and personal effects to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming between 1981 and 2011. They cover the period from 1926 to 2011. Lee engaged in several legal actions in his later years. In 2017, POW! was acquired by Camsing International, a Chinese company, during the period Lee was caring for his terminally ill wife and dealing with his own failing eyesight. Lee filed

9525-469: The assassination of Captain America, with the team now operating underground and provided with secure accommodation by Doctor Strange . Following a Skrull invasion, Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes) organizes a meeting with the New Avengers at his home, offering it as a base of operations. Cage is offered the role as leader of the New Avengers, but turns it down, giving the role to Ronin . Following

9652-510: The base captain, who did not like Lee. He faced tampering charges and could have been sent to Leavenworth Prison . The colonel in charge of the Finance Department intervened and saved Lee from disciplinary action. In the mid-1950s, by which time the company was now generally known as Atlas Comics , Lee wrote stories in a variety of genres including romance , Westerns , humor, science fiction, medieval adventure, horror and suspense. In

9779-437: The brand was well-enough ensconced in popular culture that a March 3 WBAI radio program with Lee and Kirby as guests was titled "Will Success Spoil Spiderman [sic]". Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called " Stan's Soapbox ", and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark motto, " Excelsior !" (which

9906-662: The business that led him to remain as the comic-book division's editor-in-chief, as well as art director for much of that time, until 1972, when he would succeed Goodman as publisher. Lee entered the U.S. Army in early 1942 and served within the U.S. as a member of the Signal Corps , repairing telegraph poles and other communications equipment. He was later transferred to the Training Film Division, where he worked writing manuals, training films , slogans, and occasionally cartooning . His military classification, he said,

10033-499: The characters creation: In 1971, when the success of the movie Shaft had reached an interracial audience, Stan Lee decided it was time to go beyond Black Panther and Captain America's partner the Falcon as a support character. I think he briefly toyed with the notion of a Falcon comic book, but probably felt the Falcon was better off where he was, and that he was perhaps not as strong

10160-504: The coast of Georgia, he becomes the favorite target of racist corrections officer Albert "Billy Bob" Rackham, whose sadistic brutality ultimately leads to a demotion that he blames on Lucas. Research scientist Dr. Noah Burstein recruits Lucas as a volunteer for a cellular regeneration experiment based on a variant of the Super-Soldier process he had previously used to empower Warhawk . This experiment would later be revealed to be part of

10287-663: The codename of Power Man. Cage battles a rogue Erik Josten for the use of the Power Man name, winning the right. Shortly afterward, Luke Cage begins associating with the loose-knit super-team the Defenders , alongside whom he battles the Wrecking Crew and the Sons of the Serpent . Called to assist the Defenders against the Plantman , Cage begins to complain that his participation in their group

10414-484: The company settled in 2005 for an undisclosed seven-figure amount. In 2001, Lee, Gill Champion, and Arthur Lieberman formed POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment to develop film, television, and video game properties. Lee created the risqué animated superhero series Stripperella for Spike TV . That same year, DC Comics released its first work written by Lee, the Just Imagine... series, in which Lee reimagined

10541-574: The couple bought a house in Woodmere, New York , on Long Island , living there through 1952. Their daughter Joan Celia "J. C." Lee was born in 1950. Another daughter, Jan Lee, died a few days after her birth in 1953. The Lees resided in the Long Island community of Hewlett Harbor, New York , from 1952 to 1980. They also owned a condominium on East 63rd Street in Manhattan from 1975 to 1980, and during

10668-520: The creative process he enjoyed. In 1976, Stan Lee was one of the cartoonists who illustrated the Costello's wall. He drawn Spider-Man. Lee stepped away from regular duties at Marvel in the 1990s, though he continued to receive an annual salary of $ 1 million as chairman emeritus. In 1998 he and Peter Paul began a new Internet-based superhero creation, production, and marketing studio, Stan Lee Media . It grew to 165 people and went public through

10795-539: The end, Cage can neither betray Iron Fist nor reconcile himself to the tremendous loss of life the Master's plans of conquest will entail, and he helps Heroes for Hire destroy the Master of the World's plans. Cage remains with the group thereafter, and dates a fellow member, the She-Hulk . When the Stark-Fujikawa Corporation buys out Heroes for Hire, Cage and Ant-Man are fired because of their prison records, and

10922-484: The established continuity. The project was heavily delayed, but finally saw publication in 2016. In 2016, a new volume of Power Man and Iron Fist was launched, written by David F. Walker. The series ran for 15 issues before transitioning into a new Luke Cage series (also written by Walker), which ran for another 10 issues. Born Carl Lucas and raised in New York City 's Harlem neighborhood, he spends his youth in

11049-455: The four of them arrive undercover at a submarine in international waters upon hearing that a genetic material will be auctioned off, Luke and Jessica are shocked to find that the genetic material that will be auctioned off belongs to their daughter Danielle. When Mister Sinister crashes the auction and attacks the unidentified seller claiming that he stole the DNA of Wolverine from him, the attack causes

11176-515: The funds to purchase a condominium. In September 2012, Lee underwent an operation to insert a pacemaker , which required cancelling planned appearances at conventions. Lee eventually retired from convention appearances by 2017. On July 6, 2017, Joan Boocock, his wife of 69 years, died of complications from a stroke. She was 95 years old. Lee died on November 12, 2018, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after being rushed there for

11303-472: The help of Captain America , the Falcon , and Iron Fist (posing as Daredevil ), and joins Captain America's "Secret Avengers". He fights alongside them in opposition to the act until Captain America surrenders to U.S. authorities. Cage does not comply with the amnesty offered to the Secret Avengers, going underground and re-forming the New Avengers . Luke assumes leadership of the New Avengers after

11430-446: The help of his uncle Robbie Solomon, Lee became an assistant in 1939 at the new Timely Comics division belonging to pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman . Timely, by the 1960s, would evolve into Marvel Comics. Lee, whose cousin Jean was Goodman's wife, was formally hired by Timely editor Joe Simon . His duties were prosaic at first. "In those days [the artists] dipped

11557-464: The late 1950s and early 1960s, it had run into a creative drought by the decade's end. There was a new audience for comics now, and it wasn't just the little kids that traditionally had read the books. The Marvel of the 1960s was in its own way the counterpart of the French New Wave ... Marvel was pioneering new methods of comics storytelling and characterization, addressing more serious themes, and in

11684-404: The leader of a new branch of the Thunderbolts, which Fisk had restarted as an anti-vigilante taskforce. Consequentially, at the end of the " Devil's Reign " storyline, Luke Cage is elected Mayor of New York . Luke Cage possesses superhuman strength and stamina, and has extremely dense skin and muscle tissue which render him highly resistant to physical injury. Cage possesses these abilities as

11811-532: The mail clerk overlooked his letter, explaining that nothing was in Lee's mailbox. The next day, Lee went by the closed mailroom and saw an envelope with the return address of Timely Comics in his mailbox. Not willing to miss a deadline, Lee asked the officer in charge to open the mailroom, but the latter refused. So Lee took a screwdriver and unscrewed the mailbox hinges, retrieving the envelope containing his assignment. The mailroom officer saw what he did and turned him into

11938-621: The mainstream Marvel canon. The mini-series was published under the Marvel MAX imprint, which allowed for a much greater degree of violence, sexual content and profanity. Subsequently, Cage was featured in the Brian Michael Bendis -written series Alias , Secret War , The Pulse , Daredevil , and The New Avengers . In 2010, Cage became a regular character in Thunderbolts , starting with issue #144, and continued as leader of

12065-491: The murder case of their former secretary, Jennifer "White Jennie" Royce , and discover she has been corrupted by an ancient African artifact called the Super Soulstone. During the " Civil War II " storyline, Luke Cage hears about the talents of Ulysses Cain and the fight over him. After thinking this through, Luke tells Iron Fist that he is sitting this fight out. During the " Secret Empire " storyline, Luke Cage became

12192-402: The outfit that was perfectly suited to the 1970s, including the chains. Stan was looking for a name for the character, and I suggested Cage, which later I realized I'd seen some time before on a list of potential character names Gil Kane had shown me and had consciously forgotten about. Archie would add the "Luke" when he did the script later. Stan wanted an untypical name for the mag, too... not

12319-431: The panel-to-panel storytelling. After the artist turned in penciled pages, Lee would write the word balloons and captions, and then oversee the lettering and coloring. In effect, the artists were co-plotters, whose collaborative first drafts Lee built upon. For his part, Lee endeavored to use a sophisticated vocabulary in his dialogue and captions to encourage his young readers to learn new words, often playfully noting “If

12446-604: The pen in ink, [so] I had to make sure the inkwells were filled", Lee recalled in 2009. "I went down and got them their lunch, I did proofreading, I erased the pencils from the finished pages for them". Marshaling his childhood ambition to be a writer, young Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler " Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in Captain America Comics #3 ( cover-dated May 1941), using

12573-405: The precise escaped-innocent-prisoner concept, though Stan probably contributed to that as well. And out of that committee of three (four, counting John's concept sketch) was Luke Cage, Hero for Hire born. Romita commented on the design of the character stating "We did it together. The chains were because we wanted the slavery angle. His costume was supposed to say super-hero, yet not super-hero. It

12700-399: The process keeping and attracting readers in their teens and beyond. Moreover, among this new generation of readers were people who wanted to write or draw comics themselves, within the new style that Marvel had pioneered, and push the creative envelope still further. Lee's revolution extended beyond the characters and storylines to the way in which comic books engaged the readership and built

12827-563: The pseudonym Stan Lee (a play on his first name, "Stanley"), which years later he would adopt as his legal name. Lee later explained in his autobiography and numerous other sources that because of the low social status of comic books, he was so embarrassed that he used a pen name so nobody would associate his real name with comics when he wrote the Great American Novel one day. This initial story also introduced Captain America's trademark ricocheting shield-toss. It would be adapted into

12954-478: The ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later became Marvel Comics . He was Marvel's primary creative leader for two decades, expanding it from a small publishing house division to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries. In collaboration with others at Marvel – particularly co-writers and artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko  – he co-created iconic characters, including Spider-Man ,

13081-413: The real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry . "Stan's Soapbox", besides promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice. In 1972, Lee stopped writing monthly comic books to assume the role of publisher. His final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man was #110 (July 1972) and his last Fantastic Four was #125 (August 1972). Lee became

13208-403: The rest of the team quits in protest. Cage, bitten by the hero bug once more, continues to share adventures with Iron Fist and other heroes. Briefly resuming his Power Man identity, he is hired by Moon Knight to join an unnamed team of street-level New York vigilantes, but mere days after he joins, the group dissolves following clashes with the forces of Tombstone and Fu Manchu . Deciding that

13335-508: The rhetoric on prison experiments during that time and tapped into opprobrium about ethics. Since his comics were released at the same time that the news broke about the Tuskegee syphilis experiments on black men in Alabama, an event which caused public outrage and swayed public opinion against non-consenting or coercive human experimentation, it can be inferred that Luke Cage's story influenced some of

13462-494: The right to make a motion to recover legal fees. "We feel vindicated by the Court's decision today," said POW! in a statement. "Stan purposefully created POW! eighteen years ago with me as a place to safeguard his life's work. Before he passed, Stan was adamant that POW! continue to protect his creations and his identity after he was gone, because he trusted that we would safeguard his legacy for generations to come." On January 10, 2018,

13589-535: The saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses. Lee and artist John Buscema launched The Silver Surfer series in August 1968. The following year, Lee and Gene Colan created the Falcon , comics' first African-American superhero, in Captain America #117 (September 1969). In 1971, Lee indirectly helped reform

13716-475: The same name This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Power_Man&oldid=968900240 " Category : Set index articles on comics Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description

13843-478: The superhuman Coldfire . As Coldfire, James Jr. hopes to be a match for his brother, whom he regards as a threat. Though James, Jr. works with the Corporation quite willingly, Malus has James Sr. held hostage as extra insurance of Coldfire's cooperation. When Cage learns the Corporation is holding his family, he invades their headquarters and battles Coldfire. The brothers ultimately join forces to rescue their father from Malus, and Coldfire sacrifices himself to destroy

13970-455: The team title The Avengers and would revive characters from the 1940s such as the Sub-Mariner and Captain America. Years later, Kirby and Lee would contest who deserved credit for creating The Fantastic Four . Comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that in the 1960s: DC was the equivalent of the big Hollywood studios: After the brilliance of DC's reinvention of the superhero ... in

14097-404: The team when the title transitioned into Dark Avengers beginning with issue #175. Cage also reappeared as a regular character in the second volume of The New Avengers series. In 2007, it was announced that cartoonist and Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky would write and illustrate a four-issue limited series called Cage! , which would take place in a retro 1970s setting outside of

14224-399: The time, including his own serial in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents . In the aftermath of the " Onslaught " and " Heroes Reborn " companywide storylines, Cage was included in the series Heroes for Hire , written by John Ostrander , which lasted 19 issues. In 2002, writer Brian Azzarello and artist Richard Corben collaborated on Cage , a standalone mini-series set outside

14351-571: The time. As blaxploitation's popularity faded, Cage was paired with the superhero Iron Fist , whose popularity was based on the declining martial arts film genre, in an effort to save both characters from cancellation. The series' title remained Power Man , though with issue #50 (April 1978) the trademarked cover title became Power Man and Iron Fist , retained through the series' cancellation with issue #125 (September 1986). The series' final writer, James Owsley (a.k.a. Christopher Priest), attempted to shed Cage's blaxploitation roots by giving him

14478-475: The title character "the first superhero I had read about, the first character who could be called a superhero." By the time Lee was in his teens, the family was living in an apartment at 1720 University Avenue in The Bronx . Lee described it as "a third-floor apartment facing out back". Lee and his brother shared the bedroom, while their parents slept on a foldout couch. Lee attended DeWitt Clinton High School in

14605-510: The two men remain friends. When Stryker's activities anger the Maggia crime syndicate, he is badly beaten in a mob hit, saved only by Lucas's intervention. When Stryker's girlfriend, Reva Connors , breaks up with him in fear of his violent work, she seeks solace with Lucas. Stryker is convinced that Lucas is responsible for the breakup, so he plants heroin in Lucas's apartment and tips off the police. Lucas

14732-429: The upcoming book The Stan Lee Story and stated "I think he was ready to go. But he was still talking about doing more cameos. As long as he had the energy for it and didn't have to travel, Stan was always up to do some more cameos. He got a kick out of those more than anything else." Lee's last words to Thomas was “God bless. Take care of my boy, Roy,” leading fans to speculate that he was referring to Spider-Man. With

14859-517: The villain whose defeat cleared Cage's name the first time. Cage learns that Cruz, following in his father's extortion footsteps, has abducted Noah Burstein's wife Emma to force the scientist to recreate the process that had empowered Cage. Cruz undergoes the procedure himself, but the elder Bushmaster drains the power from his son, reversing his near-catatonia and declaring himself the Power Master. Cage teams with Iron Fist to thwart their plans, freeing

14986-577: Was "playwright"; he added that only nine men in the U.S. Army were given that title. In the Army, Lee's division included many famous or soon-to-be famous people, including three-time Academy Award -winning director Frank Capra , New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams , and children's book writer and illustrator Theodor Geisel , later known to the world as "Dr. Seuss." Vincent Fago , editor of Timely's "animation comics" section, which put out humor and talking animal comics, filled in until Lee returned from his World War II military service in 1945. Lee

15113-530: Was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age." Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over

15240-638: Was happy to be working with POW! again. Following Lee's death, his daughter J.C. gathered a legal team to review the legal situation relating to Lee's intellectual property from his later years. In September 2019, J.C. filed a new lawsuit against POW! in the United States District Court for the Central District of California not only related to recent events but also to regain the intellectual property rights that Lee had set up when founding Stan Lee Entertainment in 1998. The complaint identified

15367-446: Was impersonating him inappropriately. POW! considered these complaints without merit and claimed that both Lee and his daughter J.C. were aware of the terms. The lawsuit was dropped in July 2018, with Lee issuing the statement: "The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans, but I am now happy to be surrounded by those who want the best for me" and saying that he

15494-522: Was inducted into the Signal Corps Regimental Association and was given honorary membership of the 2nd Battalion of 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord at the 2017 Emerald City Comic Con for his prior service. While in the Army, Lee received letters every week on Friday from the editors at Timely, detailing what they needed written and by when. Lee would write stories, then send them back on Monday. One week,

15621-544: Was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995. He received the NEA 's National Medal of Arts in 2008. Stanley Martin Lieber was born on December 28, 1922, in Manhattan , New York City, in the apartment of his Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, Celia ( née Solomon) and Jack Lieber, at the corner of West 98th Street and West End Avenue . Lee

15748-499: Was never implicated in the scheme. Following the success of Fox's 2000 X-Men film and Sony's then-current Spider-Man film, Lee sued Marvel in 2002, claiming that the company was failing to pay his share of the profits from movies featuring the characters he had co-created. Because he had done so as an employee, Lee did not own them, but in the 1990s, after decades of making little money licensing them for television and film, Marvel had promised him 10% of any future profits. Lee and

15875-522: Was raised in a Jewish household. In a 2002 interview, he stated when asked if he believed in God, "Well, let me put it this way... [Pauses.] No, I'm not going to try to be clever. I really don't know. I just don't know. " On another interview from 2011, when asked about his Romanian origins and his relationship with the country, he said that he had never visited it and that he did not know Romanian because his parents never taught it to him. Lee's father, trained as

16002-435: Was whatever he salvaged when he escaped from prison. He had the yellow shirt and headband and wristbands to contrast with his black skin." Luke Cage was created following conversations between Archie Goodwin and Roy Thomas shortly after blaxploitation films emerged as a popular new genre. He debuted in his own series, with the cover trademark Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and the title Hero for Hire. The series initially

16129-463: Was written by Goodwin and pencilled by George Tuska , with the character's costume designed by John Romita Sr. The character was the first Black American superhero to star in his own comic-book series, which was retitled with the cover trademark Luke Cage, Power Man and the trademarked title Power Man with issue #17. Cage's adventures were set in a grungier, more crime-dominated New York City than that inhabited by other Marvel superheroes of

#637362