Lucas " Luke " Cage , born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man , is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Archie Goodwin , George Tuska , Roy Thomas , and John Romita Sr. , the character first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972). He is one of the earliest black superheroes to be featured as the protagonist and title character of a Marvel comic book .
147-473: 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
294-683: A portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin , the president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood NAACP branch. He claimed the genre was "proliferating offenses" to the black community in its perpetuation of stereotypes often involved in crime. After the race films of the 1940s and 1960s, the genre emerged as one of the first in which black characters and communities were protagonists, rather than sidekicks, supportive characters , or victims of brutality. The genre's inception coincides with
441-674: A 1930s twist. In 2004, Mario Van Peebles released Baadasssss! , about the making of his father Melvin's movie (with Mario playing Melvin). 2007's American Gangster , based on the true story of heroin dealer Frank Lucas , takes place in the early 1970s in Harlem and has many elements similar in style to blaxploitation films, specifically its prominent featuring of the song " Across 110th Street ". Blaxploitation films have profoundly impacted contemporary hip-hop culture . Several prominent hip hop artists, including Snoop Dogg , Big Daddy Kane , Ice-T , Slick Rick , and Too Short , have adopted
588-528: 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
735-481: A Jewish protagonist and was jokingly referred to by its director as a "Jewsploitation" film. Robert Townsend 's comedy Hollywood Shuffle features a young black actor who is tempted to take part in a white-produced blaxploitation film. The satirical book Our Dumb Century features an article from the 1970s entitled "Congress Passes Anti-Blaxploitation Act: Pimps, Players Subject to Heavy Fines". FOX 's network television comedy, MADtv , has frequently spoofed
882-478: A blaxploitation reference. He has an afro, sideburns, and a mustache. He carries swords, dresses in stylish 1970s clothing, and says that he hunts "Blaculas". A scene from the Season 9 episode of The Simpsons , " Simpson Tide ", shows Homer Simpson watching Exploitation Theatre. A voice-over announces fake movie titles such as The Blunch Black of Blotre Blame. Martha Southgate 's 2005 novel Third Girl from
1029-408: A cameo appearance in a crowd scene on the splash page of Ms. Marvel volume 1 No. 15, (March 1978) with thought balloons showing him trying out various nicknames for himself. Archie appears in a crowd scene on the cover/back cover of DC All New Collectors' Edition #56 " Superman vs. Muhammad Ali " (1978) drawn by Neal Adams and edited by fellow Oklahoman E. Nelson Bridwell . Archie is No. 15 on
1176-422: 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
1323-459: 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
1470-536: A creator whose only contribution to the strip that made him rich was his signature. Blackmark is a paperback book (Bantam S5871) published by the American company Bantam Books in January 1971. It is one of the first American graphic novels . It was conceived and drawn by comic book artist Gil Kane , and scripted by Archie Goodwin from an outline by Kane. Goodwin worked briefly for DC Comics during
1617-549: 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
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#17327754392911764-449: A cult following with black viewers. Dolemite , less serious in tone and produced as a spoof, centers around a sexually active black pimp played by Rudy Ray Moore, who based the film on his stand-up comedy act. A sequel, The Human Tornado , followed. Later spoofs parodying the blaxploitation genre include I'm Gonna Git You Sucka , Pootie Tang , Undercover Brother , Black Dynamite , and The Hebrew Hammer , which featured
1911-838: 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
2058-540: 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
2205-470: 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
2352-416: 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
2499-489: 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
2646-524: A fictional character created for the video game series Fatal Fury , is a prime example of foreign black stereotypes. The sub-cult movie short Gayniggers from Outer Space is a blaxploitation-like science fiction oddity directed by Danish filmmaker, DJ, and singer Morten Lindberg . Jefferson Twilight, a character in The Venture Bros. , is a parody of the comic-book character Blade (a black, half human, half-vampire vampire hunter), as well as
2793-558: 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
2940-434: A freelance "writer and occasional art assistant" to Leonard Starr 's newspaper comic strip Mary Perkins, On Stage . His first editorial work was for Redbook magazine from 1960 to 1964, on which he worked both before and after his Army service as a draftee. He also did cartoons for Fishing World magazine in 1959. "Comics writing is similar in form to writing a movie script or a play," Goodwin said in an article for
3087-459: 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
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#17327754392913234-919: A good deal of recognition in the industry, including both the 1973 Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division), and the 1974 Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) for the Manhunter series running in Detective Comics #437–443. In the same years, he also won Shazam Awards for Best Individual Short Story for "The Himalayan Incident" in Detective Comics No. 437 and for "Cathedral Perilous" in Detective Comics No. 441. In 1974, he also won Best Individual Feature-Length Story for "Götterdämmerung" in Detective Comics No. 443. All story awards were shared with Walt Simonson for Manhunter episodes). Goodwin's work on Manhunter , in which he both updated an obscure Golden Age hero, and, in
3381-406: 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
3528-867: A highlight in my career. It is something that I may never be able to top in a lot of ways. To have done that and for DC to have given me the opportunity to do that was great." In 1980, he shared the Eagle Award for Favorite Comic Magazine given to Epic Illustrated . In 1982, he received the Inkpot Award given by San Diego Comic-Con . He threepeated winning the Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material given to Epic's collected Moebius albums in 1988, for Epic's Moebius series The Incal in 1989 and in 1990 for Best Foreign Reprint given to Epic's Akira series. He won " Bob Clampett Humanitarian " Eisner Award in 1992. In 1993, he won
3675-554: 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
3822-455: 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
3969-513: A little 'hello' to one of my favorite New Yorkers." In Marvel Comics', What The--?! No. 5, (July 1989) Goodwin appears as King Archibald the First in the short story The Alien-Ated Legion, which parodies the mature approach of Epic Comics. In the last panels, King Archibald says that he had never been interested in superhero comics. The airport in fictional Gotham City , home of the Batman ,
4116-405: 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
4263-792: 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
4410-439: A mid-1970s blaxploitation television series. In the catalytic scene of True Romance , the characters watch the movie The Mack . John Singleton 's Shaft (2000), starring Samuel L. Jackson , is a modern-day interpretation of a classic blaxploitation film. The 1997 film Hoodlum starring Laurence Fishburne portrays a fictional account of black mobster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and recasts gangster blaxploitation with
4557-557: 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
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4704-475: 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
4851-432: 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
4998-412: 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
5145-472: A short stint as editor in 1974. Archie Goodwin's first prose story was published by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine , which warned him he could not use Archie Goodwin as a pen name because it was a Rex Stout character in the Nero Wolfe books. According to Goodwin's wife Anne T. Murphy, the magazine's editors "then were so delighted when he wrote back to say that it was his real name that they used
5292-488: A similar scene in Foxy Brown , in which Pam Grier hides a small semi-automatic pistol in her Afro. Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force series has a recurring character called "Boxy Brown" – a play on Foxy Brown. An imaginary friend of Meatwad , Boxy Brown is a cardboard box with a crudely drawn face with a French cut that dons an afro. Whenever Boxy speaks, '70s funk music, typical of blaxploitation films, plays in
5439-404: A staging of Mozart 's opera Don Giovanni in the manner of a blaxploitation film, set in contemporary Spanish Harlem, with African-American singers portraying the anti-heroes as street-thugs, killing by gunshot rather than with a sword, using recreational drugs, and partying almost naked. It was later released on commercial video and can be seen on YouTube . A 2016 video game, Mafia III ,
5586-589: 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
5733-584: 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
5880-487: 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
6027-568: 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
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6174-429: 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
6321-556: Is a kind of blaxploitation Western . Some of the later, blaxploitation-influenced movies such as Jackie Brown (1997), Undercover Brother (2002), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003), and Django Unchained (2012) feature pop culture nods to the genre. The parody Undercover Brother , for example, stars Eddie Griffin as an afro -topped agent for a clandestine organization satirically known as
6468-478: Is an American sixty-four-page graphic novel adaptation of the 1979 science fiction film Alien published by Heavy Metal magazine in 1979. It was scripted by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Walt Simonson . The book was a major critical and commercial success and was the first comic to ever be listed on the New York Times Bestsellers list. While developing the comic, Goodwin worked from
6615-592: 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
6762-433: Is because he used to be my boss and I didn't know how he'd feel about coming back and me being his boss." Goodwin was at the time still working for Marvel as a writer, and Shooter recalls concocting a plan whereby the company "pretended that Archie reported to Stan. In fact, I was doing all the paperwork and all the employee reviews and the budgets" so that Goodwin could have the illusion of not working for his successor. In
6909-473: 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
7056-633: 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
7203-638: Is historically linked to the slavesploitation subgenre. By far, the best-known and best-studied exemplar of slavesploitation is Mandingo , a 1957 novel which was adapted into a 1961 play and a 1975 film . Indeed, Mandingo was so well known that a contemporary reviewer of Die the Long Day , a 1972 novel by Orlando Patterson , called it an example of the "Mandingo genre". The film, panned on its release, has been subject to widely divergent critical assessments. Robin Wood , for instance, argued in 1998 that it
7350-588: 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
7497-666: Is named the Archie Goodwin International Airport. The airport made its first appearance in Batman No. 34 (April 1946) and remained unnamed until it was given a name on a Gotham City map made for the Batman: No Man's Land crossover event in 1999. In the first DC Comics spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series called The Batman Adventures No. 30 (March 1995) Goodwin appears as Mr. Nice, a super-strong but childishly-innocent super-villain. He
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#17327754392917644-628: Is no truly equal "Black Hollywood" as evidenced by the " Oscars So White " scandal in 2015 that caused uproar when no black actors were nominated for " Best Actor " at the Academy Awards. Slavesploitation, a subgenre of blaxploitation in literature and film, flourished briefly in the late 1960s and 1970s. As its name suggests, the genre is characterized by sensationalistic depictions of slavery. Abrams, arguing that Quentin Tarantino 's Django Unchained (2012) finds its historical roots in
7791-540: Is regularly cited as the "best-loved comic book editor, ever." Archie Goodwin was born in Kansas City, Missouri , and lived in many small towns along the Kansas-Missouri border including Coffeyville, Kansas . He considered Tulsa, Oklahoma as his home town. There he spent his teen years at Will Rogers High School and in used magazine stores searching for EC Comics . and contributor to EC fanzines in
7938-533: Is set in the year 1968 and revolves around Lincoln Clay, a mixed-race African-American orphan raised by "black mob" . After the murder of his surrogate family at the hands of the Italian mafia , Lincoln Clay seeks vengeance on those who took away the only thing that mattered to him. The notoriety of the blaxploitation genre has led to many parodies. The earliest attempts to mock the genre, Ralph Bakshi 's Coonskin and Rudy Ray Moore 's Dolemite , date back to
8085-630: Is the "greatest film about race ever made in Hollywood , certainly prior to Spike Lee and in some respects still". Blaxploitation films have had an enormous and complicated influence on American cinema. Filmmaker and exploitation film fan Quentin Tarantino , for example, has made numerous references to the blaxploitation genre in his films. An early blaxploitation tribute can be seen in the character of "Lite", played by Sy Richardson , in Repo Man (1984). Richardson later wrote Posse (1993), which
8232-532: The "B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D." . Likewise, Austin Powers in Goldmember co-stars Beyoncé Knowles as the Tamara Dobson / Pam Grier -inspired heroine, Foxxy Cleopatra . In the 1977 parody film The Kentucky Fried Movie , a mock trailer for Cleopatra Schwartz depicts another Grier-like action star married to a rabbi . In a scene in Reservoir Dogs , the protagonists discuss Get Christie Love! ,
8379-519: 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
8526-752: The Harlem underworld characters in the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), Jim Kelly 's character in Enter the Dragon (1973) and Fred Williamson 's character in The Inglorious Bastards (1978). Afeni Shakur claimed that every aspect of culture (including cinema) in the 1960s and 1970s was influenced by the Black Power movement . Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was one of
8673-694: 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
8820-601: 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 . Blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s, when
8967-597: The Northeast or West Coast mainly take place in poor urban neighborhoods. Pejorative terms for white characters, such as " cracker " and " honky ", are commonly used. Blaxploitation films set in the South often deal with slavery and miscegenation . The genre's films are often bold in their statements and use violence, sex, drug trafficking and other shocking qualities to provoke the audience. The films usually portray black protagonists overcoming " The Man " or emblems of
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#17327754392919114-584: The Rudy Ray Moore -created franchise Dolemite , with a series of sketches performed by comic actor Aries Spears , in the role of "The Son of Dolemite". Other sketches include the characters " Funkenstein ", " Dr. Funkenstein " and more recently Condoleezza Rice as a blaxploitation superhero. A recurring theme in these sketches is the inexperience of the cast and crew in the blaxploitation era, with emphasis on ridiculous scripting and shoddy acting, sets, costumes, and editing. The sketches are testaments to
9261-553: The Tulsa Tribune , December 17, 1986. "I write a description of the panel (stage setting), and then the captions (dialogue)," he said. "Since I have some art background, I might do a series of thumbnail drawings before I write anything. Comics writings is like any other kind of writing. You draw on everything that's around you. Watching people on the street, eavesdropping in restaurants – sooner or later, you're going to use all of that." His first story written before he went into
9408-527: 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
9555-809: The Wizard Fan Award with Denny O'Neil , Joe Quesada and Kevin Nowlan for the Favorite Miniseries for Batman: Sword of Azrael . He was named Best Editor by the Eisners in 1993. As well as receiving the UK Comic Art Award for Best Graphic Novel with Scott Hampton for Batman: Night Cries. 1997 brought more Harvey Awards to Archie by winning Best Domestic Reprint Project, with Bob Kahan, for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 10th Anniversary Edition Hardcover. Archie
9702-484: The "Annual Players Ball ", has become an often-referenced pop culture icon—most recently by Chappelle's Show , where it was parodied as the "Playa Hater's Ball". The genre's overseas influence extends to artists such as Norway's hip-hop duo Madcon . In Michael Chabon 's novel Telegraph Avenue , set in 2004, two characters are former blaxploitation stars. In 1980, opera director Peter Sellars (not to be confused with actor Peter Sellers ) produced and directed
9849-425: 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
9996-671: The 1970s, where he edited the war comics G.I. Combat , Our Fighting Forces , and Star Spangled War Stories , and replaced Julius Schwartz as editor of Detective Comics for one year. Goodwin's collaboration with Walt Simonson on the "Manhunter" back-up feature in Detective Comics won several awards . Goodwin also wrote the Batman lead feature in Detective Comics , where his collaborators included artists Jim Aparo , Sal Amendola , Howard Chaykin , and Alex Toth . Goodwin first worked for Marvel Comics in 1968 and
10143-540: The 1990s, Goodwin edited a number of Batman projects, including the Elseworlds miniseries Batman: Thrillkiller , and the Alan Grant -written/ Kevin O'Neill -illustrated parody one-shot Batman: Mitefall , a take-off of the " Knightfall " saga, filtered through the character of Bat-Mite . Armageddon 2001 was a 1991 crossover event storyline. It ran through a self-titled, two issue limited series and most of
10290-652: The 50s. His classmates at Will Rogers included illustrator Paul Davis and Broomhilda creator Russell Myers forming a cartoonist's club that met daily at the Owl Drugstore at 11th Street and Pittsburg in Tulsa. After one year at the University of Oklahoma , Goodwin moved to New York City to attend classes at what became the School of Visual Arts . Goodwin began as an artist drawing cartoons for magazines and as
10437-470: The Army was drawn by Al Williamson and Roy Krenkel and published in 1962 just after his discharge from the Army. He was never on staff at Harvey Comics. By 1964 he was the main script writer for Warren 's Creepy magazine. Much of his work there, according to Batman editor Mark Chiarello, was a "homage to the favorite comics of his youth, the E.C. line ." By the second issue he was co-credited (alongside Russ Jones) as editor, and soon became editor of
10584-495: 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
10731-470: 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
10878-595: 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
11025-580: 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
11172-785: The Dark Knight and Azrael . Goodwin's Creepy work is cited by editor Mark Chiarello as informing the creation of the Batman: Black & White series. In the Spring of 1990 he was diagnosed as having cancer and undertook a course of chemo-therapy while still working at DC. Goodwin died on March 1, 1998, after battling the disease for 8 years. The Archie Goodwin Archive and Collection are housed at OKPOP (Oklahoma Museum of Pop Culture) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Donated by his children Jennifer and Seth Goodwin. Goodwin's work won him
11319-640: The Dark Knight Halloween Special No. 1 (Dec. 1993) edited by Goodwin. It is a testament to Goodwin that Loeb has said that Goodwin inspired their portrayal of Gotham police chief Jim Gordon in The Long Halloween and its sequel Batman: Dark Victory , while Robinson (who considered Goodwin both a mentor and close personal friend), continued to list Goodwin as a "Guiding Light" on later issues of Starman published after Goodwin's death. Goodwin edited Batman: Legends of
11466-548: The Left is set in Hollywood during the era of blaxploitation films and references many blaxploitation films and stars such as Pam Grier and Coffy . Archie Goodwin (comics) Archie Goodwin (September 8, 1937 – March 1, 1998) was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work. For Warren he
11613-634: The Model when I walked in." Goodwin and artist George Tuska co-created the supervillain the Controller in Iron Man No. 12 (April 1969). Luke Cage , the first African American superhero to star in an eponymous Marvel comic book series, was created by Goodwin and artist John Romita Sr. in June 1972. While briefly writing The Tomb of Dracula series, Goodwin and artist Gene Colan introduced
11760-477: 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
11907-694: 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
12054-504: The United States has been controversial. Some held that the blaxploitation trend was a token of black empowerment, but others accused the movies of perpetuating common white stereotypes about black people . As a result, many called for the end of the genre. The NAACP , Southern Christian Leadership Conference and National Urban League joined to form the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Their influence in
12201-503: 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
12348-603: The anecdote as the introduction to the story, which ran in the July 1962 issue." (It was actually the July 1964 issue.) From 1967 to 1980, Goodwin wrote scripts for King Features Syndicate , including the daily strip Secret Agent X-9 , drawn by Al Williamson and editor Sylvan Byck , as well as working on other strips ghost writing Captain Kate by Hale and Jerry Skelly. He also worked with Williamson on Flash Gordan comics #3-7 published by King Comics in 1966. Star Hawks
12495-569: The annuals DC published that year from May through October. Each participating annual explored potential possible futures for its main characters. The series was written by Goodwin and Dennis O'Neil and drawn by Dan Jurgens . Among Goodwin's most notable last editorial projects were Starman , written by James Robinson and first published by DC in 1994 and DC's Batman: The Long Halloween by Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb . Loeb and Sale's first work on Batman appeared in Batman: Legends of
12642-471: 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
12789-483: The autumn of 1979, Marschall was fired and Goodwin hired as Epic' s editor. Shooter approached Goodwin after the moderate success of the Epic magazine and creator-owned graphic novels to produce a full-fledged line of creator-owned comics, Epic Comics . Goodwin initially balked at the additional workload, and Shooter turned the line over to Al Milgrom before Goodwin ultimately accepted editorship. Goodwin introduced
12936-617: The background. The cardboard box also has a confrontational attitude and dialect similar to many heroes of this film genre. Some of the TVs found in the action video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne feature a Blaxploitation-themed parody of the original Max Payne game called Dick Justice , after its main character. Dick behaves much like the original Max Payne (down to the "constipated" grimace and metaphorical speech) but wears an afro and mustache and speaks in Ebonics . Duck King ,
13083-486: The blaxploitation era, such as Rudy Ray Moore , Antonio Fargas , Dick Anthony Williams and Pam Grier all make cameo appearances. In one scene, Martin, in character as aging pimp "Jerome", refers to Pam Grier as " Sheba, Baby " in reference to her 1975 blaxploitation feature film of the same name. In the movie Leprechaun in the Hood , a character played by Ice-T pulls a baseball bat from his Afro. This scene alludes to
13230-507: 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
13377-613: The class divisions on board the Nostromo between Ripley and Parker... [T]he characters are a bit more fleshed out..." Heavy Metal published an eight-page teaser for the book in Heavy Metal magazine in vol. 3, No. 1 (May 1979). A second eight-page preview was published in Heavy Metal vol. 3, No. 2 (June 1979). The original 64-page trade paperback was released in June 1979 and distributed by Simon & Schuster . The comic
13524-511: 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
13671-685: 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
13818-463: The combined momentum of the civil rights movement , the black power movement , and the Black Panthers spurred African-American artists to reclaim the power of depiction of their ethnicity, and institutions like UCLA to provide financial assistance for African-American students to study filmmaking. This combined with Hollywood adopting a less restrictive rating system in 1968. The term,
13965-555: 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
14112-436: The entire Warren line: Creepy , Eerie and Blazing Combat . He worked for Warren between 1964 and 1967, as head writer and Editor-in-Chief, in which roles he is credited with providing a mythology for Warren's classic Vampirella character, as well as penning her most compelling stories. After his departure from Warren in 1967, Goodwin would occasionally contribute stories over the next 15 years and even returned for
14259-489: 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
14406-403: The example set by Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song , many blaxploitation films feature funk and soul jazz soundtracks with heavy bass , funky beats and wah-wah guitars. These soundtracks are notable for complexity that was not common to the radio-friendly funk tracks of the 1970s. They also often feature a rich orchestration which included flutes and violins. Blaxploitation was one of
14553-525: The first English translation of Katsuhiro Otomo 's Akira and published English translations of the work of Jean Giraud , a.k.a. Moebius. Archie also gave many writers and artists their first jobs in comic including Todd McFarlane in Coyote #11-14 with his first cover on issue 13. Goodwin returned to DC Comics as an editor and writer in 1989. He wrote the graphic novel Batman: Night Cries painted by Scott Hampton and published in 1992. Throughout
14700-590: The first film categories to have female leads portray brave, heroic, active protagonists. Actresses such as Pam Grier in Coffy and Gloria Hendry in Black Belt Jones opened the door for actresses to become action stars which inspired later films such as Kill Bill and Set It Off . Following the popularity of these films in the 1970s, movies within other genres began to feature black characters with stereotypical blaxploitation characteristics, such as
14847-496: The first films to incorporate black power ideology and permit black actors to be the stars of their own narratives, rather than being relegated to the typical roles available to them (such as the " mammy " figure and other low-status characters). Films such as Shaft brought the black experience to film in a new way, allowing black political and social issues that had been ignored in cinema to be explored. Shaft and its protagonist, John Shaft, brought African-American culture to
14994-457: 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
15141-481: The genre's glorification of stereotypical "criminal" behavior. Alongside accusations of exploiting stereotypes, the NAACP also criticized the blaxploitation genre of exploiting the black community and culture of America, by creating films for a profit that those communities would never see, despite being the vastly misrepresented main focus of many blaxploitation film plots. Many film professionals still believe that there
15288-484: The genre's heyday in 1975. Coonskin was intended to deconstruct racial stereotypes, from early minstrel show stereotypes to more recent stereotypes found in blaxploitation film itself. The work stimulated great controversy even before its release when the Congress of Racial Equality challenged it. Even though distribution was handed to a smaller distributor who advertised it as an exploitation film, it soon developed
15435-476: 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
15582-474: The ideas for the New Universe.' What that doesn't take into account is that for about five or six years I've had these half-formed notions and finally here is a situation where they would all fit in. ...it wasn't like I just went into the meeting and suddenly four concepts sprang full-blown from my brow." In 1976, Goodwin replaced Gerry Conway to become the eighth editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, with
15729-439: The institutional oppression of African-American culture and history. Later films such as Super Fly softened the rhetoric of black power, encouraging resistance within the capitalist system rather than a radical transformation of society. Super Fly still embraced the black nationalist movement in its argument that black and white authority cannot coexist easily. The genre's role in exploring and shaping race relations in
15876-487: The invention of the blaxploitation genre, although Cotton Comes to Harlem was released the prior year. Blaxploitation films were also the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music . [S]upercharged, bad-talking, highly romanticized melodramas about Harlem superstuds, the pimps, the private eyes and the pushers who more or less singlehandedly make whitey's corrupt world safe for black pimping, black private-eyeing and black pushing. Blaxploitation films set in
16023-482: The key and is sitting in front of the Jackson 5 on the back cover. He is name-checked in issues of Marvel's Star Wars comics including in the alien-language words "Niwdoog Eihcra," his name in reverse. A character based on him appears in issue No. 82 of Cerebus (January 1986). He stands at the foot of the giant, living stone statue Tarim and repeats everything Tarim says – as if he is passing Tarim's commands to
16170-519: The late 1970s contributed to the genre's demise. Literary critic Addison Gayle wrote in 1974, "The best example of this kind of nihilism / irresponsibility are the Black films; here is freedom pushed to its most ridiculous limits; here are writers and actors who claim that freedom for the artist entails exploitation of the very people to whom they owe their artistic existence." Films such as Super Fly and The Mack received intense criticism not only for
16317-402: 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
16464-640: 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
16611-507: The mainstream world. Sweetback and Shaft were both influenced by the black power movement, containing Marxist themes, solidarity and social consciousness alongside the genre-typical images of sex and violence. Knowing that film could bring about social and cultural change, the Black Power movement seized the genre to highlight black socioeconomic struggles in the 1970s; many such films contained black heroes who were able to overcome
16758-443: The masses. At the end, the annoyed Tarim threatens to kill "anyone pretending to speak for Tarim" when Archie's character looks up and stops repeating Tarim by telling the masses to get to work. The scene has often been interpreted as an allegory for Goodwin's relationship with Jim Shooter , but Cerebus writer/artist Dave Sim denies this and said "I have nothing but the greatest respect for Archie and in no way intended anything but
16905-496: 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
17052-568: The no-nonsense pimp persona popularized first by ex-pimp Iceberg Slim 's 1967 book Pimp and subsequently by films such as Super Fly , The Mack , and Willie Dynamite . In fact, many hip-hop artists have paid tribute to pimping within their lyrics (most notably 50 Cent 's hit single " P.I.M.P. ") and have openly embraced the pimp image in their music videos , which include entourages of scantily-clad women, flashy jewelry (known as " bling "), and luxury Cadillacs (referred to as " pimpmobiles "). The most famous scene of The Mack , featuring
17199-423: The original script. Simonson, as well, had access to production stills and even saw a rough cut of the film, which helped him capture the essence of the story. As a result, however, a few scenes that were cut from the final film ended up being included in the graphic novel. One reviewer praised Archie Goodwin's script adaptation, which he felt improved on some flaws in the film: "Goodwin... seems to get more into
17346-402: 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
17493-504: The plantation as one of the main origins of boxing as a sport in the U.S. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new wave of acclaimed black film makers, particularly Spike Lee ( Do the Right Thing ), John Singleton ( Boyz n the Hood ) , and Allen and Albert Hughes ( Menace II Society ) focused on black urban life in their movies. These directors made use of blaxploitation elements while incorporating implicit criticism of
17640-520: The poor production quality of the films, with obvious boom mike appearances and intentionally poor cuts and continuity. Another of FOX's network television comedies, Martin starring Martin Lawrence , frequently references the blaxploitation genre. In the Season Three episode "All The Players Came", when Martin organizes a "Player's Ball" charity event to save a local theater, several stars of
17787-404: 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
17934-402: 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
18081-452: The rethinking of race relations in the 1970s. Blaxploitation films were originally aimed at an urban African-American audience but the genre's audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines. Hollywood realized the potential profit of expanding the audiences of blaxploitation films. Variety credited Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and the less radical Hollywood-financed film Shaft (both released in 1971) with
18228-518: 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
18375-407: The series' last episode, took the daring approach of killing him off (one of the few comic book deaths that has actually "taken" and not been reversed or retconned away in the decades since it occurred) is very well regarded by both fans and other comics professionals. Goodwin stated in his final interview, "I think that Manhunter is one of just several projects that I've worked on that I consider
18522-475: The slavesploitation genre, observes that slavesploitation films are characterized by "crassly exploitative representations of oppressed slave protagonists". One early antecedent of the genre is Slaves (1969), which Gaines notes was "not 'slavesploitation' in the vein of later films", but which nonetheless featured graphic depictions of beatings and sexual violence against slaves. Novotny argues that Blacula (1972), although it does not depict slavery directly,
18669-512: The stereotype of the protagonist (generalizing pimps as representative of all African-American men, in this case) but for portraying all black communities as hotbeds for drugs and crime. Blaxploitation films such as Mandingo (1975) provided mainstream Hollywood producers, in this case Dino De Laurentiis , a cinematic way to depict plantation slavery with all of its brutal, historical and racial contradictions and controversies, including sex, miscegenation, rebellion. The story world also depicts
18816-506: The story (pre- Return of the Jedi ) in a daily comic strip . Goodwin wrote the strips under his own name, although many websites and other sources erroneously claim he used the pseudonyms R.S. Helm and Russ Helm . Writer Mark Evanier corrected the matter by stating "Archie did write the Star Wars comic strip (as well as other Star Wars material) but only under his own name. Russ Helm
18963-478: 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
19110-521: The supporting character Rachel van Helsing . Goodwin co-created (with Marie Severin ) the first Spider-Woman , as well as writing her first appearance in Marvel Spotlight No. 32 (February 1977). Goodwin also co-designed Marvel's New Universe line and created four of the eight series in the line. He explained, "[Marvel editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter keeps saying of me: 'Well, here's this guy, in one meeting, he suddenly spews out half
19257-403: 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
19404-426: The time) at a point when the comics industry was in severe decline. Goodwin recalled about the Star Wars comic book, "That really worked ... but I can't take any credit for it. Roy Thomas is the one who brought it to Marvel, and he had to push a little bit to get them to do it." He followed Thomas in adapting the Star Wars characters into an ongoing comic book with artist Carmine Infantino , as well as continuing
19551-399: 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
19698-569: 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
19845-518: 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
19992-454: The understanding that it would only be temporary until a permanent replacement could be found. He ultimately resigned at the end of 1977 and was replaced by Jim Shooter . While Goodwin was editor-in-chief, Marvel secured the rights to publish the Star Wars film's comic adaptation and tie-in series , which then sold phenomenally well (helped by a dearth of other Star Wars merchandise at
20139-522: 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
20286-568: The white majority that oppresses the black community. Blaxploitation includes several subtypes, including crime ( Foxy Brown ), action/martial arts ( Three the Hard Way ), Westerns ( Boss Nigger ), horror ( Abby , Blacula ), prison ( Penitentiary ), comedy ( Uptown Saturday Night ), nostalgia ( Five on the Black Hand Side ), coming-of-age ( Cooley High / Cornbread, Earl and Me ), and musical ( Sparkle ). Following
20433-465: Was a comic strip created by Ron Goulart and Gil Kane , first published on October 3, 1977, that ran through May 2, 1981 by United Feature Syndicate . It was written through April 1979 by Goulart, followed by Archie Goodwin (1979–1980). His experience ghost writing Dan Flagg inspired "The Success Story" (drawn by Williamson, who had ghosted on Flagg ) for Creepy No. 1 (1964), famed among comic strip fans for its EC style dark humor in depicting
20580-481: Was a completely different person writing under his own name." During Goodwin and Infantino's tenure on Marvel's Star Wars series, it was one of the industry's top selling titles. He wrote comic book adaptations for Marvel of the two Star Wars sequels as well as other science-fiction films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner . Alien: The Illustrated Story , or simply Alien ,
20727-480: Was also awarded two Eisner Awards in 1997. First with Gary Gianni for Best Short Story for "Heroes" from Batman: Black & White and another with James Robinson , Tony Harris and Wade Von Grawbadger for Best Serialized Story for Starman "Sand and Stars" (Issues #20-23) Goodwin was honored posthumously in 1998, by being named to the National Comics Award Roll of Honour and he
20874-607: Was also translated in Japanese, Spanish and Dutch. After Marvel Comics passed on publishing the American incarnation of Metal Hurlant ( Heavy Metal ), Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter was charged with producing an alternate title, which became Epic Illustrated . It was initially edited by Rick Marschall , but Shooter approached publisher Stan Lee to urge a replacement: "I told Stan, 'There's one guy who could do this. I don't know if we can get him.' He said, 'Who's that?' 'Archie Goodwin.' The reason I didn't think we could get him
21021-399: Was chief writer and editor of landmark horror anthology titles Creepy and Eerie between 1964 and 1967. At Marvel, he served as the company's editor-in-chief from 1976 to the end of 1977. In the 1980s, he edited the publisher's anthology magazine Epic Illustrated and its Epic Comics imprint. He is also known for his work on Star Wars in both comic books and newspaper strips. He
21168-722: Was entered into the Eisner Hall of Fame . In 2007, Goodwin was inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma , located in the Toy and Action Figure Museum . In 2008, he was one of two recipients of that year's Bill Finger Award , which annually honors one living and one deceased comics creator. The award was presented July 25, 2008, during the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony at San Diego Comic-Con . He makes
21315-503: Was the original writer on the Iron Man series which launched that year. According to Goodwin, when he entered editor Stan Lee 's office to apply for a job with Marvel, Lee was in the middle of writing an Iron Man story and handed him photostats of the pages he was working on for his writer's test. Goodwin speculated, "I assume if he had been working on Sgt. Fury , I'd have been writing Sgt. Fury . Thank God he wasn't writing Millie
21462-432: 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
21609-460: 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
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