By Ben Morse
You know what they say about all good things…
After lasting about 44 more issues than anybody thought it would, CABLE & DEADPOOL, the little book that could, bids farewell with issue #50 on February 20.
Launched alongside a quintet of other ongoing series in 2004, none of which lasted a year—except for SHE-HULK…cursed SHE-HULK—CABLE & DEADPOOL featured the unlikely buddy duo of the maniacal Deadpool and straight-laced Cable forced into teaming up again and again to consistently hilarious and often thought-provoking results.
For four years, C&D has made us laugh, cry and raise our eyebrows more than a couple of times, but now it's time to say goodbye. To help ease the burden of
farewell, we here at Marvel.com had Nicole Boose, editor of all but six of the 50 issues of CABLE & DEADPOOL, round up the old crew and recount their 10 favorite moments, no particular order, from the series' run.
On a personal note, this writer will certainly miss reading a new issue of CABLE & DEADPOOL each month. Our relationship certainly evolved over the past four years, as I went from an eager-eyed college fanboy racing to the store for each monthly installment, to Wizard Magazine writer stumping as best I could for one of my personal favorite books, to Marvel employee who no longer pays for his comics and thus probably contributed to the end of CABLE & DEADPOOL.
So…uh…sorry.
On with the show!
10. EAT POWER COSMIC (CABLE & DEADPOOL #10)
His mutant telekinesis juiced up to its most extreme level ever, Cable goes toe-to-toe with the Silver Surfer in an effort to preserve his island haven of Providence and actually
cracks the Sentinel of the Spaceways' board in the process!
"Oh my," remarks former series artist Patrick Zircher.
9. EARTH'S MIGHTIEST NUDES (CABLE & DEADPOOL #11)
Enlisting the help of the Fixer for a job, Deadpool happens upon an epic painted portrayal of the Avengers in all their naked glory on the inside of the malevolent mechanic's pool.
"[He found] Thor's Mjolnir impressive," notes Zircher, the originator of the idea.
8. OH, BOB… (CABLE & DEADPOOL #45)
In the latter leg of C&D, Deadpool picked up a nifty new sidekick in the form of Bob: Agent of HYDRA, initially a foot soldier of the terrorist organization who 'Pool took hostage, but whom the Merc With a Mouth quickly took a shine to, despite his…eccentricities.
"[I loved] Bob hailing HYDRA at inappropriate times," says series artist and plotter Reilly Brown. "Especially when he's in the 1940's with Captain America and starts thinking Cap might not be such a bad guy after all—and then the HYDRA programming kicks in!"
7. HE AIN'T JUST HEAVY, HE'S MY CLONE…OR SOMETHING (CABLE & DEADPOOL #38)
In Round 1,287 of his ongoing feud with clone/dude with half his brain/something Agent X, Deadpool unleashes the deadliest of weapons: HYDRA's morbid obesity ray!
"I'd just redesigned Agent X with a cool new costume for this issue, and then when I got to page 15—well I think Bob's reaction was just me looking in the mirror," laments Brown. "Time for another redesign…"
6. THE LONGEST PEE (CABLE & DEADPOOL #17)
In the midst of battling an alternate universe Mr. Sinister over the dimension-lost and de-aged infant Cable, Deadpool calls a much-needed bathroom break.
"I didn't know if it would play to have Deadpool peeing for a couple pages," questions editor Nicole Boose. "But I guess readers didn't tire of it as fast as I thought they would."
5. ONE MERC AND A BABY (CABLE & DEADPOOL #18)
Retrieving infant Cable from the House of M, Deadpool finds himself in the awkward—and adorable—position of the li'l cyborg mutant soldier identifying him as "Dedpoo. Da-Da!"
"Touching
and weird," exclaims Zircher.
4. QUALITY TIME (CABLE & DEADPOOL #19)
With Cable gradually returning to his own age and looking very Nate Grey-like around age 17, 'Pool takes his erstwhile pal out for a beer so they can bond before he gets old and grumpy again…but of course Cable can't get served until he's old and grumpy again.
"The whole idea of Deadpool being Cable's 'parental guardian' was poetic ridiculousness," laughs assistant editor Jon Michael Ennis. "I like to think of it as 'Messiah CompleX'
before 'Messiah CompleX'."
3. MARVEL GIRL FOR A DAY (CABLE & DEADPOOL #9)
Deadpool agreed to help the X-Men take down Cable on one condition: he gets an
X-Men uniform. And not just any uniform, but the beloved yellow mini-skirt and low-cut green top of Jean Grey during her stint as the original Marvel Girl.
"Originally, he was supposed to wear it for the whole issue," reveals Boose. "But Patrick thought the visual gag would get old too fast, so we changed it to just one shining moment. If you see the close-up of Deadpool's butt in that issue, you'll understand why Patrick didn't want to draw it in every panel."
2. FERAL FISTICUFFS (CABLE & DEADPOOL #41)
With Providence under siege by the Marauders and only our boys left to defend the island's secrets, Deadpool goes sword to claw with the ferocious Sabretooth in a battle of ruthless aggression and enhanced healing factors. When DP seems down for the count, Cable swoops in with an innovative solution.
"That was just fun to draw," smiles Brown. "And the way Cable finished him off [by throwing him into the ocean] was perfect."
1. HOW IT ALL BEGAN… (CABLE & DEADPOOL #1)
"Wade Wilson, out of costume, is watching television and yells at the screen when the Sexiest Woman Alive is named Halle Berry instead of Bea Arthur," remembers Boose. "Then the phone rings. As soon as he realizes the caller is interested in his mercenary services, he excuses himself, goes off panel, then comes back with his Deadpool mask on. Once I read that, I knew I was going to like this series."
That's all for now, but both Cable and Deadpool will return in their own individual ongoing series later this year. While you're killing time though, check out our CABLE & DEADPOOL archives over at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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