The Marvel Comics Guide: LUKE CAGE READING ORDER: Power Man (1972-1977)

Imprisoned at Seagate Penitentiary for crimes he didn't commit, Carl Lucas agrees to take part in an experiment to create a super-soldier - similar to the one that created Captain America. Lucas survives a vengeful guard's attempt to sabotage the experiment, but still emerges with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. Lucas escaped and set himself up under a new identity as Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and used his abilities to right wrongs while searching for a way to clear his name.

I'm openly no expert on the '70s era, so I'm less-familiar with Luke Cage's earlier stories. I normally break down the must-read stories and the ones to consider skipping in greater depth, but it's all up to you this time around!

Future entries will cover Luke's alliance with Iron Fist, going on the run again and becoming a key member of both the Avengers and Thunderbolts.

MCG Notes:

Issue listings in blue & black: The must-read Luke Cage stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
Issue listings in grey: Cameo appearances or stories of note that are non-essential or no longer considered 'required reading'.
Chronology: Every appearance of Luke Cage/Power Man from this period is included in chronological order - mapping out his timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
Spoilers: The issue/story overviews may include spoilers, so be warned!
WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE? Scroll down to THE CORE LIST to see a version of this reading order without story descriptions, page-by-page breakdowns or less important appearances - just a list of the essentials.

Hero for Hire #1 (1972)

First appearance of Luke Cage/Carl Lucas, Dr Noah Burstein, Reva Conners, Quirt, Billy Bob Rackham, the Rivals (Comanche, Diamondback/Willis Stryker & Shades) and Seagate Federal Penitentiary; when he turns his back on life as a member of the Rivals street gang, Carl Lucas former-friend, Willis Stryker, frames him for cocaine possession; Lucas agrees to take part in experiments carried out on prisoners while he's incarcerated as Seagate Prison, only for the experiment to be sabotaged by a racist guard and for Lucas to receive superhuman strength and durability; Lucas is believed to have died trying to escape Seagate; he survives, changes his name to Luke Cage and sets himself up as a 'hero for hire' in Harlem; this draws the attention of local costumed gang-leader Diamondback, who's actually Willis Stryker, the man who's also responsible for the death of Cage's girlfriend, Reva.

Marvels #4(pp.10-11) (1994)

Luke Cage cameo; Phil Sheldon and Marcia Hardesty interview Luke Cage for the Daily Bugle; the interview is cut short when Phil follows a lead on clearing Spider-Man's name over the death of Capt George Stacy.

Hero for Hire #2-7 (1972-1973)

First appearance of Bertha, Black Mariah/Mariah Dillard, Flea, Gadget, David 'DW' Griffith, Mimi Jenks, Gideon Mace, Claire Temple, the Gem Theatre and the Storefront Clinic; Cage sets up shop at the Gem Theatre; nurse Claire Temple convinces Noah Burstein to hire Luke Cage to protect the Storefront Clinic from Diamondback's gang; Luke confronts DIamondback and learns his true identity before the villain falls to his death; Cage is also hired to stop Gideon Mac'e attack on Wall Street, discover the identity of the Phantom of 45th Street, Black Mariah's corpse-theft scam, Ansel's plan to abscond with his own father's fortune and stop the unseasonal actions of a madman named Marley.

Fantastic Four #133 (1973)

Luke Cage cameo; Cage just misses his first chance to meet the Fantastic Four.

Hero for Hire #8-11 (1973)

First appearance of Phil Fox and Señor Suerte/Señor Muerte/Ramón García; Cage is hired by a mystery employer to retrieve his stolen technology, learning that his benefactor is Doctor Doom; when Doom refuses to pay, Cage borrows a ship from the Fantastic Four to fly to Latveria and confront him; Cage is investigated by rogue Daily Bugle reporter Phil Fox; Cage tackles gambling-themed criminal Señor Suerte.

Amazing Spider-Man #123(pp.1-10) (1973)

Hero for Hire #12(pp.1-3) (1973)

Amazing Spider-Man #123(pp.10-19) (1973)

Hero for Hire #12(pp.3-19) (1973)

First appearance of Chemistro/Curtis Carr; J Jonah Jameson hires Luke Cage to apprehend Spider-Man over the death of Norman Osborn; Cage learns Spidey is innocent and confronts JJJ; Cage is hired to put a stop to Cheistro's extortion racket during JUST A MAN CALLED CAGE.

Hero for Hire #13 (1973)

Luke Cage is left disturbed by his confrontation with the murderous Lionfang.

Avengers #118 (1973)

Luke Cage cameo; Cage is among the heroes defending Earth from Dormammu's demonic hordes during THE AVENGERS/DEFENDERS WAR.

Hero for Hire #14-15[1/2], 16 (1973)

First appearance of Benjamin 'Big Ben' Donovan and Stiletto/Thomas Stuart; Mimi Jenks hires Luke Cage to protect her from Big Ben Donovan; Phil Fox is hot dead while investigating Cage's status as a fugitive; Cage risks returning to jail while pursued by the mercenary Stiletto.

Iron Man #65 (1973)

Luke Cage cameo; Luke Cage turns down a job acting as a bodyguard for Dr Kinji Obatu (secretly Doctor Spectrum).

Power Man #17 (1974)

First appearance of Luke Cage as Power Man; Cage is hired by Orville Smythe to test Stark Industries' security by breaking in and stealing a prototype space suit; Cage clashes with Iron Man until they realise Smythe duped him; Cage renames himself Power Man.

Code of Honor #1 (1997)

Power Man busts a drug dealer.

Power Man #18-21 (1974)

First appearance of Cottonmouth/Cornell Stokes, Maxwell Plumm, Steeplejack/Jake Mallard; Power Man is hired to protect building contractor Maxwell Plumm from the vengeful Steeplejack; the criminal Cottonmouth has ties to Power Man's origins and tries to shut down his business; Claire Temple and Luke Cage break up; the super-criminal Power Man (Erik Josten) attacks Luke Cage overt the right to the name Power Man.

Defenders #17-19 (1974-1975)

First appearance of the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer/Henry Camp, Piledriver/Brian Calusky & Thunderball/Eliot Franklin); the Wrecker breaks out of jail with help from three other inmates and splits his powers with them to form the Wrecking Crew; JC Pennyworth hires Power Man to protect Richmond Enterprises buildings that are targeted by the Crew; though he initially ends clashes with Nighthawk and Doctor Strange, Power Man fights alongside the Defenders against the Wrecking Crew.

Power Man #22-25 (1974-1975)

First appearance of Discus/Timothy Stuart; first appearance of Bill Foster as Black Goliath; Discus and Stiletto attack Power Man over his involvement in ending their father's career; Power Man and Dave Griffith head to California in search of Claire Temple; on the way, Cage discovers Gideon Mace is still alive, meet new hero Black Goliath and rescue Claire from the Circus of Crime.

Defenders #24-25 (1975)

First appearance of the Elf With a Gun; Clea summons Power Man, Daredevil and the Son of Satan to help the Hulk rescue the Defenders from the Sons of the Serpent.

Power Man #26-27, 29, 28, 30-31 (1975-1976)

First appearance of Quentin Chase, Dontrell 'Cockroach' Hamilton, Raymond 'Piranha' Jones and Mister Fish/Mortimer Norris; first shadowed appearance of Spear/Jasper Daniels; Power Man is hired to investigate the existence of the vampiric Night Shocker, clashes with failed wrestler X the Marvel, stops Mister Fish from terrorising truckers and prevents Cockroach Hamilton and Piranha Jones from unleashing experimental chemicals on the city.

Marvel Two-in-One #13 (1976)

Both Power Man and the Thing are called in to put an end to the destructive rampage of the artificially-created monstrosity Braggadoom.

Power Man #32-35 (1976)

First appearance of of Mangler/Shadrick Daniels; first full appearance of Spear/Jasper Daniels; Power Man is hired to protect the Simmons family from racist attacks by Wildfire; Spear and the Mangler hunt Noah Burstein over the death of their father at Seagate, until Power Man steps in.

Fantastic Four #168-170 (1976)

First appearance of the Thing Exoskeleton; Mister Fantastic brings in Power Man to replace the Thing on the Fantastic Four, following his transformation back to Ben Grimm; alongside the FF, Power Man fights the Wrecker; the Puppet Master manipulates Power Man, turning him against the team; Ben Grimm dons an exoskeleton armour based on his Thing form and fights to free Power Man from the Puppet Master's control.

Defenders #37-40 (1976)

With the Defenders divided, Jack Norris calls on Power Man to turn the tide in the fight against Nebulon; Power Man is briefly exiled to another dimension by Nebulon, but escapes and helps defeat him; Power Man and the new Red Guardian officially join the Defenders when they go up against the Committee for Free Emigration and their agent, the Assassin, during EXILE TO OBLIVION!

Power Man Annual #1 (1976)

Power Man is hired to rescue the daughter of industrialist Amanda Sheridan who's been kidnapped by Moses Magnum.

Defenders Annual #1 (1976)

Alongside his fellow Defenders, Power Man faces Nebulon and the Headmen in a climactic battle; Power Man and Valkyrie are briefly shrunk to microscopic size by Gorilla-Man, but both are restored by Doctor Strange and help convince Nebulon of the error of his ways during EXILE TO OBLIVION!

Power Man #37-40 (1976-1977)

First appearance of Chemisto/Arch Morton and Cheshire Cat; Power Man becomes the focus of crime boss Big Brother who warns Cage not to disrupt his endeavours; Power Man learns there's a new Chemistro in town and that there's more to Big Brother than he first thought; Power Man fights his way through Big Brother's crew until he faces him in a fateful final battle.

Defenders #42-46 (1976-1977)

First appearance of Kris Keating; first full appearance of Max Fury; first appearance of Doctor Strange as the Red Rajah; the Defenders face the threat of the Egghead's Emissaries of Evil when they seek revenge against the team; following a disastrous battle with the Red Raja, Power Man is among those who leave the Defenders.

Power Man #41-47 (1977)

First appearance of Goldbug/Matthew Gilden; first appearance of Bill Carver as Thunderbolt; Power Man is hired to stop Goldbug stealing a gold shipment and meets new hero Thunderbolt; Power Man is called in to end Gideon Mace's plans to blow up Chicago with a nuke.