Summary of Cable #66: Words of PROPHECY
"Harbinger of DOOM!"
" He journeyed back in time to prevent the destruction of mankind. But now, a beast has awakened from the abyss .... and the end-times are at hand!" (Cable #50)
Technical information:
� Publisher: Marvel Comics
� Release date: April, 1999
� Writer: Joe Casey
� Penciller: Ladronn
� Inker: Juan Vlasco
� Colorist: Gloria Vasquez
� Letters: Richard Starkings & Saida Temofonte
� Editor: Mark Powers
� Editor in Chief: Bob Harras
� Total number of pages: 32 pages with ads, 22 pages without ads
� Subtitle of the book: Sign of the End Times. Total Chaos in 3 Parts. Part 1: Death from Above.
Main characters:
Cable: Two thousand years from now, a dark era will dawn for mankind The achievements of generations past will be little more than dust, crushed beneath the iron heel of the ageless conqueror Apocalypse. In this future, mankind stands on the precipice of utter destruction. In the present there is one last hope for humanity -- a man who has traveled back to the twentieth century in a desperate attempt to prevent those tragedies before they occur. Now Nathan Dayspring Summers, also known as 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.
Irene Merryweather: A former reporter for the muckraking Inquiring Eye, Irene dreamt of one day working for a legitimate newspaper 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.
Blaquesmith: The gnomish, misshapen enigma known as Blaquesmith has been Cable's mentor and task master, 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.
Stacey Kramer: A young waitress from New York who works in a dinner called 'Babel's'. She has come to know Nathan in time after he became a regular customer. Besides working as a waitress, Stacey studies medicine in the hope of becoming a doctor one day and thus improve not only the lives of others but that of herself and her little brother Kenny as well. Perhaps it was due to her knowledge of genetics or perhaps it was due to her personal feelings for him, but fact is that Stacey reacted quite cool and calm when he recently told her that he was actually a mutant. Right now she's one of the few people who Cable really trusts and who are close to him.
Apocalypse: Born into slavery at the dawn of civilization, the warlord also known as En Sabah Nur lives by a merciless philosophy: Survival of the Fittest -- that only through conflict and strife will the weak be culled from the strong -- and only the strong deserve to live. War .... Plague .... Pestilence .... Death .... these are his tools. A mutant with an incredibly long lifespan, Apocalypse can also alter the atomic structure of his body to change his form and is possessed of superhuman strength.
Ozymandias: Once, before a thousand sunrises, Ozymandias stood proudly as a king among his minions. But that was before the dark one called Apocalypse felled and imprisoned him for his resistance and disobedience to the High Lord. Now Apocalypse has cursed Ozymandias in the most horrible of ways: the former king has to set his blind eyes and his stone hands to one singular task: in order to fend off the madness which would otherwise overtake him, he has to record all the images Apocalypse makes him see and etch them in stone like a sculptor.
The Harbinger of Apocalypse: Although originally a human being, Apocalypse's Harbinger totally lost his humanity and his human appearance after spending almost a century and a half in one of Apocalypse's embryonic tanks. As a result of that his consciousness expanded and his capacity to evolve almost became unlimited. He has been endowed not only with the power to adapt to any environment but also with the ability to evolve as situations demand! Being created by the High Lord Apocalypse himself, the Harbinger only has one destiny and one goal to achieve: to bring chaos and destruction to the world and thus annunciate the ascendancy of En Sabah Nur! He is the usher in an era of change and those that cannot adapt will die.
Remarkable quotes
1. "Civilization breathes .... and for the moment it simply observes. But somewhere within it, a clock is ticking. Soon, the time for mere observation will be over .... and the time will come for total truth." (Joe Casey)
2. "Okay, I told you before Nathan .... all I've ever asked for was the truth. And hey, chin up .... I live in New York, remember? Have you ever seen Galactus up close?" (Stacey Kramer)
3. "No one should know their own future. That's what living is all about. It's bad enough that I know .... that's what I'm trying to change." (Cable)
4. ".... can you give me a break, pal?! I am doing everything I can to keep that .... whatever it is .... from getting any closer to the voters until they can get below ground! Now back off so I can get some firepower out there!" (The Mayor of New York City)
5. "You are correct, I was indeed one of the Highlord's many agents .... banished here to forever record the events of this age. However, my former master has now deemed me unnecessary for his ultimate agendas .... but another Apocalypse agent -- perhaps the most terrible of all, is obeying our master's programming." (Ozymandias)
6. "The creation of Apocalypse shall lay waste to the new city .... the center of man's folly .... and it's fiery sacrifice -- the obliteration of that steel empire -- shall avert the end times ...." (Blaquesmith)
7. ".... the fates are cruel indeed. And Apocalypse is the most cunning of foul creatures. The Chosen One's moral strength is to be tested. As it stands, it's mankind's destiny to be crushed under the Highlord's boot heel .... but, should this great city be destroyed by the Harbinger .... then perhaps that destiny may be averted .... and Apocalypse's dominion will not come to pass." (Ozymandias)
8. "I .... see .... humanity would be spared .... but at the cost of millions of lives. For the world to live .... NEW YORK CITY MUST PERISH." (Blaquesmith)
9. "Hey, forget your spiel! You're gonna face .... whatever's going on here by yourself?! I mean, is this the end of the world here?" (Stacey Kramer)
10. "Pardon me? You think I understand all this stuff? I'm a reporter, remember? Where's Blaquesmith when you need him?" (Irene Merryweather)
11. "If this is Judgment Day, someone's gotta stick around to see it ...." (Irene Merryweather)
12. "Right. Time to get to work." (Cable)
13. "Oath! I recognize him! In London .... chasing the Hellfire Club on their mission to track Apocalypse to his lair, I watched them stumble upon this menace, unwittingly freeing it! It's programming .... to wreak havoc on the world .... and signal Apocalypse's ascendancy! It escaped our first encounter and now -- it's returned to fulfil its mission!" (Cable)
14. "This thing can adapt to any threat presented to it, and evolve its abilities to respond in kind! And I've got a feeling -- that I need to get clear of its next response! This is going to be close ...." (Cable)
15. "Another feeble example .... of man's inability to rise above the challenges set upon him. Do you think you -- or your pathetic abilities -- are unfamiliar to me? I have forgotten nothing since my rebirth. I have watched this world .... observed this race as it has staggered and stumbled .... dying on its feet. So I have come here .... to signal the change. The turn of the millennium is upon us, and mankind must be shown what true strength is. I would have expected better than you, false Messiah." (The Harbinger)
16.".... it's time to get down to business, Iron Man .... AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" (Captain America)
17."Only now have I realized that this is why I spent thousands of years recording both history and prophecy alike .... to alert you -- and your Chosen One -- of the imminent danger you face as the new millennium approaches." (Ozymandias)
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Summary of Cable #66: Words of PROPHECY -- Harbinger of DOOM!
It's a quiet and peaceful night just there has been countless of them before. The kind of night in which you take your girlfriend out for dinner or which you would happily spend with your family at home enjoying each other's company. Just the kind of night which makes you realize how beautiful life can be. But that is about to change radically real soon! Unknown to most people the Harbinger of Apocalypse has been resurrected to observe humanity and civilization on Earth. It has come to find the total truth for its master Apocalypse. The End Times are about to begin and the Harbinger has arrived to set his Highlord's plans for these times into motion. The Earth shall be cleansed from all unworthy and inferior elements and the weak shall be culled from the strong! The nightmare has started....
The future looks darker than it has ever looked before and mankind is standing for its most cruel and most arduous test ever. Desperation and misery are waiting just around the corner to be released upon Earth on Apocalypse's sign and it looks like nothing or nobody can stop the Eternal One from executing his horrible schemes....
Luckily though both Cable and Stacey are not bothered yet by that frightening fact. They have no idea what horrible future lies just ahead of them and perhaps that's better for now. They are enjoying a wonderful night out together; one of those nights which brings people who share certain feelings for each other even closer. And by the look of it Cable and Stacey are really taking their relationship further day by day. In a good and stable relationship there is no room for secrets and lies and both of them have used this opportunity to open up themselves for each other and to get to know each other a bit better. Nathan decided to be honest with Stacey and tell her the truth about himself, his past\and his mission. She has earned that much and she deserves to know even though Nathan realizes that knowing all these things about him doesn't necessarily have to be in her best interests or worse yet can even be dangerous for her. But there comes a time in every relationship in which you have to open up yourself and simply have to trust your partner or friend. And Nathan realizes that this time has come for them: it's time to put up and hope for the best or shut up and never take this relationship serious anymore. Much to Cable's surprise and gladness, Stacey doesn't faint or get upset after hearing that he is in fact from the future and has travelled back in time to prevent a hellish future from ever taking place. Nathan has come to this era for the sake of mankind and he will do everything he can to make his unbelievably important and crucial mission a success. Perhaps most people would have laughed in disbelief if their friend or loved one would tell them something like that. Perhaps they would have even mocked or made fun of him or her. But not Stacey. She has known Cable long enough to know that he is not joking or fooling her. She has come to like him too much to fear or suspect that he is telling her anything else but the truth. She simply has faith in Nathan. Besides that as a citizen of New York she has seen way too many strange things to not believe that Nathan could indeed be from the future. She has seen Galactus up close and personal with her very own eyes and if creatures like that exist then who's to say that time-travelling would be impossible? There comes a time in every relationship in which you simply got to have faith in each other and Stacey will not run away from that. She likes Nathan, she likes to be with him and she's more than ready, willing and able to stand by him and support him on whatever road he'd choose to go. Cable is more than happy for her trust in him but he just can't help wondering nevertheless if he has as much faith in himself? Sure, he has always put up a brave and self-confident face towards others but the truth is that deep down inside he is not sure how he feels or what he has got to do to stop Apocalypse and thus change the future for the better when his defining moment arrives. It is certain that it will be a lot tougher than even he himself thought it would be. But then again as long as he has got the love and support of people like Stacey there's nothing which he can't handle. He simply can't afford to fail; for their sake as well as that of all humanity....
Cable's moment of truth may be a lot closer at hand than even he could have feared though! Various sensors of the US Army have registered unbelievably strong energy signals in the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty and a squadron of jet fighters is ordered to check things out. What on Earth could possess more than enough energy to level most of New York City just like that? Heaven prevents that whatever is out there has not come as a friend....
However the terrible truth is about to be revealed: it is none other than the Harbinger of Apocalypse has caused the Army sensors to almost overload. The Harbinger has arrived on the scene and it is ready to get down to business the only way it knows how to! The Army pilots are shocked and surprised to see an apparently sentient being simply floating above the water while radiating with energy. The creature definitely is not human even though it has a human body and wears human clothes.... what on Earth could it be? It is clear though that whatever that thing is, it's dangerous and should not be ignored. The creature could become a real danger to New York City and just to make sure that this 'being' doesn't do anything stupid like attacking New York, one of the fighter pilots is ordered to give it a little warning by firing two missiles at it. But that proves to be a big mistake! With a simple gesture the Harbinger fends off the two missiles and sends them flying straight into the Statue of Liberty! The moment of truth has come and the destruction of the unworthy has begun when those missiles hit the most famous of America's monuments and set it on fire. Play time is over; this is it! The cleansing fire which shall cull the weak from the strong has been kindled! It's obviously a serious danger which threatens New York City and it doesn't take long before all kinds of Priority One alarms go off in the headquarters of both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Humanity, the Earth and everything we hold dear is standing on the line and is being threatened by Apocalypse's foul schemes! After the destruction of the Statue of Liberty a general panic has broken out and the local government decided it would be best to broadcast an emergency alert signal and advise its citizens for their own safety to relocate to any of the available underground shelters. Panic and chaos have suddenly turned a perfect and peaceful night into a nightmarish scene which would give an outsider the impression that World War III has just started! And knowing what the Harbinger is up to in the name of Apocalypse that could very well be the case!
It's chaos and panic everywhere as shocked and frightened people try to find their way to the underground hide-outs. What started as a beautiful and quiet night has been suddenly changed into a living nightmare.... Things in the City Hall are meanwhile in the wildest disorder. The city officials and the mayor are doing all they can to get the citizens of the city, which are their voters no matter how you look at it (!), into safety and to get more firepower out there to stop whatever it is that is wreaking havoc outside. The National Guard and the local police are already doing whatever they can but their efforts are by far not sufficient. So from sheer necessity S.H.I.E.L.D. is being alarmed; perhaps their awesome technology and firepower can stop the Harbinger from causing more destruction and victims.
But it looks like Murphy's Law is suddenly hitting hard on all levels now: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier is too far away from New York to come to the rescue quickly; it can not be on the scene before dawn! It's gonna be a long and dark night in which New York's finest will have to face the dreadful threat of the Harbinger all by themselves!
"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it You start as horror looks you right between the eyes, You're paralyzed" (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
The horror has begun; the End Times have started and chaos and destruction, death and despair and pain and misery are about to hit the Earth harder than they have ever hit it before. Nothing seems to be able to stop the Harbinger from doing his master's will. The time has come to destroy whatever is weak and unworthy and the Harbinger is bent to make sure that's exactly what's going to happen! Without much of an effort the squadron of fighter jets which tries to stop it in its tracks, is destroyed one by one with a merciless unscrupulousness and precision. After millions of years of evolution and adaption it looks like mankind seems to be unable to overcome this most deadly and dangerous threat to its existence ever....
Meanwhile several miles beneath the city of Casablanca, Morocco, Ozymandias is telling Blaquesmith about the several prophecies and their meaning which he has carved in stone. And with every word Ozymandias says Blaquesmith gets the feeling that the End Times are getting more and more horrific and atrocious. The prophecies are statements of fact and therefore one don't have to doubt the fact that everything they foretell shall happen in exact the same way! Ozymandias' visions are not open to interpretation: what he saw and carved down in stone will happen just like that. And that matter of fact statement is exactly what frightens Blaquesmith to the bone: if the prophecies are true then a hellish future lies ahead of mankind....
The future looks to be especially horrible when Blaquesmith is shown a prophecy which predicts that soon a creature created by Apocalypse shall attack and annihilate the center of man's folly, a big and well known city! The Harbinger has awakened and the prophecies have foretold that it will meet the Askani'Son again in New York City. Cable was not able to stop the Harbinger when they first met in London and this time his chances against Apocalypse's servant look to be even less attractive and hopeful since the Harbinger has returned being determined to clean the Earth from all unworthy elements! The Harbinger is out to kill and if Cable dares to oppose him again that very same fate may fall upon him....
But Blaquesmith is not that easily beaten or depressed. Ozymandias has been a servant of Apocalypse for so long so why should he believe him? For all he knows the former king could still be working for the High Lord and notorious King of Lies! Perhaps this is just an attempt of Apocalypse to dishearten Cable and make him lose his cool! Besides that Blaquesmith simply refuses to accept that neither his pupil nor himself can do anything to prevent those horrible prophecies from ever happening. There's always a way to do the seemingly impossible and Cable will surely give it his very best shot to stop the Harbinger.... or die trying! Ozymandias manages to take the doubts and objections of Cable's mentor away however. Sure, he has served En Sabah Nur for centuries but Blaquesmith has got to believe him that he is not lying to him or trying to fool or trick him into something. No, in fact Blaquesmith can fully trust his words since he is only living up to yet another prophecy: long ago it was already predicted that one day Apocalypse would deem his servant Ozymandias unnecessary for his ultimate agendas. Ozymandias has been cast out by his former master now that Apocalypse's final and most important plans are about to be set in motion!
Even worse news however is the fact that the Harbinger, perhaps the most terrible of all of Apocalypse's servants, is doing exactly what the prophecies have predicted as well: the world as we know it is as a result of that about to end abruptly and radically! Mankind is about to be crushed under the boot heel of Apocalypse! But despite the horrible odds not everything is lost though: in his desperation and despair Blaquesmith was right about one thing. There's indeed a possible way out which could prevent Apocalypse's domination from ever coming to pass. It's a horrible and abominable way which will tax and test the Askani'Son's moral strength to the max, but it is a way out nonetheless. According to Ozymandias humanity may avoid the hellish reign of Apocalypse if it would 'allow' the Harbinger to destroy New York! Humanity would be spared but it would be at the cost of millions of lives! For the world to live, New York City must be given up and perish! What a horrific choice! What a hideous dilemma! The horror has truly begun and it seems like Apocalypse will have the last laugh no matter what: if mankind tries to stop the Harbinger and prevents it from destroying New York City, then he, the Eternal One, will take over the world and rule it with an iron and merciless fist. And if the Harbinger is 'allowed' to wreak havoc in New York then Apocalypse will have the pleasure of knowing that at least he managed to cull a couple of millions of weaklings from the strong. Blaquesmith realizes that his pupil faces a no-win situation no matter what he does.... How in the world should Cable ever find his way out of this?
"Darkness falls across the land The midnite hour is close at hand Creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize y'awl's neighbourhood And whosoever shall be found Without the soul for getting down Must stand and face the hounds of Hell And rot inside a corpse's shell" (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
Meanwhile on the streets of New York City it's total chaos. Most people seem to realize that something bad and dangerously evil is threatening them and their fear and confusion makes it all the more harder to reach the underground hide-out places. Cable, Stacey and Kenny are caught in the middle of it as they are being shoved and pushed from all sides by frightened people who are doing whatever they can to bring themselves and their loved ones into safety as soon as possible. There's a mass evacuation going on and in the hustle and bustle it is not easy to stay together and stay calm. Cable realizes that whatever it is that forced all those people to leave their home and find a safe shelter, is something which must be stopped as soon as possible. That's his job and that's what he is here for. He has travelled back in time to prevent the destruction of mankind and therefore he will not and can not allow whatever threatens New York to just go ahead and start a mass destruction. He is Cable, the Askani'Son, the Chosen One, a hero and he would rather die than not trying to save the city. But Stacey doesn't see things exactly that way. She is scared by the danger and she is worried about Nathan and whatever he might get himself into this time. What's Cable going to do? What will he be able to do all by himself to whatever is endangering the city? Nathan may be a hero and all but that doesn't mean that he has to rush into every kind of danger or to stop every possible threat without thinking of his own safety, right?
Stacey is worried about the man she has come to love and care for: how can he leave them in a time like this even if he does so to fight the good fight? And just as important: how can she let him go? How can she let him fight for the sake of all of them all on his own? It's hard for Stacey to let go of Nathan. It's hard for her to say goodbye to him and know that he will take on the unknown danger all by himself. To say goodbye is to die a little and right now Stacey is 'dying' on her feet, struggling with her fear, her confusion and her love for Cable. She can't help him to fight the danger and save the city but she can however support him morally by letting him know how much she feels for him. So she does what she can do and what her heart tells her to: she kisses Nathan. And in that kiss everything she feels for him, everything she wants from him and everything she wishes for him is included. Her kiss is an invitation to and a promise of a better tomorrow, of a happiness shared together, of a passionate and burning love deep down inside but most of all it's a disguised wish for Cable to be careful and return safely and in one piece to her as soon as possible. It doesn't make the goodbye any easier, one could even say that perhaps it made it only all the more difficult, but it gives Cable one more reason to watch himself out there and don't do anything stupid like dying. And after a long, last glance Cable leaves Stacey and Kenny behind in a safe shelter....
At the same time just before the coast of New York City a fierce and intense battle is going on in a most horrible kind of war. The US Air Force is throwing everything it has at the Harbinger but it doesn't have any effect at all! Their multi-million dollar planes with their complex and advanced weapon-systems are completely useless in their attempts to stop the Harbinger from reaching New York. With every step he takes the Harbinger approaches the city more and more and with every energy bolt he fires he takes down a fighter jet. It's hopeless and maddening but the fact is that Apocalypse's servant is taking down the fighter squadron just as easily as a little boy who gets rid of the flies which are bothering him. Could this be it then? Could the thundering sound which is caused by yet another jet which crashes down, be some kind of omen, some kind of precursor of unavoidable and unbelievably dark times to come?
"Cause this is thriller, thriller night There ain't no second chance against the beast with forty eyes You know it's thriller, thriller night You are fighting to survive inside a killer, thriller tonight" (Michael Jackson, Thriller)
The situation is serious and grim like never before. Cable may very well be up against one of the most powerful and dangerous enemies he will ever face. This may be the biggest test he ever had to go through until now. Whatever it is that is wreaking havoc out there, it's moving slowly and steadily towards the city. Even worse yet is the fact that its energy patterns are way off the scale. This could very well be a fight at the brim of life and death and it could be the last stop of the line for the Askani'Son. But facts like that have never stopped Cable before from facing his opponents and they will not do so now! The creature will be stopped and the city will not be destroyed as long as Cable is around and has anything to say about it. If that creature is looking for trouble then Cable is more than happy to obey and deliver him the goods! There's a job to be done here right now so it's time for Cable to get to work. So after Irene managed to get a lock on that creature by using the equipment stashed in the safehouse, Cable leaves her behind and gets down to business.
Riding on his motorbike he quickly spots the Harbinger floating above the city and without hesitation Cable more or less propels himself of a bridge towards his opponent high in the sky. It's spectacular, it's heroic, it's brave, it has to be seen to be believed but unfortunately it is just as ineffective as all those jet fighters with their laser guided missiles. Neither Cable's physical strength nor his telekinesis or his psi-mitar are able to do any damage to the Harbinger. Cable does whatever he can but the Harbinger doesn't seem to be very impressed by or worried about his attacks. It seems to be one of those fights you simply can't win.... And while battling the Harbinger, Cable suddenly realizes that it must have returned to fulfil its mission of wreaking havoc on the world and signalling Apocalypse's ascendancy! Truly dark times are ahead of us all if the Harbinger has come to clear the way for En Sabah Nur himself! The whole world will be in a lot of trouble if Apocalypse returns and starts culling the weak from the strong! Cable's defining moment may be close at hand now that the Harbinger has returned and fighting the forces of evil may be a lot tougher and harder than even he or Blaquesmith could have ever imagined..
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