All markers are called in. All debts are due. Nathan Summers has a plan, and he’ll need everyone’s help to execute it. Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto and Joe Sabino deliver Cable #9.
Ian Gregory: Reading Cable now is a bit of a different experience than a few weeks ago, now that we know the series is coming to an end with #12. That means this issue marks the start of the final third of this series, and it definitely feels like we’re ramping into a big, dramatic finale.
Ritesh Babu: Yeah. I did not realize this was meant to be such a contained effort, set to wrap? But certainly, this changes how I approach and see the book, I think. That drastically alters how I approach it, because then, the pauses and detours from the central premise for crossovers feel like a massive mistake, at least to me.
IG: Ultimately, I liked this issue, though it did feel a bit like the prep-work for the last stretch.
RB: I DID have fun with this issue, for sure, even if I’m now curious how this wraps everything up.
Date on the Beach
IG: Wow, Cable is a terrible boyfriend. I think anyone familiar with the character already knew that, but it’s nice to see it confirmed on page. I like this little intro sequence with AIM, who have really leaned into being everyone’s incompetent punching bag ever since Al Ewing took them over in his New Avengers. I really appreciate that the gags in this section are character driven – making fun of Cyclops for being a stick in the mud (and Cable, too), as well as how Cable’s dramatic exit from the date hurts Esme’s feelings.
RB: I’m really glad the book’s shrunk back down to these central characters again. We’re back focusing on Cable and his core relationships, rather than expanding out too much. That helps guide the book to a definitive end (though who’s to say it seeks such an end? Perhaps not, perhaps it wishes to end with a tease. Only time will tell)
And yes. Cable is…dreadful at what he’s gotten himself into, as is to be expected of a Timey Whimey Murder-Teen in a highly bizarre context. The book definitely lives more on comedy and implication, which Duggan favors a great deal, so even moments like Cable’s scene with Emma are very much built on that.
IG: On the whole, though, what this scene showcases is how preoccupied Cable has become with his perceived duty. No one else seems to think Cable has to live up to his older self’s level of responsibility. For once, Cable isn’t the only person standing between mutants and total annihilation. But he can’t let himself live his life, and feels like he has to personally solve every problem. It’s a bit obvious that this fixation would get in the way of his dating life, but I like how that angle is played for laughs.
RB: Yeah. This continues the ‘Matter-Of-Fact’ approach to be a sort of lowkey ‘Slice-Of-Life’ angle on the X-world as it stands at the moment. It’s why I enjoyed that Emma scene, for instance, I think. The bit where she asks if he’d like this kept private, him saying yes, and her being like ‘right on’ suggest a dynamic that’s really fun, and that she’s the one Cable can speak to about this and not Jean, little bits like that, I’m having fun with. The familial dynamics are the draw, I think, and truth be told, the mutant babies plot does nothing for me at this point, but these little bits sure do.
IG: I’ve said it before, but it’s such a bonus to see these older X-Men characters getting to actually be parents to their various children / clones of themselves / clones of their children. Scott’s “Hey kids” and “Atta girl!” is so tone-perfect for how he handles teens. I also appreciate Emma’s concern for Esme, and how she supports their relationship but also clearly worries about what it will do to her daughter. Cable has really built out a lot of space for these nice character moments, and that’s been the series’ biggest strength.
With Friends Like These
IG: Cable’s open guest list has been another strong point for the series, and we get a nice parade of characters for the rest of the issue. Cable bumbling his way through Logan’s “undercover” operation (seriously, dude, who still falls for the Patch bit) does a nice trick where we can see the edges of another story, where Cable is far from a central character. I’m not reading Wolverine, so I don’t know if this is playing on something happening in that series [Ed. notes: ehh not really], but I like that it works either way. At least Logan promises to show up for the big fight at the end.
RB: Logan’s appearance calls back to the extensive opener of the book in #1, so I was glad to see him return, as the book got to further punctuate the X-dynamics in play at the moment. I do enjoy that it felt like Cable had accidentally walked into a spy film all of a sudden, and then we immediately cut away.
IG: I like that it feels like Cable is dropping into different books with each visit. First there’s Wolverine, then he goes to X-Factor, then New Mutants. It helps build out the idea of Krakoa as a real, inhabited space. I love seeing these characters interact in low-stakes scenarios, and the ways their own spaces reflect their personalities (Rachel on her comfy couch, Ilyana beating up kids and visiting Hell, and Wildside just running out the countryside). I also like the Ilyana appearance because I definitely got strong Inferno vibes from the start of this series, and having Cable investigate that angle shows the way these stories also matter to the characters (you were one of those sacrificial babies, Cable!).
RB: I do like though that these are mostly characters that have all appeared in the book prior, to some extent. And they focus it down, in that if you look at who Cable meets: It’s effectively 1) Uncle b) Sister c) Co-Worker d) Daughter. They’re all about the essential place of the character in this current world and context, and the jumps give you snap-shots of who he is, through peeks at the varying interactions between him and these people. Even the previous Domino presence was a case of ‘Ex-Best Friend’ being touched on.
IG: Wildside being in this series is such a treat. The Mutant Liberation Front goons are such bottom tier characters, and I love that Krakoa has made it possible for literally anyone to show up in a book. I couldn’t even tell you if Wildside was dead or alive or who he was working for or anything; Krakoa lets you ignore all of that. If you want them to be alive, they can be alive, and they can be found just down the street. This issue really gives you all the background you need on Wildside (he sucks, he worked for Stryfe, and he hates Cable) without counterindicting any older stories. [Ed. note: Ian, please, go read that Brission/Flavinao New Mutants arc with him. He’s delightfully terrible.]
RB: Knowing nothing of him, he absolutely plays like Petty Goon, the kind of jerk who likes a fight for no reason.
Hope for the Future
IG: I’ve been asking after a Hope series since this book was announced. Thanks to Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson we got some closure on Hope’s reaction to Old Cable’s death in X-Men: The Exterminated but we haven’t actually seen Young Cable and Hope interact on the page yet. Duggan makes a neat move here by implying that Hope and Cable have spoken (and argued) in the past. This is probably the X-Men comic right now that gives these characters the most life off-panel, making it feel like they’re out there interacting and living their lives when we aren’t watching. But obviously there’s real bad blood between Young Cable and Hope, and I like how they are forced to find common ground.
RB: I’m actually surprised it took them this long to get to Hope, and that she wasn’t a guest prior to this. But on another level, I get it. Her dynamic is ‘Daughter’ and that isn’t as much a priority for this Young Cable, at least while we’re establishing and observing his key relationships. So it coming much ‘later’, which is now, as mentions of summoning The Old Man back are made, the daughter appearing in the issue wherein The Father must be brought back, yeah, that tracks.
IG: I wonder about Cable’s urge to resurrect Old Cable here. How much of this is his own feelings of inadequacy, amplified by his butt-kicking in X of Swords, looking for a way out of his self-imposed responsibility? Cable does a good thing here by acknowledging his mistakes, but in some ways this whole series has been about him self-flagellating over his mistakes. People keep telling him it’s okay to mess up, and that’s clearly a lesson he has yet to learn. Hope, a character of incredible narrative importance to the current era of X-Men getting dragged along on his journey is a pairing I’m really looking forward to. What happens if she dies? Are they just incapable of resurrecting mutants again? [Ed. notes: They have proposed both Synch and Mimic as emergency back up Hopes. Synch is currently indisposed so that leaves Mimic as their only hope, a thought that should terrify all mutants.] Hope gets essentially no play in most X-books, despite her cool powers and interesting backstory, and she’s been especially sidelined in this era.
RB: I’m very, very interested in how things shake out here. They’re choreographing hard that The Old Man will return, but will he? Should he, at least in the context of the story behind told about Cable’s character journey? And if so, how? What choices must be made, and how will that reflect on who Cable has become, at last? Questions, questions. I’m interested to see the end results.
IG: Early on, this book felt a bit like it had too many disparate story elements all competing for attention. I appreciate how things have really coalesced into a single story, and I can feel a lot of momentum coming off this issue. I have high hopes for the next three issues of this series, because it’s in perfect position to not only nicely wrap up all these stories but also make some real advancement on these characters.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Cable rising out of the water like in Predator got a really solid laugh out of me. He’s just so dramatic
- Wildside calling Cable Hope’s dad was also a good bit, given that he seems younger than her now.
- Magik seems like a cool boss tbh
- Krakoan Reads: Come Back
Ian Gregory is a writer and co-host of giant robots podcast Mech Ado About Nothing.
Ritesh Babu is a comics history nut who spends far too much time writing about weird stuff and cosmic nonsense.
