Ever since his debut in 1972, Luke Cage has been one of the biggest and best superheroes in the Marvel Universe and superhero comic books in general. Despite this, he's very rarely been given his bulletproof dues, with ongoing comic books for the hero for hire being a rarity at best. Sadly, that trend has continued into the modern-day, even with an important date approaching.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Luke Cage, but outside of a now-canceled mini-series, Marvel seems to be giving the date no reverence. This is despite the company's supposed focus on diversity, not to mention the pushing of other diverse characters such as Black Panther and Shang-Chi. Here's a look at the so far dry landscape for Power Man's 50th birthday, as well as how Marvel could successfully turn it into one worthy of the hero.
Luke Cage and the Cancellation of City of Fire
Luke Cage: City of Fire was a planned mini-series set to be released in 2022, and it would have coincided with both the character turning the big 5-0 as well as tie into the Devil's Reign event based around Daredevil. Unfortunately, that series was abruptly canceled in late 2021. So far nothing has been said as to why it was canceled or if anything will replace it.
This certainly put a damper on any kind of celebration for Luke Cage's big event, especially given how generally lowkey the character had become. Luke's biggest break arguably ever was when he joined the Avengers in Brian Michael Bendis' run in the 2000s, but since then, he's gone back to being a forgotten part of the Marvel Universe. His most recent books, which included a solo title as well as another volume of Power Man/Iron Fist costarring Danny Rand, were released following the airing of his Netflix TV series. These books didn't last long, however, and were canceled long ago.
Again, despite Marvel pushing more and more minority characters, it's strange that one of the first major black heroes in comics has historically been passed over. As sad as the cancellation of City of Fire was, it's arguably par for the course with Luke Cage. This shouldn't keep Marvel from giving Cage the legitimate push that characters like Black Panther and more recently Shang-Chi have been given, which Cage himself rightfully deserves. In fact, there's no better time to do so than now, with the character turning half of a century old.
How Marvel Could Capitalize on Luke Cage's 50th Anniversary
Undoing the cancellation of City of Fire may not be on the horizon, but Marvel can still change course with Luke Cage and give him a huge birthday push. Perhaps in the place of City of Fire, another miniseries could be released throughout 2022 starring Luke Cage. A miniseries be set directly after the events of Devil's Reign would be a must-read for fans of that story and street-level Marvel in general.
Also, as much as Marvel does with their Voices program, they could have a showcase for black talent writing and drawing a giant-sized special for Luke Cage. Perhaps the best way, however, to make Luke's birthday his best yet would be to announce a new ongoing series with five-star talent on it. Creators such as Christopher Priest, Brian Azzarello, Chip Zdarsky, or Ta-Nehisi Coates would be great picks to write the series, as well as adding some star power that would bring sales and attention to the book. Marvel may not have used Luke Cage to his fullest potential in the past, but by doing something with him this year, they could make him a true literary pillar of both Harlem and the Marvel Universe.