Quote Originally Posted by Jackraow21 View Post
1. Could be that he never actually died. Think about it. He knew Kid Cable was coming for him and allowed himself to be killed anyway, as we saw in the current Cable series in issues #3-4. We also know that he already has the ability to clone himself from Spurrier’s X-Force run where he did just that (I think thanks to Dr. Nemesis building the cloning technology for him). So perhaps he sent a clone of himself to die at Kid Cable’s hand, and the real one is still out there? In fact, that could be who we saw at the end of Cable #1 fighting crab demons in some future hellscape. The simpler option, though, is the Resurrection Protocols. Since he knew about Kid Cable, he must’ve also known about Krakoa somehow and thus knew they’d have the ability to bring him back. Specifically his daughter Hope, along with the other four. So he wasn’t afraid to go to his death, knowing they’d bring him back. And would probably bring him back in his physical prime too, since they can do that.

2. It would have to be included — at least in his raw genetic template — as it is part of his cellular structure. Every cell contains the virus, as I believe Beast pointed out in some older issues of the Cable series way back in the 90s. Even Stryfe, his clone, has (or had) the virus (you see traces of it along his back in the Cable: Blood & Metal 2-parter actually). But in Stryfe somehow it’s not nearly as advanced. I’m assuming that since he was taken by Apocalypse as an infant, who first infected baby Nathan with it, that he had some way to slow its spread or possibly even cure him (so maybe what we saw on his back in Blood & Metal were just old scars from the virus). Having said all that... if they do bring Cable back via the RP, would the virus be as advanced in him as it was before? Since they artificially age the body, he’d go from a fetus to an adult in short order, not leaving the virus much time to consume his organic cells and tissue before he’s awakened and has the ability to keep it at bay with his powers. So he might not be half cyborg even if he does still have the T-O virus.

3. It is possible, however, that with all the power at their disposal The Five could somehow cure him of it when they bring him back. After all, Hope cured him of it once before using the power of the Phoenix (at the end of the X-Sanction mini); and Nathan even cured himself of it once on his own (during the Soldier X era of Cable). So we know it’s possible to cure it with enough power. The Five have a lot of power, including the ability to warp reality itself in Proteus. The biggest problem with him not having the virus IMO is that he becomes too powerful to be interesting. I never found X-man particularly interesting for the same reason. So they’d need to establish some other reason for his power levels being reduced. Perhaps because, in the case of X-man and Stryfe (and even Cable himself when he was in “god mode” in the Cable & Deadpool series fighting the Silver Surfer), it’s been shown that their incredible power levels cause cellular degradation (killing them over time) and also madness. So while it would make sense that The Five might bring him back sans T-O virus (especially Hope who cured him before), it might also make sense that they bring him back with less raw psionic power than he had before too. Then he’d still have to rely on his skills, training and weaponry. I think I’d like that actually. Could be cool. Simplifies Cable a bit, in that he’s no longer infected with the virus and thus a cyborg, but doesn’t suddenly make him godlike in terms of his power level either. I was hoping to see that explored after X-Sanction honestly, but then Hopeless went in a weird direction with the skinny arm and cybernetic exoskeletal “sleeve” and whatnot. And reducing his powers to just some limited precognition. Which I frankly did not like. But... making Cable whole via the RP and power of The Five, while at the same time just reducing his TP and TK power levels some? Yeah, I’d be okay with that. Him being a cyborg with a metal left arm isn’t even close to the most interesting thing about the character to me, and they play around with the virus too much as it is. Have seen waaay too many stories over the years where it’s suddenly out of control and killing him. That drama is played out IMO.



Agreed. 100%. Bring back the adult version. I don’t care how. Hell, if they establish that Kid Cable’s timeline no longer exists and he doesn’t have to go back to the future anymore, I wouldn’t mind if somehow he got trapped in an alternate dimension or a gravity well out in space (in the S.W.O.R.D. book) where time went faster and he just comes back aged up a couple of decades. I just don’t like him as a kid.


Thanks for such a detailed response!
Yeah I do agree about his powerset potentially being on the verge of ridiculous if the TO virus isn't in tow which could make him uninteresting.
^^I can however get behind this arrangement.