- ""I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Ain't that what the great Reverend James Lucas used to scream at us? Preached peace and prosperity every Sunday on the pulpit, but come Friday night on the sideline? Nothing but fire and brimstone. Guess he saved the sin for Saturday night like everybody else. And everybody else caught hell but you. All the world's a stage for the preacher's son and I was a quarterback. And no matter how many passes I threw he was all about running the ball. Because he wanted the game in your hands."
- ―Willis Stryker to Luke Cage[src]
Reverend James Lucas is a pastor from Savannah, Georgia, father of former Sheriff Carl Lucas and the illegitimate father of Willis Stryker.
Biography
Early Life
James Lucas was born in Savannah, the son of Tuskegee Airman who founded a church in the city after World War II. At some point in his life, James Lucas became a pastor of the church.
Fling with Dana Stryker
- "The great Reverend Lucas wasn't man enough to give his first son his last name. You see, I was still Willis Stryker. But his real son was Carl Lucas. But here's the crazy thing. Nobody said nothing. And Carl and I, we grew up best friends, but there was all this tension. You could just feel it like a draft coming in from under a door. I just wanted him to see me. I was a good boy. I did well in school. But he always loved Carl more."
- ―Diamondback[src]
At some point, James Lucas had an affair with Dana Stryker, his secretary. Yet, the affair became evident when a son, Willis Stryker, was born to both of their shock. However Lucas refused to leave his wife and therefore rejected Stryker, having his own son named Carl Lucas two years later. Lucas' mother was thought to be unable to have children, leading to Lucas being called, The Miracle Baby, something that enraged Stryker as the truth about him also being the preacher's son was kept hidden from everybody, including Lucas whom Stryker became friends with.
Relationships
Family
- Father †
- Etta Lucas - Wife
- Dana Stryker † - Former Secretary and Lover
- Carl Lucas - Son
- Willis Stryker - Illegitimate Son
Trivia
- In the comics, James Lucas Sr. was a New York City Police Detective who lived in Harlem with his wife Esther and his sons Carl and James Lucas Jr.. After the imprisonment of his son Carl and the death of his wife, he legally changed his name to James Geary.
