19 – CABLE

Subject: Cable
Real Name: Unrevealed
Height: 6’8″ Weight: 350 lbs.
Group Affiliation: X-Force
First Appearance: New Mutants #87, March 1990

Power Ratings:

• Energy Projection: 1/7
• Mental Powers: 2/7
• Strength: 3/7
• Fighting Ability: 7/7
• Intelligence: 4/7

Was Cable’s true identity really still not revealed by the time these cards were released? I just checked Wikipedia and yeah, I guess he wasn’t fully revealed until the December 1993 issue of the Cable series, which just sounds ridiculous (I think people had figured it out way sooner than that).

Say what you will about the terrible execution of the storylines AFTER Cable’s identity was finally revealed, the leadup to it (from Scott and Jean giving up Nathan to the ahem… random stranger who claimed to be the future, to the mystery of Stryfe, to X-Cutioner’s Song) was compelling stuff that took the X-Men into a direction that felt, at the time, fresh and dangerous. Unfortunately it just led to super-long, convoluted storylines the editors couldn’t keep proper track of; the mess has left an indelible mark on the X-Men ever since.

Art-wise, Lee does a good job of bringing Cable’s Liefeld proportions slightly down to earth, keeping the traditional pose but giving him a little more solid construction (his thigh is still thicker than his head is tall, though). The headshot in back looks really douchey, though it’s a face I don’t think Liefeld could accomplish drawing himself.

Okay, what is up with the 2 Mental Powers rating? Even if they hadn’t fleshed out his psychic powers by this point, the X-Tra Fact refers to his power of Telekinesis (he uses it in X-Force #1, I believe, to move tools around)… as a psychic of any sort, shouldn’t his Mental Powers rating be much higher by default? Cyclops is given a 2 Mental Power, and he doesn’t have any… Storm gets a 6, and freaking Lockheed gets a 3! What the hell.