CABLE # 4 – August 1993

A Leader Among Men

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Art Thibert w/Reddington, Wylie, & Koblish (penciler), Al Milgrom (inks) Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Javins/Thomas (colors)

Summary

After a brief fight, Cable and G. W. Bridge call a truce. Cable tries to contact the Professor, but he’s off-line. Cable figures that X-Force must have Graymalkin’s central core. Meanwhile, Vanessa, Domino, Grizzly, and Hammer track X-Force to their current base in Arizona. When they arrive, they discover Cable, Bridge, and Kane waiting for them. Hammer tries to kill Cable, but Kane talks him out of it. They present Hammer with future technology that can cure his paralysis, but he refuses to use it because he doesn’t want to become half-machine. Vanessa sneaks away, and Cable asks if the Six Pack can reunite to find her. Bridge refuses, and Kane leaves Cable behind to join his former teammates.

Production Note

Rob Liefeld, of all people, is credited with an art assist. This is only a year after the formation of Image when relationships between the two companies still seemed strained. There’s nothing in the issue that looks specifically like his art, so I’d be curious to know which pages are his.

Review

Well, it’s another issue of Cable that was previously erased from my memory. It’s not hard to see why. It doesn’t stand out as truly horrible, but it’s also not engaging in any way, either. The issue mainly serves to resolve Domino’s X-Force subplot and to set the stage for the Deadpool limited series and Fatal Attractions crossover. The initial Cable mini did a good job of establishing personalities for the Six Pack members, while also giving them legitimate reasons to hate Cable. This is Cable’s big confrontation with the Six Pack, and it’s all pretty dull. At no point do you really care about Cable’s past with these people, which is disappointing since Nicieza was able to make their relationship work in the past. The artwork by Thibert and crew also looks rushed and unfocused. Thibert’s earlier work wasn’t very original, but it was at least easier to look at.