In the previous article we saw how Black Panther 2018 has several similarities with the third film of the saga. rocky Sylvester Stallone, released in 1982.
By a curious coincidence, the third chapter of the spin-off of the Rocky saga. creedinstead has a lot in common with a Marvel comic from the seventies, i.e. Luke Cage.
It is necessary to repeat once again that there are hundreds of similar stories: often the authors draw from the same bag. Moreover, human events often repeat themselves because many people in the world have similar experiences. In this article, we enjoyed noticing the similarities between the two stories because, by chance, the story once again finds itself at the center of Michael B. Jordanactor and director creedbut also a translator Killmonger V Black Panthera character who, as we have seen, repeats the exploits of boxer Clubber Lange Rocky III.
Another coincidence is that the opponent Creed III he is played by an actor also present in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Jonathan Majorswho became famous for giving the appearance of Kang the Conqueror.
In short, the third chapter of both franchises about two famous movie boxers shows similarities with two black Marvel heroes.
ADONIS AND DAMIAN AS LUKE AND WILLIS
The third chapter of the saga about the son of Apollo Creed has a plot very similar to the first saga with the participation of Luke Cage, in particular the first two episodes of the series. Luke Cage – hero for hire since 1972.
Michael B. Jordan’s film opens with a flashback to a young man. Adonis Creed accompany your friend Damian Anderson in an illegal boxing match, which the latter won. After the match, the two friends go to a liquor store, where Adonis gets into a fight that leads to Damian’s arrest for illegal weapons possession. Adonis evades arrest by running away, leaving his friend at the mercy of the police.
Thus, while the promising boxer serves his sentence in prison, young Adonis begins a career in the world of boxing that will lead him, as seen in previous films, to participate in two world title fights, one lost and the other won. .
It’s essentially the same as the first issue. Luke Cage – hero for hireone of the best comics of the seventies, written by Archie Goodwin and developed George Tuska. In the comic we see Carl Lucas (real name of Luke Cage before receiving his powers) is locked in a prison, where he talks about how he ended up in this prison due to the betrayal of his best friend, Willis Stryker, who accused him of drug possession out of jealousy over the woman they both desired. A woman who, among other things, would die from a bullet intended for Willis.
Just as Damian sees Adonis become a champion from his cell, so too does Carl/Luke see Willis rise through the ranks of the underworld and become increasingly rich and powerful.
Two childhood friends separated by opposing fortunes: one locked in prison and the other rich by amassing his own fortune. Two prisoners seek revenge.
REVERSING PERSPECTIVE
The two stories have similarities but differ in one detail, namely the point of view of the protagonist and the identification of those following the story.
If in Luke Cage the hero is undoubtedly a convict, then in Jordan’s film it is the complete opposite, that is, the villain is the former convict.
Damian, having served his sentence, contacts his old friend at the height of his fame after defending his title to ask him for a job at his prestigious gym.
Adonis, wracked with guilt, agrees in an attempt to help him rebuild his life. However, he did not know that Damian was manipulating his former friend and managed to get a chance to take part in a heavyweight fight.
During the party, world heavyweight title challenger Viktor Drago (son of the famous Ivan Di Rocky IV) wounded in a fight with a stranger. World champion Felix Chavez is left without an opponent and therefore decides to meet Damian.
What Adonis, the organizer of the meeting, doesn’t know is that the man who wounded Drago is Damian’s former cellmate and in cahoots with him. When he learns of this, he confronts Damian, who reveals to him all the resentment and anger he cultivated within himself during his imprisonment, seeing him, in his words, living the life he was meant to live.
In Marvel comics, the same thing happens, but the roles are reversed. This is prisoner Carl Lucas, who was deceived by Willis, a friend who became rich (the drugs found in Lucas’ house belonged to him). However, like Damian, Lucas hatches a plan for revenge. He volunteers to participate in a risky scientific experiment in prison that, if successful, will allow him to get out of prison faster.
Due to sabotage by an angry prison guard, the experiment does not go as planned, and Lucas gains super strength and bulletproof skin, powers that enable him to escape and reach New York. In this city, changing his name to Luke Cage, he becomes a “hero for hire,” putting his powers in the service of those who are willing to pay.
Although there is an element of science fiction involved, Luke Cage’s story is partly parallel to Damian’s and partly the opposite, as he, like Adonis, was a victim of his former friend’s scam.
Thus, both stories involve a prisoner released from prison seeking revenge on a former friend who is now rich and famous. The difference, as already mentioned, is that in one case the main character is a former prisoner, in the other – a villain.
FINAL MEETING
Thus we enter the second act of the film and the second in the Luke Cage series.
In the first pages of the comic, we see Luke clash with local gangsters, who are paid by Willis Stryker, now known in criminal circles as Diamondback (“rattlesnake”). Meanwhile, Willis specialized in knife fighting. Especially with knives equipped with rigged elements such as gas emissions, high-pitched sounds, explosives, which are dangerous even for such a superman as Cage.
Adonis, however, challenges Damian to snatch the championship belt obtained through this scam and returns to undergo grueling training to face his former friend.
Both pairs of rivals will meet face to face: Adonis and Damian in the ring, Carl/Luke and Willis on the rooftops of Harlem.
The fight between the two boxers would be grueling, with Adonis only winning by knockout in the final round. In the locker room, they can put aside their differences and somehow make peace.
The feud between Cage and Stryker ends differently. Despite being tested by the enemy’s weapons, Luke manages to gain the upper hand. Willis, in the struggle, falls from a skylight using an explosive knife and dies in the explosion.
If for Adonis this is most likely the end of his saga, then for Luke it is the beginning. Therefore, Creed and Cage are always equal and opposite.