HEROES FOR HIRE! Appreciation

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The first Heroes for Hire concept was created by Luke Cage

who was looking for a way to allow himself to be a super-hero while still paying his bills. Eventually Luke joined forces with Iron Fist.

The Heroes for Hire were created by Ed Hannigan and Keith Pollard in Power Man and Iron Fist #54.

Years later the team evolved when, in the wake of the defeat and perceived deaths of the Avengers and Fantastic Four by Onslaught,
Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai (Iron Fist) and Jim Hammond (Original Human Torch) decided that the world needed heroes to believe in.

Since then the Heroes For Hire team has a very flexible roster

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Luke Cage, Hero For Hire #1 Jun 1972
"Out of Hell--a Hero!"
When Lucas, an innocent man, is sent to jail for a crime he did not commit, he decides he has nothing left to loose.
Subjecting himself to unorthodox experiments, this inmate is endowed with great physical strength and nigh-unbreakable skin.

No walls and bars on Earth can hold him.

Now, as Luke Cage, he is known as the Hero for Hire, and he's here to clean up the "Mean Streets," one criminal at a time.

Script by Archie Goodwin, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Billy Graham.
NOTE: Roy Thomas and John Romita are credited for their "considerable creative contributions."

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Heroes For Hire #1 Jul 1997
Heroes and Villains
After the U-Foes break into the Vault and release all of the prisoners, Iron Fist is prompted to re-form Heroes for Hire with the backing of Jim Hammond and Oracle, Inc. where he is joined by

Hercules and a new White Tiger (but not Luke Cage) in defusing a hostage situation in the United Nations building.


Heroes for Hire article by Mark Bernardo.

Script by Roger Stern (plot) and John Ostrander (script), pencils by Pascual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza

[Michael Watkins]

it was my go-to series, at one point; all the characters I gave a damn about. I wish that Stark Industries had absorbed Oracle.

[Michael Watkins]

loved Luke's functional "costume"

[mrjinjin]

it was my go-to series, at one point; all the characters I gave a damn about. I wish that Stark Industries had absorbed Oracle.

Yeah this team was great. I wonder if the Black Knight would have been used more using the weapons (Sword of Light and the Shield of Night) he had here rather than the Ebony Blade. Do you know what the issue number your picture is from?

[Kusanagi]

I adored the 90s Heroes for Hire. First non x book on my pull, book that got me into Deadpool, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, She Hulk and Hercules. Cancelled WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too soon.

[Michael Watkins]

Do you know what the issue number your picture is from?

hard to say. it's the start of that Master of the World storyline (maybe issue 12) where Luke seems to jump sides. they are discussing him in the pic (of course). the fact that they are all in gear makes me think this is right before they go out to confront the Master.

[Michael Watkins]

Yeah this team was great. I wonder if the Black Knight would have been used more using the weapons (Sword of Light and the Shield of Night) he had here rather than the Ebony Blade.

this was the coolest (from my perspective) take on Dane Whitman. Ostrander clearly liked the guy. and i was excited about his side story enough to backissue shop Dane's first few appearances and a couple mini-series. i was so disappointed that i ended up reading more about Sir Percy than Dane. i get why they returned to the ebon blade. it's as popular as the black knight mantle. but it felt like he had more freedom w/ the light sword. if only the series had lasted long enough for a Black Knight/Hercules focus issue. they never got a proper team-up.

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Yeah this team was great. I wonder if the Black Knight would have been used more using the weapons (Sword of Light and the Shield of Night) he had here rather than the Ebony Blade.

I really want to see these weapons be used by the MCU Black Knight whenever Marvel Studios decides to introduce the MCU Dane Whitman into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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it was my go-to series, at one point; all the characters I gave a damn about. I wish that Stark Industries had absorbed Oracle.

Maybe that could have led to an all-new Force Works trying to preempt natural and man-made disasters.

[Michael Watkins]

Maybe that could have led to an all-new Force Works trying to preempt natural and man-made disasters.

still waiting on that reunion. at this point, I'd settle for a reunion between Herc and Dane. they could have been the Beast and Wonderman of that group; had he gotten his drinking under control. *imagines Hercules and Stark at AA meeting*

[Nomads1]

Years later the team evolved when, in the wake of the defeat and perceived deaths of the Avengers and Fantastic Four by Onslaught,
Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai (Iron Fist) and Jim Hammond (Original Human Torch) decided that the world needed heroes to believe in.

Since then the Heroes For Hire team has a very flexible roster[/CENTER]

IMHO, one of the best series Marvel has EVER published.

Peace

[Michael Watkins]

just my personal preference. but I think that they should have used Tigra instead of White Tiger. the series got really far away from the earlier concept when the stories started focusing more on White Tiger/Knights of Wundagore and Thena/Eternals. it's great that they were telling Avenger-y stories. but that eventually hurt the book; when the classic Avengers team returned from Onslaught-verse. it had no distinctive voice of its own. my favorite issues tended to be smaller in scale and centered around New York; like when they went after the Punisher or Dane investigated the corporate dragon. even the She-Hulk/Cage date was fun; goofy art aside. but that Acolytes/Wundagore stuff should have stayed in Quicksilver's book (w/ maybe a cameo by Heroes for Hire).

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just my personal preference. but I think that they should have used Tigra instead of White Tiger.

Marvel comics can do that now in 2018

the series got really far away from the earlier concept when the stories started focusing more on White Tiger/Knights of Wundagore and Thena/Eternals. it's great that they were telling Avenger-y stories. but that eventually hurt the book; when the classic Avengers team returned from Onslaught-verse. it had no distinctive voice of its own. my favorite issues tended to be smaller in scale and centered around New York; like when they went after the Punisher or Dane investigated the corporate dragon. even the She-Hulk/Cage date was fun; goofy art aside. but that Acolytes/Wundagore stuff should have stayed in Quicksilver's book (w/ maybe a cameo by Heroes for Hire).

I disagree with the Acolytes/Wundagore stuff should have stayed in Quicksilver's book, because I love the shared universe concept which means exchanging places and rogues galleries among the marvel superheroes or marvel races mutants, eternals, inhumans etc.