Cable #155 Review

Cable #155
Writers: Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler
Artist: German Peralta
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics

A Review by Greg Brothers

If you have read any of my other reviews you know that I am a huge fan of just about anything X-Men. With so many characters within the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe there have been some definite hits and misses. In addition, some characters are not always used right. One of those characters is Cable. For the uninitiated Cable is a time traveler with a convoluted history who carries a big gun. He is often cited as one of the poster children when It comes to the excessive muscles and big guns of the nineties. It is once you sit down and actually read one of the many series who have focused on Cable that you find out there is much more to him than just muscles and guns. So where does Cable #155 fall?

Cable #155 throws us into Cable’s past/future as a child. He is trying to escape a techno virus that seems to be attacking at will. Within panels the story shifts to Japan in 2049, as Cable attempts to protect a young mutant from the time traveling enemy Nimrod. As Nimrod is dispatched in a unique way that only Cable could perform, once again the book whisks its way into what is present day Marvel Universe. Hope Summers has shown up at the X-Mansion for a little rest and relaxation. Should go perfectly right?

As the first few pages of Cable #155 shows, Cables past and future are not always easy to explain. Thompson and Nadler are able to navigate the numerous potential pitfalls of jumping to and from multiple events in the timeline. By the time that they land in the present-day Marvel Universe, even the least knowledgeable Marvel reader will have a good grasp of who Cable is and what his mission has become. In addition, the panels that feature Cable and Hope are able to capture the tension and history between the two without weighing the story down. In fact, the dialogue between the two adds a depth to the relationship that often is missing.

When you have a character such as Cable it is not always easy to introduce a new character. Often time those characters feel shoehorned in for the sake of the story. Metus however is introduced in a way that he feels as if he has always been part of the Cable stories.

One of the concerns when tackling a book with such mechanical parts like Cable #155 is that the humanity of the characters can be lost. Peralta does an excellent job of making sure that does not happen even with Metus who is much more technorganic than human. Cable himself is drawn in a way that represents his military background without him getting lost in a pile o muscles and weapons. The layout of the panels is done in a generally classic way of squares and rectangles stacked and placed so that the eyes easily follow the action. There is a set of panels that are visions in which the technorganic virus has replaced the gutters. It works especially well with those panels. Peralta is able to show restraint in several panels and avoids crowding them with unnecessary metal limbs.

Verdict:
Buy! If you are a fan of Cable at all then you need to grab Cable #155 immediately. It takes a complicated character and history and makes it approachable. While longtime readers will find several Easter eggs that they will be able to appreciate, new readers will not feel lost or overwhelmed. The character designs keep Cable as more human than many of artist have while highlighting what happens when the virus gets out of control. Cable #155 sets up what should be an exciting adventure for Cable that embraces his past while preparing him for the future.