The Better Part Of Valor

Super-heroes like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and others who tend to come into contact and interact more with the man on the street are no strangers to the bluntness of their fellow New Yorkers, who will offer a piece of their mind if it's warranted and don't cut costumed heroes much slack when it comes to their day-to-day routine being disrupted or even encroached on. There have been dozens, likely even hundreds of such scenes on display in Marvel's line of books throughout the years, all doing their part to add a human element to the many conflicts that have raged on the city's streets between super-beings--and there are some scenes that you will surely want to cheer, as far as the support and level of excitement that bystanders and eyewitnesses contribute to the efforts of "the good guys" who struggle on their behalf.

And then there are the examples of selfishness, annoyance, and even outrage that we see from less appreciative citizens who step over the line and make it clear that not everyone cares for heroes butting into the lives of ordinary people and turning heads. In one such example, we find Cage canvassing the streets with Dr. Tania Belinsky, a neurosurgeon called in from the Soviet Union by Dr. Strange as a specialist for a case--though for our purposes, we'll instead see her in her guise as the Red Guardian. (Don't ask me why a surgeon, of all people, would suit up in costume and engage in physical fights with criminals, risking damage to her hands--I'm still trying to figure that one out.) Cage and the Guardian are searching for the missing Valkyrie, and their troubles begin when Cage believes he might have spotted her.

Heh. You've probably guessed that our obnoxious friend isn't going to leave it at that.

This scene might well have ended with this man's bruised and barely conscious body adorning one of the many signs in Times Square--but Cage is a cut above the rest, and instead he leaves this man's disposition to the Guardian, who settles the matter without incident.

Needless to say, when word of this gets around, the name that this guy snarled so loudly to "protect" is now as shattered as that blade of his.