ESTHER LUCAS

Real Name: Esther Lucas

Identity/Class: Human (pre-modern era)

Occupation: Homemaker (presumably)

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Micky Hamilton, Carl Lucas, James Lucas, Jr., James Lucas, Sr.

Enemies: The Bloods street gang

Known Relatives: James Leonard Lucas, Sr. (husband), Carl Earl Lucas (Luke Cage, son), James Leonard Lucas, Jr. (Coldfire, son)

Aliases: "Ma" (name called by Carl Lucas/Luke Cage)

Base of Operations: Harlem, New York. USA

First Appearance: (seen, unidentified): Cage I#3 (June, 1992);
(identified by name): Cage I#15 (June, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Esther Lucas had no superhuman abilities but she was a deeply caring mother, willing to risk her life to help her sons.

Height: 5'4" (by approximation)
Weight: 120 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Dark brown

History: (Cage I#15 (fb) - BTS) - During her younger days, Esther chose to date James Lucas over his friend Micky. After marrying James, Esther had good times with her husband, taking photos together while cooking or at the beach. Eventually, Esther gave birth to her and James' son Carl and later, Carl's younger brother, James, Jr.

(Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular I#2/2 (fb)) - Esther Lucas watched as her son Carl rode his bike.

(Cage I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Esther Lucas taught Carl that "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" and that "power corrupts."

(Cage I#3 (fb)) - After her husband scolded their son Carl for running around with thugs, Esther Lucas visited the bedroom of Carl to check on him. When Carl asked why his father hated him, Esther reminded Carl to not even say such a thing, as her husband loved Carl and that both of Carl's parents had strove to teach him how to love himself and work for something better in life. Carl agreed that he knew they tried and that he owed them, but Esther remarked that it wasn't about them and that Carl owed it to himself to pick his own future before his future chose him.

(Cage I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Esther Lucas became actively involved in trying to free her son Carl from his association with a local Harlem gang, hoping that she could give Carl a chance to make up for his past. She was unfortunately killed by one of her son Carl's fellow gang members, a murder witnessed by Carl Lucas himself, who was ultimately brought up on charges related to the murder. Esther's death ended Carl's association with the gang.

(Cage I#15 (fb) - BTS) -  Following Esther Lucas' death, both her husband James, Sr. and her son, James, Jr. could help blaming Carl for the death.

(Cage I#8 (fb) - BTS) - After Carl was arrested on the trumped-up charge of dealing drugs, he wrote a letter to his father James in which he insisted he did not deal drugs and reminded his father of the promise he made to clean himself up following Esther's death. In the letter, Carl also begged forgiveness for the blame James had placed on him after Esther's death and asked that his father visit him in Seagate Prison. In another letter, Carl was told his father had died by his brother, James, Jr., and Carl decided to write a letter to his supposedly deceased father, admitting that he felt, after what had happened with Esther and Reva Connors, everyone Carl cared about most were hurt because of him.

(Cage I#8 - BTS) - When Luke Cage hired detective Dakota North to find his father, James, Sr., whom Cage had learned was alive, James, Jr. informed James, Sr. that it was time for a vacation. As James, Jr. packed, he thought to himself how he had purposely told Carl that his father was dead and vice versa in an effort to keep Carl away from James, Sr. following the death of Esther Lucas.

(Cage I#10 - BTS) - Dakota North eventually caught up to James, Jr. and confronted him about why he kept James, Sr. and Luke Cage apart, prompting James, Jr. to reply that he was not going to let Carl kill his father like he did their mother.

(Cage I#14 - BTS) - When Luke Cage was confronted by his brother James, Jr., now transformed into the superhuman Coldfire by Dr. Karl Malus, James exclaimed that he had been given to stop Cage from hurting their father like he had killed their mother. Cage admitted that he knew how James felt after Esther's death but suggested that Coldfire get past his feelings to see what Dr. Malus really was.

(Cage I#15 - BTS) -  James, Sr. visited Esther's and his old friend Micky, who was hospitalized with cancer, he admitted to Micky that he knew Esther's death wasn't Carl's fault but that both he and James, Jr. were stubborn and seemed unable to forgive and forget that Esther might still be alive if not for Carl. Micky attempted to get James, Sr. to forgive Carl, however, noting that from where he sat, the only thing that mattered was being with those you love and Micky reminded James, Sr. that Carl was still his son and that he needed his father.

(Cage I#17 - BTS) - The Chicago Spectator newspaper reported a story labeled "Luke Cage: The Untold Story," in which Luke Cage (who was born Carl Lucas) was said to have killed his mother, Esther. The article went into more detail beneath the headline, which properly explained that Cage's association with a Harlem gang had inadvertently caused Esther's death when she tried to remove Carl/Luke from the gang's influence. Despite Cage's anger over the paper's violation of his private life, the article ended up being a very inspirational story to the people, prompting some of them to seek Cage out for autographs.

(Black Panther & the Crew I#4 - BTS) - While Luke Cage was battling a Hydra sniper, he thought to himself how that which didn't kill Esther Lucas' boy only made him meaner.

Comments: Created by Marc McLaurin, Dwayne Turner and Christopher Ivy.

I feel like there are likely several mentions/references/possible appearances of Luke Cage's mother while not necessarily mentioning her name. If anyone knows of any, please email me and I'll be glad to add them to this profile.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Esther Lucas has no KNOWN connections to:

images: (without ads)
Cage I#3, p3, pan1 (Esther Lucas entering her son's bedroom, main image)
Cage I#3, p3, pan2 (Esther Lucas, headshot)
Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular I#2, p3, splash page (younger Esther Lucas)

Appearances:
Cage I#3 (June, 1992) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Christopher Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#5 (August, 1992) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Christopher Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#8 (November, 1992) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#14 (May, 1993) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Paris Cullins (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#15 (June, 1993) - Marc McLaurin (story), Scott Benefiel (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#17 (August, 1993) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Scott Benefiel (pencils), Frank Turner (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular I#2 (June, 2009) - "Citizen Cage: Political Power Man" story - Wyatt Cenac (writer), Todd Nauck (art), Tom Brennan (editor)
Black Panther & the Crew I#4 (September, 2017) - Ta-Nehisi Coates, Yona Harvey (writers), Butch Guice (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Wil Moss (editor)

Last updated: 12/08/17

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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