Explain to me the appeal of Cable

[sHayden]

So Cable has been around awhile. He led X-Force, there was Cable & Deadpool, and now he has his own series plus whatever else he's done.
Can someone please explain the appeal of this character? I find no enjoyment at all in Cable.

[Hakael]

So Cable has been around awhile. He led X-Force, there was Cable & Deadpool, and now he has his own series plus whatever else he's done.
Can someone please explain the appeal of this character? I find no enjoyment at all in Cable.

Cable really has no appeal in and of himself, the whole "mutant messiah" deal that Fabian played up in Cable & Deadpool was really the only thing thats made him interesting in over a decade... now that he's running around with a kid, who knows what angle that will go in. I've never found Nate very interesting when he's not playing straight man to Wade tho, so you'll have to ask a Cable fan.

Yes, that entire paragraph wasted your time. You're never getting it back.

[Brian M.]

It's threads like this that make me wanna punch a fucking litter of kittens.

[darknessatnoon]

He was originally designed as a homeless person, by Rob Leifeld. That was gross. Now, he's a sexy Daddy Bear.

[Optic Rage!]

I'm just going to say what everyone is thinking.

Who gives a fuck if you like Cable or dont? You did not need to create a thread for this.

[Fatguy]

He's got a metal $%#%ing arm, and a scar on his face!

He's the 90's on two feet.

And he's kinda cool.

[darknessatnoon]

It's threads like this that make me wanna punch a fucking litter of kittens.

Lois London has been a terrible influence on this message board.

[worstblogever]

The allure of Cable at the moment is he's trying to save the future, by saving a child. "Lone Wolf and Cub" meets "The Terminator". Both were long running successes. If you liked them, you'll like his current direction. If you didn't, you won't.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I have to go join Brian M. in punching litters of kittens to get over this.

[Syzygy]

So Cable has been around awhile. He led X-Force, there was Cable & Deadpool, and now he has his own series plus whatever else he's done.
Can someone please explain the appeal of this character? I find no enjoyment at all in Cable.

I think the appeal is the dramatic tension he used to raise when his [then] questionable methods were contrasted with the X-Men's more traditional super-heroing.

Nowdays, everybody's gray, so there's nothing special he contributes.

[Sean Whitmore]

I think the appeal is the dramatic tension he used to raise when his [then] questionable methods were contrasted with the X-Men's more traditional super-heroing.

Nowdays, everybody's gray, so there's nothing special he contributes.

Excellent point.

With Emma Frost and Scott "two kill teams" Summers leading the X-Men, Cable seems practically quaint.




SEAN

[worstblogever]

Excellent point.

With Emma Frost and Scott "two kill teams" Summers leading the X-Men, Cable seems practically quaint.




SEAN

Quaint? The Askani Son is gonna have tea parties, now?



On second thought, that's the most original pitch for a Marvel book I've heard in years.

[Mort]

The appeal of Cable is - Deadpool. Ok scratch that.

The whole being sent to the future by his father then coming back and trying to save the past - whats not to love?

[Sean Whitmore]

Quaint? The Askani Son is gonna have tea parties, now?



On second thought, that's the most original pitch for a Marvel book I've heard in years.

Might've made for a better first issue than Cable #1, actually.


SEAN

[worstblogever]

Might've made for a better first issue than Cable #1, actually.


SEAN

Cable: One lump, or two Bishop?

Bishop: Just the one, please. Crumpet?

Cable: Well, since you're offering. Your crumpets are notoriously scrumptious, Lucas.

Bishop: Flattery was always your third best power, Nathan.


And... so on. Yeah. That'd be better than #1.

[Monty_Cristo]

i wish he weren't connected to Cyclops by blood. but i guess baby Nathan had to reappear some way.


should i start a 'Explain to me the appeal of Shortpack' thread?

[rwsmith]

Personally I find Cable appealing in the sense that he's a hardened soldier who is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals. Of course, that's kind of the same thing I find appealing about characters like Wolverine, the Punisher and even the Winter Soldier (a.k.a., the new Captain America) now, so perhaps he's a bit redundant in that regard.

And I don't like the time-traveling stuff at all, as I find it leads to confusing paradoxical situations. But I do like all of the hi-tech weaponry he has access to as a result of being a time-traveler. Of course, I can certainly see how Cable has become "the epitome of all that was wrong with the 90's" in the eyes of many fans: Yet another hardened soldier type with ridiculously oversized guns and cybernetic parts...yeah, I can defintely see what some people find repugnant about the character.

Having said that, he could be a viable character IMO, and so far I like how Duane Swierczynski is humanizing the guy. But I think he could really be as popular as he once was with the right approach:

- Cable, even more so than Wolverine, could be the Marvel Universe's ultimate wild card character. Here's a guy who's seen the future and he's completely unhinged as a result. Determined to do whatever it takes to bring about a better future (or at least whatever he believes is right).

- First I'd bring him back to the present and put him on a team. Uncanny X-men, Astonishing X-men or perhaps even X-Force again. And make him a mainstay on said team. Either that, or perhaps you could even replace Wolverine and Spider-man on the New Avengers with Cable and Deadpool. After all, it's worked wonders for Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Woman and even Echo as far as their popularity goes.

- Secondly, I'd lose the cybernetic arm look. Nothing screams 1991 like a cybernetic limb IMO. And besides, Bucky has kind of cornered the market there in terms of Marvel's "major character with a robotic arm" quota, at least for now. And since he's running around as Captain America, I'd say he takes precedence over Cable. And Cable's cybernetics are actually techno-organic in nature anyway, so I'd just make them appear more "organic" than "techno." He's been able to do this in the past, so I'd just have him make it permanent. Basically, I'd have him be more Terminator like, where he's flesh and blood on the surface but with a lot of cybernetics/techno-organics underneath. Either that or I might just have him purge himself of the techno-organics altogether, but I'm not sure how he'd regrow his arm? Perhaps some residual healing factor from being bonded at the cellular level with Deadpool awhile back?
Cable with non-techno-organic left arm ---> http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f18/Jackraow21/Cableorganicarm.png

- Next, I'd make sure to keep his telekinetic powers somewhat low-level, but enough to make a big difference in a fight. Think Jedi level TK. Enough to make his punches stronger or throw a few things around, but nowhere near the level he was in 'Soldier X' or "The Burnt Offering.' And if he was on the New Avengers instead of an X-team, then I'd probably give him some very low-level telepathy as well. Just enough to read people's thoughts if he concentrates, or plant mental suggestions. If he's on an X-team I'd just stick with the TK, though, as they already have Emma as the resident telepath (and Xavier whenever he gets out of his coma).

- Finally, I'd give him some of those "big moments" that other characters have had which define them as a "bad ass." Think Wolverine against the Hellfire Club during the Claremont/Byrne days (or even more recently when he dispatched Predator X in Messiah Complex). Or Captain America in the first issue of Civil War. Or Thor when he came back recently and beat the crap out of Iron Man in New Orleans. I'm thinking of something like he and Deadpool rescuing Cage and the rest of the New Avengers from a SHIELD facility (perhaps after Secret Invasion when Wolverine and Spider-man are both off doing other things, that way it sets up their exit from the team and Cable and Deadpool's entrance). And in the process they beat the hell out of a bunch of Initiative guys, or perhaps even some of the Mighty Avengers. Cable taking on Ares would be epic enough. One's the God of War, the other has fought wars thousands of years in the future. Yeah, that should work.

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. But I think that my approach could make Cable a major player in the Marvel U again. Of course, knowing Marvel, they'll just continue to use Wolverine as their "go-to badass character." He's already on both X-men teams, leader of X-Force and a New Avenger. So he'll probably be the one who has the inevitable showdown with Ares.

Not that I mind, of course (Logan is my favorite, after all), but it's pretty darn predictable. ;)

[Luck911]

I like Cable but here is what went wrong with character his powers

1.Just Guns no powers
2.Guns and low level tp and tk
3.No guns ,medium level tp and tk
4.One of the strongest Tp user on the planet
5.Medium level tp and tk user with a Psimitar
6.One of strongest tp and tk user on the planet.
7.Cyberpath which is basic computer based telepath and Tk
8.Low level tk and with guns

Also i didn't count healing factor he got from dp and super strength from the tech virus.

Cable either needs to be solider from the future who uses guns with low level mutant powers

or

The son of Jean Grey and Scott Summers with high level mutant powers.

If they focus one of those thing cable is pretty good character but when they merge the concepts together and then every writer mess around with his powers.He becomes a undefined mess.Cable is almost back to imo his optimum form soon as he lose the baby he will be back to gun wielding badass that he start out as.

[rwsmith]

Yeah, I think the problem is that every writer is looking to redefine who Cable is instead of just working with the character they've got. He's a mutant cyborg who uses big futuristic guns and other weaponry. If they don't like that, they need to write about Phoenix or some other character with uber-psychic abilities. Just my opinion, of course.

[Deep_Sleeper]

I always thought Cable was cool because he was the mutant Dirty Harry. Just no bullshit.

I always thought he'd become the leader of a team like the new X-Force...a wetworks team for the X-Men.

I think there's potential for the character.

[DDM]

Cable always has his Six Pack & plays too much Dominoes; he just doesn't know he's a Deadpool from the far flung future with too much time on his hands. He has a constant internal Stryfe between the line of good & evil. He's got a big blow dryer gun & knows how to use it thanks to Rob Liefeld's former life as a hairdresser...:evilsmile

He's an army of one on the Mutant Liberation Front.

[Gene M.]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j263/eg_marsh/santa.gif

[Push You Down]

I always thought Cable was cool because he was the mutant Dirty Harry. Just no bullshit.


Yeah I've always seen him as the X-verse Clint Eastwood.

[We R. Venom]

So Cable has been around awhile. He led X-Force, there was Cable & Deadpool, and now he has his own series plus whatever else he's done.
Can someone please explain the appeal of this character? I find no enjoyment at all in Cable.

You want someone to explain to you why you don't like a character? That's PFS.

[DeadXMan]

He's the Anti-dizzler.

[Phil Hunn]

i wish he weren't connected to Cyclops by blood. but i guess baby Nathan had to reappear some way.

He was originally supposed to be an older version of Cannonball come back from the future, was he not? And then they tacked the baby-Nathan backstory onto him afterwards?

- Secondly, I'd lose the cybernetic arm look. Nothing screams 1991 like a cybernetic limb IMO.

You're right there. But while 1991 might have proved many things to be bad, cybernetic limbs were not one of them :D

And besides, Bucky has kind of cornered the market there in terms of Marvel's "major character with a robotic arm" quota, at least for now. And since he's running around as Captain America, I'd say he takes precedence over Cable. And Cable's cybernetics are actually techno-organic in nature anyway, so I'd just make them appear more "organic" than "techno." He's been able to do this in the past, so I'd just have him make it permanent.

He was turning his techno-organic arm back into flesh during Soldier X, wasn't he? I seem to recall him spitting out a lump of metal at one point because (as the narrative said) he was trying to fix his arm and purge it of the infection...

[Push You Down]

He was originally supposed to be an older version of Cannonball come back from the future, was he not? And then they tacked the baby-Nathan backstory onto him afterwards?


The baby Nathan thing was tacked on later but I've never heard the Cannonball thing before. At one point it was implied that he became Ahab.

[kate-pryde]

He was originally supposed to be an older version of Cannonball come back from the future, was he not? And then they tacked the baby-Nathan backstory onto him afterwards?

Louise Simonson never intended for him to be Cannonball, at least according to Walt Simonson:


I realize that stepping in here at all is really a waste of time. But it is irresistable. The origin of Cable has reached urban legend proportions and such stuff is posted about it that I can't even imagine where it comes from anymore.

The only thing I want to add to this particular discussion re: Cable is that Weezie never had any intention of linking Cable and Cannonball as being the same character. At the very least, as Weezie said when I told her about this thread, is that Cannonball had powers that Cable never demonstrated. Honestly, I don't know where posters get this stuff. I know it's not from Weezie. But it is kind of mind boggling to those of us who actually watched Cable being developed about, what, 20 years ago?

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=3415277#post3415277



At one point it was implied that he became Ahab.

According to Claremont, the Ahab reference ("What's the matter? See someone you know?") was something tossed in by Bob Harras to add to the speculation on who Cable was, but he was never intended that Cable was Ahab, only that he recognized him.

[Phil Hunn]

According to Claremont, the Ahab reference ("What's the matter? See someone you know?") was something tossed in by Bob Harras to add to the speculation on who Cable was, but he was never intended that Cable was Ahab, only that he recognized him.

Ahab turned out to be Rory Campbell, who I think Cable knew. So if that's the case, "What's the matter? See someone you know?" was an accurate question.

[kate-pryde]

At that point, I don't think anyone, even Bob Harras, knew who Ahab or Cable would be revealed to be.

It was a throw-away line that writers later tried to explain. But it's grown into all of this speculation about how it was intended that Cable is Ahab. From what Claremont has said about it, it was nothing more than something Harras put in as a lark to keep readers guessing.

[sneggz]

Quaint? The Askani Son is gonna have tea parties, now?



On second thought, that's the most original pitch for a Marvel book I've heard in years.

just to remind you, he DID have a tea party with the six pack. in C&D issue.. lemme check.. 12. granted it was all in his mind, but it was funny and the art to it was very appropriate

[HeckBoy]

First off, I'd prefer if Cable got de-aged to appear slimmer and more like Nate Grey, but maybe not that young (just more brunette) and not green. I mean, for a guy whose dad's called "Slim," Cable's quite beefy. Must be those 30th century food hormones.:p

Other changes I'd like to see would be: lose the metal arm (or at least cover it up more w/ a sleeve or synthetic skin) and stabilize his power levels some. Like rwsmith said, maybe give him "Jedi level" TK/TP and let him use guns/weapons, but allow him to let loose every so often as a backup plan (at the cost of having to "recharge" his powers afterwards). Also, just get rid of the freakin shoulder pads already and extraneous pouches. Just give him something more streamlined/simple (doesn't have to be spandex tho).

[rwsmith]

I agree with everything but the de-aging and slimming down. Part of the appeal of the character IMO is the grizzled veteran aspect and the fact that he's built like a brick $#!t-house.

There are enough "pretty-boy" superheroes out there (i.e., pretty much all of them except for Wolverine and the powerhouse/strong-man characters like the Thing, Colossus, Hulk, Luke Cage, etc.).

The best rendition of Cable IMO was by JRJR in 'Blood & Metal.' He looked like a younger Clint Eastwood on steroids and was just an all around badass.

[Nyssane]

I agree with everything but the de-aging and slimming down. Part of the appeal of the character IMO is the grizzled veteran aspect and the fact that he's built like a brick $#!t-house.

There are enough "pretty-boy" superheroes out there (i.e., pretty much all of them except for Wolverine and the powerhouse/strong-man characters like the Thing, Colossus, Hulk, Luke Cage, etc.).

The best rendition of Cable IMO was by JRJR in 'Blood & Metal.' He looked like a younger Clint Eastwood on steroids and was just an all around badass.

Oh plz, if it was a female character everyone would be like "This bich needs some damn de-aging and slimming down." Just because there's heaps of pretty-boys doesn't stop people from wanting to look at pretty people. I've learned that through my Anaconda crusade...

[Phil Hunn]

Oh plz, if it was a female character everyone would be like "This bich needs some damn de-aging and slimming down." Just because there's heaps of pretty-boys doesn't stop people from wanting to look at pretty people. I've learned that through my Anaconda crusade...

Callisto got substantially de-uglified in the Genosha version of Excalibur (and her boobs inflated quite a bit from her previously rather flat-chested appearance, too), and that really didn't look right.

So no, Cable, in his turn, shouldn't be de-aged and slimmed down (or divested of his combat webbing and FREAKIN' HUGE guns). He really wouldn't look right.

[rwsmith]

Oh plz, if it was a female character everyone would be like "This bich needs some damn de-aging and slimming down." Just because there's heaps of pretty-boys doesn't stop people from wanting to look at pretty people. I've learned that through my Anaconda crusade...

I wouldn't. Personally I prefer it when the X-women (as well as the men) are portrayed with different body types.

And if Anaconda ever joined an X-team I would support her being portrayed as thick and muscular right alongside you, Nyssie. :)

[DarthCyclopsRLZ]

Half-terminator. Or something.

Bigs guns.

Old School Hardass.

'nuff said.

[rwsmith]

I knew I liked you, DarthCyclops. ;)

[ClanAskani]

First off, I'd prefer if Cable got de-aged to appear slimmer and more like Nate Grey, but maybe not that young (just more brunette) and not green. I mean, for a guy whose dad's called "Slim," Cable's quite beefy. Must be those 30th century food hormones.:p


I wouldn't want Cable to become too Nate Grey-ish, but I do wonder how he got so large. He was so slim as a teenager and then he became massive. LOL.

Chris Bachalo did a good job at drawing Cable as large, but not too large, and good looking without being a pretty boy and looking older than everyone else but not too old.

[rwsmith]

Think about all of the hormones in our food today. Now just imagine what it must be like 2,000 years in the future! That's how Nate got so big. :p