Kids, they never stay young forever. Things have to grow. Gerry Duggan, Phi Noto and Joe Sabino end their journey in Cable #12.
Ian Gregory: Cable has finally reached the end of his journey in the Krakoa Era. Good thing this is also just the start of Cableās journey in the Krakoa Era. This issue is jam-packed with character moments and resolved plots, and the result is a hurried and chaotic issue that still manages to tie things together nicely. All things considered, even with its missteps, Duggan and Notoās Cable probably rates among the best Cable solo-series ever.
Nola Pfau: Yāknow, I reviewed the first few issues of this book over at WWAC [Ed. note: Back 2 Back Eisner Champs], and I gotta say I agree; despite some missteps (that Deadpool issue, woof), itās overall been a great book. Duggan did a solid job establishing Kid Cableās character as something other than an annoying little punk, allowing him to be fun and relatable while still full of the common flaws of youth. Noto did some truly incredible stuff tooāI still think about that arena fight early on, and the way he was using the TK to make sound effects.
Family Stryfe
Ian: Last week, Armaan and I talked about how Stryfe is often a difficult villain to take seriously. Heās wearing armor made of knives, has a clone complex bigger than Ben Reilly, and his plans are wildly overcomplicated. Despite the fact that Stryfe is the antagonist of this entire series, he really doesnāt get too much to do here. He gets punched around a bit, lands a few hits, and dumps some backstory into Esmeās head. Itās certainly too late for Stryfe to get much character work, and I appreciate that heās used to move forward Cable and Esmeās relationship, but it feels a little odd to make a big deal of his return for him to get essentially nothing new or interesting.
Nola: Yeah. Thereās a real issue in this book with Stryfe being less of a character in his own right and more of a caricature. I suppose that works metafictionally to an extent, him being a clone and all, but it still makes for a less entertaining read. Stryfeās one of those characters Iāve spent a bunch of time considering, and I feel like he deserves to be a better class of villain than heās been, largely. Heās got Cableās drive and power, after all, surely heās capable of more! For all that I love hooking in demons from Limbo, they didnāt have much to do here either, except be cannon fodder.
Ian: The family elements of this final showdown are well done, even if Hope, Rachel, and Domino essentially stand in the background shooting things with guns. Weāve predicted that the series will build up to a massive team-up of all its side characters, but this final fight feels a little undercooked. Every is on the page, but rather than the culmination of their relationship with Cable, Duggan only has the space for a few characters to get lines and moments during the fight. This isnāt Notoās strong suit, either, as the action (especially the sword fights) feel stiff.
The real highlight is Cable and Cableās unilateral decision that Krakoa is not for all mutants. This may violate the ethos of the Krakoan ideal but the Cables are inherently violent, suspicious people. If they were given the choice of who was allowed on Krakoa, I would expect them to react towards the Shadow King as they did towards Stryfe.
Nola: Well, thereās precedent there too, right? The question of clones and whoās allowed has been an ongoing oneāfrom Madelyne Pryorās rejection by the Quiet Council to the questions Gabby Kinney is asking over in New Mutants. Itās a really, really thorny subject, but I feel like Duggan handled his end of it here well. Cable has always been one to make unilateral decisions without anyoneās approval, and so it makes sense heād do the same here, even if the ethics are murky.
The Time Travelerās Wife
Ian: The Esme and Cable romance gets a much more complete finish here than I was expecting, and in a good way. I like the reveal that the Cuckoos were only dating Cable to spy on him (as this makes way more sense given their characterization in other, non-Cable books). I like that Esme eventually grew to like him because of his dorkiness, and overdriven sense of duty. My only criticism is that I might have liked to see this dynamic play out in real time, rather than as exposition in a single panel of the last issue. While I buy that Esme and Cable have real synergy, I would have liked to see Esme come to terms with these feelings over the course of the book. Instead, we were limited by Cableās (obviously shortsighted) perspective.
Their separation is genuinely touching, and the reveal that Esme is still with Old Cable in the future works perfectly, and keeps her from being yet another woman āleft behindā by their more noble male counterpart. Of course, this adds yet another romantic partner to Cableās long list (Anyone remember Aliya? Cableās wife? No one? Just me?), but hopefully Future Esme will stick around for some time.
Nola: See, thatās interesting, because I donāt super love the idea of tying Esmeās future to Cable. It felt a little weird and a little forced to me. That said, one thing that helped ease it was the psychic flash Esme got from Stryfe during the battleāit showed that Cable and Stryfe both do this, over and over, and that they have all kinds of different outcomes and timelines. I love a good multiversal mess, so Iām comfortable with Esme being part of one of Cableās possible futures.
Ian: Kid Cableās goodbye to his family is distressingly short, given how interesting their interactions have been throughout this series. Probably the most compelling interactions in this series have been with Scott and Jean, and here theyāre brushed off in just a page. In many ways, this feels like it was supposed to be a double-sized issue that was squished into one. While this ending does wrap everything up, it doesnāt do so with the style or humor of Cableās earlier issues.
Nola: I agree there, though I liked that Kid Cable put in a word with Logan to help Scott through the separation. It was a nice touch, and I enjoy that, as an ending, Kid Cable is given a whole new potential story to tell, one that can be revisited when the time is right.
Putting the Toys Back in the Box
Ian: We knew Kid Cable wasnāt long for this world by just a few issues into this series, but it also hurts to see him go. Duggan did so much more with the concept of āTeenaged Cableā than any of the writers before him, and managed to strike a good balance between cocky and insecure. But, the status quo has demands, so Kid Cable is shipped off back to the future and Old Cable takes his place. Iām not terribly upset about this, and I suspect many people will be thrilled to have the original Cable back in continuity, but it feels very transparently like āsetting this in orderā for future stories.
Nola: Oh, it absolutely is, but at the same time, with the teasers of the future timeline occurring very early on in the series, I also really enjoy the way the complete run feels so tightly planned. It doesnāt read like āwe have a few issues, letās see where it goes,ā it reads like this was always the end point, and I love a book that knows its own scope. I can go back and read these twelve issues and feel satisfied.
Ian: Similarly, the Space Knight storyline is written off in a single page, amounting to āWell, they may or may not come back in the future, donāt worry about it.ā This ultra-minor resolution might as well not exist, for so little it adds to the story. It feels more like checking a box off a list than an actually impactful piece of the story, and I wish that either Duggan had worked it into something more significant to the story or just left it off altogether – and left that thread for future writers. The Light of Galador / Space Knight section of this storyās plot is essentially extraneous, and had nothing to do with the Stryfe and missing babies storyline.
Nola: See, thatās why it worked for me, I thinkāit set up Galador as something that can return, and it did so in the most Krakoan way, with the seeding of a plant. IDW is currently putting out ROM comics, but with the rest of Galador firmly in Marvelās clutches, itās nice that a future for it was at least impliedāit didnāt have to be done at all! This way thereās a neat pick-up point should the right book come along.
Ian: Completing our run of one-page wrap-ups, we return to our mutant family in Philadelphia, their stolen baby returned. Plus an extra baby, with an ominous glowing eye (if you recall, Stryfe mentioned in #11 that he had to clone one of the babies to get to the required six). Who knows if this Stryfe clone plot ever comes back, but I appreciate the attempt to at least seed Stryfe back into the story. Itās a nice tag, though, for a series largely about the inescapability of the Stryfe and Cable conflict.
Overall, this was a strong series, hampered at least a little by a few too many plots and a pathological desire to wrap them all up. This last issue is perfectly serviceable, but a little lacking in feelings or excitement. Donāt let my criticisms of this issue distract from the overall picture, which is that Duggan and Noto have succeeded where practically everyone else has failed. This Cable series is one that actually cares about the main character and his relationships, and gives its characters room to grow and change. Very few other Cable series have even tried to give Cable much more meaningful depth than āI want to save the world,ā and this series achieves that while also being a funny and enjoyable ride the whole way through. Iām sorry to see Cable end, even if it did so at exactly the right moment, and I look forward to seeing what Duggan (or other writers) do with Esme, Stryfe, and Cable going forward.
Nola: Well, looks like thereās going to be a Cable one-shot coming up as part of Al Ewingās Last Annhilation event!
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Why doesnāt Rachel always have a bazooka?
- I love that the demons just head for the hills once Stryfe is dead. All in a day’s work.
- There is so much Deadpool going on in the X-Line right now. Maybe scale that back a bit.
- Krakoan: CABLE RELOADED
Nola Pfau is Editor-in-Chief of WWAC and generally a bad influence.
Ian Gregory is a writer and co-host of giant robots podcast Mech Ado About Nothing.
