CABLE #78 - April 2000

 

I Still Believe I Cannot Be Saved

Credits:  Joe Pruett (writer), Juan Santacruz w/Michael Ryan (pencilers), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Cable returns to his warehouse to discover it’s been ransacked.  According to Blaquesmith, the burglars were attempting to access the building’s secret room, where he’s working on a cure for the techno-organic virus.  Meanwhile, representatives of the Ranshi Empire search for time travelers in Manhattan.  Later, Cable meets with Stacey and erases her memories of their relationship.  As he leaves, he admits he loves her.  On his way home, Cable’s techno-organic virus goes out of control.  Irene Merryweather later discovers him in the streets.

Continuity Notes:  

• Cable loses control of his techno-organic virus (again) due to the events of Uncanny X-Men #379.
• Ozymandias gets a subplot page, pondering what he’ll do now that Apocalypse is dead.  Linger in obscurity would be my guess…
• Speaking of Apocalypse’s “death” -- this issue makes the same mistake a few of the spinoffs made during this period.  Cable claims Apocalypse has been “defeated” and Cyclops is dead, ignoring the actual ending of X-Men #98, which had Apocalypse merging with Cyclops’ body and then teleporting away.  How do you get “dead” or “defeated” out of that?

I Love the '90s:  The title of this issue is of course a reference to the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 hit, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”  And, yes, this is not technically a ‘90s comic, but I couldn’t ignore that one. 

Review:  What a weird issue.  This is the final issue of Cable before the “Revolution” relaunch of the early 2000s, which means it’s also Joe Pruett’s final issue of the title.  And he spends the issue wrapping up a romantic subplot from the Joe Casey days that’s already been pretty definitively resolved, setting up new characters for what I’m assuming is the next writer’s run (or else this Ranshi Empire stuff makes no sense at all), introducing a new Blaquesmith subplot for some reason, and closing the issue with a quickie tie-in to a storyline occurring in the main X-titles.  So, judged as a single coherent story, there’s barely anything here.  And if you’re actually intrigued by that cliffhanger, I hate to tell you that the next issue picks up six months later. 

The only plotline that’s reasonably lucid this issue is Cable and Stacey’s break-up.  Pruett handles their conversation fairly well, but the scene is marred by Juan Santacruz’s tendency to draw human faces that are abysmally inhuman.  I don’t want to be too hard on the guy, but it’s shocking to me that Santacruz found work on a mainstream title at this point in his career.  He spends much of the issue imitating Ladronn’s backgrounds and Bernard Chang’s anatomy, creating this bizarre blend of two disparate styles we’ve already seen in the book, but botching both badly.  Inserting an interlude by former Wildstorm artist Michael Ryan, the next penciler on the book, adds yet another clashing style to the issue.  And even if Michael Ryan’s pages are kind of bland, he does draw competent human anatomy, making the switch back to Santacruz’s pages even more frustrating.  I don’t think anyone will tell you Cable was particularly good during this era, but this is still a pretty sad way to close out this run.

CABLE #77 - March 2000

False Hoods

Credits:  Joe Pruett (writer), Bernard Chang (penciler), Andy Owens & Rod Ramos (inkers), Hi-Fi Designs (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  In Egypt, Cable leads a group of rebels against the Living Pharaoh.  He’s joined by his wife, Aliya.  After invading his sanctuary, Cable’s team is ambushed by Living Pharaoh and the amalgamation of Cyclops and Apocalypse.  The Living Pharaoh boasts that he allowed some of the mutants to live in order to serve his purposes.  Cable realizes that this reality is a fraud, and that Aliya is truly dead.  He awakens in Apocalypse’s lair, questioning if Apocalypse can ever be defeated.

Continuity Notes:  

• According to Cable, Apocalypse still maintains some of the Twelve’s combined reality-warping powers after merging with Cyclops.  He’s created this new reality in order to “recreate the Twelve circuit.”
• The alternate reality designs on cover don’t exactly match the ones inside the issue.  Sunfire’s design is entirely different, as he merely dresses like a samurai inside.

Review:  This is a good example of how badly Marvel misunderstood the initial popularity of “Age of Apocalypse.”  Overlooking that the quasi-sequel “Ages of Apocalypse” lacked the scale and issue count to truly sell the new reality, it fails because it just assumes that new realities are automatically interesting.  If that were true, What If…? would have never been cancelled.  “Age of Apocalypse” connected with readers because they had never seen dark dystopia done with such conviction in the X-titles, and because it’s actually fun to discern the new continuity.  Without Xavier to found the X-Men, how would the life of every mutant in the Marvel Universe be different?  You could play that game for hours.

This storyline doesn’t give us a firm breaking off point for the new continuity, which leads to each chapter reading like random alternate realities that the writers are killing time in this month.  Apparently, there’s nothing more exciting for Cable to do in this new reality than lead soldiers into battle, and then get captured in time for the issue to be over.  There’s some effort put into selling his feelings for his late wife, but the scenes lack any real emotion (and Jeph Loeb already did a similar bit earlier in his run.)  The only redeeming element of the issue is Bernard Chang’s art, which doesn’t present any brilliant alternate reality makeovers, but is still well-constructed and nice to look at.

CABLE #76 - February 2000

In My Eyes
Credits:  Joe Pruett (writer), Bernard Chang (penciler), Jon Holdredge (inker), Brain Miller & Hi-Fi Design (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary:  Cable wakes to discover he’s being held captive with the rest of the Twelve.  A strange energy signature appears, and suddenly Cyclops and Cable are in Cable’s future.  The two discuss their relationship, and Cyclops reassures Cable that he is the son he’s always wanted.  Suddenly, Cable finds himself in the snow, alone.  He enters a cabin and discovers Madelyne Pryor is inside, holding Cyclops captive.  Madelyne offers to live with Cable in peace within the Psionic Plane forever, but he refuses.  He demands she release Cyclops and allow them to face Apocalypse.  Madelyne agrees and says goodbye.

Continuity Notes: 

• This story is continued in X-Men #97.
• Cable grows progressively younger while talking to Cyclops in the Psionic Plane.  He’s a teenager (virtually identical to X-Man, of course) holding his wife’s body while flashing back through his life.  I don’t think the implication is that Cable actually was a teenager when Aliya died, he just happens to mention her while stuck in this age.  Just to be clear, Cable was well into adulthood when Aliya (then using her codename “JenSkot”) was killed in Cable #1’s flashback.
• Cable declares himself an X-Man, “just like my father,” which appears to be setting up his membership during Chris Claremont’s brief return to the main titles.

Review:  Following the worst issue of the series’ entire run (and perhaps the worst X-comic of the ‘90s), there’s nowhere to go but up.  And this issue is actually Joe Pruett’s best so far, as he takes the space he’s been given to fill before the next stage of the crossover and simply uses it for a Cable/Cyclops character piece.  In retrospect, it’s obvious that the editorial staff had already decided to kill Cyclops off at this point, which explains his discussions with Cable regarding death and sacrifice.  Of course, we all know that Marvel never had any commitment to this death, so the scenes don’t have the impact Pruett probably thought that they would have, but they stand on their own fairly well.  After reuniting Cable with Cyclops, Pruett then moves on to crazy ol’ Madelyne Pryor.  Madelyne was used horrifically following her resurrection in X-Man, but there is at least a nice sentiment here.  Sensing Cable near death, she’s called him and his father together in the Psionic Plane where they can be reunited as a family.  This is as sympathetic as Madelyne gets, following “Inferno,” and it’s actually a surprisingly sentimental scene.  Cable refuses to hide from his destiny, and the story ends with everyone back in place to be bored by Apocalypse for a few more months.  Unfortunately, this is the first issue in the run to give an indication of what Pruett might be capable of, and it’s almost his last issue.

CABLE #75 - January 2000

Who is Worthy to Break the Seals…?

Credits:  Joe Pruett (script), Rob Liefeld (penciler), Lary Stucker (inker), Optic Studios (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary:  Apocalypse taunts Cable, who is now his captive.  He leaves Cable’s psimitar in front of him as a final insult and leaves the room.  Death enters, shocking Cable.  Cable telepathically uses his psimitar to attack Death and free himself.  He tries to draw Wolverine’s persona out of Death, but fails.  Eventually, Apocalypse returns and fights Cable to a standstill.  Cable’s forced to give up when Death appears with Caliban as a hostage.

Continuity Note:  Rob Liefeld (or perhaps the inker) is still unable to decide which of Cable’s eyes have pupils.  On one page, both of them do.  On other pages, neither has a pupil.  Occasionally, he gets it right and remembers that it’s Cable right eye, the one surrounded by scars, which has a pupil.  (Although the colorist screws this up on one page and gives Cable’s right eye the mechanical glowing effect.)

“Huh?” Moment:  Death/Wolverine falls down a seemingly bottomless pit to his death during his fight with Cable.  A few pages later, he magically returns with Caliban as a hostage.

Creative Differences:  There is no credited plotter for this story, only Joe Pruett and Rob Liefeld as “storytellers.”  Pruett was very clear at the time that he did not plot this story and was only responsible for scripting the pages sent to him.

Miscellaneous Note:  The title of this issue is a reference to the fifth chapter of Revelation.

Review:  Not that Rob Liefeld’s run on Cable was very popular on the internet in the first place, but this issue was especially loathed.  This double-sized anniversary issue, the one people believed for years would be the ultimate battle between Cable and Apocalypse, is instead a collection of clumsy fight scenes that advance the ongoing storyline not one inch.  Literally -- the first and last page of the story have Apocalypse lording over the restrained Cable, with the same narration detailing Cable’s failure on both pages.  And even as a mindless fight scene, this is awful.  Splash page after splash page of awkward poses, ugly faces, and nonexistent backgrounds.

As far as I know, no one’s ever taken credit for plotting this issue.  The fan theory at the time was that Liefeld was told to just draw a big fight scene for the issue, but I believe Liefeld denied having any role in plotting the story.  If the story wasn’t plotted by Pruett or Liefeld, that probably leaves editorial.  And since editor Mark Powers already had a reputation as a heavy rewriter, many people just assumed this was something he slapped together during his lunch break.  Who knows the truth, but I can’t blame whoever is responsible for not wanting his or her face revealed.

CABLE #74 - December 1999

Mind Games
Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Bernard Chang (penciler), Jon Holdredge (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: Caliban attacks the team, injuring Proudstar. He abruptly leaves, following the call of Apocalypse’s new Horseman of War, Deathbird. X-Force follows, only to be ambushed by Caliban’s new psionic pestilence powers. Cable enters the Astral Plane to rescue the team, not realizing that this was a trap designed to steal Cable’s physical body while his consciousness was distracted. Cable later awakens in Apocalypse’s custody. Meanwhile, Stacey and Irene reflect on Cable’s impact on their lives.

Continuity Notes: Apocalypse has given Caliban pestilence powers that somehow don’t work physically, but instead attack the mind. For unexplained reasons, Moonstar, Domino, Meltdown, and Jesse Bedlam aren’t affected by his powers.

Review: This is Joe Pruett’s strongest issue so far, and perhaps not coincidentally, it’s also another non-Liefeld issue (the second in four issues). Pruett’s awkward prose is paired back dramatically this time, and he actually manages to write adequate exchanges between the cast. It’s not perfect, of course, as he clumsily hammers home the idea that this is a “new” compassionate Cable, but this is much easier to read than his previous issues. Pruett, or perhaps someone in editorial, has seen fit to outright state that this warmer, fuzzier Cable will be rejoining X-Force in order to look after his former charges, which is likely a hint that no one working on the books had any idea what “Counter-X” was going to be at this point.

And while it’s easy to mock Liefeld for missing half of the issues of his run so far, at least we got Bernard Chang as a fill-in. Some of his facial expressions are still bizarre, but for the most part, he’s able to do a great action issue in that “chunky” post-manga style that was emerging during this time. His scenes in the Astral Plane, which cast the action as a montage within a film strip, are particularly nice.

CABLE #73 - November 1999

Pestilence!
Credits: Joe Pruett & Rob Liefeld (story & art), Lary Stucker w/Dan Fraga (inks), Optic Studio (colors), Comicraft (letters)


Summary: Caliban emerges from a cocoon in San Francisco and immediately follows Cable’s trail. While hunting Cable, Caliban befriends a young boy who isn’t afraid of mutants. Unfortunately, Caliban is chased off by his father and the boy is hit by a truck when he follows Caliban. A crowd forms and threatens Caliban, reviving his bloodlust. Meanwhile, Cable meets with X-Force, giving them information on all of his safehouses in case he doesn’t survive his fight with Apocalypse. Suddenly, Caliban, now calling himself Pestilence, crashes into X-Force’s headquarters.

Continuity Notes:
• Siryn’s appearance on the cover is a mistake, as she isn’t a member of the team at this point. She isn’t in the story, but the presence of Domino and Sunspot together makes it hard to pinpoint where this issue could fit in X-Force continuity.
• Blaquesmith and Ozymandias have formed an alliance against Apocalypse. Ozymandias asks Blaquesmith if his pupil, presumably Cable, is “ready.” Ozymandias’ connection to Caliban’s disappearance in X-Force #70 isn’t mentioned.

Review: So, now that Joe Pruett and Rob Liefeld are being credited as “storytellers,” does that mean Liefeld actually did co-plot these stories? I was always under the impression that Liefeld took this simply as an art assignment because he missed drawing the character (and his publishing company had folded.) I do distinctly remember Joe Pruett denying that he was involved with plotting issue #75 at all, and Liefeld claiming the plot didn’t come from him, leading to the theory that one of Marvel’s editors mapped out the story uncredited. Was that the only issue plotted by editors? Regardless, we’re getting deep into crossover territory, which means if Joe Pruett ever did have a clear vision for this book, it’s going to be buried anyway.

I don’t want to keep harping on Pruett, but his work on the X-books so far has placed him in sub-Kavanagh territory. There is a bright spot this issue, as Cable learns of Siryn’s injury in X-Force #90 and laments ever recruiting Feral into the team, but that’s essentially it. The rest of the issue is just cardboard. Almost every page is overloaded with supposedly deep text that’s so clumsily written you almost feel sorry for the poor letterer who has to type it out. “A famous writer once asserted that ‘you can never go home.’ As Cable sits among his former students…enjoying the closeness and warmth that only comes from the cohesive bond that is a family…he thinks of this literary line and is glad it is the exception and not the rule.” And that’s just one of the clunkers. Pruett’s prose is just a chore to read, and it chokes almost every page of the book. (This is assuming that Pruett and not an editor wrote these lines, of course.)

But, hey, Rob Liefeld’s back after that exhaustive stint of one issue, so that counts for something, right? Most of the issue is a conversation scene, which displays Liefeld’s talent for never drawing backgrounds, or believable facial expressions. Sometimes X-Force has a floor, but usually their couch just manages to float four feet off the ground. Liefeld’s been in the industry for over ten years at this point, and he still can’t draw a credible conversation scene to save his life, or figure out little things like “How does furniture touch the floor?” or “How do normal human beings bend their knees and sit down?” He’s also forgotten, again, which of Cable’s eyes is the mechanical one. I bet the creator of Cable was just furious to see someone get a basic detail like that wrong…

CABLE #72 - October 1999

Broken Pillars

Credits: Shon C. Bury (writer), Chap Yaep (penciler), Marlo Alquiza (inker), Mike Rockwitz (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: Cable responds to a telepathic prompt and heads to the Morlock Tunnels. There, he’s attacked by Post, who still blames Cable for ruining his life when Cable saved him from the Mandarin. When Cable makes a peace offering, Post decides to make amends for his past betrayals. He leaves, telling Cable he’ll look for answers within himself.

Continuity Notes:

· Cable remarks that his telepathy has been slowly returning since his encounter with Rachel Summers last issue. I believe this makes Cable the final mutant to regain his telepathic powers following the “Psi-War” storyline.

· A flashback reveals that Cable sent Post to live with Xavier following his escape from the Mandarin. Cable and Xavier have already had their pasts retconned together, but this implies an even stronger relationship. Going by the timeline established from Cable #-1 on, it looks as if Xavier was mentoring Post before he even formed the X-Men.

· Post’s ability to communicate telepathically with Cable and to block his psi-scans are allegedly “gifts” provided to him by Onslaught.

“Huh?” Moment: In one of Post’s flashbacks, Cable and Xavier are visiting a gravesite. I have no idea what the relevance of this is supposed to be.

Review: Rob Liefeld needed a fill-in after one issue? How on earth did this happen? I don’t think the most virulent Liefeld-haters even expected a fill-in after just one issue. Anyway, with one issue to fill, guest writer Shon C. Bury goes all the way back to Cable #33 for a follow-up to Post’s origin story. We all remember when Post was revealed as Cable’s old friend from his mercenary days, right? Because that revelation certainly added so much to the character…

I’m not saying Post is totally useless as a character; Bury’s actually on the right track with this story. He tries to reveal more about Post’s past and justify how exactly he fell in with Onslaught, but unfortunately all he comes up with is a cliché “spy is betrayed by his government” story, and Post’s past with Xavier is relegated to a one-panel flashback. Instead of fleshing Post out and trying to legitimize him as more than a retcon, the issue spends most of its time having Cable and Post yell at each other and make melodramatic hand gestures. The ending also assumes that Post has gone through some significant emotional catharsis throughout the story, which is a pretty generous assumption on Bury’s part. The only redeeming aspect of the issue is Chap Yaep’s art; Yaep isn’t a fantastic artist or anything, but he’s perhaps the best penciler to come out of Liefeld’s studio. I would prefer Yaep “fill in” for the rest of this run.

CABLE #71 - September 1999

Nightmares & Prophecies

Credits: Joe Pruett (writer), Rob Liefeld (penciler), Lary Stucker (inker), Tanya & Richard Horie (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: After having a nightmare about Cannonball’s death, Cable visits Stacey in the diner. She explains that she can’t handle Cable’s life at this point and asks for a break. Later, Cable’s visited by Rachel Summers, who takes him to her reality to show him what life was like without him. After rescuing Cannonball from Ahab, Cable’s brought to the rebel camp where he meets this world’s Stacey, a nurse who aids mutants. Soon, the camp is attacked by Sentinels and a mystery figure. Rachel sends Cable back to the present, telling him to use his knowledge of the Twelve to stop Apocalypse.

Continuity Notes:

· A brainwashed Gideon and Sunspot serve Ahab in this reality. Sunspot implies that he murdered Husk months earlier.

· Other mutant rebels Cable encounters include Warpath, Meltdown, and Domino. Domino is apparently killed by the Sentinels.

· The mystery figure who attacks the camp is wearing a helmet reminiscent of Magneto’s, and has a scar over his right eye that resembles Cable’s.

Review: This is Rob Liefeld’s grand return to Cable, even though the cover is by Adam Kubert. And next issue’s is penciled by Andy Kubert. Did Marvel want to make a big deal about this or not? It’s also odd that Liefeld did this run with little-to-no plot input (that’s how I remember him describing his contribution at the time, anyway). Doesn’t that go against the spirit of the Image founders?

Liefeld’s art offers no surprises. If you already hate it, there’s nothing here to change your mind. If you buy into the idea that his “energy” compensates for his lack of technical skills, there are plenty of splash pages and impossible poses for you to enjoy. He’s joined by an inker for this run, Lary Stucker, but Stucker’s style is indistinguishable from Liefeld’s mid-90s inks, and he certainly isn’t cleaning things up by adding backgrounds or varying textures to the inks. I wish someone would’ve caught the lack of a pupil in Cable’s “good” eye (the scarred one, ironically). Cable’s left eye is the bionic one; that’s the one that isn’t supposed to have a pupil. Liefeld gets this wrong not for a panel or two, but for most of the issue.

There’s also a storytelling glitch that has Meltdown, who for some reason doesn’t get an introduction from the narrator with the rest of her teammates, suffering a serious injury off-panel during the Ahab fight. And Cable declaring that the team is horribly outnumbered when we’ve only seen as many villains as heroes during the battle. And Liefeld doesn’t see any reason to age the characters a day, even though the story is set decades in the future. What I’m saying is that perhaps Liefeld’s art ill serves the script.

The story is yet another play on “Days of Future Past” with no real point, unless this was intended to be the “official” explanation of what happened to the assorted X-Force characters in that timeline. Pruett isn’t able to add any drama to the concept, and going for the predictable “Everybody dies!” ending doesn’t do the story any favors. Plus, doing a break-up scene with Stacey has got to be the most obvious move the new creative team could’ve made. Everyone was expecting them to do this, regardless of how much Liefeld claimed to love the Casey/Ladronn run. On top of all of this, Comicraft has somehow discovered an even uglier font than the bizarre one chosen during Ladronn’s run. So, really, this is one bad decision after another, and I’m not sure if anyone is that surprised.

WOLVERINE & CABLE: GUTS AND GLORY - October 1999

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Stephen Platt (penciler), Batt, Lary Stucker, Bob Wiacek, Mark Pennington, Johnny Greene, Scott Koblish, & Rod Ramos (inks), Colorgraphix (colors), Mike Heisler (letters)

Summary: In the past, Cable arrives in New York for the first time. He disrupts the Vulture’s first robbery attempt and is injured by a bomb the villain set to cover his escape. A former SHIELD agent named Franklin Rhodes takes Cable in and offers him guidance. Meanwhile, a New Canaanite soldier named D’von Kray materializes in Canada. After Wolverine subdues him for Department H, the agency’s scientists accidentally revive D’von’s memory during their attempt to reprogram him. D’von realizes he’s from the future and that his mission is to kill Cable. He tracks Cable to New York, and during his ambush, kills Franklin Rhodes. Wolverine arrives and helps Cable kill D’von. As Wolverine leaves, he warns Cable about his attitude.

Continuity Notes:

· Cable’s wife, Aliya, is already dead at this point, according to his flashback.

· The Vulture tells Cable that this is his “first endeavor as a master thief.” The implication is that the Vulture had at least some experience as a criminal before meeting Spider-Man for the first time, which seems compatible with his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #2.

· According to the opening narrative captions, this story begins two days after Cable arrived from Scotland. Presumably, this is taking place a few days after the events of Cable #-1. He’s still searching for Professor Xavier, which was his motive in that issue.

· If the story is set right after Cable #-1, which as a “Flashback” story had to be set before Fantastic Four #1, having Wolverine as a costumed Canadian agent is questionable. Alpha Flight #2 established that Mac Hudson was inspired to create Canadian heroes after seeing the Fantastic Four on television for the first time. Plus, even though Wolverine’s first appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 doesn’t explicitly establish this is his first mission as a costumed hero, Chris Claremont did have Wolverine say as much during a flashback in Uncanny X-Men. Aaaaand, wasn’t one of those Logan one-shots, which still featured Wolverine as a plainclothes secret agent, already set circa Fantastic Four #1?

· Franklin Rhodes arranges for Cable to get a haircut, which marks the end of Cable’s adventures with the flowing white hair.

· Joe Casey follows Jeph Loeb’s example and has Cable using his telepathy in the past again. Cable’s telepathy was treated as a surprise, even to him, during the X-Force/New Warriors crossover “Child’s Play.”

Production Note: This is a forty-eight page, prestige format book, priced at $5.99.

Review: I remember this comic getting a hostile reaction online; I was tempted to call it the first time the internet realized Joe Casey is far from perfect, but then I recalled the response to his Incredible Hulk run. I don’t think people were expecting Casey’s final Cable story to turn out like this, though -- a largely mindless collection of fight scenes straight out of the early ‘90s. It’s not that Guts and Glory is all bad, though. Using the Vulture in the story’s opening is an unexpected surprise, and it might even by a sly reference to New Mutants #86, which featured the Vulture and Cable in his first cameo appearance. Casey tries to add some meat to the story by pairing Cable with a veteran and discussing the psychological impact of war; he doesn’t have any particularly astute insights on the subject, but the scenes help to humanize Cable. And while Stephen Platt’s art is often too busy and poorly constructed, a few of the pages are at least on the level of a competent Silvestri clone (I’m assuming those are the ones inked by Bob Wiacek or Mark Pennington.)

Unfortunately, this is a six-dollar one-shot that was allegedly going to reveal Cable and Wolverine’s secret past, a mystery that was almost ten years old at the time. What the audience gets is a brief team-up by the characters that doesn’t answer any of the old questions (They don’t even fight! Cable and Wolverine are supposed to be old sparring partners.), art that’s slapped together by an army of inkers, and a story with no message deeper than “war is bad.” It’s hard to feel as if you got your money’s worth.

CABLE #70 - August 1999

Final Covenant: The Ballad of Karmic Retribution

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Walden Wong & Juan Vlasco (inkers), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: An elderly man squatting in Stacey’s apartment building believes he’s created a time machine. Against her wishes, her little brother Kenny befriends him. While visiting her apartment, Cable breaks off his budding romance with Stacey. When he has second thoughts and turns back, he discovers Caesar has taken her hostage. Cable’s fight with his estranged follower leads to the basement, where Kenny is visiting the old man. A battered Caesar tries to escape in the time machine, only to have it blow up in his face. Cable uses his telekinetic shield to protect Kenny and the old man. After the building is evacuated, he embraces Stacey and kisses her.

Continuity Notes: Caesar is the jaded Askani member from Cable #58 who resents Cable for disbanding this century’s Askani order and suggesting they get real lives. He claims that he’s killed Cable’s “believers” (presumably the group of average citizens introduced by James Robinson who believe in Cable’s cause and occasionally offer help) all around the world and is now ready to finish the job.

Review: It’s Joe Casey’s final issue, which means he’s got to resolve the dangling Caesar subplot, determine the status of Cable and Stacey’s relationship, and have Cable learn some kind of a lesson about hope, faith, and the future. He’s also decided to introduce a new character, a deranged man who’s convinced he’s a time traveler, and spend a few pages on his elaborate backstory. That’s a lot for twenty-two pages, but luckily Ladronn is great at drawing tiny panels and working a lot of information into each page.

Despite some people’s claim that Casey’s work on Cable was a revelation, his approach to the character wasn’t radically different than Jeph Loeb’s(and Loeb’s run largely followed in the direction Fabian Nicieza had set for Cable during his later X-Force days.) We all know by now that Cable is more of a pacifist, he isn’t relying on guns, and he’s opening up to the people of this era, rather than using them as soldiers in his war to save the future. Casey’s major contribution was moving him physically away from the X-Men and giving him a few civilians to interact with (and let’s remember that the impetus for this direction came from James Robinson’s brief run). I agree with the decision to ground Cable, but I don’t see why it was viewed as such a groundbreaking move. I will give Casey credit for moving Cable away from the messianic role that was grafted on to him, since that always seemed like an awkward fit. I have a feeling that Robinson was going to go heavily in that direction, while Casey had Cable disband this era’s Askani order and tell them to move on rather early in his run. Killing Cable’s “believers” off-panel might be seen as a cheap move, but they were cheap creations in the first place. I still refuse to believe that the Cable of the Simonson-Liefeld-Nicieza era had a secret sect of powerful humans who believed in his alleged “cause” and was helping him out. That guy was bullying teenagers into joining up for a human-mutant war; it’s hard to believe that he was secretly a spiritual advisor to the rich and powerful in his spare time.

Regardless, Casey returns to his core themes for a final time, drawing a parallel between Cable and the deranged homeless man who’s built an unstable “time machine” in the basement. When the old man realizes that his future is all gone, Cable naturally sees himself in the man and begins to ponder what he’s sacrificing. He’s learned now that the future will never be known, and that he has to stop using his war as an excuse for removing himself from the people he’s allegedly fighting for. He’s learned this lesson probably five or six times by now, but it’s executed quite well this time, making this an appropriate ending to the Casey/Ladronn era. NEXT ISSUE: Rob Liefeld returns, which doesn’t make anyone mad at all.

CABLE ‘99 - April 1999

Something Sinister This Way Comes

Credits: Michael Higgins & Karl Bollers (writers), German Garcia w/Alitha Martinez (pencilers), Matt Ryan w/Candelario & Koblish (inkers), Mike Rockwitz (colors), BenchMark (letters)

Summary: Mr. Sinister visits Cable’s hideout, revealing to him that he engineered Cable’s creation to use him as the ultimate weapon against Apocalypse. Cable refuses Sinister’s partnership offer, even after he’s warned of Apocalypse’s approaching emissaries. Soon, a local nightclub is attacked by mutants claiming to be Apocalypse’s servants. One of them erases Cable’s powers, triggering his techno-organic virus. Sinister rescues Cable, curing the virus and restoring his telepathic powers. Cable returns home and rescues Irene and Blaquesmith from the emissaries. He reveals to Sinister that he knows they’re actually his Marauders in disguise. Cable demands to know all of Sinister’s secrets, but he revives Cable’s virus and uses the opportunity to escape.

Continuity Notes: A flashback scene reveals that Sinister created the techno-organic virus in the early 1900s in the hopes that it could kill Apocalypse. Instead, it only made him stronger. Apocalypse allowed Sinister to flee, but promised to kill him in the future. Just a few months after this comic was published, another flashback in Uncanny X-Men #376 shows that Apocalypse and Sinister were allies again during the early days of the X-Men, behind-the-scenes of the Living Pharaoh storyline. As for the Marauders, none of them has the ability to erase another mutant’s power, although Scrambler can…yes, scramble his opponent’s powers and make them go haywire.

Review: It’s easy to dismiss this as annual filler, but the creators have worked out a plot that ties in to the regular series’ ongoing storylines, and establishes a few continuity points as well. I’m not sure if anyone was actually looking for important continuity to be established in a Cable annual by this point, but it’s there if you’re interested. The ongoing Cable series has never really known what to do with Mr. Sinister, perhaps because the character’s traditionally a behind-the-scenes schemer and rarely someone who takes an active role in supervillain plots. Yet, his entire gimmick centers around Summers’ DNA, and the precious offspring that will be created by Cyclops and Phoenix. Well, here he is. And he’s had an ongoing series since 1993. Why don’t you care, Sinister? Jeph Loeb tried to write around this by having Sinister hint that he’s been more involved with Cable’s life than he could ever realize, but that hint, of course, went nowhere.

So, the premise moves the book slightly past the “generic” marker, but unfortunately the execution is a disappointment. The art is clearly a rush job, making even the normally excellent German Garcia unrecognizable on many pages. Cable versus the Marauders should be a fantastic fight scene, one that’s been in the works since “Inferno,” but it’s pretty lifeless here. The story attempts to build a thematic link between Apocalypse and Sinister, but the conclusion we’re expected to reach -- Sinister’s no better than Apocalypse because he wants to save humanity for his own experimentation -- isn’t much of a revelation. Cable’s also supposed to learn some grand lesson about appreciating humanity instead of agonizing over his heavy responsibilities, but that’s an idea that Joe Casey's used more effectively in the monthly title. There are a few amusing lines, though, and the script is easier to read than Higgins & Boller’s effort in the previous annual. So, it’s not as terrible as you might expect a late ‘90s Cable annual to be; it’s just regular bad.

CABLE #69 - July 1999

Millennium Storm Warning

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Jose Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco & Walden Wong (inks), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: Cable is snatched from death by the Chronologists, a group that monitors various timelines. They take him to their mysterious dimension, where Sanctity is being held captive in “the Maximum Secret.” Cable is forced to duel with one of their scientists, Jacob Sutton, to save Sanctity. She is released and promptly disappears. The Chronologists return Cable to his home, where he finds Stacey, Irene, and Blaquesmith waiting for him. Meanwhile, a mystery man leaves a bloody trail to New York.

Continuity Notes: While in the Maximum Secret, Cable suddenly realizes that Rachel Summers implanted the names of the Twelve into his mind weeks earlier.

Creative Differences: The Bullpen Bulletins description of this issue reads: “After the cataclysmic events of ‘Sign of the End Times,’ CABLE is presumed dead. With APOCALYPSE’s hideous scheme just begun, BLAQUESMITH reaches out to the one man left alive who has the most experience with the world’s first mutant: ARCHANGEL!”

Review: Uh, yeah. Cable needed more vague time travel continuity attached to him, right? This issue is (I'm assuming, it's impossible to find info about these characters online) the debut of the Chronologists, a group that exists in-between dimensions and monitors the non-linear lines of reality. How exactly they’re different from the Time Variance Authority, I’m not sure, but Casey’s premise is that Cable’s occasional trips through time are an annoyance to the group. Yet, he also establishes that they’re exaggerating Sanctity’s threat to reality, so they’re not a reliable source of information. Why exactly they’re keeping Sanctity captive, and why they’re engaging Cable in a duel is never revealed. Casey was presumably going somewhere with this, but he’s only a handful of issues away from quitting in protest after Ladronn is booted to make way for Rob Liefeld. So, we’re left with more mystery characters with mystery motives that never amount to anything. At least Ladronn is able to showcase his European sci-fi influences with the designs, though.

CABLE #68 - June 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 3: Faraway, So Close

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Jose Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida T. (letters)

Summary: Cable and the Avengers continue to battle the Harbinger. Blaquesmith arrives in New York and uses his thought-projector device to inform Cable of Ozymandias’ prophesy. Cable refuses to allow New York to die, even if it will avert Apocalypse’s rule. Iron Man gives Cable his boots, which Cable uses to fly Harbinger into the atmosphere. Harbinger explodes, while a mystery figure rescues Cable. Stacey watches the skies, convinced that Cable is dead.

Review: It’s another issue of a giant Avengers fight by Ladronn, so this isn’t all bad. Casey can’t seem to craft a story that matches the intensity of the art, though, leaving the “death of New York” concept to sputter out badly. I guess the idea was to emphasize Cable’s evolution as a character through his decision to rescue New York, even if its destruction would guarantee Apocalypse’s defeat. To put it politely, this idea isn’t explored very well. Cable doesn’t even learn of the prophesy until the final pages of the story, the specifics of how exactly the destruction of New York will eventually stop Apocalypse are never given, and at no point does Cable even weigh the options, which makes it a pretty lame ethical dilemma. Some of the character work with Stacey isn’t bad, but the grand tone Casey’s trying to strike with the story just comes across as melodrama. This was a three-issue story about a cyborg fighting some superheroes while he destroys a few buildings. It’s okay to dress it up a bit, but trying so hard to hit the “epic” note just emphasizes how silly the idea was in the first place.

CABLE #67 - May 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 2: Gods’ Footsteps

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Jose Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida T. (letters)

Summary: The Avengers confront the Harbinger, giving Cable time to recover. Using his Psimitar staff, Cable temporarily immobilizes Harbinger. Soon, Thor arrives and uses his hammer to send him to another dimension. Cable and the Avengers regroup, but Harbinger soon escapes his exile. Apocalypse greets him in New York and activates his detonation code. Meanwhile, Ozymandias informs Blaquesmith that Cable is destined to be the gatherer of the Twelve.

Continuity Notes: A flashback reveals that Cable told Stacey about his life as a time traveler and the importance of his mission just a few hours before the Harbinger arrived.

Review: This is Joe Casey’s first time writing the Avengers, which might be significant for fans of his retro-miniseries. Obviously, there isn’t a lot of room in the story to flesh out the characters, but he seems to have a grasp of their personalities and he makes their appearance feel appropriately momentous. If I were to draw another comparison between Casey and Frank Miller, it’s certainly possible that their appearance here was inspired by the Avengers’ cameo in Daredevil’s “Born Again” arc.

Like the previous issue, this is largely an action piece, with Casey throwing in a few character bits, such as Cable reflecting on the things he never told his father before he leaves for his possibly final confrontation with Harbinger. I don’t care for Casey’s characterization of the Harbinger, since it seems dismissive of James Robinson’s original vision of the character. Robinson seemed to be going for a “discovering humanity” arc, while Casey is simply using him as a doomsday machine. At any rate, the action works pretty well, and Ladronn’s given a lot of cool things to draw. We’re treated to Ladronn’s renditions of the Avengers, Harbinger’s sojourn into an alternate dimension, and the bizarre nineteenth century “regal” redesign of Apocalypse, which is a welcome break from the blue armor.

CABLE #66 - April 1999

Sign of the End Times Part 1: Death from Above

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft’s Saida Temofonte (letters)

Summary: The Harbinger flies over New York, prompting a military response. He diverts the missiles shot at him and destroys the Statue of Liberty. As the city panics, Cable confronts the Harbinger. Their battle destroys the World Trade Center and nearly kills Cable. Suddenly, the Avengers arrive. Meanwhile, Ozymandias explains to Blaquesmith that New York must be destroyed in order to stop Apocalypse. He then hints at another prophesy -- the Twelve.

Continuity Notes: Cable kisses Stacey for the first time before leaving to fight the Harbinger.

I Love the '90s: Apparently, the Marvel Universe is pretty resilient when it comes to rebuilding the World Trade Center. I wonder how long the towers stood in-between the Juggernaut and Harbinger’s attacks?

Review: Remember the late ‘90s, when “widescreen” action and wholesale destruction was considered the cure for the post-boom malaise? I actually never got into those comics, but I certainly remember the hype, and it looks like Joe Casey has fallen for it this issue. And, even if the plot is noticeably thin, you have to acknowledge that Ladronn is doing an incredible job with the visuals. I’m sure the story could’ve been tightened up to remove some of the repetitive Harbinger vs. Army fight pages, but Ladronn makes them look so cool, it’s hard to dismiss them as padding. I am a little disappointed that the Harbinger has returned as a fairly generic villain, although Casey does give him a slight justification for his assault since he was attacked first. The turn from “learning about humanity” to outright destroying large sections of New York is hard to swallow, though. And, as I’ve said before, the casual destruction of giant buildings during a superhero fight scene makes these comics now seem ridiculous in a way the creators never intended.

CABLE #65 - March 1999

Acid Bath

Credits: Joe Casey (writer), Ladronn (penciler), Juan Vlasco (inker), Gloria Vasquez (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Cable investigates the fires in Hell’s Kitchen and discovers the Acidroid is responsible. Following an inconclusive fight, Cable replaces his damaged uniform and returns for a rematch. After Cable uses his telekinesis to defeat the Acidroid, Rachel Summers suddenly appears and plants information in Cable’s head. Cable brushes off the experience and locates Acidroid’s creator, the Tinkerer, and rescues him from the Maggia agents who are displeased with his work. Elsewhere, Ozymandias shows Blaquesmith signs of Apocalypse’s return, while the Harbinger floats above New York City.

Continuity Notes: A blackout has hit the city, and a footnote points towards X-Men #86 for details. This was a “Magneto War” chapter, but I don’t recall any other titles referencing a massive power outage.

Review: There’s a lot going on in this issue, as Casey attempts to blend a traditional superhero action story, supporting cast subplot scenes, and the X-books’ typical ominous visions of the future into one comic. It’s a combination you seldom see, since the X-teams are rarely out in the streets stopping schemes by Tinkerer or the Maggia. I like the flavor the retro-action adds to the title, although Casey can’t seem to be bothered with explaining how Cable finds Acidroid in the first place, or how exactly he knows who created him and where he is.

The Acidroid material is obviously a disposable action plot, although it seems to be used as an excuse to introduce a new costume for Cable. The most dramatic change is the full face mask, which lasts all of six pages before Cable removes it. Maybe everything from the neck down was meant to stick, but apparently the mask was just a one-issue gimmick. It’s too bad, because I kind of like it. (A little over a year later, Cable will wear a partial mask when he joins the X-Men during the brief Claremont/Kubert run.)

Along with the action, there are a few pages of Cable interacting with Stacey and Irene that reiterate the “Cable’s getting closer to normal people” direction, and a lot of dark prophesies involving Apocalypse. I wonder if Casey was told beforehand that the next Apocalypse storyline would be run in Cable, or if he took the initiative on his own, hoping the story wouldn’t be snatched out of his hands. Regardless, Cable barely plays a role in the X-books’ millennial Apocalypse crossover, so time hasn’t been kind to these scenes. Ozymandias’ revelation that the mysterious Twelve hold the key to defeating Apocalypse is particularly jarring, given that we’re a few months away from learning that the Twelve are just supposed to power a giant machine for ol’ Pocy…