Recent Luke Cage chronology

[Leoparis]

In New Avengers #7, Jessica Jones complains that she and Luke haven't had any money in a while and wear dirty clothes so New Avengers (2010) #1-7 must take place before Luke Cage starts as leader of the Thunderbolts since that would be a paying job.

[Michael]

I'm not prepared to make that determination yet. We still have to analyze how Shadowland fits in with New Avengers and Thunderbolts. It could be that the Federal Payroll Department screwed up and didn't pay Luke and Steve's been yelling at them to get their act together.

[Leoparis]

When Jessica recaps their recent history, there is zero mention of Luke as leader of thunderbolts and he sports new clothes in Thunderbolts.

[Michael]

And those arguments are compelling but I think that we should wait until Shadowland's placement relative to New Avengers is determined before definitively deciding the matter.

[Paul Bourcier]

We know that Shadowland ties into TB 149, and my analysis indicates that NA2 occurs after Shadowland.

Shadowland
NA2 1 (1-7) (Cage and company offered Avengers Mansion)
ASM 642-647 (after Shadowland, according to Spider-Man Saga)
A4 1-6 (Noh-Varr joins)
ASM 648 (reference here to A4 1-6 just having happened)
IAAA 2/4 (Noh-Varr and Dr. Voodoo both here)
NA2 1 (8-24)-NA2 6 (Dr. Voodoo dies; takes a while for Cage & company to move into Avengers Mansion)

[Michael]

Hmmm, Jessica and Danielle are in Avengers Mansion in TB 148 but it's possible that Luke just sent them there so the Avengers could protect them or something.
Assuming you're correct, NA2 7 takes place after Luke becomes the leader of the Thunderbolts and Luke's paycheck must have been delayed due to bureaucratic bungling.

[Paul Bourcier]

Michael, thanks for pointing that out. Jessica and Danielle are indeed in Avengers Mansion and really wouldn't be there until after they move in, so Shadowland (with its crossover into TB 148-149) should occur after NA2 6, despite what Spider-Man Saga says.

Also, in ASM 648, Montana states, "with all the folks we got in Shadowland." This suggests that ASM 648 must occur before Shadowland, again despite Spider-Man Saga.

I do recall other problems with the "chronologies" as presented in the Sagas, and I don't necessarily advise using the order of the narratives in these comics as a reliable resource when references in the books contradict them.

So...
NA2 1 (1-7) (Cage & company offered Avengers Mansion)
ASM 642-647 (Avengers Mansion reconstructed & Spidey expects Cage & Jessica to be there "on duty," but maybe before they actually move in to live)
A4 1-6 (Noh-Varr joins)
ASM 648 (reference here to A4 1-6 just having happened; criminals still in Shadowland)
IAAA 2/4 (Noh-Varr is an Avenger and Dr. Voodoo is here)
NA2 1 (8-24)-NA2 6 (Cage & company move into Avengers Mansion; Dr. Voodoo dies)
Shadowland (Jessica & Danielle live in Avengers Mansion)

How's this look?

[Michael]

Also, in ASM 648, Montana states, "with all the folks we got in Shadowland." This suggests that ASM 648 must occur before Shadowland, again despite Spider-Man Saga.

I understood Montana's "with all the folks we got in Shadowland" remark to mean that ASM 648 takes place after the Kingpin took over the Hand (i.e. after Shadowland) :
Kingpin: You hired the man I asked for?
Montana: Yep. But with the all the folks we got in Shadowland, and all the people I could get ya, you sure you want this fella?
IOW, I thought Montana was saying "You sure you want to use this guy, instead of one of the Hand guys we got when we took over their organization?"

[Paul Bourcier]

I figured the reference was to criminals who were locked up by the Hand while DD was in charge. This would argue for Shadiwland being moved back, but then we have the difficulty with Jessica & Danielle being in Avengers Mansion before they officially moved in.

[Paul Bourcier]

I noticed that we can place a gap in ASM 348 between pages 37 and 38. I believe this is where SHADOWLAND may go.

NA2 1 (1-7) (Cage & company offered Avengers Mansion)

ASM 642-647 (Avengers Mansion reconstructed & Spidey expects Cage & Jessica to be there "on duty," but maybe before they actually move in to live)

A4 1-6 (Noh-Varr joins)

ASM 648 (1-37) (reference here to A4 1-6 just having happened)

IAAA 2/4 (Noh-Varr is an Avenger and Dr. Voodoo is here)

NA2 1 (8-24)-NA2 7 (Cage & company move into Avengers Mansion; Dr. Voodoo dies; Cage & Jessica have had no income source)

TB 144 (2:5-3:4)-FB (Rogers offers Cage the Thunderbolts/Raft job)

TB 143 (20-22)-TB 147 (Cage starts his gig with the Thunderbolts, crosses over with Avengers Academy 3-4)

Shadowland (Jessica & Danielle live in Avengers Mansion, crosses over with TB 148-149, DD loses Shadowland)

ASM 648 (38-39)-ASM 651 (Kingpin has taken over Shadowland)

[Paul Bourcier]

Added more info to the chronology above from Cage's perspective; after all, this thread's about him....

How does it look?