A streetwise superhuman strongman with steel-hard skin, Luke Cage was a wrongly convicted ex-convict who became a hero for hire (under the name "Power Man"), first alone and later partnered with others such as Iron Fist in their Heroes for Hire business. 

     He also served briefly with the Fantastic Four as a temporary replacement for the Thing, and was a core member of the informal Defenders super-team for a time, kept on retainer during that period by wealthy Defenders teammate Nighthawk. 

     More recently, Cage was one of several adventurers who helped contain a breakout at the Raft super-prison. 

  
     Following that battle, Cage and most of the other heroes involved in the Raft incident formed the new Avengers (the previous Avengers roster having broken up after their clash with the insane Scarlet Witch). 

     In recent times, Cage has been romantically involved with private investigator Jessica Jones, whom he married shortly after the birth of their daughter.