Seriously, get a shirt at the very least... that way you won't look like a black, ball-less Absorbing Man...

How do you know he's ball-less? Did he have an accident with a sharp pencil?

I like the original costume just fine. Metal headband, yellow pimp shirt, and black pants. It worked.

By the way, I loved this comic book as a kid:

This must mean you agree with me, Steve.

I loved MTU as a series. I could read about all of the Marvel characters, in short usually done in one books. That one is one I still remember.

Blue pants.

Black Pants? That's a lot of highlights then, because I always thought they were bluejeans.

MTU was a perfect series for young me. Spider-man was my favorite character, and it would introduce me to another character.

I wonder if the kiddies know what it was like to read comics before there were these trades and collected editions laying around everywhere. In those days, the idea that there was a universe of characters out there to be discovered was magical.

Heck, I couldn't even really get my hands on any back issues. Nor browse covers on the internet. So each new issue of MTU was like a lesson on the Marvel Universe.

He said "blue pants."

Yeah, I always just pictured in my bond that they were black. But dark blue works, too.

Color not found in nature with color not found in nature highlights.

Mark my words.

The original is one of the best costumes ever. Bring it back.

He looks great on that FIrst Issue of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.
Very dark pants with blue highlights.
And I like the black/blue boots with yellow cuffs better than the all-yellow
Captain Marvel boots.

But seriously, only a big black, unbreakable-skin guy like Luke Cage could
pull off this outfit. All the more reason to bring it back.

Maybe without the chain belt, though. Jewel could give it to him as a present
and tell him that he looks super sexy in it.

Challenge to the IMWAN artists. Can you provide a suitable costume for Luke Cage?

If I could draw I would go with an update of the yellow and black/blue original. I'd lose the chain belt and maybe the headband (I like it, but might not work on a bald Luke). Wristbands stay.

I like the fact that he's not in tights anymore---that outfit worked well in the '70's ---not now, *but* he does need something visual that says he's not just another bald, well built dude. I'd say a tattoo would be the way to go but because of his skin, it'd have to be something that Dr. Strange whips up for him that he could call into play whenever he goes into action. The tat could be on his chest. Something simple in yellow or blue. Or failing that, just go with the yellow shirt and the loose chain around his waist. No blue tights, no tiara.

I really don't think the original costume is tights. It's drawn like pants tucked into boots. Sure, the musculature shows through, but that's true of most all comic book hero pants. But they tended to look more like pants than just tights. More cloth wrinkle lines, etc. (So that's really a style issue for the artist).

That's gross. Bet he's got his pants on the ground, hat on sidways, too.