Summary of Cable #67: Humanity's Last Stand
Guest-starring The Avengers!
"The End of the Millennium draws near.... and with it, the end of man's dominance on Earth. I am here to sound the clarion call of a new age, when only the strong shall survive. For the weak, there will only be death.... burning
DEATH." (The Harbinger)
Technical information:
� Publisher: Marvel Comics
� Release date: May, 1999
� Writer: Joe Casey
� Penciller: Jose Ladronn
� Inker: Juan Vlasco
� Colorist: Gloria Vasquez
� Letters: 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 2: Gods' Footsteps. -- Guest-starring The Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes!
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.
Captain America: Also known as Steve Rogers, the living legend of World War II and one of the world's most revered and respected super heroes.
Iron Man: Wealthy industrialist Tony Stark, who dons a sophisticated suit of armor of his own design to protect mankind.
Wonderman: Also known as Simon Williams, Wonderman is a being composed purely of ionic energy with superhuman strength and endurance.
Thor: The legendary Asgardian God of Thunder who has adopted Earth as his home and considers himself to be the protector of the entire planet and its people.
Vision: A so-called 'synthezoid', an android with his own will and intelligence, who was originally created by the robotic super-villain Ultron-5 as a weapon against the Avengers and humanity in general. After being re-programmed Vision has however come to appreciate and emulate humanity during his time with The Avengers.
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!
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.
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.
Remarkable quotes
-1. "I'm from the future, Stacey. Although I was born in this era, I spent most of my life in a world that won't exist for another two thousand years. It's not a future I particularly want to go back to.... Events that are future to you.... are the past to me. -- .... -- The point is this.... I came back here to change that future. In any and every way possible...." (Cable)
-2. "It's impossible to predict the end of the world.... although many have tried. No one picked this day. -- .... -- But as with all things along the path to chaos, the outcome was preordained. Perhaps the end of the world can be predicted.... but not without opposition." (Joe Casey)
-3. "Some things hit closer to home than others, Wonderman. Cap's seen war before. I think whatever's doing this.... he wants to see it face-to-face.... look into its eyes." (Iron Man)
-4. "Something's not right here, Cap.... it's countering every attack we make." (Iron Man)
-5. "The End of the Millennium draws near.... and with it, the end of man's dominance on Earth. I am here to sound the clarion call of a new age, when only the strong shall survive. For the weak, there will only be death.... burning DEATH." (The Harbinger)
-6. "HUNGH! That was a lucky break.... sometimes brute force does the trick where mutant telekinesis wouldn't! Bought me a little time...." (Cable)
-7. "HEY! WHAT GIVES?! YOU'RE RETREATING?! AND WHO'S THE GUY WITH THE SPEAR?!" (Wonderman)
-8. "Defensive positions, Avengers -- looks like we're heading into Round Two." (Captain America)
-9. "Evolution is second nature to me now, insects. I have shred my skin and risen anew. This is the will of chaos. This is the way of the millennium tyrant. He will set the world alight with his hate. Only the strongest will survive this trial. By the hand of my maker, your blood will feed the boiling river.... his will be done!" (The Harbinger)
-10. "GUHN --! It's too powerful. Mental attacks are useless. Wait.... it used to be a man before Apocalypse got ahold of him.... changed him. It's dirty fighting, but maybe if I hit him where it'll do the most damage -- maybe NOT. This is going to hurt.... better brace myself...." (Cable)
-11. "STAY THY HAND, NOBLE COMRADE...! My adopted home is threatened! My teammates have thrown themselves into the fray! Now.... 'tis the mighty Thor that arrives to aid them! Stand fast, my friends! Let Mjolnir sing the hymns of eternal combat tonight!" (Thor)
-12. "What we need to engineer is a method to get it out of here before it levels the city.... but in such a way it can't adopt to right away." (Cable)
-13. "Allow the God of Thunder to engineer such a "method"! FOUL CREATURE! LET ODIN'S MAGIC BE THY UNDOING!" (Thor)
-14. "I've.... got a MESSAGE.... for your "creator".... HIS NIGHTMARE WILL NOT COME TO PASS!" (Cable)
-15. ".... just how safe are we down here? If I believe what Nathan told me.... there's nowhere on Earth where it's truly safe. We're all down here.... just waiting for the end of the world.... and all we've got is each other." (Stacey Kramer)
-16. "I ran a computer check on you, Cable. Until very recently, you were on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most- wanted list. At the moment they still consider you a terrorist. Care to explain?" (Captain America)
-17. "Apocalypse is my REASON FOR BEING. The horror he has set out to unleash upon the world will have far-flung effects. If you think what we just went through was rough.... -- .... -- look not to be an alarmist, but you people have no idea of the imminent threat that Apocalypse poses to humanity. Let me put it this way.... two millennia from now, there's no record of there ever being a band of heroes known as The Avengers." (Cable)
-18. "I say thee NAY! The mighty Avengers will endure! No accursed despot will burn our memory from the face of this Earth.... I SWEAR IT!" (Thor)
-19. "You won't carry that burden alone, Cable. Whatever future you've seen, we'll avert it. That's what we're here for.... to fight the foes we're unable to combat individually. Apocalypse's minion --should it return here -- will be dealt with." (Captain America)
-20. "The Twelve.... they're mutants who will drastically impact the course of human history. Blaquesmith.... you know of them? -- .... -- The Prophecies carved into the walls around you contain the blueprints of Apocalypse's ultimate ascendancy.... but not the secrets of The Twelve -- neither who they are nor what their responsibilities shall be. -- .... -- You are certain he possesses the necessary information? Concerning The Twelve, the Prophecies say but one thing.... that your pupil -- the one you call Cable -- is the gatherer. But is he aware of this.... ?" (Ozymandias)
-21. "It's my contention that Dayspring knows.... but we have never discussed it. Perhaps we should have.... I must return to New York City at once! The time for your rhetoric is long passed, Ozymandias! You have the power to transport us back.... now DO IT!" (Blaquesmith)
-22. "Terror pervades the heart of the otherworldly. Perceptions collapse in on themselves like a falling house of cards. This place has no name.... merely a single occupant. It has but one objective in mind.... to get BACK. Internal engines housed within its inhuman shell frantically recalculate for an appropriate response to the situation it faces. There's magic involved here. But there are allowances for magic.... for the powers of Gods." (Joe Casey)
-23. "Your destiny -- the destiny I have planned for you all along -- confronts you in this moment. You exist by my hand. And it's my hand that will now reach inside of you.... reconfigure the mechanisms within. You will destroy yourself.... and, in the ensuing Holocaust, take this monument of humanity's industrial triumphs with you. This capital city will burn.... and you shall provide the seed of conflagration as an explosive device. Your detonation code has now been activated." (Apocalypse)
-24. "I closed the archives.... just in case. The Central Database has been programmed to transfer our files over to Pier Four in six hours. If the Fantastic Four make it back here -- and this becomes their problem -- they'll need all the info we've gathered so far." (Iron Man)
-25. "Deep inside himself, in a place he rarely confronts.... the man named Nathan Dayspring Summers has but one final thought that occupies his being. In this moment, as he prepares to enter a war that could very well be his last -- he thinks of his father.... and all of the things he never told him. Finally, he buries the thought once again. His mind must be clear. He must be sure...." (Joe Casey)
A short synopsis of the most important events of the issue
"That's what I am here for. I promise you.... humanity will endure. I'll die to ensure it." (Cable)
New York City and the whole world are at peril because of the destructive actions of The Harbinger, a minion of the High Lord Apocalypse which has been sent to clarion the call of a new age to come. The End Times are coming and now that the turn of the millennium has come so near Apocalypse wants to once again rule over this world with an iron fist! If Apocalypse gets it his way then the world will become a place where only the strong shall survive and where the weak will be exterminated from the face of the planet! The nightmare has begun and things get even worse when neither Cable nor the Avengers seem to be able to really stop the Harbinger from wreaking havoc in New York City. With its unbelievable ability to adapt itself to anything either Captain America, Iron Man, Wonderman or the Vision could throw at it, the Avengers never stood much of a chance. And although they put up a brave and heroic fight in the end they got their behinds handed over to them on a silver plate so to speak by the Harbinger; not even the arrival of the Mighty Thor could really change that. But by using Mjolnir and the magic Odin granted it Thor was able however to sent the Harbinger to an alien dimension. That didn't stop the Harbinger for long but it did buy the heroes some valuable time in which they could regroup themselves and think of the best way to confront and beat their opponent. And though the Avengers had some doubts about Cable since a computer check showed that not too long ago he was on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list and was in fact still considered to be a terrorist by the US government, all worked out reasonably well when Cable just told them the truth about who he was and why he was fighting Apocalypse and his dark forces. The Avengers and Cable will work and fight together in their efforts to stop the Harbinger even if it would mean that they would die trying to save the world.
Furthermore this issue showed us that although Ozymandias' prophecies did not reveal which mutants will be a member of the so-called Twelve or what their responsibilities shall be, they do predict that Cable will be the gatherer of the Twelve. And after learning that the Twelve together will possess the power to stop and defeat Apocalypse, Blaquesmith realizes that it is of the utmost importance that he gets back to New York City to share all this information with his pupil. And it's on his requests that Ozymandias transports both of them back to New York City.
But one can seriously wonder if Blaquesmith is going to like what he is going to see when he'll be back in New York. Apocalypse has come to the conclusion that humankind is a pathetic species which can and won't evolve itself any further. It's weak and unable to rise above the challenges he has put in their path and therefore he shall see to it that they will get exterminated from the face of the planet. With a simple intervention Apocalypse activates the detonation code of the Harbinger who managed to escape from the alien dimension Thor sent it to without too much trouble. New York City will be blown apart and Apocalypse's servant will provide the seed for the conflagration by acting as an explosive device!
Will the heroes be able to stop Apocalypse's foul schemes before they come into effect? Will the heroes be able to stop the Harbinger from setting the whole world on fire with the hate and evilness of Apocalypse? Only time will tell but the odds have never before looked so bad for the heroes....
Summary of Cable #67: Humanity's Last Stand? -- Guest-starring The Avengers!
It was a quiet and peaceful night just like the countless ones that she has known before. The kind of night in which you would take your girlfriend out for dinner or which you would happily spend with your family at home to enjoy each other's company. Just the kind of night which made you realize just how precious and beautiful life could be.... How could it have changed so radically? How on Earth was that possible? What exactly happened? Stacey just doesn't understand it. How come she finds herself hiding in an underground shelter while Nathan is out there somewhere fighting whatever it is that is wreaking such havoc? Some mere eight hours have passed has past since Nathan'd left her in an effort to save the city from being destroyed any further and Stacey still has no idea what could have caused such a beautiful evening to go down the drain that suddenly and unexpectedly. All she does know is what Nathan told her over dinner and that on itself was really more than one could ask of any person to handle on one night. Even though it seemed to be unbelievable and impossible Nathan was sincere and deadly serious when he told her about himself. He had told her who he was, what he was and what his job, no better yet his mission, was. He told her how he had travelled back in time to prevent a hellish future in which he grew up, from ever becoming a reality again. Of all the men in the world Stacey actually had to choose the one who came from the future.... who would have ever believed that? Nathan's story may be fantastic and quite unusual and perhaps she's making the biggest mistake of her life but something inside her just tells her that Nathan is not fooling around with her. No, her female intuition tells her that he is honest and upright with her. Perhaps even more important is what her heart tells her: she can sense that Nathan cares for her and she knows only too well how much she likes him and how much she has become attached to him. And who knows where Nathan is now and what he is up against? Oh please, let Nathan come back safe and unhurt; there is still so much she wants to say to him.... Please do not let this be the end of the line for both of them, please....
Somewhere out there in New York City there's an eternal truth taking place which we see after every battle and every fight: where there's a victor there undeniably has to be a loser as well! A victory can only exist if it is matched by a loss of the opposition! And right now it becomes horribly clear what Cable's fate is after his encounter with the Harbinger: despite his brave and heroic efforts the Askani'Son never stood much of a chance against Apocalypse's servant. Cable did give it his best shot and he has fought like a soldier who simply refused to retreat or surrender but in the end it simply was not good enough. Perhaps, as with all things along the path to chaos, the outcome of this battle was preordained. Perhaps it wasn't. Who knows? Who cares? Most certainly not the Harbinger: it has a job to do and a world to conquer and Cable was in its opinion just one of the very first who have been crushed under the iron boot heel of its master, the High Lord Apocalypse. The End of the World has come and when looking at the battered and unconscious Cable lying at the feet of the Harbinger one can only pray that this is just a horrible nightmare from which you will soon wake up....
But unfortunately this world is not that lucky; this is not a bad dream which all of us will have forgotten everything about when we wake up in the morning. No, this is way more than just your worst imaginations running wild in your sleep: this is as serious and deadly and real as you can get it. The fate of the world and mankind is at stake here and the battle which is raging in all its fury outside could very well be mankind's last one. And in the Avengers' mansion that is realized only too well. The situation looks grim, hopeless and almost totally lost but the Avengers simply cannot allow the Harbinger to go on on its crusade. Whatever it may take they just have to somehow find a way to stop and defeat it, not only for their sake or the sake of the citizens of New York but for the sake of all humanity! This may be the most deadly threat the Avengers ever faced but they will have to see their way through it one way or the other. Losing or surrendering are especially now even less attractive options than ever before.
Thank Goodness that at least one thing went fine: the local military forces managed to relocate all of New York's citizens in underground shelters where they will be safe for now. The city is clean, the battle stage is set and it's no up to the four available Avengers to form Earth's last and impenetrable line of defense. Unfortunately the Fantastic Four are not around to help defend the planet and that means that the job will have to be done by Captain America, Iron Man, Wonderman and the Vision. They are on their own now and cynically enough it could without a doubt be the last time they would ever find themselves in such an unfavorable position again.... [Note of the author: the FF are currently unavailable because they are stuck in the Negative Zone!]
Midtown Manhattan, amongst the ruins of a destroyed and wounded city.... It's showtime. It's time to put up and fight with everything you got or shut up and accept a reign of terror for millennia to come. After locating and finding the Harbinger on their computers, the Avengers are determined to stop him or die trying. When the four Avengers arrive on the scene they find the Harbinger standing over the body of the unconscious body of Cable. We will never know it but perhaps the sight of yet another victim lying at the feet of the Harbinger is what drives the Avengers over the line and gives them the extra push needed to really unload themselves on their opponent. It may be their last battle but by Jove they will not go down without as fight! And without hesitation the Avengers attack their foe as a lean,mean, well-oiled fighting machine.
It's all for one common goal and one common goal for all when Iron Man starts blasting away with his repulsor rays, Captain America starts throwing his shield, Wonderman starts throwing his punches and the Vision tries to phase himself through Apocalypse's minion. The Avengers are really taking it out on the Harbinger with all they have and it's more than likely that any lesser opponent would have been brought down on his knees by the sheer force and determination of their attack. But unfortunately the Harbinger is not one of the lesser opponents the Avengers ever faced....
Its highly sophisticated and deadly efficient internal mechanisms and computers allow it to adapt itself in seconds to everything the Avengers can throw at it and thus enable it to successfully counter-attack every attack of its opponents. One by one the individual Avengers are being dealt with by the Harbinger who gives them a beating they will never forget again. Neither Captain America's experience and skills nor Iron Man's advanced armor nor Wonderman's superhuman strength or endurance or Vision's unique abilities as a synthezoid are able to to worry, let alone stop, the Harbinger for one second. Every road has an end, every line has a stopping point and every power or ability can be outclassed and the Avengers learn that hard and painful lesson in the most humiliating of ways. Their behinds are really being handed over to them on a silver platter by the Harbinger and there is nothing they can do about that.... The Avengers are beaten for the moment and the resistance is cleared. The Harbinger has shown again what will happen to anybody stupid enough to try to stop it from fulfilling its mission! It has come to clarion the call of a new age when only the strong shall survive and where there will only be a horrible and merciless death for the weak! The Avengers have proven themselves to be weak, to be unable to adapt themselves and overcome the challenges put in their path. They are despicable insects who do not deserve to live under the upcoming rule of Apocalypse and the Harbinger readies itself to obliterate the Avengers once and for all!
Captain America recognizes the danger and summons his teammates to regroup themselves behind him. It proves again what a caring and responsible leader Cap is but to be honest it looks like that order is born out of wishful thinking and despair. After all how could Cap's shield ever safe the life of the Avengers when compared to the awesome and deadly powers of the Harbinger? No, no shield in the world can save the Avengers anymore and their last hour seem to have struck....
But then suddenly something unexpected happens: in order to kill the Avengers, the Harbinger had to turn his back to Cable and that's a huge mistake it now pays the price for! Cable managed to regain his conscience and some of his strength and after seeing the straitened circumstances the Avengers are in, he knows what to do: with all that's left in him he drives his psi-mitar through the Harbinger's head! It won't kill or stop the Harbinger for long but it will buy the heroes some valuable time to regroup and decide on the best strategy to follow. And probably even more importantly on the short notice it will give them the time to get clear and get away as far as possible from the Harbinger!
Cable knows perhaps even better than the Avengers what the Harbinger is capable of and he sets the example for the other Avengers to follow by retreating as fast as he can. And that's absolutely not a moment too soon! The Harbinger is already erecting itself again after being only momentarily stunned and by the look on its face it is clearly not very pleased about what Cable did to it! Who dared to strike the servant of Apocalypse? Who dared to mock and rebel against Apocalypse's forces in such a brutal way? Burning death shall be the penalty for the weaklings who dared to oppose it! And without a further thought the Harbinger causes a giant and utterly destructive explosion which results in an unbelievably huge and wild sea of fire. It's Hell on Earth and not even in their worst nightmares one could have ever thought it would be this bad! The explosion is so devastating that even in their underground shelter Stacey and Kenny can hear the rumble and they both realize that something bad is going on up there. And what makes things even worse is that it seems like the Avengers and Cable are caught in the middle of the blast! Is this the end of time? Has Judgment Day finally arrived for the Askani'Son and the Avengers?
End of part I
Summary of Cable #67 Part I
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