How Powerful Luke Cage Is Compared To Captain America & Hulk
Marvel's Luke Cage features its titular hero receiving his powers in a very similar way to Captain America and Hulk, including comparable superhuman strength. Featured in his own Netflix show along with appearances in other heroes' series and a crossover, Luke Cage has taken down quite a few foes, both powered and non-powered, with his impressive strength. Here's how powerful Harlem's Hero is when compared to Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner.
In Luke Cage season 1, it was revealed that Carl Lucas (played by Mike Colter) was subjected to experimentation while in prison for a crime he didn't commit. While the process was meant to provide new artificial skin for burn victims by fusing a subject's DNA with foreign DNA to gain their properties (in this case, abalone shell), unintended effects resulted in Lucas receiving extremely durable skin to the point of being bulletproof. His strength was greatly enhanced as well, becoming far stronger than the average man. After escaping the prison and taking the name Luke Cage, it was revealed that he could easily bend metal bars, kick a Volkswagen down the street, and knock a normal man out with a simple tap.
Cage's origins for how he got his powers resembles two major Marvel heroes who also have enhanced strength. Steve Rogers volunteered to receive the serum that would make him a Super Solider in WWII, becoming Captain America and displaying great strength. Likewise, Bruce Banner experimented on himself with gamma radiation, a process which inadvertently turned him into the rage monster known as The Incredible Hulk, getting stronger and more powerful the angrier he becomes. In terms of how Luke Cage compares with his own superhuman strength, he seems to rank right between the two Avengers, being stronger (and more unbreakable) than Captain America while still behind the Hulk, whose power threshold is incredibly high.
While he is stronger than average, thugs don't shatter all the bones in their hands trying to punch Captain America like they do when hitting Luke Cage. Likewise, Rogers still has to worry about gunfire and other weapons being wielded in his direction (hence Captain America's vibranium shield). While there are rare cases like Judas bullets, Luke Cage typically doesn't have to worry about being shot at. That said, when it comes to pure physical strength, Hulk is still the strongest there is, being capable of crushing and throwing cars, bringing down entire Chitauri leviathans, and going toe to toe with monsters such as the Abomination, Hela's wolf Fenris, and the fire demon Surtur.
While Luke Cage is pretty strong, it should be noted that his strength is pretty evenly matched with Jessica Jones, who had fought him before (though he's still the tougher of the two thanks to his unbreakable skin). At any rate, it will be interesting to see if Luke Cage and the rest of the Netflix Defenders will get a renewed spotlight now that their series have officially moved to Disney+. It also opens the door for new appearances down the line (such as Daredevil's cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home). Perhaps one day, MCU fans will see a new season of Luke Cage featuring a team-up with the Incredible Hulk himself.