Application - Atlas

[employable]

[OOC]

Your Name: Masa
Contact: dammitmasa
Are you at least 16 years of age or older?: Yes
Current Characters(s): N/A
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[IC]

Is this a re-app?: No
Character Name: Luke Cage
Journal: employable
Canon: Marvel’s Luke Cage (or Marvel’s Jessica Jones depending on how you want to categorize him)
Canon Point: AKA Jessica Jones, after Episode 13
Species: Human (Meta)
Age: Unspecified, but his actor was 38/39 at filming.

History: Wiki Link

Personality:
Luke Cage is a man with super powers, but with no interest in actually having them. Although they may have made it possible to escape from prison all those years ago, he sees them only as a curse. The powers he possesses after all are only useful for protecting himself and not so much for others. It was this kind of thinking that led him to keeping a low profile with his wife Reva, even whilst the various Avengers were emerging across the country and revealing that he wasn’t quite so unique. Rather than go public with his abilities, he remained quiet about his abilities and focused his time and effort on the running of his bar, Luke’s.

Yet despite his reluctance to use his powers for good, he is a very principled man. As the son of a pastor, he was raised to a high moral code - even if his father perhaps didn’t always live up to it. He is above bribery and even during his time in prison, he did not let the abuses and corruption there change the sort of man he was. The only time we see Luke truly reach a point where he would break his own code was in confronting the bus driver that he believed to be his wife’s murderer. Luke patiently waited until the last passenger had left the bus and only then confronted his wife’s supposed killer and was fully prepared to kill the man in cold blood, up until Jessica Jones revealed that it was her who had done it while under Kilgrave’s control. Although furious with her, he ultimately spared Jessica because he was rational enough to know it was not her to blame. Beyond this incident, Luke has always shown remarkable restraint. Later when he would become Harlem’s savior, he made it a point to avoid killing even as they tried to pump him full of bullets.

To most people, Luke comes off as strong and silent as it is his preference to not get too entangled. This is not necessarily who Luke really is, but a result of him being both a wanted fugitive and because his powers necessitate staying under the radar. Around those he does trust, he does have a sense of humor and a kind of playfulness about him. This would later become more and more apparent in Harlem after going public. Given his relative invulnerability, he’s prone to being conversational in a fight given that he doesn’t have to make a whole lot of effort to go avoiding attacks. He finds a certain satisfaction in reprimanding his foes. If he’s not doing so sarcastically, he’s often using historic precedent to condemn the action of his enemies, especially when in regards to the history of his fellow African Americans.

It’s this note where it’s relevant to say that despite being a private individual, one of Luke’s strengths in his ability to inspire nobility in not just the way he lives, but in how he speaks. Luke is the kind of man who if you’re going to charge into battle and need an inspiring speech, he’ll be the one to go up and give it and then probably tell everyone that it’s not actually a good idea to go charging into battle and why don’t you just let him handle this. He’s the kind of man people can rally behind because he holds himself to such a high standard. This aspect of him does not come easily though and his time in prison and the relatively recent loss of his wife has dulled this aspect in him, though it remains a part of him waiting to emerge again.

It’s his wife that represents much of who Luke has become now. She gave him hope in prison and became his world after he escaped and became a new man. Her loss was one that he did not take easily though we are never shown what his immediate reaction was. The man Jessica Jones comes across is the somber barkeeper, but one that seems to have moved forward enough to begin relationships with other women. A lot of women, in fact, as Luke is seen quickly moving into an intimate though brief relationship with a woman named Gina. He does the same with Jessica soon after and even seems to show more interest in pursuing something with her than she is (which is unsurprising for Jessica given what she did to Reva). This same behavior is shown to continue after he moves to Harlem. It could be speculated that he pursues these relationships to fill the void left by Reva’s death. It’s also possible Luke Cage is a tall and attractive man in the middle of New York that happens to be particularly desirable by women and he just enjoys sex. Maybe just a bit of both.

Regardless of what his dating life might be like, Reva still figures strongly into his motivations. Recovering the USB drive she had taken from Seagate was incredibly important to Luke. She was enough to motivate him to break his personal code of honor in seeking revenge, as well as compelling him to take extraordinarily good care of they bar they opened as he considered that to be his last memory of her. Although he may have moved on from her in a healthy enough way to be able to see other people again, she still figures dominantly in who he is and what he does.

Overall, Luke is a loyal friend with a good heart who is just waiting for circumstances to mold him into not just a superhero, but an inspiration to those around him. But he’s held back by guilt from the past, his wish to keep his powers secret, and by his fear of ever being returned to prison. This final aspect is what ultimately keeps Luke from going after Jessica in her final confrontation with Kilgrave, as he does not wish to put himself into a position to ever go public and have to face jail time again. The spectre of his previous incarceration hangs over him and even if he’s strong enough to punch through walls, he does not believe himself strong enough to be trapped behind them again.


Powers & Abilities:
Luke Cage was exposed to an experimental procedure that went wrong and accidentally gave him superpowers because, well, of course it did. His powers can be summed up as:

Super Strength - Luke Cage possesses a level of super strength sufficient to easily bend steel, punch through walls, and knock out normal humans with just a tap. His upper limits are unknown and Luke has not shown any interest in testing it. In his comic counterparts, he was limited to lifting five tons but through physical training and years of exercise, he was able to increase that tenfold.

Invulnerability - Luke Cage’s skin is nearly impervious to all harm thanks to skin that is as hard as metal. He can easily take a barrage of bullets and even a weapon fired at point blank will only cause a mild stinging sensation. He is not however completely impervious, as Jessica Jones is able to get the better of him when she fires a shotgun shell point blank into the underside of his chin. Although this did not damage his skin, the impact was able to cause significant internal damage to his head that required medical attention. Typically few things can harm him, whether it be having something like a building collapsing on him or jumping from significant heights.

Superhuman Stamina - His muscles do not fatigue as quickly as ordinary humans and he can go for longer periods of time without needing rest, though he will typically need to make up for this by increasing his food intake as he will eventually tire out.

Accelerated Healing - In the rare instances Luke does take injuries, his body will heal itself faster than a human’s will. In general this works out rather well, but it can be hindered by his own invulnerable skin when medical treatment is required or if he was to somehow get shrapnel beneath the skin.

In addition to this, Luke is a skilled fighter owing to his training in the marines, his time as a police officer, and his time in prison. In addition, his time as a police officer have made him a capable investigator as well. He’s an overall intelligent man and one well versed in history.

Misc: N/A

Sample:
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