“Gang War” was a Marvel crossover event that kicked off last December, and now it’s getting the collected treatment. That includes tie-ins, like Luke Cage: Gang War. This was one of the more intriguing tie-ins, given that Luke Cage is the mayor of New York and must decide whether to break the law and be a vigilante hero or stand down. If you know Luke Cage at all, you can probably guess what he decides to do, albeit in secret.
Written by Rodney Barnes, there are a lot of fun ideas in this collection that only a comic book could pull off. That includes a rather drastic new costume, a “Cagebuster” suit, and giant robot battles. I’m getting ahead of myself here, but know that this book tries to take big swings.
The story follows Luke Cage, the mayor, who needs to abide by the voter’s wishes and the laws that need to be enacted, but he’s an ex-superhero and knows when the government can’t do what the supes can.
Eventually, Luke is faced with saving a life but faces getting arrested or doing nothing and standing down. That leads to a major decision that sends him on a vigilante path, complete with a brand-new costume. I’m not sure how many folks won’t be able to guess who this new invulnerable Black superhero is, but the costume seems to work on two classic heroes who pop into the story. The costume has a simple look that suits his new lease on being a superhero.
Luke punches through a car. Crazy!
Credit: Marvel
Once the superhero work gets underway key heroes like Cloak, Dagger, and Danny Rand show up to help Luke out. It’s fair to say this book drops the political elements to focus more on the superhero tropes of fighting for what is right. It’s a bit surprising, since the first issue seems to lean into the political side, which actually slows down the opening issue, but then it’s more about heroes fighting villains later on.
Another gripe is some reuse of dialogue in a clunky way. For instance, Cage says to Cloak more than once he “knew there was a reason I recruited you.” The new suit was also ditched quite quickly, as it only appeared in the first two issues.
Art by Ramon F. Bachs is solid for a street-level beat’em-up story like this one. Andrew Dalhouse and Bachs lean into the heavier inks, which work wonders in the night fight scenes. I’m not exactly sure Luke Cage is strong enough to punch through a car, but Bach makes you believe it.
Luke Cage: Gang War has an intriguing angle but mostly focuses on superhero kicking and punching rather than the dichotomy of being mayor and a hero. It had promise but seemed to drop all its risky choices after the first issue.
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