Nathan Summers, The Soldier of Tomorrow: Cable Appreciation 2023

[K7P5V]

Well, right now there's no confirmation that Cable or Domino will be in Deadpool 3, though there are lots of rumors that the plot involves Nathan's time travel (bodyslide) device. So it would definitely make sense for him to show up, even if just as a cameo.

Would love for his arm to look more like this in the film if he shows up, though...



Very cool sketch.

In agreement with you about the sketch. For what it's worth, I also like the Sam Kieth version

[Jackraow21]

Oh yeah. Sam Keith's rendering of his T/O arm is top notch! It really looks rough and "cable-y" and this was obviously what they were going for with Josh Brolin's Cable in 'Deadpool 2'.

[cable guy]

What power level is Adult Nathan at now?

I was actually thinking about that now that he has much more control over his T/O virus. Curious to see myself where it's going to be at. Possibly depending on where the next writer picks up at.

[cable guy]

Well, right now there's no confirmation that Cable or Domino will be in Deadpool 3, though there are lots of rumors that the plot involves Nathan's time travel (bodyslide) device. So it would definitely make sense for him to show up, even if just as a cameo.

Would love for his arm to look more like this in the film if he shows up, though...



Very cool sketch.

Ooh really nice sketch. Artist nailed him there for sure.

[cable guy]

In agreement with you about the sketch. For what it's worth, I also like the Sam Kieth version

I think I've seen those covers before. Yeah the cyber arm looks great!

[Jackraow21]

I was actually thinking about that now that he has much more control over his T/O virus. Curious to see myself where it's going to be at. Possibly depending on where the next writer picks up at.

I'm not sure his power levels have changed per se, rather he's got more precision control of the virus. This could stem from a few things, or a combination of them...

1) His resurrection. We know he gave Hope specific instructions to bring him back with his T/O virus so he could continue to study it and also because he'd developed a level of control... or at least containment of it over the years. It felt like a weak rationale at the time, but clearly there was a bigger plan here. Also, we know that some characters have come through the RP (Resurrection Protocols) with enhanced power levels too. So this is a possibility.

2) The virus itself has changed. It took on an appearance that we've never seen it take before, even in the past when it has raged out of control. This was back in the final issues of Ewing's S.W.O.R.D. run as The Peak station was crashing to Earth and he used all of his TK to control its descent (so that he could steer it through a wormhold that Manifold manifested which essentially "turned it around" and shot it back out into space using its own momentum). Until that moment, Cable's T/O virus -- while it is derived from it, in terms of its source code -- has never resembled the Phalanx transmode virus, like Warlock or Magus for example. The Apocalypse Strain, which he is infected with (along with Archangel's wings which are made of the same) has always looked more metallic in terms of its structural composition. But here for the first time his T/O took on a transmode virus like appearance, only instead of being black with glowing yellow highlights it was black with glowing blue highlights. So I find the change in the virus' aesthetic to be highly interesting as well, and perhaps part of "what's changed" here.

3) Khora of the Burning Heart. She's a mutant amplifier, and was present and boosting Nathan's natural TK when he performed this feat of manipulating the T/O virus into armor and weaponry. We don't yet know if he can pull that off again without her assistance.

Bottom line? There's still a lot that's unknown about Nathan's new status quo that needs to be followed up on. In fact, it's positively ripe for further exploration by either Al Ewing or another talented writer. Really hoping someone is going to do just that with the Fall of X shift in the X-line that's about to occur.

[Jackraow21]

I'll add that the only downside of him leaning into this new ability to "weaponize" his T/O is that it makes him very much like any of the symbiote wielding entities across the Marvel U. And also a little bit like Iron Man with his nanotech suit too. Especially when I think about his fight with Thanos in the Avengers Infinity War film, where he could generate armor and edged weapons and energy emitting blasters in different forms. Not to mention the fact that Doug Ramsey wields Warlock in a similar fashion to this too. So while it could be cool... is it really all that unique? Probably not.

Cable, at least IMO, has always suffered from comparison to other characters because he's such a hodgepodge of things...

- a cyborg (like Deathlok, Winter Soldier or even Cyborg over in the DC Universe)
- a time traveler (like Kang, Bishop or Booster Gold over in the DCU)
- a soldier (like Wolverine, Forge, Captain America, Winter Soldier, etc.)
- a mercenary (like Deadpool, Domino, Maverick, etc.)
- a mutant psychic (like countless other X-characters)

So I always try to think about ways to make him stand out, and be more original amongst all those other characters with similar attributes. One way is that he's not any one of those things, rather he's all of them. But I think this is what draws me most to his current Sins of Sinister status quo as having merged with XILO. If you think about his, his bionic parts have always been most unique because they're viral and thus techno-organic. In other words, alive and bonded with him on a cellular level. I believe this is why so many writers have gone back to the well of his T/O virus over and over again, from raging out of control and killing him to cured of it and then back again. Rinse and repeat. But... what if... if was even more organic than techno?

I find myself highly intrigued by what someone could do with Nathan reinventing himself once again by merging with XILO in this timeline and becoming the 616 version of "X-man" essentially. Sure, he'd still be all of those things listed above. But now he's got this weird uniqueness to him where he's merged with an ancient Arakki omega level mutant who is essentially living history. Bonded with him on a symbiotic or cellular level, probably via his T/O virus. That could be really cool if done right IMO.

Having said that, I don't love the full aesthetic of his SoS look. Don't like the XILO half creeping up to his face, for example. Would much rather it stop at his neck like the T/O virus does today, and really be confined to his left torso. I'm also not sure about the various colors of it, as XILO didn't look like that when we first saw him. He was mostly purple with some orange, red and pink in there (i.e., no blue, green, etc.)...



So I'd probably just have the XILO parts of him be grayish for the most part, indicating that he's mostly dormant; with some purple and orange-ish highlights. Until he comes alive and "spreads out" like in that picture, which would normally happen when he consumes inorganic (or organic) matter to regenerate himself when damaged in battle. Something like this picture actually, but of course the arm is on the wrong side (flip it to the left side)...



And they'd be fused together at the cellular level because Cable and XILO both attacked Nimrod at the same time, using ancient Arakki plus future Askani code to try and overwhelm his system and take him down. Like malware. This attack backfires, however, because Nimrod has already studied the base transmode virus (he killed Magus remember?) which Cable's T/O is based off of, and he's also studied up on his ancient Arakki culture and languages. So he's able to fend off the attack, and reverse it... and the resulting "feedback" almost kills both Cable and XILO... with Nathan's virus running amok and consuming XILO while XILO in turn consumes it... the result somehow ends up with them fused in the present day 616 timeline.

That could be very cool for a writer to explore and play with, and thus Cable... er, X-man's bio would read:

The strangest X-man of all, Nathan Summers, was sent to a war-torn future to preserve his life. Infected with a deadly virus as an infant, he learned to hone his vast mutant powers to control it, and grew to be one of the greatest soldiers the world has ever known. Now, back in the era of his birth, he was bonded on a cellular level to an ancient mutant named XILO. With a living repository of all mutant knowledge at his disposal, combined with his vast combat experience and telekinetic abilities, he fights for a better tomorrow than the one he has known.

Okay... I'll admit, it needs work. But something along those lines would sum him up in his new status quo. His powers and abilities become...

- XILO acting as his living onboard "A.I." Think of his Infonet back during the Cable/Deadpool run combined with his Prosh/The Professor or Belle A.I. programs. Now just make it a "living (organic) computer" in a sense, with access to vast amounts of data and history. He communicates with XILO just as he did those former A.I. programs.

- Telekinesis. He's left with this mutant ability, while his TP is pretty much gone. He communicates with XILO in his head, but otherwise his telepathy is gone. Maybe he still gets some of those near-term precognitive flashes that he had during Spurrier's X-Force run, as those were useful in combat (predicting what an enemy would do a few seconds prior to it happening). But a cooler way to simulate this would be simply through XILO using predictive analytics to warn him. So in a way it becomes a type of precognition, but not really. It's actually just XILO. That could be cool.

- Enhanced durability and regeneration. As mentioned, XILO makes him more durable (not to mention long-lived) and he can also regenerate by consuming matter as XILO does.

- Vast combat experience, skills and weapons mastery. 'Nuff said.

That could be a cool ass status quo for Cable, or X-man, or whatever he wants to call himself. Just fun to think about.

[Jackraow21]

The image having the arm on the wrong side was bugging me, so I fixed it...

Cable Mysterium Arm.jpg

Regardless of whether Cable merges with XILO and becomes "XILO-organic" or remains just techno-organic, I do think it would be cool if his left arm got a mysterium armor coating. In my view it would look a lot like the arm in this image too.

[Jackraow21]

Brolin (and Beetz) rumored to return as Cable (and Domino) in ‘Deadpool 3’…

https://comicbookmovie.com/marvel-st...1391#gs.thl4ot

[Uncanny X-Man]

I must say I was disappointed to read Cable is not going to be a major part of Al Ewing's plans going forward as I believe Ewing could do wonders with Nathan, just as he's done for basically every other character under his pen. But Nathan has a delicious complexity and a long history which Ewing could have had so much fun with.

That said, it sounds like there are plans for Cable elsewhere: I'm not sure how long another solo would last so my preference would be for him to join one of the X-teams, ideally X-Force, although I wouldn't mind having him on the main X-Men team again since Duggan seems to like him.

[Jackraow21]

Well, to be fair, Ewing said "no immediate plans for Cable." Which implies he won't be involved in the immediately-following-SoS upcoming story 'Heralds of Apocalypse' and that arc through the X-men Red title involving his immortal enemy, En Sabah Nur. Sadly. I definitely view it as a missed opportunity, but hopefully it is because Cable is in use elsewhere.

In terms of solo versus team book... nothing lasts all that long these days before it's relaunched. Feels like a particular run is lucky to get to 10-12 issues in the current environment. So if it has a great creative team and story, I'm good with solo or team book for Nathan. I will say that I prefer him on team books and seeing him bounce off of the other characters around him. For example, I loved seeing him interact with Forge along with Domino, Colossus and Boomer in the Dennis Hopeless 'Cable & X-Force' run. It was just a lot of fun. So would absolutely love to see him hanging with Forge again in Duggan's X-men, along with his parents. And you're right, Gerry Duggan really likes Cable and he writes a damn good one too! Not just the kid version either, as he wrote the adult Cable in his Uncanny Avengers run which was awesome.

Plus, let's be honest, Joshua Cassara was born to draw Cable. He excels at muscular, bulky dudes with cybernetics and pouches...

8B357A77-B216-4FCA-8195-01A9A6928378.jpg

... and these are characters who aren't even supposed to be all that swole! Just imagine what he'd do with a brick $#!+house like Nathan!

[Micabe]

Regardless of whether Cable merges with XILO and becomes "XILO-organic" or remains just techno-organic, I do think it would be cool if his left arm got a mysterium armor coating. In my view it would look a lot like the arm in this image too.

Nathan is already a Telepath/Telekinetic as well as Techno-Organic why smother that aspect with Mysterium?

[Jackraow21]

Because it looks and sounds cool. Why else?

Nah, you're probably right. It's overkill and unnecessary. Unfortunately doesn't sound like anyone has plans for Cable in the upcoming Fall of X story. At least not yet. Maybe he'll show up somewhere... Duggan's X-men perhaps? Or possibly Alpha Flight, depending on what it's about. The last version of Alpha Flight was a space-based response unit, and Nathan is currently an Agent of S.W.O.R.D. So I suppose that's a possibility.

[cable guy]

I must say I was disappointed to read Cable is not going to be a major part of Al Ewing's plans going forward as I believe Ewing could do wonders with Nathan, just as he's done for basically every other character under his pen. But Nathan has a delicious complexity and a long history which Ewing could have had so much fun with.

That said, it sounds like there are plans for Cable elsewhere: I'm not sure how long another solo would last so my preference would be for him to join one of the X-teams, ideally X-Force, although I wouldn't mind having him on the main X-Men team again since Duggan seems to like him.

Man, I was disappointed to say the least that there doesn't seem to any plans for Cable in the near future. Under the pen of Ewing. I had just said, I was so happy Cable was in his hands. Maybe future plans though? I guess I'm extra bummed out that Apocalypse is coming back, and Cable will be on the sidelines. Ugh.

[cable guy]

Brolin (and Beetz) rumored to return as Cable (and Domino) in ‘Deadpool 3’…

https://comicbookmovie.com/marvel-st...1391#gs.thl4ot

My fingers are crossed this is true.