Netflix’s Marvel series aim to deliver audiences more grounded heroes than scientists who turn into hulking monsters or Norse Gods, thanks to series like Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. These more reality-driven tales oftentimes make it difficult to organically introduce a character’s larger-than-life nickname from the comic books, with Luke Cage himself Mike Colter confirming why his series has avoided using the “Power Man” moniker for the hero.
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“Well, we sort of changed it a bit because I think we took a survey with a lot of folks and ‘Power Man’ just wasn’t hitting it,” Colter revealed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “It wasn’t really connecting with the audience, so we needed something else. We went the Carl Lucas, Luke Cage [route]…we have a test audience, I think that’s what they do.”
The success of the Marvel series on Netflix seemingly confirms Colter’s conjecture about a simpler title being more effective, as Jessica Jones was originally titled “Marvel’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones,” only for the powers that be to streamline the name.
Decisions regarding a series aren’t entirely left up to the behind-the-scenes folks at Marvel and Netflix, as Colter then turned to the audience to get their opinion.
“Don’t you guys agree? Test audiences are very important?” Colter pondered. “We want to know what you guys think about what we call our shows so we thought ‘Luke Cage’ was better than ‘Power Man.’”
The Netflix series hasn’t entirely separated itself from the sillier elements of its comic book inspirations, as the first season saw Cage honor one of the more absurd wardrobe choices of the character.
A key component of the early days of Power Man was a bright yellow shirt, a chain belt, shiny gauntlets, and a tiara. Knowing how absurd it would be for a character to wear this in a contemporary setting, one episode depicted Cage breaking free from the prison where he underwent a procedure to give him his powers, ultimately leaving with a brace on his head and gauntlets on his wrists that resembled his comic book look but were re-contextualized to represent restraints. Cage even snagged a bright yellow shirt during his escape, only to mock the fashion choice.
No matter what you call him, you can see the Hero for Hire in Season Two of Marvel’s Luke Cage, streaming now on Netflix.
Do you wish the series would adopt the nickname? Let us know in the comments below!
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