“He killed one of my favorite guns!”
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Cable #1 is not what you’re expecting it to be. If you’ve been following the adventures of the X-Men and their new status quo on the living island Krakoa, attempting to create a mutant nation, you know that Nathan Dayspring Summers has gone through some pretty big changes. Considering the character himself is often cited as one of the Children of the Atom with the most difficult to understand origins, a big change often may seem run of the mill for some. No longer an old war horse, Cable is a teenager looking for a good time in the land of the mutants, but still possessing an affinity for over-sized weaponry. So how does this new Nathan compare to the grizzled veteran?
Writer Gerry Duggan and artist Phil Noto give us a tale that focuses on the younger generation of the X-Men as Cable links up with the likes of Pixie, Armor, and several brand new mutants while battling an unforeseen problem with Krakoa’s growth. The story that Duggan has given us swings for the fences, incorporating a large number of Marvel’s lesser known properties, and injecting some legitimately hilarious banter along the way.
The first issue also introduces us to the idea of the “Quarry,” a big arena wherein mutants are able to settle their differences via hand-to-hand combat. Readers see a listing of the wins and loses that have taken place on the battleground that Duggan uses with great aplomb. The fact that we’re introduced with Cable fighting Wolverine certainly is a fan favorite way to do so! In the story itself, Phil Noto is turning out some amazing art work with this one, and lives up to his artistic history here as well, perfectly capturing the energy that this story requires.
This issue has a lot of different moving pieces, using concepts taken throughout the Marvel universe, ranging from Monster Island to the Space Knights. Of course, fans may be taken aback a little bit at the fact that this Cable is so different from the one that we knew before, but the final stinger of the issue does a great job of hinting at some big story lines (and potential changes) still to come.
A first issue can sometimes be hard to review, as you’re critiquing one part of a greater whole: so when I put together a review such as this one, I really try to think about whether this is a series that is worth sticking around for the next few issues. Luckily, Cable as a younger character really works here, integrating his history with the X-Men well enough and giving some hilarious one-liners, especially when it comes to pouches.
Cable #1 doesn’t break the wheel, but it shows us a side of the X-Men that has otherwise gone untold in this new era. It is a comic that focuses on the younger, mutant generation, and gives us a fun, frantic story that is one of the best of the ancillary X-Books for this day and age.
Published by Marvel Comics
On March 11, 2020
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Phil Noto
Letters by Joe Sabino
Cover by Phil Noto