Title- Crescendo!
Issue- 8

Writer- Steve Englehart

Art- George Tuska

Summary:

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, is contracted by a anonymous client to track down four men who have allegedly made off with company secrets. Tracking them to an abandoned warehouse, Cage attempts to subdue them. The four men display above average strength. However when Cage uses extra force to bring one down, the man's head cracks open to reveal that he is in fact a robot. While he is caught off guard, the others make their escape. Cage decides to confront his employer about this development only to discover that the anonymous client is Dr. Doom. Doom explains that these robots stole from him an fled Latveria to America where they have disguised themselves as Blacks. For this reason he needed Cage to find them. Providing Cage with their new locations, he seeks them out and in a life or death battle, defeats them all. However when he returns to the Latverian embassy, he finds that Doom has left the country without paying. Cage vows to seek him out.

Notes:

• Doom states that in Latveria there are no blacks and no one emigrates there.

• Coincidentally, the latest incarnation of Hero for Hire, Heroes for Hire #8, also featured Doom (a Doombot to be more precise).

• Collected in the Essential Luke Cage, Power Man volume 1 (see below)

Title- Where Angles Fear to Tread!
Issue- 9

Writer- Steve Englehart

Art- George Tuska & Billy Graham

Summary:

Cage bursts into the Baxter Building and skirmishes with the Fantastic Four before making Reed understand that he wants a rocket in which to fly to Latveria. Explaining his situation, Reed agrees to lend him the rocket. Once within Latveria's borders, the rocket is stopped by defense forces. Cage springs out and begins to battle Doom's guards. He is soon joined by rebel robots who then take him to their leader, the alien known as the Faceless One. The alien reveals he is leading the robot revolt. In order to reach Doom, Cage joins a robot assault on the castle. When he reaches the throne, he and Doom began to battle. By repeatedly striking at the same spot, Cage manages to disable Doom's armor. The Faceless One appears and tries to use this opportunity to kill Doom. Cage however refuses to let anyone be murdered in front of him or because of him and attacks the alien, forcing him to flee. Doom finally agrees to pay Cage out of respect for saving his life. With his debt collected, he leaves Latveria and returns to New York in the FF rocket.

Comments:

Doom hires a Black man to find robots disguised as Blacks. I'm guessing this comic is where Doom gets his reputation for being old-fashioned about race (see Black Panther #19). The justification for why he hires Luke Cage for the job is weak at best, but trying to look beyond that and assume 'its so the story can get rolling,' there is still one major problem I have with this issue. On top of everything, Doom skips town to not pay his bill? Englehart has portrayed Doom as lecherous (see Super-Villain Team-Up ), now he's portrayed him as cheap and dishonest... I can't say I'm fond of the characteristics he instills in the character. This is one of my least favorite appearances.

The second issue is an improvement over the first, although I still feel that the story is weak. Apart from my objection that Doom would never run away from paying his bill, I also believe that Luke Cage's technique for disabling Doom's armor is quite ridiculous. In Doom's battles with the FF he frequently encounters the Thing. I am sure the Thing also hits him repeatedly in the same spot and to no effect. In Englehart's defense, the Thing did rip Doom's armor to pieces in FF #40, but I think Doom would have upgraded his armor since then. Evidently not. The final scene between Doom and Luke Cage is actually good. Doom even thanks Cage, a rare thing coming from Doom. The return of the Faceless One is cool, although we are still left with questions as to what his true intentions are. 

Bottom Line: 0 out of 5

Notes:

• Doom reveals that repeated blows to the same spot on his armor can disable it, a weakness never before discovered or exploited until Luke Cage did so here.

• Features the return of the Faceless One, see Astonishing Tales #2-3

• Writer Steve Englehart briefly comments on the story at his website here.

• Collected in the Essential Luke Cage, Power Man volume 1 (pictured below)