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TEAM -UP!
Team-Up File

Luke Cage

Power Man, the Hero for Hire
Luke Cage · Harlem, New York City
LUKE CAGE×SPIDER-MAN
Two heroes, one city

The Team-Up

Spider-Man and Luke Cage are two New York heroes who work the same streets, and their friendship grew out of a rocky start. When they first met, Cage had actually been hired to bring Spider-Man in. It did not take long for the two of them to realize they were on the same side.
🗨️ On patrol together
Spider-ManYou take the front door, I'll take the ceiling. Try not to make it look easy.
Luke CageThe front door is the easy part, Web-head. Walls tend to move when I go through them.
Spider-ManSee, this is why I keep you around. Free demolition.
Luke CageAnd I keep you around because somebody's gotta tie these guys up while I catch my breath.
KRAKA-THOOM!
One of them cracks jokes; the other just cracks knuckles, and together they never crack under pressure.

Where Peter Parker jokes his way through a fight, Luke Cage stays calm, steady, and immovable, literally. Bullets bounce off him, so he often plants himself between danger and the people who need protecting while Spidey swings, distracts, and ties the bad guys up. It is a natural split: the wall and the web.

Over the years they became true teammates, standing side by side in the New Avengers for a long stretch. Cage even led the team, and Spider-Man happily followed a friend he trusted. They share a no-nonsense loyalty to their city and the everyday people in it.

The relationship

How They Met & Where It Stands

How they met

Spider-Man and Luke Cage met in The Amazing Spider-Man #123 (1973). In the aftermath of Gwen Stacy's death and the Green Goblin's apparent demise, J. Jonah Jameson hired the newly established hero for hire Luke Cage to capture Spider-Man and prove the wall-crawler was a menace. Cage tracked Spider-Man down and the two brawled across the rooftops. During the fight Cage realized that Spider-Man was not the criminal Jameson claimed, and rather than collect his fee he tore up the contract, ending things on respectful terms.

Where it stands today

Spider-Man and Luke Cage remain longtime friends and fellow New York heroes with deep mutual respect built over years in the Avengers. Cage married private investigator Jessica Jones and they have a daughter, Danielle, and he has taken on major leadership roles, including a stint as Mayor of New York City. Whenever the city's heroes rally, Cage and Spider-Man still stand on the same side.

The origin

Who Is Luke Cage?

Luke Cage was born Carl Lucas in Harlem. Wrongly convicted and sent to prison, he volunteered for an experiment that promised early release. A guard tampered with the process, but instead of harming him it gave Cage superhuman strength and skin as tough as steel. He broke out, cleared his name in time, and took the name Luke Cage.

Back home, Cage turned his powers into a job as a 'Hero for Hire,' helping people who had nowhere else to turn. He soon adopted the name Power Man, teamed with the martial artist Iron Fist to run Heroes for Hire, married the private eye Jessica Jones, and eventually became one of the most respected leaders in the Avengers.

Super strengthUnbreakable skinBulletproofGreat durabilityFast healingHigh staminaStreet smartsSkilled brawler
1972
Comics debut
12
Team-ups in print
8
Signature powers
5
Reading-order picks
Abilities & Enemies

Powers & Rogues

Superhuman strength
Can lift several tons and trade blows with the strongest street-level foes.
Steel-hard skin
His skin and tissue are far denser than a normal person's, making him extremely tough to hurt.
Bulletproof durability
Gunfire, blades, and heavy impacts bounce off or barely faze him.
Accelerated healing
He recovers from injuries much faster than an ordinary human.
Enhanced stamina
He can fight and keep going long after others would tire out.
Experienced fighter
Years on the street and with the Avengers make him a disciplined, effective brawler.
Natural leader
Level-headed under pressure, he has led teams like the New Avengers.
Diamondback (Willis Stryker) — Cage's childhood friend who framed him for a crime, sending him to the prison where he gained his powers.
Cottonmouth — A Harlem crime boss who tangles with Cage's hero-for-hire business; the kind of street villain Spidey also faces.
Bushmaster — A powerful gangster who once forced Cage to hunt heroes; a heavy-hitter both New York heroes have opposed.
Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave) — A mind-controller who tormented Cage's wife Jessica Jones and has crossed paths with Spider-Man's allies.
When it clicks

Best Moments Together

1Contract Torn UpHired to capture Spider-Man, Cage traded punches with him on the rooftops, then realized Spidey was no criminal and ripped up the contract instead of collecting his fee.
2The BreakoutWhen super-villains escaped from the Raft prison, Spider-Man and Luke Cage were among the heroes who answered the call, a night that led to forming the New Avengers together.
3Following the LeaderWhen Cage took charge of the New Avengers, Spider-Man served on his team, trusting a friend who always put the team and the neighborhood first.
How the duo scores

Team-Up Chemistry

Banter7.0
Fight synergy9.0
Trust9.0
Brotherhood9.0
Team-Up Verdict
8.5
out of 10
Through the years

Team-Up History

1973Amazing Spider-Man #123
Hired by J. Jonah Jameson to capture Spider-Man, Cage fights him, then tears up the contract.
2004Secret War #1
Both are pulled into Nick Fury's covert mission alongside other New York heroes.
2005New Avengers #1
The Raft breakout brings them together to form the New Avengers.
2007New Avengers #27
Cage leads the underground Avengers, with Spider-Man serving on the team.
2010New Avengers (vol. 2) #1
Cage officially leads a New Avengers roster that includes Spider-Man.
2012Avengers vs. X-Men #1
They stand together with the Avengers against the X-Men over the Phoenix Force.
On the shelf

First Appearances & Key Issues

1972
Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1
His debut and origin, and Marvel's first Black hero to headline his own series.
1974
Hero for Hire #17
Cage adopts the codename Power Man.
1978
Power Man and Iron Fist #50
The series formally pairs Cage with Iron Fist, launching Heroes for Hire.
2001
Alias #1
Introduces Jessica Jones, the private eye who becomes Cage's wife.
2005
New Avengers #1
Cage becomes a core Avenger alongside Spider-Man after the Raft breakout.
The full pull-list

Every Team-Up in Print

1973Amazing Spider-Man #123 — Their first meeting; Jameson hires Cage to bring in Spider-Man.
2004Secret War #1 — Both recruited for Nick Fury's secret mission.
2005New Avengers #1 — The Breakout unites them as founding New Avengers.
2005New Avengers #3 — The new team comes together and hunts the escaped villains.
2005New Avengers #11 — The teammates deal with the fallout of a traitor in their midst.
2006Civil War #1 — The hero community splits over registration, testing both heroes.
2007New Avengers #27 — Cage's underground Avengers regroup with Spider-Man aboard.
2008Secret Invasion #1 — The Avengers face the shape-shifting Skrull invasion side by side.
2010Siege #1 — The heroes unite to take back Asgard from Norman Osborn.
2010New Avengers (vol. 2) #1 — Cage leads a New Avengers team that includes Spider-Man.
2011New Avengers (vol. 2) #5 — The team faces a demonic threat under Cage's leadership.
2012Avengers vs. X-Men #1 — They fight alongside the Avengers against the X-Men.
12 notable Luke Cage × Spider-Man appearances, chronological — a curated selection of the significant ones, not every cameo.
Start here

Reading Order

  1. Amazing Spider-Man #123
    Start where they start, with a fight that turns into a friendship.
  2. New Avengers #1-3 (2005)
    The Breakout arc that makes them teammates for real.
  3. New Avengers #27 onward (2007)
    See Spider-Man serve on Cage's underground team after Civil War.
  4. Siege (2010)
    A big, clear good-versus-bad team-up with the whole Avengers family.
  5. New Avengers (vol. 2) #1 (2010)
    Cage leads and Spidey follows; their partnership at its warmest.
The dossier

The File

Vital statistics
Real nameCarl Lucas, legally Luke Cage
First appearanceLuke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (1972)
Created byArchie Goodwin & George Tuska (with Roy Thomas, John Romita Sr.)
BaseHarlem, New York City
AffiliationHeroes for Hire, New Avengers, Defenders
Also known asPower Man, Hero for Hire
Key alliesIron Fist, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, Spider-Man
Key foesDiamondback, Cottonmouth, Bushmaster, Purple Man
For the family

Trivia & Family Guide

Deep cuts
  • Luke Cage was Marvel's first African-American superhero to headline his own ongoing comic book.
  • He started out under the name 'Hero for Hire' and adopted the codename Power Man in Hero for Hire #17 (1974).
  • His long partnership with Iron Fist made 'Power Man and Iron Fist' one of Marvel's most beloved buddy titles.
  • Cage is married to fellow hero Jessica Jones, and the two are one of Marvel's best-known super couples.
Family guide · editorial
Action intensity
Scary moments
Rough language
Kid-friendly fun
Suggested 10+
Great for ages 10 and up. Luke Cage's solo stories can get gritty since they deal with crime and his time in prison, but his team-ups with Spider-Man and the Avengers are straightforward good-guys-versus-bad-guys adventures.
A 1–5 parenting scale — editorial judgement, not an official rating.
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