Luke Cage - Errands - P. A. Nolte

1/ A glamorous office overlooking New York.  Tombstone is beaten and bruised, but still standing.  He wipes blood from his face with the back of one his pasty, white hands.  His suit is tattered and torn.  The office around him has seen better days.

Tombstone: That the best you can do?

2/ Luke Cage.  Stoic.  While Tombstone looks rough, Luke looks untouched.  Benefit of his abilities.  His blue jeans and gold muscle shirt, however, are as worse for wear as Tombstone's suit.  The ornate double doors behind are busted wide open.

3/ Tombstone grins.  His filed-down shark teeth are red with blood.

Tombstone: Come now, Mr. Cage. Surely you knew what was going on. And you did nothing to stop it.  Nothing until now.  Why is that?

4/ Tombstone takes a single step forward.  Towards Luke.

Tombstone: You think you're a good man, Mr Cage?  You think--

5/ Luke swings both of his fists down like a hammer.  Tombstone goes down like an ugly sack of ugly bricks.

6/ Tombstone starts to get up again and reach out, but is near collapse.  The fight has been beaten out of him.

6/ Tombstone is down for the count.  Unconscious.  Luke starts to walk out the door.

7/ He stops, turning slightly to leave one last threat.

Luke: Tell Fisk I'm coming for him.

Luke Cage - Sleepless Justice - Perry Kent

Panel 1

Exterior, night, New York. Luke Cage in street clothes, boots, and a hoodie, hood up obscuring his face, walks down the sidewalk of the dense New York neighborhood in the middle of the night. A scream is heard issuing from an alley to his side.

1. LUKE CAGE (caption): It's a slow night. Probably a good thing...

2. WOMAN (OP ALLEYWAY): Aaaahhhh!

Panel 2

In the alleyway, a disheveled looking mugger brandishes a knife at a young Hispanic lady who is pressed up against the wall. She looks terrified. He looks crazed and angry.The alley is dark.

3. MUGGER: Shut it!

4. MUGGER: Now give it. Give me yer money!

Panel 3

The mugger looks to the side at the sound of a noise.

5. LUKE CAGE (op): Wrong neighborhood, jackass.

Panel 4

Luke Cage's boot smashes into the mugger, sending him back, past the woman. Note: It'd be a neat sequence to not show Cage himself in this, just his boot/leg.

6. SFX: THUD!

Panel 5

Luke Cage exits the alley. The Hispanic woman can be seen running down the sidewalk away from the alley.

7. LUKE CAGE (caption): But the city never sleeps.

- END PAGE -

Luke Cage – Cage of Law – MK Stangeland Jr.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: Film Screen-style panel, located in a Latverian Castle. A character representing DR DOOM faces off against NICOLAS CAGE – who is dressed up to look like LUKE CAGE, complete with makeup in the style of RDJ from TROPIC THUNDER, and has just crashed through a door in DR DOOM’s castle.

CAGE (1): Sweet!

CAGE (2): Christmas!

Panel 2: LUKE CAGE and SHE-HULK are in a law office, reviewing the film in question.

LUKE CAGE (1): Ya know, I’m starting to think I might be happy to just let this happen.

LUKE CAGE (2): Not even bother taking them to court.

SHE-HULK: Dare I ask why?

Panel 3: LUKE CAGE and SHE-HULK, talking as they continue to watch the film.

LUKE CAGE (1): You see the mess they’re putting together?

LUKE CAGE (2): If this doesn’t absolutely crash and burn and embarrass everyone involved, how you think the real Doc Doom’s going to react when he gets a load of this?

SHE-HULK (1): Oh.

SHE-HULK (2): …

SHE-HULK (3): Oh.

Panel 4: SHE-HULK turns to LUKE CAGE.

SHE-HULK (1): Luke, as your Lawyer? I have to question the ethics what you’re proposing.

SHE-HULK (2): As an Avenger, I have to express concern that what you’re thinking verges on supervillain territory.

Panel 5: SHE-HULK and LUKE CAGE, grinning, but in a joking ‘it’s fun to fantasize about’ way.

SHE-HULK (1): But as your friend?

SHE-HULK (2): I like the way you think.

(END)

Luke Cage - Cheers - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Establishing shot of a local drinking hole, the Tin Roof.  It's nothing fancy, maybe something of a hole in a wall - and not necessarily the trendy kind either.  It's the type of place that's been where it is for thirty, forty years, if not longer.  It's winter.  Snow is falling in fluffy puffs.  Luke Cage is in the distance, walking towards the bar.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (1): I don't often make it out to the Tin Roof.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (2): To be honest, it's pretty out of my way.

2 - On Luke walking along the sidewalk in the snow.  He has his hands in his pockets, a smile on his face.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (1): But the old man who tends bar is the type who never forgets a face.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (2): Whether I was there last month or in the last few years, it's always "Hiya, Luke", a big smile, and a can of my favourite brew.

3 - On Luke outside the Tin Roof.  He looks into the window, seeing a number of patrons sitting around and doing bar-y things (cheers-ing, playing pool, and so forth, generally having a good time).  Maybe have a portion of Luke reflected in the window, smiling warmly.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (1): It's the kind of thing that makes you feel welcome.  At home.

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE) (2): We don't know each other that well, but we share these moments together, slowly gaining a type of insight into the other that maybe no one else has.

4 - Luke is heading into the bar, holding the door open.  A sign hands on the door which reads "Come on in!"

CAPTION (LUKE CAGE): I like that.

5 - Inside the bar.  On the bartender, who is a young hipster-esque guy who's in a mighty sour mood, staring dourly at Luke.

BARTENDER: What do you want?

6 - Luke is quite taken aback, not expecting this development.  The bartender continues to not care.

LUKE: Um, where's Winston?

BARTENDER (1): He retired a year or two back.

BARTENDER (2): Now do you want something or what...?

7 - On Luke, sitting in his kitchen drinking a beer angerly.

NO COPY

Luke Cage-Nursing--David Press.

PAGE ONE.

1.1: A dark nursery: in a Lay-z-Boy is JESSICA JONES with little DANIELLE on a cushion getting her in position to be breast fed. The cushion is called a My-Breast-Friend and helps mothers get babies into position to nurse.  

CAGE [OP]:                           How many feedings are we up to now?

JESSICA:                               ‘Bout…12 since midnight.

1.2: On the floor is LUKE CAGE, sprawled out in a starfish formation. He’s exhausted, down for the count.

CAGE:                                    That’s the problem having superhero parents, superhuman kids need the fuel. Uhhhhh.

                                                We need an industrial grade breast pump.

1.3: Panning up to the Jessica.

JESSICA:                               Misty showed me this thing.

CAGE [OP]:                           Does it involve punching you in the boob? Because I’m not doing it.

1.4: From Jessica’s perspective: she’s looking down at Luke on the floor. He’s staring up at her. A point I’d like to emphasize here is how exhausted he is—for the first time in his superhero life. He’s totally in love with this woman and their child despite this being the greatest challenge of this adult life.

JESSICA:                               No. Going for a walk.

1.5 CUT TO: Luke is pushing a stroller with Danielle. Jessica is alongside him. It’s a dark night in Harlem, and Jessica Jones is punching out a MUGGER—as they take their kid for a night walk.

CAGE:                                    You just wanted to go on patrol.

--END--

Why? Luke Cage.

With the forthcoming Netflix series starting later this week—let’s take a look back at what makes this character so sweet.

Created by Archie Goodwin, John Romita, Sr, and George Tuska; Cage was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. While in prison he was a part of an experiment that helped him gain superhuman strength, unbreakable skin, and accelerated healing factor. His wife is Jessica Jones and he frequently partners with Iron Fist, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing.

In the era that he was created Cage was the source material for some controversial ideas mostly from Blaxploitation and kung fu film craze that happened in the 1970s. Cage and Iron Fist have become unique characters only recently with the work of Brian Michael Bendis in Alias and New Avengers, and the recent Power Man and Iron Fist series by David Walker and Sanford Greene. I like the latter quite a lot—it has a Skottie Youngish feel to it with well-choreographed action sequences. It has a cartoonish, friendly style.

Why don’t we see what we can do with Mr. Cage?

The North Pole – Luke Cage’s Sweet Christmas Page 3 – MK Stangeland Jr.

(7 Panels)

Panel 1: LUKE CAGE stands in the snow and holds his arm in front of his face as a blizzard suddenly starts to blow.

CAPTION: Just when seemed his Christmas just might be ruined

LUKE CAGE: Now I have to deal with a blizzard that’s blowin?

Panel 2: LUKE CAGE begins to walk through the snow. The snow of the blizzard is thick now.

LUKE CAGE: I swear if I freeze to death, that fat man’s getting a poundin!

Panel 3: The blizzard begins to dissipate. The Avengers Mansion can be seen in the background through the snow.

CAPTION (1): But Santa had certainly not forgotten the hero,

CAPTION (2): He saw to it that Luke was whisked back so quickly, he said

LUKE CAGE: Woah!

Panel 4: LUKE CAGE runs back into the Avengers Mansion.

CAPTION: When inside he did run to get out of the cold, just what wondrous thing did his eyes then behold?

Panel 5: LUKE CAGE enters the room of the Avengers Mansion that has the Christmas Tree in it. Underneath the tree are a buttload of presents. Standing nearby are JESSICA JONES, who’s holding a sleeping DANIELLE in her arms. She looks surprised, but happy, to see LUKE CAGE. A fireplace nearby is lit up, providing the room with warmth and an ambient light source.

CAPTION (1): A reward from Santa, a huge bundle of gifts.

CAPTION (2): And waiting nearby were his sweetheart and his kid.

Panel 6: LUKE CAGE stands next to JESSICA JONES. He has his arm around her and holds her close. LUKE CAGE happily looks at the presents under the tree while JESSICA has turned to give her husband a kiss on the check.

CAPTION (1): As he stood with his family, holding them tight

CAPTION (2): Cage thought that he heard something from outside in the night

Panel 7: Outside shot of the Avengers Mansion. It’s a picturesque Christmas scene, with the area covered in white and a light snowfall. Santa’s silhouette can be seen flying across the moon.

CAPTION (1): It was a blessing from Santa, as he flew into the west:

SANTA: A good night to all, and to all a SWEET CHRISTMAS!

END

(And with the final THOUGHT BALLOONS scripts of 2011, I’d like to take the time to thank everyone who read and/or participated at all this year, wish you all a belated Sweet Merry Christmas, and give you blessed tidings for a wonderful New Year!

Here’s to 2012!)