Esther Lucas - Esther Lucas is the wife of James Lucas and the mother of James Lucas Jr. and Carl, the latter of whom would grow up to become Luke Cage. Despite loving Carl, she and her husband were also disappointed in his continuous run ins with the law and were embarrassed about having to bail him out. Esther was killed by one of Carl's gang members causing James and James Jr. to blame him.[1][2]
Heather Rand - Heather Duncan was a young wealthy socialite who met and fell in love with the mysterious Wendell Rand. The two married and Heather gave birth to Danny who would grow up to become Iron Fist.[3] Wendell convinced Heather to bring Danny on their trip to the Himalayas. While there Wendell's business partner, Harold Meachum, kills Wendell claiming that he did it out of his love for Heather. Heather was sickened by his actions and was left for dead with Danny. While the two continued to venture towards K'un-L'un, they were attacked by a wolf pack with one of the wolves later becoming Ferocia. With nothing left to lose, Heather threw herself at the pack to save Danny giving up her life in the process.[4] Heather found herself in Feng-Tu, the K'un-L'un afterlife. Startled by the realization that her husband was not from Earth, Heather fled until she found herself confronted by Dhasha Khan who transformed her into the Silver Dragon and was forced to fight her now grown up son. When Danny realized he was fighting his mother, Heather resisted and was incinerated by Khan. Later, Danny was able to free her mother's soul from Khan and she returned to Feng-Tu[5][6] Later when Danny was on death's door, he is reunited with his parents who inform him that his time is not up and that they were proud of the man he had become.[7]
Wendell Rand - Wendell Rand was an orphan who fought tooth and nail to survive on the streets of Nepal. One day, Wendell encountered Orson Randall who was the then current Iron Fist. After saving Orson from being poisoned, Wendell was taken under his wing and trained in the martial arts. Upon learning of K'un-L'un, Wendell was determined to find the city and become the new Iron Fist. Despite Orson's warnings, Wendell set out on his journey.[8] Wendell eventually found K'un-L'un after crossing the frozen tundra and nearly freezing to death. After saving the lives of Lord Tuan and his son Nu-An, Wendell was adopted by Tuan and became a student of Lei Kung the Thunderer.[9] Years later, Wendell married native Shakirah and had a daughter with her named Miranda. However, due to Nu-An's jealousy, Wendell forced both his wife and child to leave the city.[10] At the end of a tournament for the right to challenge for the power of the Iron Fist, Wendell defeated Lei Kung's son Davos and spared his life rather than kill him. Having become disillusioned with K'un-L'un, Wendell chose not to challenge the guardian of the Iron Fist but to return to Earth instead.[11] Wendell reunited with Orson, who was slowly dying, and would protect his adopted father from various hazards. Orson soon passed, but not before leaving Wendell a fortune from which he would build an entire business empire.[12] After returning to America, Wendell married Heather Duncan who would bear him a son, Danny.[3] When Danny turned ten, Wendell decided it was time to return to K'un-L'un. Wendell took Heather, Danny and his business partner Harold Meachum through the Himalayas, but during the trip Harold let Wendell fall to his doom and then abandoned Heather and Danny when Heather wouldn't return his affections.[4] Wendell and Heather ended up in Feng-Tu, the afterlife of K'un-L'un. When Danny was on death's door, he was reunited with his parents who informed him that his time was not up and that they were proud of the man he had become.[7]
Miranda Rand - Miranda Rand is the daughter of Wendell Rand and K'un-Lun native Shakirah. Shakirah was soon murdered and Wendell fled leaving Miranda an orphan.[13] She was soon trained by Conal D'Hu-Tsien, who was in love with her. They encountered Danny Rand, who had taken the name Iron Fist, and aided him in battling Merrin. When they discovered that Miranda was a woman both she and Conal were put on trial as it was against the law to train women in martial arts. Danny tried to save them, but he was unsuccessful. Before being taken away, Miranda revealed to Danny that she was his sister.[14] Miranda and Conal were rescued by a H'ylthri who in return demanded that they retrieve the Scorpio Key from a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. They were given new costumes and identities with Miranda taking Death Sting. Miranda and Conal hired many villains to aid them and she fought her brother. Eventually, Miranda got the Scorpio Key and used it to defeat the H'ylthri and rescue her brother, though at the cost of Conal's life. Miranda disappeared afterwards.[15] Years later, Miranda was revealed to be in Hell and was forced to battle her ancestor Orson Randall. Danny showed up and was able to rescue his sister who wished to return to a normal life.[16]
Reina Alvarez: Reina Alvarez is the mother of Victor, the new Power Man, and the estranged widow of Shades, a former enemy of the previous Power Man Luke Cage. Reina is unaware of her son's activities as Power Man but his frequent absences during the night, mysterious injuries and poor excuses cause her to believe he is involved with gang activity, which strains their relationship as she is afraid that he will end up like his father. As part of Power Man's condition to accept Iron Fist's offer to train him, the Rand Corporation "hires" Victor as a community organizer (which is a front for his new partnership with Iron Fist) and gives him a steady income, allowing him and his mother to move out of his uncle's home. Reina becomes relieved of Victor's new responsibilities and new direction in his future, which reconciles them.
Ignacio Alvarez: Victor's uncle and Reina's brother, who allows the two to live with him and his family.
Sofia "Sophie" Alvarez: Victor's cousin and Ignacio's daughter, who knows his identity as Power Man. When the Hand uncover Victor's identity, they use Sophie as a hostage but he is able to rescue her with Iron Fist's help.
Lin Lie's family
Professor Lin - The archeologist father of Lin Lie and Lin Feng who went missing while excavating the tomb of Chiyou.
Allies
Luke Cage's allies
Noah Burstein – The scientist who gives Luke Cage his powers.
Reva Connors - She was friends with, and eventually started dating, Carl Lucas the man who would eventually become Luke Cage. Cage's former friend, Willis Stryker, was jealous of their romance and framed Cage with stolen drugs.[17] When the Maggia came after Stryker, they inadvertently killed Connors.[18]
Joy Meachum – Blamed Iron Fist for the death of her father, and later became an ally of his.
Rafael Scarfe – A police officer and Misty Knight's former partner who becomes an ally or Iron Fist and later Luke Cage when they become the Heroes for Hire.
Colleen Wing – Misty Knight's partner and ally of Danny Rand.
Lee Wing – Colleen's father and a professor of Asian history.
Sparrow – Childhood friend and adopted daughter of Lei Kung who succeeded her father as both the Thunderer and Yu-Ti.
El Águila – Mutant swashbuckler and costumed crime fighter, who was originally an antagonist for the Heroes for Hire until he became an ally of theirs.
Jennifer "Jenny" Royce – Secretary for the Heroes for Hire.
Max Brashear – Scientist son of Blue Marvel who befriends Victor during their tenure under Sunspot's Avengers.
Tiowa Bryant – Victor Alvarez's high school classmate and briefly his girlfriend.
Lin Lie's allies
Ji Shuangshuang – A descendant of Nü-wa and leader of the Nü-wa who reveals Lie's lineage and history of his Sword of Fu Xi to him. She wields the Bands of Nü-wa, a pair of gauntlets that generate a mystical blue mist, which can be shape itself into hard constructs, project as blasts, and allow Shuangshaung to fly.
Ah Cheng – Lin Lie's best friend and roommate, who helps him in his early days as Sword Master.
Mei Min – A K'un-Lun native who hosts Lin Lie at her family's home and helps him recover the shards of his broken Sword of Fu Xi.
Yang Yi – Lin Lie's rival turned friend from K'un-Lun.
Enemies
Luke Cage's enemies
Baron - A knight-themed crime leader who uses ancient weapons modified with advanced technology.
Big Brother - A crime leader who increases his strength with a special exo-skeleton.
Black Mariah – Criminal who uses her size against her enemies.
Bushmaster – Crime boss who gained the same powers as Luke Cage, and can absorb energies from other people.
Cheshire Cat – Villain with the ability to become invisible and intangible.
Coldfire - James Lucas, Jr. was born and raised in Harlem, New York and lived in an apartment block with mother, father, and younger brother. As he grew up he started to hate his criminal brother and believed that he brought shame upon the family. His father James had to keep bailing Carl out of prison. He even blamed his brother Carl Lucas, who would later become the superhero known as Luke Cage for the death of their mother. The brothers fought constantly and over time James hatred for his brother grew and grew. When Carl went to prison James and his father moved around the country trying to keep him away from Carl. The pair did not even know each other was still alive.[19] James Jr. was unable to fight his super powered brother so decided to gain abilities of his own he went through a mutagenic process devised by the scientist Dr. Karl Malus stolen from technology used by the Soviets. His body was altered so he was engulfed in a white-hot flame which did not burn him. With this new power he took on the name of "Coldfire" and began his revenge against his brother.[20]
Comanche – Criminal is an Indian-themed villain was once in the same gang as Luke Cage. Ward Meachum later provided him with a bow and trick arrows.
Cottonmouth – A drug kingpin who gained the same powers as Luke Cage.
Diamondback – Childhood friend and later enemy of Luke Cage.
Piranha Jones – Criminal with sharpened steel spikes for teeth.
Lionfang - A teacher and circus worker who wears a special helmet that enables him to gain the strength, agility and fierceness of any animal. Although he was thought to have been killed by Scourge of the Underworld, he turned up alive but in a wheelchair.
Gideon Mace – Dishonorably discharged Army colonel whose right hand was replaced by a spiked mace.
Mr. Fish – Supervillain with a fish-like appearance.
Albert Rackham - Albert Rackham was a prison guard at Seagate Prison. He was a racist abusive man who took particular interest in Carl Lucas. He attempted to kill Lucas when he volunteered for Noah Burstein's experiment, unintentionally giving him powers. Rackham however did not know that Lucas survived. Even after Lucas escaped, changing his name to Luke Cage, Rackham continued to work at Seagate abusing Comanche and Shades.[21][22] Rackham lost his job at Seagate and tried looking for new employment. He eventually ran into Daily Bugle reporter Phil Fox, who had discovered that Luke Cage is actually Carl Lucas. With this knowledge, the two decide to blackmail Cage to work for them.[23] They attempted to kidnap Claire Temple, but instead got Mrs. Jenks, a client of Cage. This blunder resulted in Rackham killing Fox and making it seem as if Claire kidnapped her.[24] In order to save Mrs. Jenks, Cage teams up with Shades and Comanche, who were looking to enact their revenge on Rackham. After finding Rackham, they end up in a battle with Stiletto. In the confusion, Rackham is hit and killed by an ambulance and Mrs. Jenks dies, but not before she clears Claire's name.[25]
Shades – A sunglasses-wearing criminal who was once in the same gang as Luke Cage. Ward Meachum later provided Shades with sunglasses that shot lasers.
Spear – A criminal and brother of Mangler who uses a unique speargun.
Stiletto – Brother of Discus, wields knives and shoots blades from wrist devices.
Wildfire - Harold Paprika is a racist who wields a flamethrower.
X the Marvel - A former professional wrestler who was enhanced by the Super-Soldier Serum.
Zzzax - A supervillain made from pure electricity.
Danny Rand's enemies
Ferocia – A K'un-L'un wolf was magically uplifted into a humanoid woman by Master Khan.
Golden Tigers - An important and feared martial arts gang operating in Chinatown.
Chaka Khan - Robert Hao was the original crime lord of the Golden Tigers. He led the Golden Tigers in taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the arrest of Maggia crime lord Ruffio Costra. He was defeated by Iron Fist, Misty Knight, and Coleen Wing and arrested by the police.
Chaka – Thomas Arn is a former judo instructor and the current crime lord of the Golden Tigers and an enemy of Iron Fist.
Chen-Wu - A member of the Golden Tigers that worked for Chaka Khan.
Chin-Lee -
Kwai Chang - A member of the Golden Tigers that worked for Chaka Khan.
Teng - A member of the Golden Tigers that worked for Chaka Khan.
Harold Meachum – Business partner of Wendell Rand, who betrayed him and left Danny orphaned.
Ward Meachum – Blamed Iron Fist for the death of Harold Meachum and tried to have him killed.
Junzo Muto - A leader of The Hand who stole the Iron Fist from Danny Rand.
Ninja – An unnamed ninja servant of Master Khan whose soul was sealed away by Lei Kung and Yu-Ti when he attempted to destroy K'un-Lun for his master. He possessed Professor Wing until he was forced out of his body by Iron Fist and Colleen Wing.
Sabretooth – He clashed with Iron Fist and the Heroes for Hire several times along with his occasional partner Constrictor before becoming a major antagonist of the X-Men, particularly with Wolverine.
Scythe - An assassin hired by Harold Meachum to kill Iron Fist. Scythe was a talented martial artist whose name came from his use of a kusari-gama as his primary weapon. The Japanese weapon consists of a sickle connected to a weight by a long chain. He managed to choke Iron Fist with the chain of his weapon, but the hero summoned his chi and shattered Scythe's weapon. Unable to conceive the power of the Iron Fist, Scythe collapsed giving up Meachum's name. He was never seen again afterwards.[26]
Impasse – A fictional character appearing in Marvel Comics publications. The character first appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist #101 (January 1984).[27] Impasse is able to infect people with a deadly toxin, and was defeated by Power Man and Iron Fist.[28]
Montenegro – First appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist #71 (December 1980).[29] He is an expert mountain climber and uses spiked boots, a grappling hook, a device which can fire pitons into solid rock, and a gun which can spray freezing vapor.[30]
Chiyou – The evil god of war who was sealed away by the Yellow Emperor and the tribes of the Three Sovereigns in ancient times. In the present day his seals become weakened, allowing his influence to manifest and his demonic forces to be released, and seeks to have his seals destroyed to fully resurrect him.
Lin Feng – Lin Lie's older brother and worshipper of Chiyou
Shui Sisters – Demonic sisters and servants of Chiyou
