Marvel's Luke Cage might not be getting his own television series until late September on Netflix, but in the comic books, he is a character that has been in publication for nearly 45 years.

The character first appeared in the first issue of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire cover-dated June 1972, where he became the first African-American superhero to headline his own regular series. The series went through two major title changes (becoming Luke Cage, Power Man with #17 and Power Man and Iron Fist later on with #50), and ultimately ran for 125 issues through 1986. Since then, Cage has headlined his own 20-issue series and a limited series or two, but most of his appearances have been in team books such as New Avengers and Thunderbolts. Currently, Marvel is publishing a Power Man and Iron Fist revival, with issue #6 recently hitting stores as part of their Civil War II event.

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Cage was created at a time of "Blaxploitation" films were the current trend, and he could have easily just been left to the past. However, writer Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Jessica Jones and Powers) had plans for Marvel's erstwhile Hero for Hire, making him one of the company's heavy hitters within the 21st century. Luke Cage currently appears in the Power Man and Iron Fist ongoing series from Marvel Comics, in which Luke is [perhaps reluctantly] teamed up with his old pal Iron Fist yet again.

Whether it's as "Cage," "Power Man," or just the "Hero for Hire," Luke Cage amassed one of the most impressive rogues' galleries in comics. Villains such as Chemistro, Cottonmouth, Black Mariah, Mister Fish, Shades, Comanche, Stiletto, and Discus all have faced the powerful hero over the years. There aren't many characters outside of The Flash or Spider-Man who could boast such a large group of foes. Ultimately, for a character who was created to cash in on a fad, it is thanks to some talented creators that Luke Cage has endured for so long.

Below is a look at some of his history on the printed page, and a recommendation for the top 15 comics you should check out as we prepare for Luke Cage (starring Mike Colter as the hero) to drop in a few weeks. They are definitely not the only ones worth reading, though, as there are hundreds of issues to choose from—but this should get you started!

"Out of Hell - A Hero!" (Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1)

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In June 1972, Marvel Comics launched Luke Cage, Hero for Hire. The origin story is told in the first issue, as we meet a man called Lucas, who is abused by racist prison guard named Rackham, and held in Seagate Prison for a crime he didn't commit. Lucas meets Dr. Noah Burstein, who recruits him for an experimental chemical bath that could regenerate cells, a variation of the Super-Soldier experiments that empowered Captain America. Unfortunately, Rackham interferes, accidentally accelerating the process and leaving Lucas with great power and bulletproof skin. Lucas escapes prison, still wanted by the law. Once escaped, Lucas takes on the new name of "Luke Cage" and creates a "Hero for Hire" business to use his new abilities while trying to get revenge on those who improperly framed him.

"...Just A Man Called Cage!" (Amazing Spider-Man #123)

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Luke Cage has one of his most high-profile early appearances as J. Jonah Jameson employs the Hero for Hire to take down Spider-Man--dead or alive. This issue comes immediately after the 2-parter that took the lives of Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin, and what Luke does with Jameson's money is one of the character's finest moments.

"Where Angels Fear To Tread!" (Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #9)

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In this issue, Doctor Doom owes him money, so Cage does what he feels he needs to do to collect the payment: He convinces the Fantastic Four to let him borrow a rocket so he can travel to Latveria so Doctor Doom cannot cheat his way out of his debt. Cage knocks out some robots, and Doom is impressed that the Hero for Hire would travel halfway across the world and infiltrate his castle just to collect a $200 debt. Although Doom's debt is set up in issue #8, all of this activity happens in just one issue, a sign of what comics were like in 1973. A full story in 20 pages for 20 cents! If only things were still that good.

"The Killer With My Name!" (Luke Cage, Power Man #21)

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In issue #17 of his comic book series, Luke Cage decided to take on a more superheroic alter ego, and "Power Man" was the name that he adopted. What he didn't remember, though, is that an Avengers villain, Erik Josten, also went by the name of Power Man--and he's come to New York angry and wanting to take back the mantle. You can guess who wins in the battle of Power Man vs. Power Man, with the villain being told that if he ever calls himself by that name again, it will be tattooed on his rib cage. Bonus: At this time of the comic book series, Luke Cage is seeing a doctor named Claire Temple. If that name sounds familiar to you, there's a reason for it: She's the "Night Nurse" that we've seen on Netflix already within Daredevil and Jessica Jones.

Luke Cage Joins The Fantastic Four (Fantastic Four #168-170)

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When Ben Grimm is reverted to human form, the Fantastic Four needs a new strong man to replace The Thing, so Reed Richards hires a hero to take his place as the team's muscle. Unfortunately, not long after joining the team Luke falls under the spell of the Puppet Master, and it takes a Thing--Ben Grimm wearing a powered exosuit that mimics his old form--to take him down.

"Freedom!" (Power Man and Iron Fist #50)

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Here, Luke Cage is finally exonerated for the crimes that he was accused of at the start of his series. The third of three issues by the famed X-Men creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the 50th issue of Luke Cage's comic book series is also the first to be titled Power Man and Iron Fist, as the character of Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist (formerly featured in a series of his own) gets folded in to Luke Cage's book. These two unlikely partners--a bulletproof tough man and a martial artist with a literal iron fist--become fast friends and in issue #54 formally incorporate as the "Heroes for Hire."

"Hardball" (Power Man and Iron Fist #125)

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All good things must come to an end, and by 1986 Marvel was getting rid of some long-running titles in order to make way for their "New Universe" line of comics. By this time, Jim Owsley (now known as Christopher Priest) was writing Cage's adventures, and may have been the first African-American writer of his stories. This run introduced "Captain Hero," who at least appeared to be a boy who transformed himself into an adult superhero much like the Golden Age Captain Marvel. In Power Man and Iron Fist #125, the young boy who becomes Captain Hero ends up killing a sleeping Iron Fist and then disappears--literally. Luke Cage ends his series on the run, falsely accused of Danny's death, and comic book audiences wouldn't see him again for three years.

"Hero in Hiding" (Marvel Comics Presents #82)

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The actual story--in which Luke Cage battles an energy-draining villain who got his powers from a "Corporation"--isn't very memorable, but it was a bit exciting to see Power Man again for the first time in several years. He's still wearing the yellow shirt, chains, and tiara, but admits that it's starting to look dated. When we see Cage next in Punisher #60, he has a much more modern look, and he teams up with Frank Castle in a borderline-offensive story in which Frank Castle is turned into an African-American man for three issues.

"The Death and Life of Luke Cage" (Cage #12)

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As much as the tiara and chains are a product of the 1970s, the early-90s Cage series is also a product of its time. For the series, which sported some in-your-face artwork like you'd see from Image Comics around that time, Marvel tried to make Luke Cage a cool "hero for the Nineties" much like they had with the Ghost Rider. Sadly, this "edgy" new direction involved a hero who was angry rather than the Luke that had so much heart in his last series. And, yes, since it's the early 90s, Luke has a fade haircut, and villains like Hardcore look like they're right out of the year 1992.

Issue #12 of Cage is most notable in that it finally reunited Luke Cage with his best friend Iron Fist, who it turns out didn't die back in Power Man and Iron Fist #125. John Byrne's Namor series explained it all, but that's a story for an Iron Fist retrospective. Unfortunately, this reunion probably wasn't all readers were hoping for at the time--Cage spends most of the interaction angry, and at one point even punches his old friend.

At the very least, Cage was Luke's longest-running series after the conclusion of Power Man and Iron Fist, and it explored the character's past and family life. Cage also finally revealed "Carl Lucas" as the name that Luke was born with.

"Heroes and Villains" (Heroes for Hire #1)

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Although the series was originally developed under a different name under writer Roger Stern, John Ostrander's 1997 Heroes for Hire revival came at a time where Marvel's Avengers were loaned out to artist Rob Liefeld for the "Heroes Reborn" event, so several good characters including the Black Knight, She-Hulk, Ant-Man, and Hercules were around to join Luke Cage and Danny Rand for this go-around.

The most memorable issue of the Heroes for Hire revival included an early appearance by Deadpool, who so harshly mocked Iron Fist's costume that he showed up with a new one a few pages later. The series also featured a date between Luke Cage and She-Hulk.

In Heroes for Hire, Luke adopted a new look that retained the chains and tiara but ditched the yellow, even though it appears on the cover for issue #1. Luke would return to his classic 1970s look for a short time in the Marvel Knights team-up series by Chuck Dixon a few years after the 19-issue run of Heroes for Hire concluded.

"Alias Investigations" (Alias #1)

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Eventually, Luke Cage took a break from the hero life and opened a bar that was sometimes frequented by a private investigator and former superheroine named Jessica Jones. Viewers of Jessica Jones know her story. Cage and Jones are seen hooking up in this issue, the first under Marvel's mature readers MAX imprint, and within time, Jessica is pregnant with Luke's baby. Baby Danielle would be born in The Pulse #13 (2006), named after her "uncle" Danny Rand a.k.a. Iron Fist.

Luke's relationship with Jessica Jones and the attention paid to the character by writer Brian Michael Bendis put the character back on the map, with Luke being a mainstay of New Avengers and Avengers-related comics for about a decade.

Historical Note: It was also around this time that Luke Cage was featured in a MAX limited series of his own, titled simply Cage.

"New Avengers: Disassembled" Part 2 (New Avengers Vol. 1 #22)

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Remember what we were saying about Brian Michael Bendis and the New Avengers? While Luke was a part of the series from the beginning, issue #22 of the first volume is one of the greatest Luke Cage stories of all time, as Luke and Jessica decide what is best for themselves and their child in the wake of the superhero civil war. By this point, Cage is not treated as a relic of the 1970s but instead as one of Marvel's premier characters, and he was a core component in the popular first volume of the New Avengers series; in fact, the first New Avengers Annual was dedicated to the wedding of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, who remain married in the comics to this day.

"Possession!" (New Avengers Vol. 2 #1)

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After the return of the traditional Avengers team in a new title (called simply Avengers), Luke Cage was given his own Earth-bound squad, complete with a lease on Avengers Mansion for only a dollar. This team of New Avengers included Cage, The Thing, Iron Fist, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Mockingbird, among others. Concurrent with this run of New Avengers, Luke was tapped as leader of a new team of Thunderbolts in their own book. Luke would also get his own three-issue miniseries, New Avengers: Luke Cage, during this period of time, proving that 2010 was a good year to be a Luke Cage fan.

"Extra Life" (Shadowland: Power Man #1)

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A young man named Victor Alvarez, the son of the Power Man villain Shades, obtained super powers in as the result of an incident during the Shadowland crossover that involved Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil. With these powers, he took on the then-unused name of "Power Man." The Shadowland: Power Man miniseries featured a number of classic Power Man villains including Cottonmouth, Comanche, Stiletto, and Discus.

After Shadowland: Power Man, Iron Fist trained Victor to use his powers properly as the new Power Man, and eventually, Victor joined Luke's Mighty Avengers team alongside the original Power Man himself.

Luke Cage himself didn't appear a whole lot in the first issue of Shadowland: Power Man, but it is significant to the character's history, as it showed that the Power Man mantle has become a legacy. As a bonus, the design for the Victor Alvarez character was later used for Luke Cage in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series on Disney XD.

The Mighty Avengers (Mighty Avengers #1)

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Luke would also have his own team of Avengers in the Mighty Avengers series which premiered in 2014, with characters including Blade, Spectrum, the younger Power Man, the White Tiger, and the Blue Marvel as part of his team. The series borrowed some elements from the old Heroes for Hire concept and premiered during Marvel's Infinity crossover.