A Caper With Clones In Cable #8

After accepting he can’t do it alone, Cable recruits Domino to help in his search for the missing mutant babies and whatever Stryfe has going on. Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto and Joe Sabino deliver Cable #8.

Ian Gregory: Every week, Cable continues to be a delight. It’s nice that in the new X-Men status quo we get a book mostly focused on comedy and fun action sequences, and it’s even nicer that Cable is that book. He’s such a serious character that it’s nice to see his core parts (time travel, clones, big guns) examined for what they are: completely ridiculous.

Ritesh Babu: That, and the fact that they’re played as utterly mundane. There is no grand double-page spread to illustrate any of this as an ‘oh shit!’. Instead it’s quite literally a ‘Hey it’s monday. Let’s get lunch with my pal, Domino in Tokyo.’ and it’s a rather simple, mundane set-up in which clone-armies, cult-leaders, super-weapons and time-travel are all just about as standard as sushi.

Domino and Cable

IG: Let’s talk about Domino and Cable. Domino’s got a really bemused stance on this whole thing. Part of that is her powers, making it so that she doesn’t really need to worry about where she’s going or what she’s doing. Part of that is Cable: she’s clearly getting a huge kick out of dealing with Kid Cable when she’s had to suffer through OId Cable for so long. That playful, semi-mentorship dynamic is a pretty fun angle for Domino, and it recasts a classic partnership in a way that really works for this comic.

RB: Domino’s calm and relaxed demeanor really felt at home with the book’s tonality and sensibility. The entire bit wherein Clone Cable makes a horrible threat that could destroy everything concluding on the beat of just a random meteor crashing into him because of her powers is pretty much this book in a nutshell. Even the most momentous and Serious Business moments become fun set-ups for a punchline.

And watching Domino and Cable navigate that, as Cable is the deeply stressed dude with a vested interest, that was a lot of fun. He’s the anxious mess in contrast to her cool confidence, and as someone still new to both characters, I enjoyed that a great deal.

IG: I really respect the effort put into setting up that meteorite punchline, too. It happens juuust long enough after the first page you almost forget the setup happened at all. I think you’re spot-on about the contrast between Domino and Cable. He’s really struggled in this series, and is beating himself up over being unable to save the babies fast enough, or solve the Galador problem without help. Domino’s totally relaxed attitude shows Cable a different approach. This does mean that Cable is mostly playing straight-man this issue, with Domino hogging all the best gags (the gyoza, her lackadaisical counting of clones, her meme to Beast), but I think that works fine in a series with drop-in guest stars. An advantage of this new X-Men era is how easy it is to just have someone pop over for an issue of fun and disappear.

I also want to make a little continuity reference here. When Domino suspects Cable is interested romantically, she notes that “For most of our lives you were too old for me, and now–” obviously to imply that he’s too young (he is). A lot of people remember that Domino and Cable did have an extended relationship back in X-Force (think oversized bathtubs), remember that Domino there was actually Copycat pretending to be Domino. I like that Duggan doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable history Domino and Cable share; I find Cable’s convoluted backstory to be one of his best points, and I don’t want any of that forgotten.

RB: There is absolutely a Brave and The Bold quality to this Cable-run. It is kind of that big Team-Up book that also manages said team-ups in a manner that suits its overall character journey.

And see, that history is not one I was aware of, but the allusion still worked without it being a barrier at all. There is absolutely a strong sense of history here, as Domino is clearly relishing this dynamic and situation, but the bit never feels too inside joke-y. It lands without any of that context.

Clones of Clones of Clones

IG: For someone who used to be really hung up on whether he was a clone or not, Stryfe sure seems pretty laissez-faire about the whole thing here, doesn’t he? I’m glad that cloning is going to be a central plot device because it interacts in a really interesting way with Krakoa, which forbids the resurrection of clones (see Hellions). I’m assuming that Krakoa would not see fit to resurrect Stryfe, same as with Madelyne, despite their very noticeably different personalities from their “base” form. I also like that Duggan makes sure to call out that Kid Cable thinks he’s already dealt with Stryfe, but also doesn’t elaborate too much on how Stryfe escaped his demise. It’s time travel, folks!

RB: Cloning being key here, given it’s the one common element that’s central to both Cable’s roots and Krakoa, really works quite seamlessly for me. I also did have fun with the bit wherein the clone chastises Cable’s supposed stance on clones by pointing out the nature of his entire scenario.

So much of this book is pitting various visions of Cable against him, as they all haunt him, sometimes more literally than others, ranging from Old Man Cable to Middle Aged Cable and more. So many iterations on what he could be, as he struggles to still define what he truly wants to be. It’s all a war for the soul of Cable, but played as a cheeky, high-spirited YA book, essentially.

IG: Real Cable-heads will remember that for a few years, we were told that Cable was the clone and Stryfe the original (and the revelation that Stryfe was a clone is what really broke him). This time period really played up Cable’s “imperfections:” his various cyborg parts, his low-level powers, and so on. I’m glad we’re not talking about these things as imperfections anymore (“you have a prosthetic arm, so you can’t be their REAL son”) but I do think reintroducing some Spider-Man style clone panic into the series is a good move. Clone stuff can get frustrating fast, but I think the comedic tone of this series keeps it from becoming too frustrating and arbitrary.

Old Man Cable and Stryfe Plots

RB: So once again we’re back into the apocalyptic future and world of Old Man Cable, who seems to still endure in this wasteland of his. I’m certainly curious how this’ll tie in with the overall Stryfe narrative, as given the nature of it, I expect we’ll see the Old Man and Kid Cable come face to face, with a measure of reconciliation/peace made this time around. The reversal of their prior encounter and conclusion, if you will, to symbolize Kid Cable’s identity being cemented at last. The obliteration of what was replaced instead with a confident expression of what is, and thus what can be, through implication. The fundamental tension at the core of the character released, in some manner.

Or not! Who knows?! I’m excited to find out!

IG: I’m really pleased with how deft this narrative has ended up being. Early on I was worried that Duggan was trying to balance too many plots: Galador, baby-napping, Old Cable, and even the intrusion of X of Swords. In the end, though, the Galador stuff tied into X of Swords, and the baby stuff tied into Old Cable. It might seem obvious to make all these stories link together in retrospect, but they started so far apart that their linkage wasn’t obvious.

I also like that they’re playing up the resigned, grumpy part of Old Cable. It’s a way of showing some continuity between the two: Kid Cable has all this gung ho enthusiasm and belief that he can make a difference, and Old Cable has been worn down by it. They share their sense of humor, but Old Cable laughs more at himself while Kid Cable is trying to prove to everyone that they should take him seriously. I think you’re right that the two will link up shortly, and I hope they really play up that contrast between the two of them. Cable is traditionally a character acting as a mentor, so why should he not mentor himself?

X-Traneous Thoughts

Two shoutouts to Noto this week: the Invincible-style blood explosion when Clone Cable gets splatted, and the cool cracking-glass effect when Old Cable falls through the floor
Domino rattling off potential mutants who can solve her problems like an X-Men fan while Beast just leaves her on read felt very relatable
I think this series has been at its best when crossing over with other characters (like the Cuckoos, Rachel Grey, or Domino). Cable’s had complicated relationships with a lot of X-Men over the years, so I’d like to see this trend continue. I mean, he had a kid with Storm, and he both was Hope’s dad and killed Hope’s dad. Give me the mess!
Krakoan Reads: YOUNG LOVE