Preferred X-Force Leader: Cable or Logan

[Jackraow21]

So I’ve been re-reading some old X-Force runs… the early Nicieza/Capullo stuff (Cable led), the Kyle/Yost run with Crain and Choi (Logan led), Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1 (Logan led), Spurrier’s mutant CIA run (Cable led) and just starting to re-read the first 12 issues of the Percy/Cassara X-Force (Logan led)… and I’m having this debate with myself: Who is my preferred leader of X-Force?

I used to say if Cable wasn’t leading it, it wasn’t X-Force. Obviously about halfway into the Kyle/Yost run I realized that wasn’t true, this was just a different and more brutal take on X-Force. And I liked it. A lot. Of course, my favorite issues were during Messiah War and Second Coming when Cable actually joined up with that X-Force team, but I can also understand why a writer would have a hard time juggling both Nathan and Logan at the same time on an X-Force team for longer than a few issues, as they kind of occupy the same space. And once Remender and Opena’s Uncanny X-Force came along, well, it kind of supplanted the old Cable-led squad in a lot of fans’ minds as the definitive take on the team. It was pretty awesome, especially the Dark Angel Saga which ran for the first 18 issues of that run (after that I thought the quality dipped a bit honestly).

At any rate, in the Krakoan era Logan has once again supplanted Cable as the leader of X-Force, this time trying to do the whole mutant CIA bit that Nathan already did under Spurrier (which I thought was a really underrated run honestly). And it makes sense I suppose to have Logan there, especially since for a lot of the Krakoan era Cable was a teen. And now that he’s an adult again, he’s busy off-planet over in X-men Red.

But I find myself at times wanting Cable to come back and take over X-Force again, preferably under a different writer. Then I think that would maybe be regressive for him, and Logan is filling that role quite well (and just needs another writer to take over who can more adequately write a team book).

Thus I figured I’d find out what everyone else on this board thinks. Just for fun. And, at least for this thread’s purposes, those are the only two choices. Cable or Logan. Go.

[Dthirds3]

Cable. No question

[Rift]

Cable as thr leader, Wolvie as the biggest focus character, Hellion as the star.

[K7P5V]

Either one is fine with me, as long as the stories continue to be entertaining.

[Lady Midnight]

If Percy's still writing, I'd rather have Cable in Red.

[Jackraow21]

Either one is fine with me, as long as the stories continue to be entertaining.

That’s exactly where I find myself… though Logan having his own solo tips the scales a bit in Cable’s favor, in terms of giving Nathan a bigger place to shine. I’m loving him in Red, but that book has a big cast and he doesn’t get much panel time. Would love to see Ewing take X-Force and keep X-men Red, just moving some of his cast (Cable, T-bird, Manifold) over to XF to give him more room to tell his stories with all the characters he’s presently got.

If Percy's still writing, I'd rather have Cable in Red.

This assumes new writer I suppose, because regardless of which one leads the team it needs it!

[Uncanny X-Man]

It's funny because my 2 favourite X-Force runs and rosters (Kyle & Yost + Remender) both have Logan as leader - and yet for me X-Force should be Nathan's team. Just as the X-Men's core characters always come down to Logan, Scott, Jean and Ororo, for me X-Force's core is Cable, Domino and Deadpool.

Once upon a time I also thought X-Force was the book that chronicled Sam Guthrie's evolution into one of mutantkind's leaders, but writers after Nicieza and subsequent events and books pulled Sam back into the New Mutants' orbit, to the point I don't really associate him with X-Force anymore.

I can see a new X-Force being assembled after Ben Percy is done and for me it would be ideal if it spun off Al Ewing's X-Men Red. Give me Cable, Manifold, Thunderbird, Domino, Deadpool and Sage on the team and that would be an X-Force I'd be very happy with.

[Jackraow21]

Yeah, I think if Cable took over again then having Deadpool on the team would help boost sales in the absence of Logan. For sure. So they’d need to keep Wade (and Domino too).

And I agree re: two of the best runs being the K+Y and Remender ones, with Logan as leader. Didn’t hurt that they had awesome art on those runs too (Crain/Choi, Opena/Ribic). I really loved the Si Spurrier run on X-Force and honestly feel like if he’d had someone like Opena on art duties it would’ve sold much, much better. Unfortunately the Logan led teams get the best artists it seems… though it wasn’t always that way. Back in the day they had Capullo who was awesome IMO.

[Frontier]

X-Force is Cable's baby. Wolverine just moonlights as the leader when Cable (or I guess Domino) can't do it, although I feel like running X-Force stresses Logan out more than it does cable.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Yeah, I think if Cable took over again then having Deadpool on the team would help boost sales in the absence of Logan. For sure. So they’d need to keep Wade (and Domino too).

And I agree re: two of the best runs being the K+Y and Remender ones, with Logan as leader. Didn’t hurt that they had awesome art on those runs too (Crain/Choi, Opena/Ribic). I really loved the Si Spurrier run on X-Force and honestly feel like if he’d had someone like Opena on art duties it would’ve sold much, much better. Unfortunately the Logan led teams get the best artists it seems… though it wasn’t always that way. Back in the day they had Capullo who was awesome IMO.

Yeah X-Force always had an embarrassment of riches on the art side, from Capullo to Daniel, then Pollina to Cheung. Come to think of it, another favourite run of mine is the John Francis Moore one, which had neither Wolverine nor Cable, but in my head that was more "grown up New Mutants" than X-Force.

[JB]

9 times out of 10 I would say Cable. The only time I would say Logan is if it's a strictly black ops team. Not that Cable wouldn't rock as leader of black ops, but I prefer him doing the kick-the-door-down in your face operations.

If Cable wasn't under Ewing's pen, my personal dream scenario would be a dual-purpose X-Force. Cable would lead the overt, public side and Logan the covert, stealth side.

[Jackraow21]

Read Spurrier’s run. Cable does the black ops quite well… in fact, he’s kind of like a combined version of Beast and Wolverine (the head and the fist) of that particular version of X-Force. Like I said, it was a better version of this mutant CIA concept that Percy’s going for now. The problem was it had pretty terrible art. Put someone like Jerome Opena on that run and it would’ve been fire!

[Uncanny X-Man]

Oh actually, I'd like to amend my previous X-Force roster. I've enjoyed the work Al Ewing has done on Manifold but don't believe his power set would be a good match - I think X-Force works best as a Black Ops/stealth team/CIA so Cable, Domino, Deadpool, Bishop, X-23, Thunderbird and Sage would work well for me. So you could have both Cable and a Wolverine on the team . I also wouldn't be opposed to bringing Gambit into X-Force at some stage, his powers and attitude would be a good fit for the team, I'm surprised it hasn't happened before.

[Steroid]

100% going with Cable.

[JB]

Read Spurrier’s run. Cable does the black ops quite well… in fact, he’s kind of like a combined version of Beast and Wolverine (the head and the fist) of that particular version of X-Force. Like I said, it was a better version of this mutant CIA concept that Percy’s going for now. The problem was it had pretty terrible art. Put someone like Jerome Opena on that run and it would’ve been fire!

Yeah the art took me out of it but the stories were great.