Cable #12: "Shakespeare in the Zark"

[alliterator]

"I always value young heroes because they're inexperienced and can make mistakes. When you look at who Old Man Cable is, you see he's a battle-hardened mutant general. How did he get that way? I think you'll see some of that, and I think we'll surprise some people with the story that we're pulling off."
-- Gerry Duggan


Previously on Cable: Teen Cable realized that he needed Old Man Cable to stop Stryfe, so gave up his resurrection privileges to resurrect Old Man Cable. This also meant that after the current mission, he would have to return to the future.



They defeat Stryfe and Teen Cable has to say goodbye to everyone.

Comments

[starwolf_oakley]

Time travel stories are confusing.

[mastermahan]

Kid Cable *could* have worked. A teenage warrior from a post-apocalyptic wasteland is a fine pitch. But he didn't. I see two reasons for that.

First, they introduced Kid Cable by having him murder his older self for no explained reason, which even Old Cable's closest friends somehow had no objections to. Congratulations, guys, you just made Cable's fans hate this version. The people most likely to pick up a Cable book are now a lot less likely to support this version's title.

Second, he wasn't written as a teenage warrior from a post-apocalyptic wasteland. He written as a comedy dumbass, to the point I wonder if the writers besides Duggan also hated Kid Cable. Duggan overcompensated trying to make Kid Cable cool, and it just made him less relatable. The first issue of this series has Cable effortlessly beat Wolverine, go a date with Armor and Pixie at the same time, then get a magic sword dropped in his lap. Next he's dating all five Stepford Cuckoos. Duggan's version comes across as a privileged senator's son.

(Duggan also attempted to backpedal the unexplained murder by saying Old Cable wanted to be murdered (for no explained reason). It didn't work.)

So yeah, it's no surprise he's being written out. What a mess.

[alliterator]

"Duggan also attempted to backpedal the unexplained murder by saying Old Cable wanted to be murdered (for no explained reason)"

He didn't want to be murdered, he just knew that a younger version of him was going to kill him, due to, you know, time travel. He didn't stop it happening because he also knew he was going to be resurrected.

[quatoria]

Oof. Yeah, I read all twelve issues - largely because I've been following the whole "of X" series, and the X-Men have always been my team, but "privileged senator's son" did, I think, nail the attitude and vibe that Cable put off for most of the comic. He honestly only became relatable to me when he was in desperation to save the babies, and there was honestly never a point when he actually became 'likable' to me. Like, Old Man Cable at least had a wry sense of humor, you know? The kid seemed to totally lack that.

[chalicother]

I don't know , I think it made it harder after we just had five younger versions of the original X-Men get at least two books and being told they have to go back, but Young Cable doesn't ?

I mean it gets more and more difficult to enjoy a story when your told the previous version of your character sucked and the new and hipper character is supposedly the "better".

Young Cable had alot against him.

[mastermahan]

Oh, good point! Yes, Marvel got rid of the O5 because they'd worn out their welcome* and their book was sinking. Kid Cable was recycling a concept the X-Books had just finished running into the ground. If they'd spaced it out a bit, he might have been better received.

*Except Tykeclops. I wish they'd kept Tykeclops.

[iamrman]

Of course the title gets cancelled as soon as it was getting interesting.

[alliterator]

It wasn't cancelled, it was always meant to be 12 issues.

[iamrman]

Fine, whatever.

[mastermahan]

Really? Because the last two issues proceed at a breakneck pace. It read like a series cancelled prematurely and trying to fit everything into a limited page count.

[tinygaylaura]

I'm glad they found a way to have both Cable's around :)

[thezmage]

I'm pretty sure from the scans that they didn't, and that's young Cable going away forever at the end of this issue

[tinygaylaura]

I meant in the sense that they are both still alive and neither of them died to say "This is the one true Cable"

So writers who like younger Cable and writers who like older Cable can both do stories with them in the future

[remial]

Cable and Esme ended up together, right? That was her in the end?

[mastermahan]

It is. She's wearing Cable's necklace, and before they showed Kid Cable giving it to Esme.

[deh_tommy]

So how much does the elder Cable know about Krakoa?

Did they ever address The Villain Formerly Known As Apocalypse’s role in Cable and Stryfe’s backstory?

[tinygaylaura]

He didn't share a lot because spoilers but he shared that what's happening now on Krakoa makes things better for mutantkind and the world

[scorntx]

Pretty sure it was a thing in Grant Morrison's New X-Men that the Cuckoos, once they hit young adulthood, didn't age (and not in the normal comic book way.)

Though ignoring what Grant wrote is par for the course, so eh.
Thinking it was done to make that scene with Old Man Cable and Future Esme look like weird with the umpty year old man hanging around with a woman who looks like she's in her twenty-somethings.
But given Esme is the clone-daughter of his dad's ex, frankly that ship has not only sailed, it's sunk and turned into an interesting marine life preserve.
He's a Summers. He can't have a normal relationship.


also mildly amusing how the art makes Kibble and Old Man Cable the same height.

also also echoing the statements about how Kibble got a raw deal.
Moral of his life: Don't be written by Ed Brisson.

[tinygaylaura]

Eh, normal is overrated

Give me five cute eager blondes, I'm fine with however weird it gets

And honestly, Cable banging the clones of his dads girlfriend is still far more "Normal" than most of the relationships superheroes have especially in the Marvel universe

[lbd_nytetrayn]

She still looks younger, she's just projecting this image of herself so people think she looks like this.

Send my No-Prize to the usual address, please.

[dan_ingram]

Inexperienced heroes are better when they're not toting around guns twice their body weight, just sayin'.

[zachbeacon]

But then how is he supposed to buff up his arms for when he becomes a ripped old man?

Well, arm anyway.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I rather like that ending.

[lordultimus]

So wait, precogs are banned from Krakoa but future time travelers are A-OK?

[scorntx]

The precog ban is a flimsy cover for Moira specifically not wanting Destiny revived.