Cyclops’ son, the time-traveling messianic mutant Cable, has been a major presence in the Marvel Universe as an adult for so long, that at times readers might forget that his origin story is as tragic as it is convoluted – with the character having been brought into the world on “a foundation of sadness and failure.”
Speaking with AIPT for X-Men Monday, writer Fabian Nicieza discussed his upcoming Cable series, which features a unique twist on a familiar story, as adult Cable and Kid Cable team up for their most high-stakes adventure yet.
Despite repeatedly traversing time and space, as well as life and death, Cable cannot escape his legacy as the son of one of the most pivotal figures in mutant history, Cyclops. The complicated circumstances of Cable’s birth and early life have created the foundation for tragedy, as Niceiza mentioned – something all variants of the character, as well as mutantkind as a whole, can only hope he is able to overcome.
Cable’s Grim History Wasn’t Always Nathan Summers’ Fate
Nathan Summers’ was turned into the tragic figure best known to readers as Cable as a result of several conscious editorial decisions made by Marvel in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nathan first appeared in 1986’s Uncanny X-Men #201 as an infant, born to Madalyne Pryor, wife of X-Men leader Scott Summers. In a narrative choice that creator Chris Claremont disagreed with, the 1988-89 crossover event “Inferno” revealed Pryor to be a clone of Jean Grey; Pryor went mad, turned to villainy, and ultimately died in the event’s climax. As it turned out, this tragic turn was only a prelude for many in the character’s future, far-flung as it would prove to be.
At first unrelated to Nathan Summers, the time-traveling warrior Cable first appeared in The New Mutants #87, from 1990. The decision to make this imposing figure the adult version of Nathan was made within the next year – resulting in a storyline where the child was infected with a techno-organic virus, with the only cure existing in the future. Once again, the characters’ creators were hesitant about this, and full confirmation that Nathan and Cable were now one and the same did not come until 1993. In what would make a potent “What If…?” story, the Nathan Summers character, and by extension, the history of the X-franchise, could have been radically different.
Kid Cable Could Be The Hero Nathan Summers Never Got To Be
Making Nathan Summers Cable resulted in a fascinating dynamic, in which Cable is usually portrayed as older, and more battle-hardened, than his father, Cyclops. The introduction of Kid Cable gave writers the opportunity to flip this dynamic. Now, pairing an adult version of Cable – described by Fabian Nicieza as being in his fifties – with the teenage Kid Cable will be an exciting new take on the dynamic made popular by Cable and Hope Summers. It will also give Cable the opportunity to perhaps guide his younger self toward a more authentic version of who he could have been, had he not been time displaced and forced to endure immeasurable hardship.
The new series will begin with adult Cable rescuing Kid Cable from Orchis, before sending them on what could be a defining journey for both characters. With Fabian Nicieza having written many of the defining Cable stories, the character’s latest solo series is shaping up to be a pivotal stage in the character’s complex history. Though Cable has long been defined by, as Nicieza put it, “a foundation of sadness and failure,” this latest series offers Marvel the opportunity to change this, ushering in a new era of stories for multiple versions of the character, and in the process allowing him to fully embrace what it means to be Nathan Summers.
