Carl Lucas

"The way I see it, being a hero makes you put a target on your back."

- Luke Cage

Carl Lucas was a former policeman from Savannah, Georgia, who was wrongfully convicted into Seagate Prison, during his time in prison, he underwent an experiment to save his life that ended up giving superhuman strength and a seemingly unbreakable skin. He escaped from prison and moved to New York City, legally changing his name to Luke Cage. There he came across private investigator Jessica Jones during the course of an investigation in New York City. During their time together, Cage discovered that Jones was involved in the murder of his wife due to the influence of Kilgrave.

Following his encounters with Jones and Kilgrave, he moved from Hell's Kitchen to Harlem, in order to build a new life.

"AKA Ladies Night"
To be added

"AKA Crush Syndrome"
To be added

"AKA It's Called Whiskey"
To be added

"AKA 99 Friends"
To be added

"AKA You're a Winner"
To be added

"AKA I've Got the Blues"
To be added

"AKA Take a Bloody Number"
To be added

"AKA Smile"
To be added

"New York's Finest"
Cage is indirectly mentioned by Claire Temple when speaking with Foggy Nelson.

"Moment of Truth"
To be added

"Code of the Streets"
To be added

"Who's Gonna Take the Weight?
To be added

"Step in the Arena"
To be added

"Just to Get a Rep"
To be added

"Suckas Need Bodyguards
To be added

"Manifest"
To be added

"Blowin' Up the Spot"
To be added

"DWYCK"
To be added

"Take It Personal"
To be added

"Now You;re Mine"
To be added

"Soliloquy of Chaos"
To be added

"You Know My Steez"
To be added

The Defenders
To be added

Character traits
Keeping a low profile, avoiding altercations that might attract suspicious or police activity and generally remaining as normal a person he can be, Luke tends to be aloof, mysterious and sometimes cold due to having to remain as physically and emotionally distant as possible to keep his his tragic and violent past from catching up with him in the present. Whilst attempting to lead a normal life, in some situations like running his own bar in Hell's Kitchen or in Harlem, Luke is capable of being sociable and genial but ultimately makes few friends on a whole. Viewing his abilities as a curse, Luke dreads to use his super-strength and durability, that is unless the situation is absolutely necessary, as he only "protects (himself) and what's (his)". This mentality is evident when he fights off several opponents in his bar, unknowingly revealing his abilities to a group of patrons and when he agreed to find Antoine Grier for his sister. Jaded as he is, Luke is a good man at heart and a loyal friend to the few he has.

Luke also loved his wife, Reva Connors dearly as she was the only thing during his time at Seagate that gave him hope and kept him sane. When she was killed, he was said to have become obsessed over discovering how it happened. He was even dragged out of the MTA by eight guards when he angrily confronted the administrator there, Serena Grier, to find out more about the crash and she was unable to calm him down. When confronting the man (who supposedly) killed Reva, Luke, blinded by love for his wife and rage, reveals his super abilities with the full intention of murdering him, although he did have enough restraint to calm himself down from attacking Jessica when it was revealed she was the one that killed Reva but scolded her quite harshly over this confession. Upon discovering that Reva was aware of the experimentation at Seagate and also recommended him to the experiment that gave him superhuman strength, Luke is deeply disturbed, claiming the memory of Reva was now ruined but he still loved the idea of her. He was very protective of his Hell's Kitchen bar, Luke's due to it being the only memory of Reva he had left, keeping it clean and protecting it from damage. When Kilgrave had him destroy his bar and know with no real connection left to Hell's Kitchen, Luke left to live a knew life in Harlem. He has engaged in relationships with other women after Reva such as Gina, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight and Claire Temple but he still loves his wife even after her death.

In battling criminals, Luke is confident and humorous due to knowing that he cannot be injured or killed in combat or by guns. Whilst usually quiet, such as during his attack on Crispus Attucks, he is not above a sarcastic or witty comment. When Zip and several other criminals were holding up the Lin's Chinese restaurant, Luke reprimands Zip for his harsh tone of voice and disrespect towards Connie before fighting them. Similarly when confronting Domingo Colon at his boxing ring and Colon's goons drew their guns on him, Luke only reacts by saying that "(they) hadn't heard of (him)" and stating dryly that "(he) was tired of buying new clothes" after being shot by them. Luke often destroys firearms when given the chance, either after or during a fight, sometimes even before combat begins.

Due to gaining his powers by accident and doing his best not to use them, therefore not training himself how to use them, Luke does not entirely know the limits of his own powers which has led him to break bones, throwing enemies in the air and through walls and land almost-fatal punches. Fortunately he has not killed anyone but this is by Luke's own restraint as murder will get him back into the police system, eventually creating a line that Luke Cage is Carl Lucas and will be imprisoned yet again. He even mentioned his that while he would want to not have to use restraint, it would kill his opponents if he did not, saying this to Zip and his men while warning them not to fight him. The one time he was prepared to kill, however, was Charles Wallace whom he thought had killed Reva. His powers and restraint of them appear to be connected to his own emotional state as he lost control of his strength when he discovered that Reva was involved in his experiment and destroyed Noah Burstein's entire barn in distress upon discovery of this revelation. Although not as strong as his half-brother's faith in God, Luke has a religious side to his personality due to his upbringing by a reverend father. Although not outspokenly displayed, his alias of "Luke Cage" was derived from a bible quote his father taught him.

Unlike the rest of New York's vigilantes, such as Daredevil and Spider-Man, he does not have a secret identity or costume and his hero work is seen in the light of day amongst Harlem's citizens. When deciding to keep helping people more, he considers a costume but Claire encourages him to remain in the light as too much in Harlem already happens in the shadows, with the unsaid addendum that most of these shadowy acts are criminal in nature. Seeing a normal man stand up would give hope to its citizens rather than just a symbol of fear for its enemies. With inspiration from his friends, Luke gives up his secretive lifestyle to finally do some good, becoming a "man of the people" figure who isn't afraid to be seen in the light of day, openly fighting criminals such as the like of Cottonmouth and Diamondback.

Luke has a fondness for basketball and reading, with his favorite genre being detective stories.

Powers and Abilities
As a result of an experiment, he permanently obtained the following powers and abilities.

Powers

 * Superhuman Strength:  Luke's strength is at superhuman levels sufficient to lift 25 tons. His strength allow him to easily move extremely heavy objects with ease. He has perfect control of his strength as he is able to handle the glasses in his bar skillfully, and engage in rough sex without trouble. He is able to break concrete walls while punching it, lift heavy debris, crushing a person with a car door, and knocking down a cage door with one kick.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Luke's body generates no fatigue toxins during activity, granting him nigh limitless stamina, virility, libido, willpower, tenacity, vigor, vitality and pain tolerance.
 * Invulnerability: Luke is impervious to all forms of physical harm, injury or pain, he has an impenetrable anatomy. The durability of his cells can be likened to those found on abalone shells, due to their structure and super elasticity his skin still feels like flesh (well-toned), as he can engage in rough sex without causing injury, it is only when put in harms way that his invulnerability becomes apparent. He is immune to all forms of physical harm. He cannot be harmed by projectiles or puncturing, nor can he be poisoned, drowned, suffocated, or damaged in any way. He can withstand immense impacts without injury and is immune to extreme temperatures, such as being lit on fire and electrical shocks. He has survived being shot countless times by a fully automatic sub machine gun, and contact head-shot from a shotgun without sustaining injury. He has also fallen from great heights, been run over by a bus without sustaining injury.
 * Accelerated Healing Factor: The experiment was designed to accelerate cell regeneration in its subjects. During his transformation, all of Luke's scars and slashes closed up and healed in a few moments.
 * Superhuman Physicality: The experiment enhanced Luke's body. Luke's skin is smooth and flawless, his hair is perfect. Luke is tall and well-developed, even without training his muscles are brawny, his body shape doesn't change regardless of calorie intakes, and he is extremely "well-endowed". He passively secretes powerful pheromones that make him irresistibly attractive to women.
 * Superhuman Immunity: Luke is immune to all poisons, toxins, impurities, illnesses, diseases, radiation, infections, disorders, imperfections and other harmful foreign substances. He can go without air, food or water indefinitely. Luke's body is also immune to elemental extremes, to the extent that he can walk-through fire with no injury.
 * Superhuman Senses: Luke's senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch are all enhanced beyond human potential. He also has a perfect pitch and can notice all sorts of sounds. He also can see farther than any normal human with perfect clarity even retaining this perfect clarity in total darkness.
 * Superhuman Speed: Luke is able to easily run over 30 mph and move faster than the eye can see.
 * Superhuman Reflexes: Luke has lightning-fast reflexes. He can easily dodge attacks even when not consciously aware of them. His reflexes can be used to attack and counter instead of just defensive purposes.
 * Superhuman Agility: Luke has agility far greater than a normal human.
 * Superhuman Flexibility: Luke has flexibility far greater than a normal human.
 * Superhuman Dexterity: Luke has dexterity far greater than a normal human.

Abilities

 * Strong Charisma: Luke is a very eloquent speaker, by nature he is incredibly persuasive and charming. Able to bring anyone to understand and feel for his viewpoint, even large audiences. His innate nobility easily earns him the respect and friendship of a many different people. He radiates an aura of attractiveness, naturally inducing pleasure, desire and subtly lifting inhibitions.
 * Genius-Level Intellect: Luke is self-educated in the law, business and is multilingual. He has an eidetic (photographic) memory and "a natural aptitude for having natural aptitudes;" picking up complicated skills quickly and retaining them. However, Luke tends to downplay his intellect due to his past and views and life.
 * Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Luke is a self-taught hand-to-hand combatant with years of street fighting experience. He can utilize his strength in order to increase his combat effectiveness against more powerful opponents.
 * Skilled Athlete: Luke is also a gifted athlete, possessing limitless athletic skills.

Relationships

 * Jessica Jones - Ally, former love interest.
 * Claire Temple - Ally, love interest.
 * Reva Connors - Wife, deceased.
 * Gina - Ex-lover.
 * Roy Healy - Employee.
 * Kilgrave - Enemy.
 * Misty Knight Ally, one-night stand.
 * Hernan "Shades" Alvarez - Enemy.
 * Willis Stryker/Diamondback - Half-brother, enemy.
 * Cornell Stokes/Cottonmouth - Enemy.
 * Mariah Dillard - Enemy.
 * Henry "Pops" Hunter - Employer/Mentor.

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (3 TV Series)
 * Jessica Jones - Mike Colter
 * "AKA Ladies Night" (First appearance)
 * "AKA Crush Syndrome"
 * "AKA It's Called Whiskey"
 * "AKA 99 Friends" (Mentioned only)
 * "AKA You're a Winner"
 * "AKA Top Shelf Perverts" (Mentioned only)
 * "AKA I've Got the Blues"
 * "AKA Take a Bloody Number"
 * "AKA Smile"
 * Daredevil
 * "New York's Finest" (Mentioned only)
 * Luke Cage - Mike Colter, Clifton Cutrary (teenager) and David Austin (young)
 * "Moment of Truth"
 * "Code of the Streets"
 * "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?"
 * "Step in the Arena"
 * "Just to Get a Rep"
 * "Suckas Need Bodyguards"
 * "Manifest"
 * "Blowin' Up the Spot"
 * "DWYCK"
 * "Take It Personal"
 * "Now You're Mine"
 * "Soliloquy of Chaos"
 * "You Know My Steez"
 * Iron Fist
 * "Felling Tree with Roots" (Mentioned only)
 * "The Blessing of Many Fractures" (Mentioned only)
 * "The Mistress of All Agonies" (Mentioned only)
 * "Lead Horse Back to Stable" (Mentioned only)
 * "Dragon Plays with Fire" (Mentioned only)
 * The Defenders - Mike Colter
 * "Episode 1"
 * "Episode 2"
 * "Episode 3"
 * "Episode 4"
 * "Episode 5"
 * "Episode 6"
 * "Episode 7"
 * "Episode 8"

Behind the scenes
To be added

Trivia

 * In the comics, Cage's catchphrase is "Sweet Christmas". He says this in Jessica Jones episodes "AKA It's Called Whiskey" and "AKA You're a Winner".

The Defenders
To be added