Review by Ian Keogh

Luke Cage as New York’s mayor isn’t a scenario his original creators would ever have envisaged, but that’s been the career trajectory for the one-time framed prisoner on whom illegal experiments were performed, hardening his skin. As mayor, though, he’s inherited the poison chalice of his predecessor banning superheroes from operating in New York, and they’re sorely needed when a war breaks out with the aim of controlling the city’s crime.

Rodney Barnes’ script very soon shows that Luke taking the law into his own hands isn’t an option, as he’s a very public figure, but Barnes has a way around that…

The clash between public persona and private ideals is a new one for Luke, and at the beginning it’s well used as a restriction, but what plays out never really grabs the attention as it ought to. That’s partly down to Ramon Bachs producing artwork that does the job, but without a single panel you’d want to take another look at. Another limiting factor is four chapters of an uninspiring villain sitting in their basement dispatching threats from afar, and while Luke gathers allies, they’re very much in the background for most of the time, so just taking up space. A far stronger story could have emphasised the limitations placed on Luke and how he overcame them himself.

A few nice touches occur along the way, not least that Luke still wears a yellow shirt in office, but there’s very little connecting this to the primary Gang War story (taking place in Spider-Man) and not enough to grab the attention.