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Carl Lucas became Luke Cage to fight for the basic freedoms a corrupt justice system stole from him. He stands strong as a symbol of the unbreakable human spirit, and many variants of him exist throughout the multiverse.
Luke is almost completely invulnerable, and most of his multiversal variants are similar to their Earth-616 counterpart. Even the flow of time has trouble seriously impacting Marvel’s toughest Hero for Hire, but some of his best variants are very different from the Power Man fans know and love.
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10
Netflix Got Luke Cage Right
Mike Colter’s portrayal of Luke Cage was astounding. He captured Luke’s Stoic nature and cool intensity, lending his deep voice and imposing presence to the hero formerly known as Power Man for two seasons and a spinoff. The show infused Harlem into the MCU with music and culture the comics sometimes struggle to capture, setting a stage for Colter and the showrunners to explore what makes Cage a great character.
From Method Man’s performance of “Bulletproof Love” to Colter’s delivery of “Sweet Christmas,” the short-lived Netflix series showed love for the hallmarks of Cage’s place in the mythos of Earth-616. It was a show that made the best out of what it was given and produced an incredible variant of a terrific character who still deserves his chance to join the greater MCU alongside Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk.
9
Luke Cage Was A Spider-Man Variant
In the pages of Mike Costa, David Baldeón, and Walden Wong’s Web Warriors, readers meet multitudes of multiversal Spider-variants. There are too many Spider-folk for each to get the spotlight, and one variant who never got his chance to shine was a clear take on Luke Cage as Spider-Man. Nothing is known about his origin, but a combination of Power Man and Spider-Man would certainly become incredibly powerful.
Cage’s bulletproof skin is far tougher than Spidey’s, and he’s generally accepted to be stronger in sheer lifting capacity. Spider-senses and enhanced agility give Spider-Man the edge in conflicts, but combining the powers of both heroes would make an arachnid powerhouse with unmatched power and mobility. Power-Spider, as he’d likely be named, was an asset to the Spider-Men and could be again if needed.
8
Cage Tussled With Transformers
The Luke Cage variant from New Avengers/Transformers isn’t wildly different from other versions of the character. Still, he does exist in a world with Autobots and Decepticons fighting their seemingly eternal war. When the Decepticons start mining superheroes for their radioactive life force, Cage is one of the Mighty Marvels who refuses to back down.
Luke is a fun addition to a team of transformers because he’s just as durable and powerful as his metallic allies despite his human size and features. He was one of the few heroes who stood up to the Decepticons’ “aggression wave,” and he made fast friends with the Autobots who came to his team’s aid.
7
Luke Cage Replaced The Thing
The original Captain Marvel, an alien hero named Mar-Vell, tragically passed away from space cancer in the reality of Earth-616. In S.C. Ringgenberg and Matthew Jorgensen’s What If…? #14, a world where Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, and other brilliant minds come together to find a cure, Luke eventually joins The Fantastic Four as their new muscle.
Unfortunately, Luke only joined the team after the Thing succumbed to the mutated cancer cure. The disease spread rapidly across any humanoid species and mimicked cancer, but it worked much faster. Luke’s incredible powers are a boon to the Four and the best substitution they could hope for since Ben Grimm is irreplaceable.
6
Cage Became A Cosmic Werewolf
Marvel heroes often encounter vampires, werewolves, and other monsters. In the five-issue crossover series Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness, Ashley Williams of the Evil Dead franchise deals with Doom to escape zombified Marvel heroes as they chomp their way through hordes of Deadites. A mystical portal takes him to several alternate worlds, eventually dropping him off in one where Luke Cage and more are werewolves.
Werewolverine is addressed by name, but he’s the only one. Power Man-Wolf is likely an incredibly dangerous monster. His first and only appearance shows him and the rest of his pack chowing down on the gore of Galactus, meaning he’s not only a monster with Luke Cage’s powers, but according to previous events in Marvel Zombies, he also has some shred of The Power Cosmic in this grotesque werewolf form.
5
Zombie Luke Cage Is A World Leader
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There are several Marvel Zombies series, but the original was a multiversal Sentry who crashed onto Earth-2149 around the same time as Ash from the Evil Dead franchise. Luke Cage was one of the first heroes infected with the zombie virus, and his incredible power and durability helped him to eat enough civilians and fellow heroes to become a ruling power in his world.
Zombies are incredibly hard to kill, and zombie Cage survived losing the left side of his body before he and his cohorts devoured the Silver Surfer and Galactus and gained the Power Cosmic. He was one of the zombies who took to the skies, devouring whole worlds and seeking a means of transportation into other realities full of fresh meat. He’s one of the most powerful and dangerous variants of Cage in the entire omniverse.
4
LEGO Luke Cage Is Versatile
The LEGO Marvel franchise is technically canon and is designated Earth-13122. The histories of that world’s mighty Marvels are relatively similar to their traditional comic counterparts, and the game’s open-world mechanics allow players to explore the powers of their favorite characters. Spider-Man is a fan favorite, but long-time fans of the franchise know that Luke Cage’s LEGO variant is a unique and very useful character.
The Luke Cage of Earth-13122 is a minifig with the strength of a typical big fig. He can pick up cars like the Hulk or climb into them like any other humanoid character. He doesn’t have any projectile or special movement capabilities, but he’s incredibly tough, just like his comic counterpart. His versatility makes him a great utility character for missions requiring strength and fine motor skills, and he’s a one-man army who can throw slabs of stone and knock bad guys around in combat situations.
3
Noir Luke Cage Is A Private Eye
Luke Cage is a local legend, a hero for hire, and a man on the street. He mostly handles ground-level threats like minor supervillains and real-world injustices, so he’s easy to adapt to other formats. He briefly appeared as a new marshal in Marvel’s 1872 alongside other Western heroes. However, his best archetypal variant might be from Luke Cage Noir where he was reimagined as a hard-boiled private investigator.
After ten years in the clink, this variant of Luke comes out with a reputation for being bulletproof. He intimidates people without violence unless it proves absolutely necessary, and he’s a man people go to when they have problems. His past and the systems that stole his life haunt him, but he is totally unbreakable under the world’s pressures. His moral and emotional strength is the cornerstone of his character, and Luke Cage Noir preserves that strength while exploring a totally new setup for “The Power Man.”
2
Ultimate Luke Cage Fights From The Inside
On Earth-1610, home to the original Ultimates, Luke Cage had no superpowers until Loki granted them. After the Maker’s interference and the re-powering of Earth-6160, the new Ultimate variant of Luke Cage promises to be one of the coolest variants to date. Empowered with all the miraculous abilities of his Prime Earth counterpart, his fight is with a corrupt justice system more than anyone else. As of The Ultimates #9, by Deniz Camp and Chris Allen, the new Ultimate Luke Cage went to jail at fifteen and served nineteen years on a minimal charge.
He never knew what he was in prison for, but he didn’t let anyone break him. Carl Lucas Cage became a pillar of a community whose lives were stolen by labeling effects and planned recidivism, so when Tony Stark gave him the powers he was meant to have, he elected to use them from within the prison system. Danny Rand was an early recruit to his quest, and they will continue to take on the corrupt justice system, adorned with handcuffs and chains as trophies from their journey so far.
Readers see Luke Cage in the later stages of life in several alternate timelines. His impenetrable skin and incredible strength led many to believe he could live far longer than the average person. Marvel’s Timeless shows a fully actualized Cage at the end of time. Faced first with his oldest ally, he eventually turns his attention to an alternate past where he battles a cosmic villain called Aeon the Knife.
The Timeless Luke Cage plays with the title of Power Man, carrying the powers and abilities of his allies as the last remaining avenger. The self-appointed Master of Living Weapons, he punched a dragon in the heart to become Iron Fist and made himself the vessel for Sentry, the Void, and the Immortal Hulk. He is an unkillable, space-faring old man on a mission to purge the multiverse of evils like the Khonshu variant, who destroyed his home timeline.
“}]] Fans were introduced to another variant in Marvel’s brand new Ultimate universe, though this is only one of many multiversal versions of Luke Cage. Read More