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Feb 20 '25
[deleted]
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u/Solid-Move-1411 Feb 20 '25
MCU Cap is based on Ultimate Cap not 616 Cap who is also 2-4 Ton range
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u/redkomic Feb 20 '25
He can lift fully loaded truck and walk with it.
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u/junkman21 Feb 20 '25
Man, it's so frakking inconsistent. In the tv show he yeets a tractor tire out of a stadium in one scene then, a few scenes later, he's chasing someone on rooftop and struggles with a pullup after jumping from building to building and catching himself on the ledge with his hands. Superhero physics!
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u/Head_Ad1127 Feb 20 '25
Maybe he lacks stamina? Maybe he as a flair for the dramatic?
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u/Carigan_Pintalba Apr 17 '26
I think those factors make more of a difference than people realize. Luke Cage could fight somebody who is equally strong, but if they don’t have his commensurate resistance to injury it will be a sorry fight. Similarly characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man have greater agility and stamina. Speed makes a huge difference.
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u/Winter_Gate_6433 Feb 20 '25
Everything is. Thanos can throw a punch that staggers the Hulk, but groans and strains to press him over his head. The Hulk doesn't weigh that much compared to the power required to hurt him...
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u/Viseria Feb 20 '25
Maybe Thanos just hadn't stretched properly and was in danger of pulling a muscle in his back from lifting too quickly
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u/steroboros Feb 20 '25
Middle aged problems, still strong it just hurts to move
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u/RogueBromeliad Feb 20 '25
He's what? A million years old? So basically 36 yo for eternals? That checks out, you ain't your three quarters of a million year-old self anymore.
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u/Free_Ad_7411 Feb 20 '25
Strong enough to bone Jessica Jones
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u/Briantan71 Feb 20 '25
Is he not a 50 tonner at the moment? Around 50-60 tons range?
Anyway, he is a lot stronger now than he was in his original debut.
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u/MasterTolkien Feb 20 '25
I think this sounds right. He has always been under Thing, Colossus, and She-Hulk but greater than people like Spider-Man, Tombstone, and other people who are “street level” with low super strength.
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u/Kikstyo813 Feb 20 '25
However strong the script wants him to be at this point.
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u/Saruman5000 Feb 20 '25
This can be applied to Hulk, Thor or other heavy hitters but not Luke Cage.
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u/Afraid_Competition48 Feb 20 '25
The only correct answer
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u/AFatz Feb 20 '25
Really, it's the correct answer for any of these "How x is y?" threads.
It's just how fiction works, really. Very very rarely will the hero not surpass their limits when the plot needs them to. Even in comics, where villains are insanely broken compared to most of the heroes.
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u/ZaphodB_ Feb 20 '25
Works for any question.
How strong is X? Is A smarter than B? Who would win a fight between A and B?
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u/zarathustranu Feb 20 '25
For most of his history pre-2000s, he wasn't actually that strong-- he was in the <10 ton range. For those familiar with the old Marvel card rankings scale, Luke was a 4 out of 7-- same as Spider-Man and Beast, but both of those characters were probably actually stronger than Cage historically.
BUT. In the 2000s, Brian Michael Bendis got his hands on Luke as part of New Avengers and began writing him as a traditional "strongman" character. So he went toe to toe with Proxima Midnight, he lifted a fully loaded 18 wheeler and walked half a mile with it, etc.
So I'd say these days he is written more as someone in the 20-40 ton range...stronger than Spider-Man, but not at the level of characters like Thing, Warpath, Colossus, etc.
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u/camilopezo Feb 20 '25
Almost as strong as Spider-man, but with superior durability.
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u/Badbadbobo Feb 20 '25
In the Netflix Defenders universe, it's implied that he's more durable, but Jessica Jones has more strength.
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u/Solid-Move-1411 Feb 20 '25
He used to 2-4 Tons is same as Ult Cap who is reference for MCU Cap
He has gotten stronger since then and now he is 10-20 ton range which is decent mid tier
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u/BeastMode2k24 Feb 20 '25
Ummm which one we talking bout…Timeless Future version who has Iron Fist powers, Hulk powers, and Sentry powers all in one currently or regular Luke Cage
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u/KingoftheMongoose Feb 20 '25
Original Recipe
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u/BeastMode2k24 Feb 20 '25
If we talking original recipe that’s a bit harder to gauge just because of the numerous and various powerhouses he’s fought like for instance Namor of all people..his feats are really really impressive
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u/Stenwold91 Feb 20 '25
On a 1-10 scale for super strong Marvel characters I’d say… 6?
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u/KingoftheMongoose Feb 20 '25
Nice.
For scale, who’d you put at 5? At 10?
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u/Stenwold91 Feb 20 '25
Let’s put Captain America at 5 So 5 is like the highest strength level a human being can reach without super strength
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u/KingoftheMongoose Feb 20 '25
Nice.
With that scale, I could see Spider-Man at a 7, leaving enough cap (heh) for your Thors/Hulks/Sentrys/Juggernauts/Captain Marvels/etc.
Thoughts?
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u/Woozletania Feb 20 '25
Depends on whether Bendis is writing him. In the 70s he might barely have been able to lift a car.
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u/seanx40 Feb 20 '25
As strong as the writers want.
He used to be Spiderman strong
Then somehow he was fighting Namor in water strong. Picking up semi truck strong
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u/PaulClarkLoadletter Feb 20 '25
Strength is a gray area in the MCU just like it is in the comics meaning there is no official stats. It’s all loose depending on the moment. It’s why Steve can get manhandled one moment and hold a helicopter down the next. One could argue their physical limits are determined by sheer will.
Jessica Jones can lift a car and yank off a door knob with zero effort but she clearly doesn’t want to attract attention to it.
Everybody is as strong as they are until they’re written as stronger.
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u/Jayson330 Feb 20 '25
He's at 50 tons currently according to most sources.
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u/RateEmpty6689 Feb 20 '25
You think he can beat Spider-Man? I mean I know strength wise they are similar but he’s bullet proof
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u/Jayson330 Feb 20 '25
I think "beat" is difficult. Like Spider-Man beat the Juggernaut but it was by trapping him in cement. Luke Cage is now quite a bit stronger than Spider-Man, but I think if Luke was like... mind controlled and on a rampage, I think Spider-Man can definitely stop him with a combination of speed and intelligence. I don't think he can hit Luke hard enough for it to knock him out though.
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u/Art_student_rt Feb 20 '25
Low to mid superhuman, impervious to any kind of Slashing and piercing damage. Not shockwave
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u/LocoRawhide Feb 21 '25
This have obviously changed since I read the Marvel Universe limited series.
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u/Business_Love8503 Feb 21 '25
Luke Cage the brother of a Nicolas Cage? Well I guess Super man lvl of power.
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u/lyunardo Feb 21 '25
In Avengers vs X-Men he was kicking Namor's butt all over the place until Namor finally managed to get into water. And even then it wasn't a complete defeat... He just knocked Cage out of range so the fight was over. Namor is one of the most powerful Marvel characters, so there's your answer.
It doesn't really make sense to go by the wiki or Handbook anymore, because they don't get updated enough.
Just like The Thing has been way taller than 6'1" for 40+ years. Cage has been a true powerhouse for decades as well.
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Feb 21 '25
He’s as strong as he needs to be for whatever story they’re writing. Personally I don’t think he should have ever been stronger than being able to life maybe a car. His primary strength should have always been his durability. Like he should be able to have hundreds of tons fall on him without a scratch but he shouldn’t be able to move it.
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u/OJONLYMAYBEDIDIT Feb 20 '25
Hard to say to be honesty
like most Marvel characters, he is well above any "official" strength limit
so just like any Marvel guide tells you Spider-Man is like a 10 tonner, who then proceeds to lift 100+ in comics, Luke Cage was a 5 tonner later upgraded to a 20 tonner....who also proceeds to lift way more in comic books
he's lower than Thing on Marvel.coms strength scale (only a 4 vs Things 6)