Comanche (Character)

Created by: Archie Goodwin and George Tuska

1st appearance: Luke Cage, Hero for hire #1, 1972   

Nationality: American

Legal Status: known criminal

Height: 5’9”       Weight: 185lbs

Eyes: Brown        Hair: Black

Skills and abilities: Skilled hand to hand combatant; skilled archer

Powers: none

Weapons: Comanche is armed with a bow and trick arrows, at one time carried knifes

Biography

Comanche is ½ black and ½ Native American though it’s unknown which parent had what ethnicity. Shades and Comanche were fellow hoods from Harlem who ran the streets with then Carl Lucas and Willis Stryker. The four of them made up the gang called the Rivals. They worked the streets for the more established mobs. When they grew up, Lucas went straight, but Shades and Comanche continued to associate with Stryker once he became a mobster himself. (Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1, 1972) Shades and Comanche were arrested and sent to Seagate where Lucas was already imprisoned. They attempted to manipulate Lucas into starting a prison riot, but Cage didn’t fall for it. Comanche drew a shiv on Lucas, but Lucas knocked him with one punch. .After Lucas escaped, the guard responsible for Lucas’ mishap, Rackham, took his frustration out on the prisoners, especially the Black ones. Shades and Comanche were able to dig escape tunnels out prison, and went after Rackham, carrying a burning hatred for him due to his treatment of them in prison. The pair tracked Rackham across the country, committing small crimes to make cash. When they found him, they donned costumes so Rackham wouldn’t recognize them. They approached Lucas, now called Luke Cage, to ask him to join the protection racket they wanted to set up, as well as to get revenge on Rackham. Luke agreed, but only because he needed help proving his friend Claire Temple was innocent. As the three made their way to Rackham’s house, it exploded due to the vigilante Stiletto blowing it up. The explosion killed Rackham, but Luke was able to save Shades and Comanche. The three parted ways with the duo in debt to Luke. (Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, #14-16, 1973) The two met up with Luke again when they were working for Bushmaster, who had blacked Luke into attacking Misty Knight. Bushmaster’s attempt was foiled and the duo made their escape. (Power Man #48-49, 1977, 1978) The duo was hired by Industrialist Ward Meachum. Meachum provided them with upgraded weapons. Shades got a new optical blaster and Comanche got new trick arrows, the duo attacked Luke and incapacitated him. Luke revives and goes to Iron Fist for help. Luke and Danny search for the pair and come across them in a park receiving payment from a man in a suit. Luke and Danny’s friend D.W., who was filming the pair, got the man on tape. The man, Ward Meachum, instructs Shades and Comanche to retrieve the tape. The pair are defeated and turned over to the cops by the Heroes for Hire. Before the cops can take them away, Shades blasts the heroes off of a bridge. The heroes eventually see the film clip and recognize Meachum as the man in the suit paying off Shades and Comanche. Meachum kidnaps Misty Knight and D.W., but they are rescued by Luke, Danny, and some of their hero friends. Danny takes on Master Khan, who is there to kill Iron Fist. Luke is attacked by Shades and Comanche, who are defeated. After everything settles and Master Khan is defeated, Meachum and his men are arrested. (Power Man and Iron Fist #98-100, 1983) When Shades got out of crime, Comanche stayed in. He eventually ended up working for Nightshade and becoming a part of her Flashmob. Comanche was one of the former Cage enemies who was sent to retrieve the optic blasters Nightshade thought Shades son had in his possession. (Shadowland: Power Man, #2, 2010)