Before Spider-Noir Was Even a Thing, Nicolas Cage Had Already Starred in a Ton of Superhero Movies and Shows

Like any great superhero story, the origin of Nicolas Cage includes the man born Nicolas Coppola taking on a new identity. Okay, sure, he wasn’t getting superpowers in the process, but given the major successes that would follow – including winning an Academy Award and starring in many a hit movie – he might as well have. Of course, it seems a bit weird to call the former Mr. Coppola mild mannered, given he had such a recognizable name thanks to his uncle, acclaimed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, and since we know him to be such a wonderfully unusual onscreen presence. But wanting to discard some of the baggage and nepotism claims that can accompany such a lineage, young Nicolas decided he needed a new last name, and so he turned to his lifelong love of comic books for inspiration. As a fan of Marvel’s Hero for Hire, Luke Cage (AKA Power Man at the time), his choice of last name quickly became clear, and the newly christened Nicolas Cage was about to take Hollywood by storm…though to be fair, it was both Luke Cage and composer John Cage he credits for inspiring his choice of name. In the years since, the ever-eclectic Cage has played all sorts of different roles across all sorts o

Mar 11, 2026 → Mar 11, 2026