{"id":19972,"date":"2019-06-04T15:49:18","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T15:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/?p=19972"},"modified":"2019-06-24T08:51:37","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T08:51:37","slug":"marvelslukecage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/blog\/marvelslukecage\/","title":{"rendered":"A NEW LUKE – The History of Marvel’s Luke Cage"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Luke Cage first appeared on the pages of Marvel Comics in June 1972, he was heralded as \u201cA strangely unique super-hero.\u201d By modern sensibilities this was a rather clumsy way of highlighting the fact that the brawny, bulletproof, Harlem-based crime fighter was the first African-American hero to ever be given his own title. But it also could have described the way he dressed: in a canary-yellow shirt, with a chain-link belt and a metal tiara.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fast-forward 44 years, to the launch of Cheo Hodari Coker\u2019s TV adaptation, and Harlem\u2019s \u201cHero For Hire\u201d had a very different, far cooler style, wisely switching the shirt and tiara for a pair of jeans and a hoodie \u2014 which, more often than not, would end up pocked with bullet holes.<\/p>\n

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As with previous Marvel-Netflix shows Marvel\u2019s <\/em>Daredevil <\/em>and Marvel\u2019s<\/em> Jessica Jones <\/em>(in which Mike Colter made his debut as Luke), the tone was gritty and the watchword was realism. Aside from a flashback to Luke\u2019s origin which playfully showed him in a get-up rather similar to his first comic-book appearance \u2014 complete with tiara \u2014 Coker\u2019s two-season show kept Cage streetwise and relatable. \u201cLuke Cage is a working man\u2019s hero, so we really wanted to dress him in a humble way,\u201d costume designer Stephanie Maslansky told Cultured Vulture<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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However, neither Coker nor Maslansky neglected the character\u2019s comic-book heritage. Take Luke\u2019s custom-designed hoodie, a number of which are included in Propstore\u2019s exclusive Marvel\u2019s Television Live Auction \u2014 bullet holes included on many. The inner lining of the dark hood is gold-yellow, a subtle reference to the shirt worn by his \u201970s comic-book incarnation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to figure out a way to incorporate the colors of Luke Cage into his costume,\u201d explained Maslansky. \u201cWe knew we wanted him to wear a hoodie\u2026 I suggested we line the hood with the color, so that way we\u2019d get a pop, but it is not overwhelming.\u201d To begin with, Maslansky\u2019s tailors added the lining to the hoodies. Now, she says, the brand is making and selling them with a gold lining.<\/p>\n

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This philosophy \u2014 of referencing the comic book but in a relatable, down-to-earth way \u2014 extended to other characters in the show. Luke\u2019s first-season nemesis Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey) obtained a super-suit to enable him to match Cage blow for blow. Maslansky fashioned this in such a way that it resembled the villain\u2019s green-and-yellow-ribbed comic-book outfit. \u201cI interpreted it as a modified flight suit,\u201d Maslansky told Awards Circuit. <\/em>\u201cIt had to at least look like it was functional and practical.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By the second season Luke\u2019s greatest ally, Misty Knight (Simone Missick), finally got the super-strength cybernetic arm she had in the comics, after losing her limb to the swish of a ninja blade during the Defenders <\/em>crossover show. Though a more overtly sci-fi element than anything else in the show, this was again designed with practicality and believability in mind, though \u201cit\u2019s reflective of the comics, and you have to pay homage,\u201d Maslansky pointed out.<\/p>\n

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If you look closely, the on-screen Luke Cage<\/em> style is as present with Misty\u2019s arm as with anything else: its rubber plating is predominantly colored black and gold, much like Luke\u2019s hoodie. Not to mention the Rand Industries logo on the shoulder as the arm was a gift from Luke\u2019s fellow Defender, Danny Rand. As gritty as it got, Luke Cage<\/em> never forgot its comic-book roots.<\/p>\n

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\"blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Luke Cage first appeared on the pages of Marvel Comics in June 1972, he was heralded as \u201cA strangely unique super-hero.\u201d By modern sensibilities this was a rather clumsy way of highlighting the fact that the brawny, bulletproof, Harlem-based crime fighter was the first African-American hero to ever be given his own title. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":20043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,674],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-auction","category-marvel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19972"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20129,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19972\/revisions\/20129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}