GIANT-SIZE POWER MAN #1 (1975)...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

POWER MAN, as all true MARVELITES know, was the

name of a villain who fought The AVENGERS in #s 21 & 22 of

their own mag back in the '60s.  However, in the '70s, the name was

dusted down and applied to LUKE CAGE's superhero alter-ego, a

mercenary HERO FOR HIRE, who wasn't necessarily spurred

to random acts of goodness merely out of a sense of altruism

like most other characters in the superhero 'business'.

I never quite understood why black heroes usually had the

word 'black' affixed to their names, as if we needed to be made

aware of the fact.  (BLACK GOLIATH, BLACK LIGHTNING*,

etc.)  We had eyes, didn't we?  It was different with The BLACK

PANTHER, as the word referred to the colour of his costume,

not his skin, but I'm so glad Luke Cage wasn't called Black

Power Man, as that would've been simply silly.

(*Black Lightning, of course, is a DC COMICS hero.)

Anyway, that's enough waffle from me - enjoy some pages

from the first (and perhaps only - anyone know?) issue of his

own Giant-Size reprint mag from 1975.  Did you own this ish?

Then let's hear from you in the comments section.

  

Posted in: Cartoons