Cable 18 Review and Spoilers

[ANewHope]

So after Messiah War, I think we all hoped the "Bishop trying to kill Hope" storyline would conclude. And for 3 more issues it kept going, but at least it's well written. It's just that we've seen this already.

The last issue ended with Cable and Hope abandoning the planet and entering space. However, the way this issue ends shows a promising new direction. Not only was Bishop interested in killing Hope, but now apparently the Brood do too.

The last page shows the Brood boarding their ship. This is a good start and like where the book might be heading.

I think it's going to be up to Hope manifesting her mutant ability for the first time to end up stopping the Brood Invasion.

[The Thunderbird]

I think it's going to be up to Hope manifesting her mutant ability for the first time to end up stopping the Brood Invasion.

Wanna take bets that Hope's power display will resemble a fiery bird effect?

[pariah-1972]

Ya know the pacing for the individual issues isn't bad if you ignore the whole mystery of who Hope is it's pretty enjoyable.

[Marveluted]

This series needs to lose the Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote vibe. At this point, I want Bishop to nuke everyone and end the book. A mushroom cloud on the final page of the series would be welcome.

Judging by his work on Iron Fist, Swierczynski is better than this. It feels like he's just treading water until the third part of the hyped X-Men story trilogy is ready to drop.

[DarienA]

Ya know the pacing for the individual issues isn't bad if you ignore the whole mystery of who Hope is it's pretty enjoyable.

True... I'm suffering from serious fatigue from the overall story arch though... and as long as I've read books thats some really rare... I just want it to be over.

[AnthonyJ]

However, the way this issue ends shows a promising new direction. Not only was Bishop interested in killing Hope, but now apparently the Brood do too.
Don't be silly. The Brood have no interest in killing Hope. They'll just transform her into a Brood Queen. At that point, she can go back in time and with her Brood Queen powers repower all the mutants (actually, that's not a terrible plot idea; a few million Broodlings on Earth seems perfectly entertaining, if probably something the X-men would object to fairly vehemently. It would also likely imply that Bishop Was Right).

[uncanny_mark]

I'm over the Bishop trying to kill Hope thing. I agree the issue is certainly well written but I need more progress, I need Bishop to do something unexpected. Hopefully the third part of the Messiah Complex trilogy will come out soon, cuz right now I've had enough of this hopping through time thing.

[nikbackm]

I'm over the Bishop trying to kill Hope thing. I agree the issue is certainly well written but I need more progress, I need Bishop to do something unexpected. Hopefully the third part of the Messiah Complex trilogy will come out soon, cuz right now I've had enough of this hopping through time thing.

The third part will most likely not start until Nation X finishes in April. Maybe it will be next summer's X-event. Till then Cable will continue spinning its wheels and giving Hope some much needed character work.

[RoguishGurl]

I have decided that Emil annoys me.

[worstblogever]

Here's my issue summary:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/166058-136576-wile-e-coyote_super.jpg

Okay, I left Cable and the Brood, but other than that, there's Bishop, Hope, and the rocketship.

[Zomling]

It's little wonder they got lost if they were using "astrological charts" to navigate.

I don't want the series to end, but I am a little tired of Bishop constantly failing to kill Hope.

Having said that it wasn't a bad issue, although still slow and not much happened, as others have said, this feels like treading water until the final part of the storyline unfolds. As much as I like Cable as a character this book is on my personal endangered list, I keep reading, but if funds become tight it will be the first to go.

[Sighphi]

So Bishop doesnt feel that a bullet to the head works anymore because of the 7 other occasion he tried and failed to accomplish the mission.

New plan....... nuke 'em.

I wonder how many failed attempts at nuking her is going to take before Bishop adopts a new plan.

Maybe at the end of the nuking stage he DOES set it off but it doesnt kill her or him and Bishop ends up coming back with a full cybernetic body.

That would be awesome......

[invisiblefive]

I Like Bishop as a villain. He really is over the top; destroying the entire human race (but two small tribes), poisonig the air, infecting every water sources in Europe with the plague, setting south america in eternal chemical fire, concluding a pact with stryfe over a pile of corpse, torturing a friend to turn him into a time trap, and all that to get a girl. I think it's great.
the only thing that is bad is that he constantly fails (But if he didn't, the story would end).
Cable is a great series, i think, and this was another terrific issue. I love how every situation since the begging of the series seems totally desesperate: cable's trapped in jail in a lost rocket ship that is now leaking air due to its collision with Bishop. Bishop only has to make visual contact to detonate its nuclear bomb, and on top of that broods arrive (and it is noted that the Broods are looking for Hope, which is rather intriguing...)
once again, bishop loses, but at least, you understand how it happens, rather than with some " damn! my aim was wrong" kind of explanations.
once more, i have loved this issue of cable. it is one of the most entertaining series i currently read, and i always expect it a lot when it comes out. i really dig the new bishop look, and as usual, i really wish to know how they will get out of this situation....(it really feels like the batman tv show, in terms of impossible death traps...)

[Til]

I think Swierczynski is doing the best he can. It's an X-Office Editorial mandate that the Hope stuff can't be resolved until the final chapter of the Messiah trilogy. So until then, Swierczynski is stuck treading water in terms of the big plot stuff. So while I'm beyond tired of, "Bishop tries to kill Hope!" I can understand why it's like that.

[DarienA]

I Like Bishop as a villain. He really is over the top; destroying the entire human race (but two small tribes), poisonig the air, infecting every water sources in Europe with the plague, setting south america in eternal chemical fire, concluding a pact with stryfe over a pile of corpse, torturing a friend to turn him into a time trap, and all that to get a girl. I think it's great.
the only thing that is bad is that he constantly fails (But if he didn't, the story would end).
Cable is a great series, i think, and this was another terrific issue. I love how every situation since the begging of the series seems totally desesperate: cable's trapped in jail in a lost rocket ship that is now leaking air due to its collision with Bishop. Bishop only has to make visual contact to detonate its nuclear bomb, and on top of that broods arrive (and it is noted that the Broods are looking for Hope, which is rather intriguing...)
once again, bishop loses, but at least, you understand how it happens, rather than with some " damn! my aim was wrong" kind of explanations.
once more, i have loved this issue of cable. it is one of the most entertaining series i currently read, and i always expect it a lot when it comes out. i really dig the new bishop look, and as usual, i really wish to know how they will get out of this situation....(it really feels like the batman tv show, in terms of impossible death traps...)

You know my biggest problem with the whole Bishop destroyed the world storyline?

We never get a sense of it.

Oh sure we see where Cable and Bishop are and how destroyed that area is, and we're told no one else is around and that leaving the earth on a spaceship is their only choice.... but I don't ever think I REALLY got a sense that this was a global catastrophe created by Bishop.

[quillero]

I kinda liked it. It's different enough for me.

Although, Bishop should lose the M and replace it with a tattoo that reads ACME.

I have decided that Emil annoys me.

Of course he does. You have excellent taste.

[Bingo!]

I think Swierczynski is doing the best he can. It's an X-Office Editorial mandate that the Hope stuff can't be resolved until the final chapter of the Messiah trilogy. So until then, Swierczynski is stuck treading water in terms of the big plot stuff. So while I'm beyond tired of, "Bishop tries to kill Hope!" I can understand why it's like that.

Even if Swierczynski is limited by the constraints the editors have given him, there must be a more compelling story to tell with Cable. Sense the book is clearly a cat-and-mouse chase, leave the Bishop out and build some suspense. So far, the book is fairly predictable.

[Unkillable Cat]

This issue scores bonus points for the cover - good Aliens homage.

Otherwise, I'm all for ending this fracas-farce right now.

[cable guy]

Here's my issue summary:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/166058-136576-wile-e-coyote_super.jpg


I pretty much agree.

[CMBMOOL]

Since we're talking about how Bishop and Hope's chase is like the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, let me remind you all that even the Coyote finally caught up to his prey...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk

[Victorious]

Here's my issue summary:

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/40/166058-136576-wile-e-coyote_super.jpg


or the entire series so far...

i understand that the writer is not to blame, probably marvel is making him write this story until the third messiah story arc, but come on...

Since we're talking about how Bishop and Hope's chase is like the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, let me remind you all that even the Coyote finally caught up to his prey...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk


lol, i actually prefer this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-hAINgXzgs

[CMBMOOL]

lol, i actually prefer this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-hAINgXzgs

Wow, that was some ending to their fights. :biggrin:

[ExodusCloak]

or the entire series so far...

i understand that the writer is not to blame, probably marvel is making him write this story until the third messiah story arc, but come on... [/url]

Why create an entirely new series though, why not just keep them in limbo and then do a mini if all they ever wanted was Hope to grow up.

[nightw1ng]

the whole cable/hope/bishop storyline should have been resolved by issue 12. this series is suffering from the worst case of filler ever. we all know bishop won't succeed.

and someone needs to remind bishop of the standard time-travelling rule in the marvel universe: altering the past doesn't change the future. it only creates a divergent timeline. (unless you have something like PAD's doomlock or can affect something like the m'kraan crystal.)

[dogmonsta]

Out on a limb on this but could Bishop be Ahab?

[ClanAskani]

The last issue was better because it actually picked up the pace and something other than Bishop vs Hope happened. This issue fell sort of flat.

As part of a trade, this issue would have been okay because it’s set up Cable vs Bishop vs the Brood fight. But as a single issue, it wasn’t very good.

While you could say that most books are “filler” between the major plotlines, that filler is the substance of the book.

The problem is that all Cable has is Who is Hope, What Does Hope Do and Will Bishop Kill Hope? and we’ve all known since issue #1 that we aren’t going to get any answers to that for several years.

I’m not sure who’s at fault here. Duane is a new comic writer, and maybe the problem is the editor isn’t telling him to put more into his scripts. There needs to be more than just the same old Hope vs Bishop and a few minor plotlines with throw-in new characters will will likely be dead by the end of the arc.

Honestly, Cable could have been a couple of four issue mini-series and Messiah War instead of an on-going.

But Duane’s novels are very minimalist, and maybe he just doesn’t want to toss in some interesting “filler” that’s going to tide the book over until the inevitable conclusion.

But it’s really dragging on empty here. There needs to be more plots or characters or something. The core storyline isn’t bad, but it’s not enough to carry the book for this many issues.

It's too bad that Messiah War didn't leave a couple characters behind to join the cast of Cable.

What’s really sad is the character that’s really lacking anything going on or interesting characterization is Nathan. It’s his book and he does so little.

There seems like there should be so much more for Duane to work with, and writers like Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey and Bob Weinberg have been able to give Nathan so much more dimension. But Duane is writing him so flatly. There's nothing to Nathan in this.

And I’m really worried about what’s going to happen to Cable (the series and character) after the third part of the Messiah trilogy. It’s almost like he’s just waiting to be killed off in his series. They’re doing so little with him, it’s inevitable at this point.

[Monty_Cristo]

i wonder why Apocalypse never chose Bishop as a Horseman. he seems quite skilled at ruining worlds and destroying stuff.

[J592]

Bishop really needs to be put on ice so other stories and characters can can be brought in and played with. The series is filler until the next part of The Messiah War but it doesn't have to be this repeative.

Hope/Emil has to be delibrately being written as cute but cloying puppy love, I just can't take it seriously.

[mikekerr3]

It's little wonder they got lost if they were using "astrological charts" to navigate.

.

I don't know how I missed that, but that is hilarious.

[mikekerr3]

Since we're talking about how Bishop and Hope's chase is like the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, let me remind you all that even the Coyote finally caught up to his prey...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk

I think that whenever they get around to ending the interminable chase, Bishop will find himself in the same place the roadrunner was in that clip:biggrin:

[mikekerr3]

Out on a limb on this but could Bishop be Ahab?

Ahab was a far more reasonable guy than Bishop, and far far saner.

[ClanAskani]

At this point, Bishop still actually wants to save mutants. Despite what he's doing, he is concerned about mutants - not hunting them down and killing them like Ahab.

Bishop could possibly go completely insane and turn into Ahab, but it doesn't really fit. Nor does Bishop look like Ahab, except that Bishop is turning into a cyborg.

[GambitXRemy]

Man i'm going to be pissed if hope is jean

[Kasper Cole]

These last few issues are much less about "Bishop tries to kill hope" than people are making it out to be, yes Bishop is the constant threat that Hope and Cable face, but these past few issues have been more about developing Hope as a character so that's she's not just a little plot device. I suspect the relationship between her and Emil will factor in big into what kind of person she grows up to be.

[mikekerr3]

At this point, Bishop still actually wants to save mutants. Despite what he's doing, he is concerned about mutants - not hunting them down and killing them like Ahab.

Bishop could possibly go completely insane and turn into Ahab, but it doesn't really fit. Nor does Bishop look like Ahab, except that Bishop is turning into a cyborg.

Ahab wanted to kill one whale and was obsessed about it, Biship has killed off most of the human race just to kill a child, I think that makes him far sicker than Ahab.

Ahab looks completely rational in any comparison

[markdienekes]

Out on a limb on this but could Bishop be Ahab?

interesting - probably not, but it would be nice to have something explain the comment Ahab made to cable way back then...

[Archer]

The problem with this series is that it hasn't gone anywhere at all in, oh, a year.

Hope is older, that's it. Other than that, nothing has happened. Hell, we even had a whole "Oooh, I have a friend other than Cable, I've never had a friend before!" thing with X-Force . . . despite the fact that Hope lived on that farm for years and knew lots of people and was (allegedly) traumatised by running away.

The giant elephant in the room is that Bishop is apparently clever enough to wipe out all of Earth, chase Cable across time, etc etc etc . . . but he at no point ever thinks to sit down with someone and say "Guys, I think Hope needs to die because" and explain himself.

It lost credability for me when Bishop was in the present and instead of just explaining, calmly, to Cyclops why he wanted to kill Hope - he instead went on a mad murderous rampage.

I find I enjoy each individual issue well enough, but 18 issues in and the central concept of the series (who is Hope, and why does Bishop want to kill her) hasn't been addressed at all. Frustrating.