HEROES FOR HIRE! Appreciation

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #5 Jan 1973
"Don't Mess with Black Mariah!"
Martin Lawrence's "Big Momma" has got nothing on the newest crime boss Black Mariah.

Luke Cage has his hands full with 800 lbs. of fighting mad woman.


Script by Steve Englehart, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Billy Graham.

[Michael Watkins]

Thank god they went with a different take on the character, for Netflix.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Marvel house ad for Daredevil’s guest appearance in Power Man And Iron Fist #77 (1982),

with art by by Denys Cowan http://www.comicsreporter.com/index....y_denys_cowan/

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Heroes for Hire #7 Jan 1998
The Thunderbolts Take Over!
When the Super-Adaptoid escapes while the Heroes for Hire are en route from Lemuria,

Hammond must ask for the assistance of the Thunderbolts.


Script by John Ostrander, pencils by Pascual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

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.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #6 Feb 1973
"Knights and White Satin!"
Two beautiful sisters come to hire Luke Cage to find out why someone is trying to murder their father.

But why would anybody want to murder a man who will be dead in a week anyway?


Script by Steve Englehart and Gerry Conway, pencils by Billy Graham, inks by Paul Reinman.

[Cville]

With all the friends and inside information Luke has, shouldn't he be rich by now? I could see him owning several blacks in Harlem and doing Heroes for Hire by contract for corporations and average citizens for free.

[chamber-music]

Luke has remained financially unstable for plot reasons

[Huntsman Spider]

Luke has remained financially unstable for plot reasons

He and Spider-Man can totally relate, then. Because seriously, plot is the only reason guys like Cage and Spidey, with as much ability, resources, and connections as they canonically have, are still not at least breaking even. Then again, Luke Cage is more of a "man of the people" kind of character, so perhaps that loses a certain bit of "authenticity," for lack of a better word, if he strikes it rich one day.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Heroes for Hire #8 Feb 1998
Revelations (Book One)
The White Tiger returns to Wundagore to find it destroyed by Exodus;

Jim Hammond is introduced to his new attorney, the She-Hulk;

Iron Fist tells Misty Knight his real reasons for forming Heroes for Hire.

Script by John Ostrander, pencils by Pascual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza

[Michael Watkins]

I liked how She-Hulk was a no-nonsense lawyer in that book.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #7 Mar 1973
"Jingle Bombs!"
Can Luke Cage stop a madman

from ruining Christmas in New York

before it's too late?

Script by Steve Englehart, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Billy Graham.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Heroes for Hire #9 Mar 1998
Conflict of Interest!
The White Tiger and Thena free themselves from Exodus;


Iron Fist comes into conflict with Cage after agreeing to bring in the Punisher for the U.S. Government.

Story continues in part in Spider-Man 89.

Script by John Ostrander, pencils by Pascual Ferry, inks by Jaime Mendoza

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

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.

Absolutely!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

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?

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.

Yeah, especially since it wasn't cursed.

if only the series had lasted long enough for a Black Knight/Hercules focus issue. they never got a proper team-up.

They are as great a duo as Power Man and Iron Fist.