Cable #59 Review
by: The Mighty Juggernaut aka Rainer Ho Ten Soeng
Technical information:
Main characters in the book:
Cable:
Irene Merryweather:
Blaquesmith:
G.W. Bridge:
Nick Fury:
Jack Truman:
-1. "The virus is accelerating exponentially, spreading faster and further each day. Your healthy tissue is in a severe state of atrophy. I am afraid
it's only a matter of time now, unless ....." (Blaquesmith)
-2. "I am not ready to lie down and die just yet." (Cable)
-3. "I am so deep inside .... so covert .... they don't want my name
officialy attached to anything." (Jack Truman)
-4. "That kind of blind opposition .... that utter ignorance that people are capable of .... you gain strength from that. Use it to your advantage ....
... I have seen hatred and prejudice, Stacey .... seen it all over." (Cable)
-5. :Turn around slow, hero .... Just want to give you a sporting chance. It's only fair. Now, we can do this the easy way .... or we can do this the hard way.
I vote for the hard way." (Jack Truman)
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The story opens with a picture of Cable fighting against training drones in the danger room of his Manhatten safe house. Blaquesmith and Irene watch as Cable trains for hours in an attempt to not only hone and 're-activate' his lost TP- and TK-powers (see X-Men #77 and Cable #58 for further details) but also to fight a hidden and unseen enemy: the Techno-Organic-virus which is spreading rapidly throughout his body now that he has lost his powers to hold it in check. Irene can see the strain on Cable's face and she can only imagine the pain he must be going through. Still despite all that Cable keeps on pushing himself trying to find his limits and stretch them as far as possible until Blaquesmith more or less orders his pupil to stop the training program for a second and come over to look at the data he has collected on him so far.
Unfortunately the information Blaquesmith was able to gather only seems to predict doom for Cable: the TO-virus is accelerating exponentially, spreading faster and further each day throughout Cable's body. Cable is more and more becoming some kind of robot and Blaquesmith is very concerned that although Cable now has a Psimitar, a unique weapon of the Askani which he was meant to wield in his final battle with Apocalypse, he won't live to fight that battle, much less win it .... Things are looking bad for the Askani'Son but Cable refuses to give in to the pain and desperation and he re-activates the training program in an attempt to change his seemingly dark fate.
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The story then shifts to the Republic of Sudan on the African Continent where we see a lone man in a jeep being attacked by a huge elephant bull who caught his scent because that man came too close. The man in the jeep doesn't panic however and he quickly and calmly kills the bull by putting a bullet in his brain. After the man has returned to his hotel he is informed by the hotel owner that a man has come to see him. It's then that we learn that the man who killed the elephant bull is a special S.H.I.E.L.D. agent called Jack Truman. The man who came to visit him is Agent Gerard of the Foreign Operations department of S.H.I.E.L.D.. After Gerard has handed a secret
S.H.I.E.L.D.
dossier over to Truman he leaves again, thus giving Truman the opportunity to study S.H.I.E.L.D.'s file on Cable in private.
While Truman is looking at some pictures and additional info on Cable we learn some interesting things about him. It becomes clear that Jack Truman is a first class S.H.I.E.L.D. manhunter who's being used to track down and capture everybody who is considered to be a danger to the national interests of the United States in one way or the other. Furthermore we discover that Truman's last assignment (a six month stake out in Tunisia in an attempt to find and capture an embassy bomber) was more or less a waste of time after all since the guy Truman was after killed himself before Truman could take him down. That debacle in Tunisia has made Truman more than anxious to sink his teeth into something major and hunting down Cable just seems to be the assignment he was waiting for. Cable looks like big game to hunt down and Truman is as ready as he will ever be to succesfully carry out his instructions.
In the dossier Truman received it is mentioned that Cable was most probably in Switzerland a few weeks ago since S.H.I.E.L.D.'s long range sensors registered all manners of energy signatures as well as some significant Psi-spikes in that region during that time. Truman therefore decides to make a pit-stop in Switzerland on his way to The States and during his journey to Switzerland we find out that Truman does not have too high an opinion of
G.W. Bridge who, according to the files Truman received, is supervising the recon in Switzerland: not only did Bridge's leadership skills never impress Truman but he also simply has no use for Bridge. It is therefore not surprising at all that the two men have a rather unpleasant and cold-hearted conversation when they meet on the site in Switzerland where recently Cable was battling things out with Sebastian Shaw and Donald Pierce. Both Truman and Bridge refuse to tell each other what they are doing there or what they came looking for and the tension between the two of them is almost tangible when they part. Immediately after Truman has left, Bridge heads straight for to computer database of the Helicarrier in an attempt to find out what Truman's exact mission is. Truman's tracks are however so well covered that the computer can not find any file on him.
G.W. bridge is just contemplating this strange fact when he's being called to report to the Director's office at once. When he arrives there he is shocked to hear from Nick Fury that he is being transferred to the Washington Bureau of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Bridge is not happy at all about his transfer even though Nick Fury tries to convince him that he will be able to do a lot of good and useful work there by acting as Fury's eyes and ears in that dark corner of the
S.H.I.E.L.D.
organization. And Bridge's mood drops to an even lower point when he finds out that the one who's responsible for his transfer is none other than Special Officer Clay Quartermain.... (see the previous issue review for more details)
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Meanwhile we are taken back to Jack Truman who, while on his way to The States, reads and re-reads S.H.I.E.L.D.'s file on Cable until he almost knows it by heart and knows exactly who he is dealing with. And it's interesting and fascinating to see that Truman disagrees with the dossier on one vital point: he pictures Cable not as a terrorist but as a hero, an often misunderstood mutant, a regular Robin Hood who's passionately fighting what he perceives as the good fight. All this makes Jack Truman look even more forward to his upcoming confrontation with the Askani'Son....
After Truman has arrived in Hell's Kitchen, a poverty-sticken area on Manhattan west side where S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Psi-division lost trace of Cable, he heads for what seems to be an abandoned and neglected junkyard at first sight. Things are not what they seem however because that junkyard is actually a modern and fully equipped undercover S.H.I.E.L.D.-hide out. And now it becomes clear how Truman wants to hunt down and capture Cable: he is going to re-activate a large electrical monster called Zzzax which will start a rampage in Hell's Kitchen. Truman is convinced that Cable, being the hero that he is, will come out from wherever is hiding as soon as he hears about Zzzax in an attempt to stop that creature from doing any more harm. Cable won't know however that Zzzax will feed on his psionic abilities when he confronts him and that little surprise should enable Zzzax and Truman to take Cable down.....
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Cable who doesn't know that his day is about to change radically real soon, is in the meantime being invited by Stacey to drink a cup of coffee in the restaurant she is working in. There he meets Stacey's little brother Kenny Kramer who lives with her after his parents died about nine years ago. And although Stacey is a bit hesitant to talk about Kenny because she doesn't want to scare Cable off, she informs him that Kenny is a bit special because he has got Down Syndrome.
Cable is not scared off because of that but he is rather surprised that Stacey found it so hard to tell him about her little brother. Stacey explains to him however that she is just sick and tired of the fact that both Kenny and her are constantly being judged for the fact that he has got Down Syndrome; people don't understand the syndrome and they therefore fear it and Kenny and her have to overcome their prejudice day after day. Cable understands only too well what Stacey is talking about and her tries to cheer her up and encourage her. Then all of a sudden Cable and Stacey are being interrupted by a special television news report in which it is shown that Zzzax is on a demolition tour through Hell's Kitchen.
Cable immediately realizes how serious the situation is and he leaves Stacey with some fancy excuse about having to check how things are in the office. When Cable arrives at the Dewitt Clinton Park where Zzzax is on a rampage he apprehends that things are indeed as bad as they looked like on TV. He somehow manages to draw Zzzax' attention and he successfully tries to lead that monster away from the innocent bystanders to a more isolated area. Unfortunately however Cable heads for the very same abandoned junkyard where Agent 18 is waiting for him..... And to make things even worse Cable is suddenly starting to feel the effects of Zzzax feeding on his psionic abilities: the very small defenses he still got in his struggle against the TO-virus are seriously weakened by Zzzax and as a result of that Cable literally feels the virus creeping through his guts at a torturing speed setting his insides on fire. It feels like he is going to die right there and then and Cable has no clue as how to defeat Zzzax when all of a sudden, after dodging a vicious blow from Zzzax, he lands in a pool of water.
Cable understands that by spouting water on the creature he can probably short circuit and defeat it and with his last breath he pulls the water main out of the ground and shorts Zzzax out..... Zzzax is defeated but Cable is not far behind: the fight's been taken out of him because of the rampage of the To-virus in his body and the almost unbearable pain has brought him down on his knees. Cable realizes that he has got to try to make it back to Blaquesmith to get some help but before he can even try to stand up he is confronted with a fully armed Agent 18 who seems to be ready, willing and able to take him down.....
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The Good
Another goodie was the fact that Jack Truman perceived Cable not as a state terrorist but as a hero, a lone warrior fighting what he perceives as the good fight. I always wondered why so many people looked in a negative way at mutants and it's refreshing to see that Agent 18 is not one of those people. That Cable is indeed a hero and not a terrorist is proven by his attitude that he will be damned if he lets the citizens of Hell's Kitchen down when Zzzax demolitioned and wrecked whatever little they got. Last but not least I'd like to mention the scene in which Stacey talks with Cable about Kenny and all the prejudice they have to deal with everyday. It's a touching scene and scenes like that remind me time after time why I like this book so much.
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The Bad
But although I don't want to be a party pooper I have to mention one little thing that bothered me: why did Cable have to change clothes before he was ready to take on Zzzax? Isn't it more important to save people's lives then to make sure that you are wearing your special combat toggs?
See you all in thirty days guys!
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* Publisher: Marvel Comics
* Release date: October, 1998
* Writer: Joe Casey
* Penciller: Ladronn
* Inker: Juan Vlasco
* Colorist: Gloria Vasquez
* Letters: R&S Comicraft
* Editor: Mark Powers
* Editor in Chief: Bob Harras
* Total number of pages: 34 pages with ads; 18 pages without ads
* Subtitle of the book: Pressure Points, The Nemesis Contract Part 1 of 4
Nathan Dayspring Summers a.k.a. Cable, uses his mutant abilities of telepathy and telekinesis to fight for a better tomorrow -- and seeks his own fate as a man out of time.
A former reporter for the muckraking Inquiring Eye, Irene dreamt of one day working for a legitimate newspaper such as The Daily Bugle. But when her investigations led to the loss of her friends and her job, Irene dedicated herself to chronicling the life and mission of the man called Cable!
The gnomish, misshapen enigma known as Blaquesmith has long been Cable's mentor and taskmaster, training him in the use of his great powers and following him through time to the twentieth century. Blessed with the innate ability to create all manner of high-tech gadgetry, Blaquesmith has often run afoul his pupil, as he is more than willing to deceive others, even his allies, in order to achieve his goals.
Once a close ally of Cable, G.W. bridge is now one of the highest ranking officers in the government espionage organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistic Directorate). He has often found himself at odds with his old friend and that conflict will soon cost him much....
A decorated hero of World War II and a man who has put his life on the line for his nation countless times, Colonel Nick Fury is the Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., America's elite espionage and peace-keeping organization. Recently returned from a monthslong deep cover mission, Fury is still in the process of re-establishing his position within the most secretive of government agencies.
Not much is known about this man except that he is an exceptionally skilled
S.H.I.E.L.D. manhunter who will do whatever it takes to hunt down and capture his prey. He is a hunter by nature who likes to play things the hard way when taking down his opponent. He is the kind of man who's hard on himself and on others because he believes that only that way one can get results. His codename is Agent 18 and he is one of the most feared and respected agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the field.
Remarkable quotes:
It was interesting and fascinating to see that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not the perfect government organization where no mistakes are made, even though
S.H.I.E.L.D. officials try to make us outsiders believe otherwise. The struggle for power and influence, the little schemes of Clay Quartermain who managed to get G.W. Bridge transferred and the tense relationship between G.W. Bridge and Jack Truman make S.H.I.E.L.D. much more realistic, dynamic and interesting IMHO. The fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. also has to deal with complete failures only adds spice to this: Agent 18 had to dismantle a life model decoy of Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan which tried to kill The President and stories like that only increase my interest in S.H.I.E.L.D. Furthermore I would like to state again that I like the fact that Cable is being affected by the events which occurred in X-Men #77. That shows that there is some nice interaction between the various X-books and that's always a good thing.
Well, to be honest with you all: I actually have very little to complain since this was simply an eXcellent issue. I have no doubt that if Casey, Ladronn and Vlasco maintain this high standard, Cable will in the very near future take over the number one position as Marvel's best selling book!
:-)
Take care!
Excelsior!
Rainer Ho Ten Soeng
