The Marvel Reporters are here to recommend five Cable comic books before he hits the big screen in Deadpool 2, and returns to the X-Men lineup with his own comic book series by the creative team of James Robinson and Carlos Pacheco.
First Recommendation: Second Coming
Second Coming is by far my favorite Cable story as it explores the father/daughter relationship between Cable and Hope Summers (the messiah of the mutants). This story acts as the conclusion to the Messiah Complex trilogy. Cable and Hope have been on the run from Bishop who wants to kill the messiah of the mutants. This leads the duo into the present, bringing the other X-Men into the narrative. Second Coming is still one of the best X-Men events in recent years! It brings a lot of action, but most importantly it pulls on your heart strings. -Kat
Second Recommendation: New Mutants/X-Force
Cable 1st appeared as an infant in January 1986 in Uncanny X-Men #201. But it was his appearance in New Mutants #87 in March 1990. Cable arrived on a mission to stop Stryfe and his Mutant Liberation Front (MLF) and stop Apocalypse’s rise of power. He originally saw the New Mutants as nothing but soldiers, until he met Domino, and they formed X-Force.
When New Mutants ended at #100, the next month the team appeared in X-Force #1. Through X-Force Cable formed bonds with the team, and began to see them as more than just soldiers. X-Force also saw a lot of development of Cable including the revelation of him being from the future. These issues really saw the formation of the Cable we know today. – Jay
Third Recommendation: X-Cutioner’s Song/Stryfe’s Strike Files
X-Cutioner’s Song was a story that ran from November 1992 – February 1993 and spanned four series, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, X-Factor and X-Force. The crossover event had Stryfe, Cable’s doppelganger impersonated him to frame him for shooting Professor X with the deadly Techno-Organic Virus (T-OV).
Stryfe uses that and Apocalypse’s Dark Riders to have Mister Sinister to kidnap Jean & Scott in exchange for a canister with samples of Summer’s DNA from the past and future, but when opened it appeared to be empty. This leads to a confrontation between Stryfe, Cyclops, Jean, Cable and Havok on Apocalypse’s moon base that resulted in Cable appearing to sacrifice himself and kill Stryfe by entering a time vortex. The event concludes with the Stryfe Strike File one-shot that also sets up future stories for the X-Men. The main plot being the Legacy Virus that was released when Sinister had his minion open the canister that Stryfe had given to him. – Jay
Fourth Recommendation: Adventures Of Cyclops & Phoenix/Askani’Son
The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix is a four issue mini-series that ran from May-August of 1994. The story took place shortly after the wedding of Scott & Jean and while on their honeymoon, they’re minds were transported to the future where bodies waited to host them with weakened versions of their original powers. They were transported by their time displaced daughter Rachel who went by the name Mother Askani. The two were brought to the future to raise their son Nathan, who was cured by the Askani of the T-OV. Before curing him they had cloned a healthy version, who Apocalypse believed to be the original and kidnapped to raise and named him Stryfe. Scott went by the name Slym, and Jean by Redd raised their son without him knowing who they really were, training him to use his powers. The two were returned to their bodies after Mother Askani was killed shortly after Nathan killed Apocalypse.
Askani’Son is a four issue mini-series that started in January 1996 as a sequel to The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix. The mini starts about a decade after his parents returned to their own time, and he had defeated Apocalypse. This serves as a set up to what we will see in New Mutants, including him finding his computer program named “Professor”, and jumping into a time pod. – Jay
Fifth Recommendation: Cable & Deadpool
The Cable & Deadpool series is one of the best ways to experience Cable’s relationship with Deadpool in all different forms. The various books feel like a buddy cop story because of how well Cable and Deadpool interact with one another, which should be present in the future movies. Cable always brings a more serious presence to the book with a goal or purpose in mind whereas Wade brings a comedic flare to things but always gets the job done, despite giving Cable multiple headaches. The reason Cable & Deadpool works though, is because of the mutual respect between the characters and their ability to recognize each other’s strengths and skills.
With Cable entering into the X-Men movie universe, the Cable & Deadpool series is the best way to understand the dynamic between the characters. It covers a good chunk of story and also incorporates most, if not all, of Cable’s age changes as well. Cable & Deadpool really just jumps fully into the strange but fun dynamic between these two opposite but similar characters with exciting stories. For any readers seeking out books that really dive into what to expect from these two characters on screen, Cable & Deadpool is definitely worth checking out! -Blaise