1. **State the problem:** Calculate the value of $(-2)^3$. 2. **Understand the exponent:** Raising a number to the power of 3 means multiplying the number by itself three times. 3. **Multiply step-by-step:** $$ (-2)^3 = (-2) \times (-2) \times (-2) $$ 4. **Calculate the first multiplication:** $$ (-2) \times (-2) = 4 $$ 5. **Multiply the result by the last factor:** $$ 4 \times (-2) = -8 $$ 6. **Conclusion:** The value of $(-2)^3$ is $-8$.