The Pulse

Nicholas Cage is a serious fanboy.

I learnt yesterday that he named his newborn son Kal-El.

For those who crashlanded into an Amish farm as a baby, this is the original Kal-El. Seem familiar?

But this is not surprising for Cage. Everyone knows by now that he was born Nicolas Coppola, but chose to change his name to hide his association with his famous uncle, Francis Ford Coppola - wanting to make it in Hollywood on his own steam.

What many do not know is that Nicolas chose the surname Cage, after B-list Marvel hero Luke Cage, a.k.a. Power Man.

Luke Cage was the first black superhero to have his own comic, and to also not have the word "Black" in his superhero name. He was introduced during a period when there was a boom in literature about the exploitation of blacks in America, in an attempt to jump that bandwagon.

Born Carl Lucas, he was a thug who was experimented upon in prison, and got unbreakable skin and superhuman strength as a result. He escaped from jail and took on the name Cage, as a memory of his torture in prison by racist guards. Unlike other superheroes, he demanded a fee for his services and started Heroes for Hire. Later he had a long-running partnership with Iron Fist under his new codename Power Man. He was later made a member of the cast in Alias and The Pulse, together with long-time girlfriend Jessica Jones - both fantastic books.

Interestingly, Luke Cage has recently returned to the spotlight, having been made a member of the Avengers last year.

Here's wishing his namesake a similar streak of good luck.