Luke Cage, born Carl Lucas and also called Power Man, is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972).

A streetwise youth, the man called "Lucas" was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. In exchange for parole, Lucas clandestinely underwent an experimental procedure, originally intended to generate immunity to all illness; instead, it inadvertently granted him titanium-hard skin and heavier, enhanced muscle, spawning a plot device and recurring gag in early comics of Cage accidentally destabilizing means of support, plowing through walls, and mangling criminals. After escaping Seagate Prison, he forged the identity of "Luke Cage" becoming a "hero for hire," a sort of super-enhanced private detective—although Cage commonly refused money, or simply received none, for cases gone awry (a fair portion, for the unlucky Cage). Later, he formed a business partnership with the martial arts hero known as Iron Fist. Through the groundbreaking series Power Man & Iron Fist, the two became one of the better-known superhero duos of the 1970s.

Cage was one of the first African-American superheroes to star in an eponymous comic book series (the first African-American character to do so was Dell Comics' western hero Lobo). Cage was a groundbreaking but controversial hero. He was visibly Marvel's entry into the 1970s blaxploitation trend, and much of "Hero for Hire" saw him sport an exaggerated streetwise tongue, including the catch phrase "Sweet Christmas!" (In the 1990s Heroes for Hire series, Cage explained that he used this phrase in place of profanity because his grandmother, an important figure in his youth, hated profanity, adding, tongue-in-cheek, that she was even meaner and tougher than the villains he fought.) Azzarello's take on Power Man, Cage, was also criticized, this time for an overly thuggish portrayal (though Azzarello's revival also attracted attention to the character).

Consequently, Cage has been featured in the Brian Michael Bendis-written series Alias, Secret War, The Pulse, Daredevil and New Avengers.