Cable is probably best known as the gruff, enormous gun-toting, time-traveling X-Man. He’s got his Techno-Organic Virus, his metal arm, and is often seen as the height of the ’90s glut of ‘roided-out characters. But at his best, he’s thrust into a situation where a little softness goes as far as his hardcore nature. That’s exactly what writer David Pepose and artist Mike Henderson hit hard in Cable: Love and Chrome #1.
In the Marvel Comics book, Cable is once again thrust into an apocalyptic future, his TO Virus raging out of control. We’ve hit all these beats before in multitudinous books, and Pepose is smart enough to play the hits throughout this premiere issue, without making them feel tired or trite.
But the big differences are that Cable is trapped in this future — no body slide for one out of this situation — and presented with what is essentially a female version of himself. Not literally through multiverse shenanigans, but instead a female warrior who is leading a group of people also afflicted with the TO Virus. Instead of being the loner, sci-fi Western hero bringing justice to a strange land, for the first time Cable is with people like him.
It’s a refreshing change that allows Henderson to establish a visual status quo for Salvation Bay, the setting of the series, as well as create some real sparks between Cable and this, essentially Lady Cable (minus the time travel). There’s heat in this book, per the “love” part of the title, and mixing some big action with some real romance is where the soap opera of X-Men books thrive.
While sure, this is all tropey in its own way… The loner Western hero falling in love in a small town and then having to move on anyway (potentially spoilers for the end of the series) is its own mini-genre. But Pepose and Henderson have a lot of fun here with the romance, the action, and the time travel shenanigans that present a villain perhaps appearing out of order for the timeline.
It’s a fun debut, with some great art and a little bit of heat. Here’s hoping the chrome doesn’t melt by the end, but right now, I love this book. Time to renew your Cable subscription.
Cable: Love And Chrome #1 Rating:
Cable: Love And Chrome #1 Official Synopsis:
MARVEL’S MOST EXTREME MUTANT RETURNS! He’s been a soldier. An X-Man. A protector of the timestream. But even from his earliest days, the mutant known as Cable has been living on borrowed time, waging a lonely war against the ravages of the Techno-Organic Virus. Yet when a high-stakes mission in the future goes catastrophically awry, Cable is left stranded in the dystopian city of Salvation Bay – and will find himself caught in the midst of a civil war that will change his life forever. Get ready for big action, bigger threats and the biggest guns in the Marvel Universe, in this epic new series from Ringo Award-winning writer David Pepose (PUNISHER, SAVAGE AVENGERS) and superstar artist Mike Henderson (DAREDEVIL, DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN)!
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