Luke Cage is a recurring playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series. He is also Married to Jessica Jones. Luke Cage is a powerful fighter who uses chains and super strength to subdue his foes. He was often paired in comics with Iron Fist who only debuted playable after the first game.
Character History[]
Carl Lucas was born and raised in Harlem, New York on April, 25th 1976. He spent most of his youth in a gang called the Rivals with his friend Willis Stryker, who also turns out to be his stepbrother fights the rival gang the Diablos and commits petty crimes, often on the behalf of deformed mobster Sonny "Hammer" Caputo. In and out of juvenile homes throughout his teens, Lucas dreams of becoming a major New York racketeer until he finally realizes how his actions are hurting his family. He seeks to better himself as an adult by finding legitimate employment.
Meanwhile, Stryker rises through the ranks of crime, but the two men remain friends. When Stryker's activities anger the Maggia crime syndicate, he is badly beaten in a mob hit, saved only by Lucas's intervention. When Stryker's girlfriend, Reva Connors, breaks up with him in fear of his violent work, she seeks solace with Lucas. Stryker is convinced that Lucas is responsible for the breakup, so he plants heroin in Lucas's apartment and tips off the police. Lucas is arrested and sent to prison where contact with his family is sparse due to the resentment of his brother James Jr., who intercepts Lucas's letters to their father James and eventually leads each to believe the other is dead.
Lucas is consumed by rage over Stryker's betrayal and his father's supposed death, engaging in frequent brawls and escape attempts. Eventually transferred to Seagate Prison off the coast of Georgia, he becomes the favorite target of racist corrections officer Albert "Billy Bob" Rackham, whose sadistic brutality ultimately leads to a demotion that he blames on Lucas. Research scientist Dr. Noah Burstein recruits Lucas as a volunteer for a cellular regeneration experiment based on a variant of the Super-Soldier process he had previously used to empower Warhawk. Burstein immerses Lucas in an electrical field conducted by an organic chemical compound; then he leaves Lucas unattended, Rackham alters the experiment's controls, hoping to maim or kill Lucas. Lucas' treatment is accelerated past its intended limits, inducing body-wide enhancements that give him superhuman strength and durability. He uses his new power to escape Seagate and makes his way back to New York, where a chance encounter with criminals inspires him to use his new powers for profit.
Adopting the alias Luke Cage and donning a distinctive costume, he launches a career as a Hero for Hire, helping anyone who can meet his price. He soon establishes an office above Times Square's Gem Theater, where he befriends film student D. W. Griffith. Burstein, aware of his friend's innocence, also relocates to New York and opens a medical clinic, assisted by Dr. Claire Temple, whom Cage begins dating. Although Cage is content to battle strictly conventional criminals, he soon learns that New York is hardly the place to do so. Stryker himself has become a Maggia agent known as Diamondback and dies battling Cage. Through the years not only has he encountered Diamondback but also fought other superpowered criminals and villains like Cottonmouth, Bushmaster, Shades, Black Mariah, Comanche, Nightshade and Tombstone. He made allies that would become members of his heroes for hire like Iron Fist, who he later becomes his best friend and closest ally, Former Harlem Detective, Misty Knight, and martial artist/swordswoman Colleen Wing. He later becomes a member of the Ultimate Alliance but some of the Heroes for Hire were not seen assisting him alongside the some of his new allies.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance: Story[]
When Doctor Doom and his Masters of Evil attempted to steal Odin's powers to rule the world, Luke Cage joined the Ultimate Alliance and helped to bring down Doctor Doom's armies and stop his plans.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2: Story[]
Two years later, Luke Cage joined his fellow heroes on an unsanctioned attack on Latveria led by Nick Fury. Luke donned a new costume that was black and yellow in color. He was a member of Bravo Squad. Sometime later, Tony Stark would try to hire Luke Cage as a Security Officer at Stark Industries.
In the wake of the Civil War, Luke Cage joined Captain America's resistance movement and served as Cap's second-in-command, He is one of the six characters whos faction allegiance cannot be changed and helped organize multiple attacks on Pro-Registration targets such as the Prison Convoy and Negative Zone prison. When the Fold started to take control of the world, Cage stayed with the Ultimate Alliance to battle the new foe, eventually defeating it.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 3: Story[]
While helping the Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and new generation Champions (Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Spider-Gwen) at The Raft, Luke and his fellow heroes went to separate ways after Green Goblin suddenly obtains the Time Stone to lead his Sinister Six take over the maximum security prison or/and escape from it, due to Star-Lord's struggled on attempting using a Space Stone to separate 5 other Infinity Stones from the hands of Thanos and his Black Order, causing S.H.I.E.L.D. to form The Ultimate Alliance. It also reveals that his fellow Street-leveled Defenders Daredevil and Iron Fist, as well as his wife, Jessica Jones are on their ways to infiltrate The Hand's hideout at Shadowland, where Kingpin is, though he and his fellow Street-leveled Defenders are unaware that Elektra Natchios is also their on her own way.
While Peter-Spider-Man manage to escort the Guardians of the Galaxy to get out of prison and immediately defeated Sandman before Nick Fury Jr. arrive with the heroes he can summon for his Ultimate Alliance team (Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor Odinson, Black Widow, Falcon, Captain Marvel, Crystal Amaquelin, Scarlet Witch) and Wolverine), thanks to Lockjaw, Luke Cage is busy trying to put the prisoners back to their cells, while the new generation Champions' status are unknown. Shortly after Venom (Eddie Brock) is convinced to join the alliance at Peter-Spider-Man's behalf, the alliance assist Luke on his round 2, to his dismay because of Goblin hack the prison cell's systems on Luke's last location. He, Peter-Spider-Man, Crystal and Eddie-Venom rescues the new generation Champions from being manipulated by Mysterio's illusions, before proceeding to defeat Doctor Octopus and Goblin. After Goblin immediately surrenders the Time Stone, due to unable to join the alliance because of being traumatized by a vision of Thanos's reign supreme against the alliance from the Time Stone's side effect, Luke initially displease why Star-Lord didn't use the Space Stone to countermeasure the other stone wielders, until Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan explains that the reason for the best not to use one of the stones, due to them may possess potential side-effect on its wielder and surroundings alike. Shortly, where Star-Lord's speech to convince the alliance's assistance against Thanos is interrupted by Luke's phone call, Luke's wife, Jessica Jones informs them through that she and the Defenders has found a cosmic isotope crystal with similar energy as the Infinity Stones, under Kingpin's possession.
With the help of the Ultimate Alliance thanks to Jessica Jones' tip, Luke rejoin Daredevil and Iron Fist, as well as rescuing Elektra from the Hand's brainwashing, and defeat both Bullseye and Kingpin. Unaware to Luke and his fellow heroes, Thor's adoptive brother, Loki Laufeyson was the one who gave Kingpin the unknown cosmic isotope crystal. As securing the stones will not be easy, as long as Thanos still around and keep hunting for them, Luke and his fellow Defenders, including Elektra have no choice to stay with the alliance until the end. His wife, Jessica got a tip about something going on Hellfire's Club, and somehow manage to deploy the X-Men members Nightcrawler, Psylocke and Beast to infiltrate there, confirming that the villainous mutant group possess the Power Stone, allowing the 3 X-Men to secure it during their infiltrations off-screen.
Luke and his fellow alliance later stays at Avengers Tower, where the shards of crystal Kingpin used are being co-researched remotely with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Wakanda Royals, confirming the crystal dubbed by Black Panther is ISO-8, until S.H.I.E.L.D. finally confirms they are safe to use than using the stones. Following Ultron's invasion at the Tower, who reveals to possess a Mind Stone before Vision sealed him, but Ultron's last ditch was to let Sentinels re-activated to hunt the presenting X-Men (Colossus, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Beast) at Xavier Mansion, Luke and his fellow alliance continue their quest to secure the remaining stones. Despite the alliance acquires the alliance from Thanos' illegitimate half-Inhuman son, Thane, he have no choice to surrender himself and all six stones that have been last secured in Wakanda to them to save the alliance's life.
Despite Proxima Midnight's attempt on banishing the alliance to one of the Nine Realms, Hel, where they would be killed by Hela and Surtur instead, it also led the alliance to foil their plan on assisting Hydra on taking over Asgard while Odin Borson was away, and earns Loki's trust, when her revealed that he was part of the alliance with Hydra, but openly decide to stop them after realizing their dangerous plans are.
With Odin's return from Niffleheim, albeit unable to join the alliance, due to having used much of Odinforce, the alliance does get tips from him that the ISO-8 has potential to go on par against powerful villains, whether they use either the stone or crystals, or not, allowing them to finally beat Thanos. When Thane corrupted by the stones' power and summons the full parts of Infinity Armor, the alliance have no choice to help Thanos, as he has full knowledge about wearing the full armor and why he only takes to stone-slotted gauntlet.
Following Thanos and Thane's demise, and the Black Order has been arrested by Nova Corps for their crimes, Luke and his fellow heroes finally goes to separate ways in their usual normal crime fighting lives, while each Stones have been safeguarded temporarily on separate locations until permanent safekeeping have been found.
Sometimes after a war against Thanos is over, Luke and his fellow heroes who were presented in the previous war have been called back to rejoin the alliance, when Doctor Doom invades Wakanda to steal the Soul Stone for his own ambition. Although Luke and his fellow heroes have been banished to Negative Zone by Doom, they are rescued and joined by Fantastic Four, who later revealed to be stuck at the dimension during their chase on Doom across dimensions, hence why they were absent from the previous war. With Fantastic Four on their side, Luke and his fellow alliance manage to steal the Cosmic Control Rod from Annihilus, and escapes to Latveria, where Doom already absorbs the souls of his subjects to revive a Celestial and becoming a God Emperor. After defeating a Celestial and Doom, Mister Fantastic reveals that Doom's plan originally meant to save the universe from a new threat that has been unleashed from a fight Thanos and Thane. As Doom cannot do this alone and his plan may possibly endanger his own universe, the alliance offers him to join them, as they ready to face a new threat that begins to invade their universe.
Gameplay[]
Trivia[]
- The Luke Cage that appears in the third game is not the same one who appeared in the first two games, as the third game is set in a different continuity.
- He is heavily a melee character and his powers include super strength and chain-related attacks.
- A simulation disk has Cage fighting Ultron in S.H.I.E.L.D.´s Omega Base.
- His model in Vicarious Visions version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is in fact reused from Spider-Man Web of Shadow.
- He is one of the many characters to appear in every game as a playable character alongside Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Blade, Luke Cage, Storm, Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, The Fantastic Four, Venom, Magneto, and Black Panther.
Gallery[]
