A Tale of Two Cables

As the FALL OF X descended on the Krakoan Age, Cable stepped up to defend mutantkind in their darkest hour—and he's not the only time-displaced super hero joining their struggle to survive. Fortunately, the Marvel Universe gets two Cables for the price of one, and both versions of the character are distinctly different from each other, right down to their physical age. 

In CABLE (2024) by Fabian Nicieza and Scot Eaton, the older Cable finds himself on a vital mission to rescue his younger counterpart, while the future of mutantkind hangs in the balance once again. Here is everything you need to know about each version of this time-traveling hero, including their occasionally contentious relationship and the role they played in the creation of Krakoa.

CLASSIC CABLE: SOLDIER OF THE FUTURE 

Created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, Cable made his official debut in THE NEW MUTANTS (1982) #97, where he took on the villainous Stryfe after arriving from a post-apocalyptic future. Soon, Cable was revealed to be Nathan Summers, the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor who was taken to a distant future as part of the ongoing war against Apocalypse. Possessing formidable telekinetic and telepathic abilities, Cable is not only augmented by cybernetic enhancements, but also hardened into one of the deadliest soldiers in any timeline due to years of combat experience.

After returning to the relative present as an adult significantly older than his parents, Cable founded the inaugural version of X-Force with the goal of taking a more lethal approach to threats to mutants. While trying to prevent his dystopian future from coming to pass, Cable grew especially close to Hope Summers, who sees him as something of an adoptive father. Throughout his adventures, Cable formed a begrudging friendship with Deadpool, with the grizzled warrior learning to tolerate and even appreciate the Merc with the Mouth's constant antics.

THE RISE OF KID CABLE

During the crossover event EXTERMINATION (2018), Cable was killed by an initially unidentified assailant who turned out to be a younger version of himself. Hailing from a different alternate future, this version of Nathan Summers felt Cable failed his mission to prevent their horrible future. Though the X-Men were understandably concerned by the death of their longtime friend and ally at first, they eventually accepted Kid Cable's explanation.

Though Kid Cable shared many powers and skills with his older counterpart, he had a noticeably lighter demeanor and personality, as he had not yet descended into the bitter cynicism of a harsh life. Kid Cable subsequently took control of X-Force and reached out to his alternate timeline sister Rachel Summers. Vowing to protect the timeline, Kid Cable worked towards preventing an apocalyptic future in his own way, avoiding the mistakes of his predecessor while taking on a number of super villains.

CABLE AND THE DAWN OF X

At the start of the Krakoan Age, Kid Cable enjoyed his place in the fledgling mutant nation-state, where he was hailed as one of the community's most formidable fighters; he even started dating one of the Stepford Cuckoos. After finding a strange extraterrestrial sword, Cable found himself drawn into an encounter with the Space-Knights. He also played a large role in the fiery crossover X OF SWORDS (2020). 

Meanwhile, the older Cable remained dead. Krakoa maintained a strict policy with its Resurrection Protocols, which forbid multiple versions of the same person.

After Stryfe resurfaced, Kid Cable realized he was poorly equipped to handle his older counterpart's arch-nemesis, as he lacked the old Cable's memories and experiences. Hope convinced the other members of the Five to resurrect the older Cable in CABLE (2020) #11; as a result, the two Cables successfully defeated Stryfe. Afterwards, Kid Cable remained on Krakoa, while the older Cable joined S.W.O.R.D. in CABLE: RELOADED (2021) to stay off-world and deal with extraterrestrial threats.

CABLE AND THE FALL OF X

During Krakoa's lavish Hellfire Gala, mutantkind came under attack by the xenophobic terrorist syndicate Orchis, which left humanity despising mutants like never before. As part of its secret machinations, Orchis targeted Kid Cable individually and kidnaped him. Orchis used the younger Cable for his knowledge of future events, as well as the techno-organic virus infecting his body.

At the start of CABLE (2024) #1, the older Cable returned to Earth ready to take the fight back to Orchis. With a lifetime of battlefield experience and his own powerful set of abilities, the classic Cable is gunning to prove that youth doesn't necessarily make the superior hero. As the older Cable prepares to rescue his younger counterpart, Orchis might just realize they messed with the wrong mutant.

Two Cables are better than one in CABLE #1, on sale now!

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