Hero for Hire #1 is one of the most valuable titles of the 1970s and it should be.  It is a cultural mirror and shows life in the 1970s, far beyond what you will find in most comics.  Luke Cage is a legend, and he has every right to be. With an FMV of $24,000, Hero for Hire #1 rightfully holds one of the top values places of any comic from the Bronze Age (1970 -1985).   Even if you don't want to add this book to your collection, you should explore this series that has three titles. They are Hero for Hire,  Power Man (starting at issue #17), and Power Man and Iron Fist (starting at issue 50).  Within these pages, particularly the early Hero for Hire issues, you will find a slice of American history. You'll also find more than one of Stan Lee's courageous cultural statements.

America in 1972

It is important to remember what 1972 was like in America when Marvel introduced us to Luke Cage.  In the years preceding this publishing, America was mired in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon had been president since 1968 (and is inaugurated for a second term in 1972).  A few short years earlier Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated.  In 1968, the landmark Civil Rights Act was passed with bipartisan support, as part of John F Kennedy's legacy.  Members of the Black Panther party were killed in the streets by police officers in 1969.  The Attica Prison Riots in 1971 grab the attention of New York City and the entire nation.  Federal Title IX legislation created in 1972 addressed discrimination based on gender and thereby ensured women being able to participate in school sports.

In this storm of civil rights and race issues, Stan Lee delivers one of the first African American heroes and the first one to have his own series.  Of course, the Black Panther pre-dates Luke Cage (and also pre-dates the formation of the Black Panther activist party) but Power Man is a character unique to the times.  He wasn't just another superhero that ran with the Avengers, he was more of a black Captain America fighting for regular people in the Harlem part of New York City.  Luke's story is a familiar one - wrongly imprisoned for a drug crime, our hero is sent to prison where he is mistreated by violent and racist guards.  He agrees to take part in a medical experiment but a racist guard with a grudge causes it to malfunction.  Rather than killing him, Luke Cage ends up with super strength and bulletproof skin.

Taste the '70s

Reading these books is like cracking into a time capsule.  For fun, let's look at Power Man #24 and a few nuggets of why these comics are more about history than just being collectible.  Women's rights were still a hot issue in 1975 when this issue was published. There was also still a huge social stigma of being divorced.  In this issue, Luke's love interest Claire painfully reveals that she is (gasp!) DIVORCED.  She follows it up with, "not a very pretty word, is it, Luke?"  Later Claire explains why she is helping her ex-husband (who turns into Black Goliath) because, "Luke, I used to be his wife!  I owe it to him!"

What is really impressive about this issue is the statement by Dr. Noah Burstein, the doctor whose experiment created Power Man, when he is confronted by a reporter; he says, "I think you're making a mistake young man- lumping good men together in a category, simply on the basis of their race.  It's not the color of a man's skin that determines his worth.  It's the color of his courage... "

It is easy to see Stan Lee talking to a whole generation of young people through Dr. Burstein.  Can the glasses and mustache really be a coincidence?

Invest in History

Hero for Hire #1 has a value that reflects its cultural significance. This book is valued higher than many of the other series making their debut in the 1970s - Star Wars, She-Hulk, Conan the Barbarian, or The Master of Kung Fu.  The only better investments in Bronze Age comics would be key character first appearances such as The Incredible Hulk #181 (first Wolverine), Werewolf by Night #32 (first Moon Knight), and Marvel Spotlight #5 (first Ghost Rider).  Other first appearances in key books are also Bronze Age winners, such as Uncanny X-Men #94,  Amazing Spider-Man #129 (first Punisher), or Iron Man #55 (first Thanos).

Power Man is not a forgotten relic of the past, far from it.  New Power Man books continue to be published and he was the centerpiece of his own Netflix series from 2016-18.  He may have shed his 1970s outfit (which, like a lot of the 1970s fashion, no one misses,) but he is still an everyman's Captain America.  Luke Cage is just as likely to be found fighting the local slum lord as he is Thanos.

Watching the character today, viewers hardly think of the fact that he is a 'black' hero.  Maybe that is what makes Power Man not as popular today. The newest generation of readers and watchers no longer find this a novelty, a unique slice of culture worth capturing.  It is easy to imagine Luke Cage returning to being a cultural touchstone. In the right creative hands, he could reflect the reality of African American culture today.

Sweet Christmas!

The good news is that the early issues of Hero for Hire are reasonably priced and historically fascinating.  Be transported to another time and another place with these issues. Not to another planet or time in the Multiverse, but to an America of a different time. Sometimes, though, not as different as we might wish.  It is hard to imagine what it must have been like to work on the script for these comics, in light of the cultural shifts happening in real-time as they are being published.

There are other 1970s comics to own for their significance in the pantheon of characters. However, there is no other line of comics to own or read with more historical context than Hero for Hire.  Luke Cage's cause of defending the people of New York City that are sometimes forgotten seems just as relevant today.  If we could ask him if there was still work to do on racism in America, Luck Cage would clearly yell, "Sweet Christmas!  Yes!"  For a historically revealing peek into the 1970s, you can do no better than time spent with Luke Cage.  Sometimes knowing where you are going is easier if you know where you've been.  'Nuf said.

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