Sweet Christmas! The story behind Marvel’s Luke Cage


When you think about it, Marvel is one of the most impressive franchises of all time. They have hundreds of characters with their own intricate backstories, they have thousands of comics that have entertained fans for years, they have awesome movies that have broken records across the world, and they even have TV shows that have since proved to be ridiculously binge-worthy. One of their most popular TV shows to date just has to be Luke Cage. While you may have watched this show to within an inch of its life, how much do you really know about the man with the catchphrase? This is the story behind Marvel’s Luke Cage…

He helped Nicolas Cage become Nicolas Cage

If you’re up to date on your Nicolas Cage information, you’ll know that that isn’t his real name! No, this legendary actor was actually born Nicolas Coppola (you know, from the famous Hollywood family?), but he wanted to take himself away from the family name and make it on his own. So, he decided to change his family name and eventually decided on Cage. But where the heck did this come from? Well, Cage has since confirmed that he was inspired by the Marvel character, and wanted to incorporate this name into his own career. I mean, that’s pretty darn cool.

There was almost a Luke Cage movie

Let’s be honest, Quentin Tarantino is one of the most famous filmmakers to ever grace this earth, and it seems even he has been impressed with the story of Luke Cage. In fact, he was in the development stages of making a Luke Cage movie during the 1990s.Tarantino played with this idea because Luke Cage was one of his favorite superheroes growing up, and he wanted to bring the story to life. He even had the lead character lined up, and knew that Wesley Snipes would have rocked the character – but he was eventually turned off when one of his friends told him that it wasn’t a great idea. Luckily, he managed to put all of his efforts into a new movie. A little one called Pulp Fiction.

His catchphrase was intentional

There are many heroes within the Marvel universe who have their own catchphrases, and Luke Cage is no different. His “Sweet Christmas” catchphrase has been loved by fans for decades, and it’s even been incorporated into the legendary TV show. Yet, it seems as though this catchphrase was not something that just seemed to happen on the set or was randomly written into the comics for comedic effect. Instead, the catchphrase was intentional, because the writers wanted to make their character seems as though he could have just walked off the streets.

He was created for a reason

With so many Marvel characters to their name, you have to wonder how the creators decide on their latest characters. Well, it seems as though Luke Cage was created for a reason – and that reason was because Marvel noticed a change in the world during the 1970s. During this time, black people were finally being accepted into the world and making their entrance into popular culture. Marvel wanted to follow this trend and be inclusive within their work, so created the character of Luke Cage to fit that bill.

He wasn’t too popular

Before Luke Cage made his way onto our screens, he struggled within the comic form. His story didn’t have many fans across the world, his comics weren’t selling too well, and the idea just didn’t really come off the ground. In an attempt to change that, Marvel decided to pair Luke Cage with Iron Fist – who was also extremely unpopular. As soon as they did this, both characters became even more popular. What a relief!

Luke Cage will always hold a place in our hearts, but he will do so even more now that we know these amazing facts about Luke Cage!

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