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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 26, 2023 5:47:51 GMT -5
Non-costumed jive-talking Blacksploitation anti-hero. Technically a superhero, but not really the same thing. I'm thinking more along the lines of Black Goliath. Costumed hero with powers and a heroic outlook who also happens to be Black. How is an outfit, which he always wears, consisting of distinctive yellow shirt, blue spandex tights, yellow swashbuckler boots, a chain for a belt and metal headband not a costume? And he had superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin. And picked up the moniker Power Man before hitting issue 20. That's not 'technically' a superhero, that's a superhero. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 26, 2023 20:12:51 GMT -5
How is an outfit, which he always wears, consisting of distinctive yellow shirt, blue spandex tights, yellow swashbuckler boots, a chain for a belt and metal headband not a costume? And he had superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin. And picked up the moniker Power Man before hitting issue 20. That's not 'technically' a superhero, that's a superhero. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the entire idea behind Luke Cage was to create someone in look, sound, and thought, who did not resemble a status quo superhero. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 26, 2023 22:34:40 GMT -5
If that was the idea, they failed. You could argue Luke Cage NOW is not a superhero... he's just the mayor of New York that happens to have super powers, and the last couple series before that he was mostly in jeans and a hoodie (the ones I saw).
In the 70s, he 100% was a superhero. For hire, yes, that was the schitck, but no one would look at him and says anything but 'that's a superhero'
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 26, 2023 22:47:02 GMT -5
I have to disagree' or, at least, present a counter-argument to your assessment of Luther's race. The skin tone reflects rotted flesh, "Locked in Death," suggesting decay. Rotting meat turns grey, hence the coloring. Secondly, the name Luther is no more suggestive of a racial background than George. Depending on the era, people used similar inspirations for naming their children. The names of famous politicians or similar figures was one (my great grandfather was named George Washington Nettleton and his father was Thomas Jefferson Nettleton). There is also the biblical inspiration, such as Jacob or Ruth, or even Moses. My very Protestant grandfather (the one whose father was named after the Father of Our Country) was named Wiley Moses. Many people would assume, hearing Moses, that he was Jewish, but he was a Baptist preacher and farmer. Luther was not uncommon, especially with Protestant families, due to the history of Martin Luther and the separation from the Catholic Church. This brings me to my real argument that Luther Manning is depicted white to send a very subtle message about a mixed race family. Why does Luther Manning have to be black to have a black wife? My recollections of the interviews I have seen, related to Deathlok, neither Buckler nor Moench ever addressed the original intent of Luther's race; so, this is just supposition; but, the other possibility that comes to mind is that maybe Luther was intended to be African-American, at the design stage; but, in discussing who he was, the idea of depicting a mixed marriage as part of the norm, in this future world (and remember, this is set in the future), was thought to be a great hook and they went from there. I haven't actually read any of these, but looking at what Shax posted... Manning's son is shown as white, and his wife as black. I don't think it would be very likely in 1970 whatever this is that a black couple would adopt a white kid, so thus, genetics says Manning has to be white. Name wise, I agree with Cody... Luther can be hard core white religious just as easily as black. (I immediately would think Black just because of the Idris Elba show, but that obviously didn't exist then) I also found this article/interview with Denys Cowan, where he seems to make it a bid deal that he made Michael Collins black, as if it was different www.marvel.com/articles/comics/how-denys-cowan-brought-deathlok-to-lifeIncidently Shax, if it's of interest the current (final) story are of Savage Avengers involved Jake Gallows putting together and Exiles like team to fight Ultron in a 2099 version where he gets the Deathlok tech and makes everyone into a Deathlok. I'm pretty excited because the last issue seems to have Bloodhawk and RAVAGE in it (I don't have it yet, so they may just be wallpaper, but even still). |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Feb 27, 2023 4:28:33 GMT -5
If that was the idea, they failed. You could argue Luke Cage NOW is not a superhero... he's just the mayor of New York that happens to have super powers, and the last couple series before that he was mostly in jeans and a hoodie (the ones I saw). In the 70s, he 100% was a superhero. For hire, yes, that was the schitck, but no one would look at him and says anything but 'that's a superhero'
Yep, and that was exactly the way I perceived him as a little kid in the 1970s. Also, if you go back and read some of those earlier Hero for Hire/Power Man stories, it's pretty clear that he's a superhero. Yeah, he's street-level, yeah, he's a 'hero for hire', but he's always doing superheroic things. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Feb 23, 2024 5:33:58 GMT -5
Happy birthday, Doug Moench!
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