This article contains spoilers for Thunderbolts #1
A classic Stan Lee-esque catchphrase returns to Marvel after many years, but the The superstrong Luke Cage, known during his debut as Power Man, is a superhero with a long history in the Marvel Universe, but his current status is that of a politician rather than a vigilante. Even so, Thunderbolts #1 brings back Cage's famous phrase - but the character is no longer the Silver Age superhero fans used to know.
Luke Cage is currently in a relationship with Jessica Jones, and as of 2021's Devil's Reign crossover event, has begun a new career as the Mayor of New York City. Cage is quite popular among the people of the city, and has vowed to undo the damage that the Kingpin Wilson Fisk inflicted upon the city - especially his law forbidding superhero activity within New York. Technically speaking, that means the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men legally cannot operate within the city limits - even months after Devil's Reign ended - and so the Thunderbolts are the solution.
In Thunderbolts #1, written by Jim Zub with art by Sean Izaakse, Luke Cage assembles a team of C-list heroes and antiheroes to form the new Thunderbolts; the team is listed as a "project" to avoid the restriction on superhero teams. Hawkeye leads the group, but after a battle with the Hulk villain Abomination and a confrontation with US Agent leaves buildings in ruins, Cage is furious. "Sweet Christmas!" he shouts after looking over the results of the fight. "I've got millions of dollars in damages and people wondering if this team is any better than the corrupt monster cops they had a few days ago!" Cage, naturally, feels rather powerless in this moment; despite being a superhero himself, he can only sit behind a desk and shout at Hawkeye.
"Sweet Christmas!" is Luke Cage's go-to catchphrase whenever a situation goes south, similar to the Fantastic Four's powerhouse Thing's "What a revoltin' development!" or DC's Wonder Woman's "Great Hera!" The catchphrase first appeared in Power Man #27 and quickly became Cage's choice set of words; Stan Lee often granted his character similar catchy catchphrases but "Sweet Christmas" appeared to have died out in the 2000s. While it may make fans happy, it doesn't quite work for the modern-day Luke Cage; he is much more restrained and, for lack of a better word, older than he used to be.
The newThunderbolts series is ittedly an apt book in which to revive the catchphrase. The series, at least the 2022 reboot, is considerably more light-hearted than Devil's Reign and the Daredevil series in general (along with the other street-level heroes like Jessica Jones and the Punisher). Luke Cage's Silver Age rage and catchphrase was a phase that didn't last long on the page, but Thunderbolts #1 brings "Sweet Christmas!" into a new age.
