Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Cable #1
Marvel Comics
Swierczynski & Olivertti
Not a ton happens in this issue. Cable finds a nice spot in the future and starts to get comfortable with his surroundings. He gets into a fight, he changes some diapers and his arch enemy finds and confronts him. For the most part, this issue just sets up his new status quo on the character and builds up from the ground how this character will advance.
For those of you know didn’t read the Messiah Complex it’s okay, because Cable’s talks to himself enough about how he got where he is to cover the whole saga. As you may remember Cable saved the baby by escaping with her to the future. The question as to why Cable picked the future to raise the girl is kind of nagging. Why not pick the 1800s and live on a farm like in Little House on the Prairie? She would have been safe, unless she had some nosey, meddling neighbors. Instead, Cable picks the post-apocalyptic world of 2043.
I’m a sucker for any futuristic view of the world, but this one is particularly fun because it takes place in my zone of New Jersey. The bulk of this issue takes place in the beach town of East Orange. For those not from familiar with NJ, East Orange is a good 10-20 miles from the river, let alone the coast. Anyway, East Orange now has a great view of the NYC skyline – half of which is underwater. I guess they’ll never find Jimmy Hoffa’s body now.
Cable gets confronted with some punks looking for a toll. This showcases his soldier skills. After killing a bunch of these goons, Cable gets all soft with the baby. It’s kind of cute in a way, stab a guy in the chest, change a diaper with the guy’s do-rag.
Cable eventually wanders into a diner (no word on what the exit number was) and is confronted with his chief enemy. Issue two will deal with this threat.
It’s a solid issue in terms of base lining the character. This story helps to establish that this Cable series is not at all the same as previous Cable series. Cable even mentions how he was born and hidden in the future to help keep him safe because he was destined for great things and that maybe taking care of the baby is this great thing. It’s good because it helps to pass the baton that Cable isn’t the savior, but the savior of the real savior.
The artwork is good. Oh sure Cable and his enemy are overly-jacked up, but Cable looks old and beat up like you’d expect. I’m reminded of the Fellowship of the Ring novel when it describes Stryder for the first time as an old, withered, beaten and wore in. This is how Cable’s face looks to me. He looks like a guy who had too many bad face lifts and sat under the tanner way too long. It fits with the heavy time travel and the tough years as a soldier. Also, the art on the baby is good too. The baby has aged six months and surprisingly, the kid looks like it could be a six month old infant.
The issue is tame with its story, but it solid with marking the starting line. I’m not sure how many stories there are with Cable jumping through time and folks from our present time line just “finding” him, but I would think they can steer this series into some interesting directions. At some point I would like to know what the baby’s mutant power is though. I was entertained, but I fall that old future gag all the time.
4 out of 5 geek goggles.
 Cable #1 |
