Home › Hero for Hire › #2

Cover: John Romita

Hero for Hire #2

Name: Hero for Hire #2
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Aug 1972 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Vengeance Is Mine!”

★ 1st appearance — Claire Temple★ 1st appearance — D.W. Griffith

About this Issue

Hero for Hire #2 (August 1972) is the issue that gave Luke Cage—already a groundbreaking figure as the first African-American superhero to headline his own Marvel series—his core supporting cast and the narrative engine that would drive the series for years. The debut of Dr. Claire Temple, a Black woman depicted as a competent, no-nonsense medical professional, was itself a quiet landmark in an era when such characterization was rare; her role as Cage's ally, moral compass, and love interest anchored the book's street-level humanism. The issue also resolves the central revenge plot launched in #1 in a single, ironic stroke—Willis Stryker/Diamondback, the childhood friend who framed Cage and destroyed his life, dies by his own trick switchblade before Cage can use him to clear his name—a bittersweet structural choice that proved Archie Goodwin was writing tragedy as much as action. That refusal to give Cage an easy win distinguished this series from conventional superhero fare and helped define what Bronze Age street-level storytelling could be.

writer Archie Goodwin · artist George Tuska · inker Billy Graham · letterer John Costanza · cover John Romita

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $7

CGC 9.8 · 61 in census $243*

CGC 9.6 · 102 in census $80*

CGC 9.4 · 85 in census $62*

CGC 9.2 · 52 in census $44

CGC 9.0 · 47 in census $36*

CGC 8.5 · 61 in census $30

Show all 17 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 61 in census $25*

CGC 7.5 · 44 in census $21*

CGC 7.0 · 40 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 23 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 14 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 18 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 19 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 7 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.6 $275 1 listing

CGC 9 ▾ $120–$150 2 listings

CGC 9 $120 CGC 9 $149.99

CGC 8 $121 1 listing CGC 5.5 $95 1 listing CBCS 4.5 $69.99 1 listing Raw — MINT $130 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $14.98–$90 3 listings

NM $14.98 NM $85 NM $90

Raw — VF+ $60.12 1 listing

Raw — VF ▾ $20.98–$80 3 listings

VF $20.98 VF $36 VF $80

Raw — FN/VF $49.99 1 listing Raw — FN+ $39.99 1 listing

Raw — FINE ▾ $34.99–$44.95 2 listings

FINE $34.99 FINE $44.95

Raw — FN ▾ $22–$45.5 3 listings

FN $22 FN $40.08 FN $45.5

Raw — VG $14.95 1 listing

Raw — GD ▾ $69.99–$92.98 2 listings

GD $69.99 GD $92.98

Raw / ungraded ▾ $8–$125 24 listings

Verified matches for Hero for Hire #2 · eBay asking prices, seen 10 days ago

More listings for this title

FN $22.95

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 1 total · seen 10 days ago

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

The creative team assembled for this issue was the same that launched the series the prior month: writer Archie Goodwin, penciller George Tuska, inker Billy Graham, letterer John Costanza, and cover artist John Romita Sr., with Stan Lee as editor and Roy Thomas as editor-in-chief. Billy Graham—the only Black creator among the core team—was brought in by Roy Thomas specifically to help ensure authentic visual depictions of the Black characters, and his inking presence was a deliberate editorial decision from the start of the series. Goodwin scripted only the first four issues before Steve Englehart took over; this means #2 falls squarely within his tightly constructed opening arc, reflecting his instinct to resolve the origin's central conflict quickly while seeding long-running supporting relationships.

Trivia · 8 facts

Cover-dated August 1972 (on-sale May 23, 1972); the story's internal title is 'Vengeance is Mine!' — the title on the cover reads 'He's Danger! He's Death!! He's — The Man Called Diamondback!'
First appearance of Dr. Claire Temple, a Black female physician who becomes Luke Cage's primary love interest and one of his longest-running supporting characters; she was created by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska.
First appearance of Dave 'D.W.' Griffith, the theater operator who becomes Cage's landlord and friend, and first appearance of Gadget, Diamondback's gimmick-weapon inventor.
Death of Diamondback (Willis Harold Stryker), Cage's childhood friend and the man who framed him — he is killed by one of his own explosive trick switchblades during a skylight fall, in just his second appearance; his apparent death robbed Cage of the only person who could have cleared his name.
The issue contains a flashback explaining the origin of Luke Cage's distinctive costume; a humorous sidebar shows a costume-shop owner offering Cage a suit resembling the classic Fawcett Captain Marvel/Shazam uniform — a meta-joke referencing the then-ongoing DC-Fawcett trademark lawsuit.
Cage rents the office space above the Gem Theater from D.W. Griffith, establishing the Gem as a recurring location throughout the series.
Full creative credits: script — Archie Goodwin; pencils — George Tuska; inks — Billy Graham; letters — John Costanza; cover — John Romita Sr.; editor — Stan Lee; editor-in-chief — Roy Thomas.
The issue has been reprinted in: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 1 (2005); The Mighty World of Marvel (Marvel UK, 1976, across issues #215–217); Luke Cage Epic Collection Vol. 1: Retribution (2020); and the Luke Cage Omnibus (2021), among multiple international editions.