Summary of Cable #67 part II

by The Mighty Juggernaut, Rainer Ho Ten Soeng

Wonderman is the only one who was quick enough to escape the impact of the explosion and it seems like he's the only one left to face the Harbinger now.... The odds were already bad but now they are next to impossible.... is the world definitely lost? But for the second time that afternoon things take a turn for the better for the heroes: Cable managed to protect himself and the Avengers against the attack of the Harbinger by putting up a telekinetic shield which protected them from the impact of the explosion and the fire. The heroes are safe and they made it through the first round but that's all there's to say about it. The Harbinger is far from defeated and since it has proven to be highly adaptable to combat situations one can wonder if Cable or the Avengers will be able to put up anything more than just a temporary distraction for their opponent. It's up to them to stop the Harbinger and save the world but how on Earth should they accomplish that?

But there is no time to sit back quiet and work out a strategy: they need to think of something and they need to think of it fast because the Harbinger is not only coming at them again but also promises to add their blood to the boiling river of hate which will set the world on fire! The nightmare begins again and there's no time to think of an effective, sound and solid strategy anymore; no, it's time to act and act right now in a brave, unselfish and heroic manner. It's time for the hero in us to stand up and take the initiative no matter the odds. And without as much as a doubt Cable surrounds himself with a protective TK-shield and attacks the Harbinger. Mental attacks are useless against this powerful foe, Cable learned that much the hard way from his past experiences, but perhaps some dirty fighting will do the trick. The Harbinger used to be a human being, a normal man, before Apocalypse transformed him in this horrible creature so perhaps a powerful and unexpected kick in its crotch will stop it in its tracks! It was a nice idea and it really could have had success.... however 'could have had' is not good enough to do the Harbinger any harm! Cable fights with the ferocity of a lion and the determination of a born soldier but unfortunately his efforts and attacks are not worrying the Harbinger in the least. Nothing seems to work and before Cable knows it, the Harbinger clasps him in its arms in a powerful bear-hug! The strain on Cable's body is almost unbearable and the air is literally knocked out of his lungs!

The Avengers, who have seen Cable make the first move against the Harbinger, realize that things are going horribly wrong for the Askani'Son. They are about to join the fight and help their comrade out when something most welcome happens: the much-needed cavalry arrives! The Mighty Thor, the legendary Asgardian God of Thunder arrives at the scene to aid his comrades in their battle against their powerful foe! Midgard, Thor's adopted home is threatened and the Thunder God has taken it on himself to personally stop anyone or anything that has the audacity to do that! Thor is angry and the Harbinger is about to feel the full wrath of a disturbed God: Cable can only just in time jump out of the way before Mjolnir hits the Harbinger with its full devastating power on its chest! The Harbinger is hurled through several buildings by the incredible impact of the blow only to finally disappear in a huge explosion when an entire building crushed down on it.... Could this be it? Could the heroes have managed to do the seemingly impossible? Are Apocalypse's dark forces stopped by Thor's powerful attack? For a moment that seems to be the case; for just one moment in time the nightmare seems to have ended. But then reality strikes back hard again! The Harbinger proves again that it can adapt itself to anything the heroes can throw at it. In seconds it managed to dig itself out of the ruins of the collapsed building and it's coming back towards the heroes at full speed with only one thing in mind: to finally obliterate their pitiful resistance once and for all! Suddenly the nightmare surrounds the heroes again and just like that the desperation and hopelessness of their situation confronts them once again. The heroes don't stand a fighting chance against Apocalypse's monstrous creature but perhaps some ingenuity will save them and the city before they are both completely levelled. What if the heroes could come up with something which would get the Harbinger out of here in such a way it couldn't adapt to right away? It is most certainly a shot worth trying and it definitely beats getting killed by the Harbinger without ever having had a fair chance. Cable suggests this to Thor. Thor immediately understands what Cable is asking for but he needs some time to make things work; time which can only be bought if the Harbinger is distracted for a moment! And without a second thought Cable decides to make that time available by attacking the Harbinger head first with his psi-mitar. And it seems to work: the Harbinger is distracted for a moment by Cable's fierce attack and that gives Thor the opportunity to use Mjolnir to open up a rift in space, a doorway to another dimension! And suddenly a great sucking force is created which tries to pull both Cable and his opponent in its vortex! The forces Thor summoned are much more powerful than Cable ever imagined but since he more or less knew what was going to happen, he was in a way prepared for it. And with a supreme effort to withstand the sucking force of the whirlpool. However the Harbinger isn't that fortunate: before it can understand what's happening to it, it's been sucked up by the whirlpool Mjolnir has created and being sent to another dimension! The plan has worked and the thread and danger have disappeared for now. The heroes may not have won the war yet but at least they managed to win this battle. And no matter how you look at it that's what cheers one up. The tension is gone and the heroes can catch their breath in somewhat of a high spirit. But that doesn't mean that this whole thing is over yet. No, far from it even. The Harbinger's ability to adapt knows no bounds and after everything Cable has gone through with the Harbinger, he is sure that it will evolve itself to the point where it can find a way back to Earth and finish its mission. And when that happens everybody involved will be thrown back hard to square one. The first round may be won for now but there still needs a lot to be done and a lot to be thought of if the heroes want to see this confrontation to come to a good end. There are questions which need to be answered and strategies which need to be worked out and in order to do that properly its best if the Avengers and Cable would return to the Avengers mansion for the moment. The calm before the storm has arrived and one can only wonder what will happen when that calm will be rudely violated by the inevitable and thundering return of the Harbinger!

A couple of blocks away Stacey and Kenny are on tenterhooks in their underground shelter. It's crowded, stuffy and busy in the shelter and the fact that no one seems to know why they had to seek shelter here or what exactly is happening above ground, only seems to worsen things.' The people are depressed, frightened and low-spirited and to be honest with you all, who can blame them? Thank Goodness that they don't know that dark forces are this close to turning Earth and their lives into a hellish nightmare many of them would not survive for long.... Stacey is trying to comfort her little brother Kenny by assuring him that he doesn't have to worry about anything at all: they are safe down here and with a bit of luck they will soon be able to get out and go home again. But deep down inside Stacey knows better however. If Nathan has told her the truth, and why shouldn't he, then nobody on the planet will be safe anymore. If what Nathan told her is correct then the End of the World is near! And who will she have to comfort her through these dark and rough times? Only Kenny and Nathan. That in itself is bad enough but even worse is that she doesn't know where Nathan is? Is he still alive? Will she see him again after all this is over? Whatever's happening up there, please do not let them take away Nathan from her....

Meanwhile in the Avengers Mansion, the Avengers have put every available sensor they could think of on wide band frequencies. The moment the Harbinger finds a way out and returns to Earth, the heroes will be alerted to its presence. But that is about all the good news there is. The Fantastic Four are still unavailable and that means that when the Harbinger returns and the going gets tough again, it will be up to the Avengers and Cable to stop it. The question is however: how should they do that? What can the heroes do that they haven't tried before? There are no clear and explicate answers to be found no matter how hard the heroes try and no matter in which direction they are looking. Stopping the Harbinger once and for all and ending this nightmare seems to be a mission impossible which however desperately has to be brought to a good end for the sake of all humanity! What's even worse is that the Avengers seem to have some doubts about Cable.... Who is he actually? And what was he doing outside? Was he perhaps assisting or helping the Harbinger in a way before the Avengers showed up? And what about the big X-symbols on his outfit? Is he perhaps a member of the band of mutant outlaws called the X-Men? Is Cable after all a villain in disguise forced by the circumstances to pose as a hero?

Wow! Cable can feel the questions and distrust of the Avengers towards him and the truth of the matter is that he actually can't really blame them. He has always tried to keep a low profile and perhaps the time has come that he has to pay the price for that. The atmosphere becomes even more tense when a computer check shows that Cable was not only on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list but that at the moment he's still considered to be a terrorist by the US government! Cable is not the enemy here but how can he explain that to the Avengers in a credible and convincing way? How can he assure them without leaving even the slightest doubt that he's on their side? One thing's for sure and that's that Cable needs to play his cards very carefully if he wants to avoid being outcasted by the Avengers. The Harbinger can return any minute now and when it does Cable is going to need every bit of help he can get in his efforts to save the world from the tyranny of Apocalypse. So what to do? There's only one wise and sensible thing to do and that's telling the Avengers the truth. They deserve to know it and by being honest he can show them that despite the mysteries which cloud him he's still one of the good guys. Besides that knowing the truth could help the Avengers in the upcoming confrontation against the Harbinger as well. And thus Cable starts to explain.... about how Apocalypse turned a normal human being into his Harbinger, a mindless killing machine by locking him up in his embryonic tanks for nearly a century and a half. About how the Harbinger is programmed and destined to clarion the coming of a new era in which only the strong shall survive and the weak will be mercilessly terminated. About the horrors Apocalypse is about to unleash upon the world and the imminent threat he thus poses to humanity. And not only to humanity but to the heroes as well: if Apocalypse gets it his way then two millennia from now nobody will remember anymore that there was ever a band of heroes known as the Avengers; the memory of them and every other hero who once lived will be burnt from the face of the Earth by the hatred and evilness of the Eternal One. That thing that the heroes just faced was nothing but the Harbinger of Apocalypse, his servant who was sent to proclaim the arrival of the Empire of Darkness. And things are about to get much rougher and much tougher for everybody once En Sabah Nur himself returns; their confrontation with the Harbinger will compared to that be nothing more than a simple and joyful play in kindergarten....

It's a terrible future Cable paints but much to his relief the Avengers seem to believe him. They listen quietly and concentrated to what he has to say without mocking him or his fantastic story even once. Much to Cable's surprise the Avengers have even heard of Apocalypse's name before: not to long ago they had to deal with another one of his experiments, Moses Magnum, who was created and empowered by the High Lord to become an agent of destruction. The evil of Apocalypse and the danger he represents to everybody and everything on the planet is already known to the Avengers. And ironically that makes things much easier. Whatever differences or doubts there may be between the Avengers and Cable, that is not what is important right now. What counts now is that the nightmare must end and Apocalypse must be stopped. And to achieve that the Avengers will stand by Cable and fight alongside with him against the Harbinger. Cable won't have to go through this alone; together the heroes will seize victory and together they will stop Apocalypse's minion in its evil tracks. It's all for one and one for all even if it would mean that they all would come to the end of the line....

At the same time several thousands of miles to the east, underneath the desert sands of Morocco the situation is in a way just as tense as in the Avengers Mansion. The prophecies Ozymandias carved out in stone don't contain the secrets of the Twelve except for one thing: according to Ozymandias' visions Cable will be the gatherer of this secret and mysterious group of mutants! It's unknown who the various members of the Twelve will be or what their responsibilities shall be but it's an unmistakable fact that together they will have the power to prevent Apocalypse's reign of terror from ever becoming a reality. And if that's the case then Cable must be given this information! It's of vital importance that the Askani'Son is as well prepared as possible for his confrontation with the Eternal One and this piece of information could be very useful in this regard. When that time comes Cable can without a doubt use any help he can get and perhaps the other members of the Twelve will be able to aid or support him when he will be facing Apocalypse for their final showdown, if he can find and and contact them in time! It's of the highest importance that Blaquesmith returns to New York City at once to tell all this to his pupil if this world wants to have a chance to survive and avoid Apocalypse's tyranny! Ozymandias can't argue with that and even though he is sure Blaquesmith will be upset about the horrible things he will see in New York City if they would return now, he gives in to the urges of Cable's mentor and teleports the two of them back to the Big Apple in a blink of an eye. Time may be running out but perhaps it's not too late to save mankind yet....

Another place, another time and another dimension....
The Harbinger is struggling and desperately trying to find a way out of this alien dimension Thor has sent him to. It has got to find a way back to Earth since it still has a mission to fulfil there. And to achieve that internal engines housed within its inhuman shell frantically recalculate for an appropriate response to the situation it faces. There is magic involved here. Magic which would have surrendered other occupants of this dimension helpless. But there are allowances for magic, yes even for the powers of Gods! Apocalypse's servant will not be that easily beaten! Not even legendary Gods nor their magic will be able to stop the coming reign of the high Lord! And not for long its uncanny ability to adapt itself to its environment provides the key to a way out, a way back to finish what it has started, yes, a way back to Earth! The Harbinger has returned and it's more determined than ever not to let anything or anybody stop it again from carrying out is mission! Not even the powers of Gods were able to stop it so what chance in Heaven would the heroes have? How on Earth can you beat something that's unbeatable? How can you defeat something which can apparently go toe-to-toe with Gods themselves? How on Earth can you do the impossible? No, this could very well mean the end of our civilization no matter what any hero would dare to try. Be afraid.... be very afraid for this could indeed be the end of your life.... But perhaps even your prayers will not be enough anymore when something most unexpected happens. The Harbinger has returned to New York City but it's not the only one who has done so: much to its surprise its master and creator Apocalypse has arrived on the scene as well!

Apocalypse is back in town and that's never good news! Just like the Harbinger, Apocalypse has noticed that humankind is a pathetic species which has reached its zenith and can evolve no further. Humans have proven themselves to be unworthy to live under his rule and therefore they have to be obliterated from the face of the planet. Only the strong deserve to live, the weak however must be exterminated! So it's written in the prophecies and so it shall be! Humanity shall go down in a blazing Inferno and the Harbinger shall provide the seed of conflagration as an explosive device. For this purpose and this destiny the Harbinger was created and meant all along and with a simple intervention Apocalypse activates its detonation code. The Harbinger shall destroy itself and in the ensuing holocaust it will take New York City down with it! Apocalypse has made his move. The clock is ticking and the timer has been set. New york City seems to be unavoidable lost, or is it? Can the heroes counter this cunning move from Apocalypse or are they checkmated? Only time will tell but the odds seem worse than ever before....

The Avengers Mansion. The atmosphere is grim and tense. The sensors have just picked up the presence of the Harbinger again. Their worst nightmare and possibly most dangerous foe has returned and it's more than likely ready to wage war again. It has to be stopped and it has to be stopped right now if humankind wants to have a bright future to look forward to. This is a battle the heroes simply can't afford to lose. The stakes are too high and failing would cost not only them but future generations as well, way too much. The last preparations are taken care of and each hero readies himself in his own personal way on the things to come. Iron Man keeps himself busy by putting the contingency plans into effect and sending all the info the Avengers managed to gather on the Harbinger so far to the computer database of the Fantastic Four. If the Avengers would not make it through this battle then the Harbinger would become the problem of the FF after they would have returned. And from his own experience Iron Man can tell that in that case they are going to need every bit of help they can get. Thor on the other hand has retreated himself in a quiet corner of the room and prepares himself silently and with closed eyes on whatever may happen in the upcoming battle. Perhaps even Gods know fear and perhaps even Gods realize it when the odds are turned against them....

And Cable? To find the strength he will need, Cable has meditated for the last thirty minutes or so. Deep down inside himself, in a place he rarely confronts, Cable can simply be himself and face his most intimate thoughts. And surprisingly enough Cable can at this moment only think of his father and all of the things he always wanted to tell him but for one reason or the other never did. May the Bright Lady please give him just one more opportunity to be with his father and share his feelings with him.... But these thoughts and wishes will have to wait until another day. It's time to do what he has come back for in time: to ensure that humanity will endure no matter what Apocalypse can come up with. It's time to go out and fight the forces of darkness even though it could without a doubt be the very last war he'll ever enter. This could be the end of the line for all of them but if that's the case then Cable will make sure that Apocalypse and his minion will go down with him. The moment he's been waiting for, the moment he has trained for and was born for has arrived and it's time to show Apocalypse that he is not wanted around here or anywhere else. It's showtime and may the Bright Lady make sure the forces of light will prevail....

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The Good

Well, to be honest with you I am not sure where I will start this time! I'll admit it right away: I loved this issue! The story was exciting and action-packed and it showed us some tremendous teamwork of Cable and the Avengers. The atmosphere was grim and tense and that made the story only more believable and realistic IMHO. Add to that that the art was as crisp and dynamic as usual and one could begin to wonder what any fan could ask for more....

The horror of Apocalypse's intentions with this world were portrayed well and that gave the battle scenes with the Harbinger so much more emotional content. The fate of humanity was at stake here and the heroes made it clear through their behaviour that they realized that only all too well. I am not sure how high ranked this book is when you look at the number of copies sold but I would be very surprised if this book would not have at least a stable top ten position. Joe Casey and Jose Ladronn not only create exciting and wonderful stories but I feel they also manage to involve their readers to such an extent that it almost feels as if you are being pulled inside the story. I am always looking forward to the next issue of Cable and the way I see it that's the biggest compliment the creative staff behind any (comic) book can get.

But even if you would look at this issue at a slightly deeper level you would still see that this issue had a lot of goodies to offer. For starters it was for example great to see the Avengers and Cable watching each other's back and relying on each other. They acted as a team and it was nice to see that it is still possible for humans and mutants to work so closely together. Perhaps Charles Xavier's Dream is not that impossible or not that far away from the reality of everyday to be achieved one day. The fact that the Avengers had some questions and doubts about Cable after their check on him doesn't invalidate but only enhance this feeling IMHO. After all they did believe him when he told them the truth and they did promise to stand by him and fight together with him after he opened up and explained things to them. Great and heroic minds really do think alike regardless if they belong to a human or a mutant and that's an encouraging thought especially if there is a common foe to defeat. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between Cable and the Avengers will develop itself after this whole thing is over. And Cable's behaviour in this issue again showed us how brave and determined he can be when the going gets tough: not only did he save the lives of the Avengers by protecting them with a TK-shield on one occasion but he also had the guts to attack the Harbinger twice all on his own! I really do believe Captain America can still learn a thing or two from the Askani'Son! :-)

And perhaps the interaction between Cable and the Avengers will lead to a higher degree of acceptance of the X-Men by the Avengers. The Avengers apparently don't know exactly who the X-Men are and what they are up to and maybe their positive experience with Cable, who had affiliations with the X-Men in the past, will create more understanding and sympathy for our beloved band of mutant heroes in the hearts and minds of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Last but not least it was good to see Cable's attitude towards the people he cares for: Cable's openness towards Stacey about himself and his mission proves that he is willing to invest in this relationship and make things work. And like I said last time it would be great to see Cable interact some more with normal human beings like you and me. Besides that it was touching to see how close and connected Cable still feels towards his father, Scott Summers. The two of them may not have shared many moments together and their relationship may differ a lot from the normal relationship between a father and his son but there is apparently still a lot of love and respect for each other. Cable loves his father and that makes him not only all the more 'human' but also all the more realistic, lifelike and sympathetic. Scott sure is blessed with a son like that! :-)

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The Bad

Well, 'bad' is perhaps too strong and harsh a word to use here but this questions did raise a couple of questions with me despite all the goodies it so obviously offered. I must admit that I don't read the Avengers book so perhaps it is all explained there but one of the first things that hit me was the question where happened to Captain America's original shield? His current shield seems to be some kind of energy projection and what's up with that? Besides that I wondered where all the other Avengers are? How come only Captain America, Iron Man, Wonderman, the Vision and Thor are available to confront the Harbinger? What happened to the rest of the Avengers? Or for that matter: what happened to other superheroes like Spider-Man or Daredevil? Where were they? Wouldn't it be a little too casual if they all would have been unavailable just like the Fantastic Four? And why does Cable say that this is not the X-Men's fight? I mean the Harbinger seemed to be unstoppable and determined to set this world on fire with the hatred and evilness of En Sabah Nur so why shouldn't this be the X-Men's fight? They defend the planet against all kinds of danger just like Cable, right? It's not like Cable has got the monopoly on that, no? And if Cable meant to say that this was something personal between Apocalypse and him then why wouldn't he accept the help of the X-Men? I'd say that the Harbinger was everybody's problem as soon as it made it clear that it was about to destroy and change the world for the worse.

Furthermore I was a bit surprised to see that Thor behaved in such an uncareful matter: he almost hit Cable when he threw Mjolnir at the Harbinger and a couple of moments later he almost caused Cable to get sucked up and sent into another dimension! I can appreciate Thor's enthusiasm and his fighting spirit but if he goes on like that he won't have any teammates left in the near future.... Speaking about Gods: how come Apocalypse is somehow able to create agents which are powerful enough to withstand the powers of Gods? As far as I know Apocalypse doesn't possess any magical powers so how come his creation, the Harbinger, was able to overcome the magic spells of Norse Gods? Science can take you a long way but I doubt if it will be enough to disable magic as easily as it is shown.

Besides that I felt that it was a bit disappointing to find out that the prophecies of Ozymandias don't contain any information about who the various members of the Twelve will be or what their responsibilities shall be. I have been aching to know for so long to know which mutants will form the Twelve that I feel a bit let down that the Twelve will be clouded in mysteries for a little while longer. However Cable did say something interesting in this issue in this regard however: he specifically asked about the whereabouts of Franklin Richards.... Could this mean that little Franklin will be one of the Twelve in the future?

Last but not least I wondered why Cable only longed for his father when he prepared himself for a renewed confrontation with the Harbinger at the end of the issue? I can understand that Nathan will not have that many fond memories of Madelyne Pryor, his biological mother, but I am a bit surprised that he doesn't think even once of Jean Grey who raised and cared for him together with Scott when Nathan was still a little boy. Don't you all believe Jean would have deserved better? Hopefully we will learn some more in the near future about the relationship between Jean and Cable!

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That was it for this month guys! I hope you had a great time reading this summary; I know I sure had a good time writing it! :-) Hopefully we will meet again in thirty for the explosive conclusion of this story! Don't miss it because I have a feeling we will all be in for the ride of our lives! :-)

Excelsior!

Rainer Ho Ten Soeng