By Matt Morrison
Cable is not a character that has ever interested me all that much. I was introduced to him through X-Men: The Animated Series, where he seemed to have no powers beyond wielding comically large guns. Countless comics since then have done little to change my opinion that there was much more to the character beyond that. Cable: Love and Chrome #1, however, managed that miracle.
The story opens in medias res, with Nathan Summers caught in the middle of a dark future war. This is a typical Tuesday for him, but the story quickly shifts gears after he timeslides into a place called Salvation Bay. He wakes up in the hospital and is quickly brought up to speed by Commander Avery Ryder.
Like Cable, Ryder is a soldier infected by a virus that is slowly making her into a machine. She is also the leader of a resistance against the Prime Conclave who enslaved the Earth in her time. It’s a battle Nathan is happy to help with while he waits for his time travel tech to regenerate. However, he soon finds common ground with Commander Ryder beyond war and the virus that threatens both their lives. This leads him to stay a bit longer for reasons he can’t really articulate.
The script by David Pepose truly digs into who Cable is and why he does what he does. Initially, this is through exploring what his mutant powers are and how the techno-organic virus operates, something that surprisingly few stories have done.
Pepose also treats Cable’s virus as a pre-existing condition, which he has to work around while trying to live something close to a normal life. Or as normal as life can be when you’re a time-traveling mutant cyborg trying to avert the dark future that created you. The final story is like a mash-up of Mad Max: Fury Road, Edge of Tomorrow, and The Fault in Our Stars. The elements may not be entirely original, but the execution and how they mesh is masterful.
Best known for his work on Daredevil and Dead Man Logan, Mike Henderson proves a perfect partner to illustrate Pepose’s script. There is a serious grittiness to his style, which plays well to the general aesthetic of Cable. He is also more than capable of depicting the futuristic weapons and armor that make up the core of the many action sequences.
I can’t speak as to how serious fans of X-Men will react to Cable: Love and Chrome #1. As someone who never cared much for Cable, however, it made me care about him. That is an impressive accomplishment, and I think this series is a great introduction to who Nathan Summers is. More importantly, it is a glimpse of whom he might become.
Grade: 8 out of 10
Cable: Love and Chrome #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on January 1, 2025.
Matt Morrison has been writing about comics and superheroes for nearly two decades. His work can also be seen at KabOOOOOm.com and No Flying, No Tights. When he is not reading comics and writing, he enjoys role-playing, cosplay and photography.
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