CABLE & DEADPOOL #6 REVIEW

[Scott Williams]

Reviewer: Scott Williams, yoda905@yahoo.com
Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: If Looks Could Kill Part 6: "I've Got You Under My Skin"

Cable tries to satiate his Jesus complex, and Deadpool just wants to get through customs.

Written by: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Patrick Zircher
Inks: Rob Ross & M3TH of UDON
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit
Colors: Shane Law & Kevin Yan of UDON
Udon Cheif Erik Ko
Assistant Editors: Nicole Wiley & Andy Schmidt
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada

This issue finishes off the inaugeral arc of the new Cable & Deadpool series and I have to say it was a highly successful issue. The whole ordeal about the facade virus is settled in quite a clever way, with Cable basically tricking people into believing he is a savior of humanity. It's very interesting how these events unfold and basically wrap up the first story neatly. And there is more at work here than that, as we learn exactly what it is that is going to compelly Deadpool and Cable to work together from now on. Thanks to the duo's "bonding" at the beginning of last issue, it makes for some very funny moments involving Cable's recently reinstated bodyslide abilities. It's funny, and gross, and yes, quite clever. And, I imagine, quite painful for our heroes. They way the issue is laid out, it reads much better than the previous, and as I already said, wraps things up in quite an interesting way that will benefit the long-term plans of the series. For instance, if you were upset that Wade's scars were healed in last issue, well, breathe a sigh of relief.

I'm very pleased with this issue. It firmly grounds the characters in their characterization. Cable as the complex, tough guy with issues, and Deadpool as the antisocial loner who, yeah, is funny, but only for his own benefit. The characterization laid down in this issue will also help the series grown and tell stories in a better way than most books. I really like the way Cable in particular is growing as a character. And there's also enough Deadpool humour in there to satisfy that crowd (of which I am part,) for instance, his small talk with nutball Cult guy Anton Kruch.

The artwork is also quite good. Zircher, already in the fast lane, maintains high velocity on his pencils, keeping reader interest high even with the story slows down. I like each way each page is laid out, not over-writing each panel, quickly cutting between scenes and panels, it helps for ease of readership. You know, sometimes you'll read a page and there will be far too much written on that page, and sure, it all needs to be said, but not all at once. The pacing is great.

In its first arc, this book has already proven to be formidable. Fabian Nicieza is at the height of his game here, teamed with a terrific artist, and creating interesting and highly enjoyable stories with great characters. It still needs that excellent story to really kick it into those upper levels, but I'm sure that won't be too long in coming.

The second arc is set up at the end of this issue, and it obviously involves the X-Men. I can't say for sure exactly what will happen, although it'll surely involve a hilarious free-for-all between Cable and his dad. And I know this much: Patrick Zircher draws a mean-lookin' Beast. I'll tell you, I'm really looking forward to that.

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[Vilkata]

I didn't like the end setting up the Cable/Astonishing X-men feud. I mean seriously, did we not just see Fury & Cyclops not wanting to work together in Astonishing #3? The time lines have to run somewhat close together since Beast, Cyclops, and Emma are wearing their new X-men uniforms.

[Scott Williams]

I wouldn't know, I don't read Astonishing. And I always ignore inter-comic timelines. Otherwise we'd all instantly go loony trying to think about it.

[Ann Nichols]

I loved Cable's reaction to the witnesses to his shooting of Wade. Unlucky Wade, to get his scars back, but lucky Wade to have his very own straight man on tap.

Cable's Dad? What about his surrogate granddad on Genosha?

I've postulated that Marvel seems to have a rule than any telepath more powerful than Charles Xavier must lose power or die. I guess Nathan is the exception.

[ravensclaw29]

a really great issue, the artwork rocked amnd it was great seeing Graymalkin and cables Bodysliding tecnology returning.

And in regards to continuty issues with Astonshing X-men, i think FABian mentioned somewhere that because of the series being delayed when it first started some of the contiunty would be off with x-force and other titles until the end of the second story arc.

[TheIronYuppie]

I'm glad Graymalkin has been restoed to its former glory! The art was fantasic! Not only are Cable and Wade rendered perfectly, but as a bonus treat we get a GREAT looking Beast, as opposed to the horrible pig-monkey we see in the pages of Astonishing.

[Dark_Phoenix]

Great issue. Really love this series. I couldn't figure out how they were going to keep the two of them together for this whole series but they managed to figure out a way. Great series. Love what Cable did with his ship.

[Cbenioff]

I liked this issue but a lot of stuff left me scratching my head. Help me out if you can...

1) Deadpool's eyebrows weren't blonde. I thought it was established that he had blonde hair... the Deadpool/Death annual is the best source material for this. Perhaps this is more support for Joe kelly's story were we learn T-Ray is Wade Wilson (this was reversed sorta in funeral for a freak but debate rages on). So if Deadpool isn't Wade and he actually has dark hair then were his flashbacks with death just part of his whole crazy Wade Wilson complex... Or did the colorist just mess up?

2) When did Cable get THAT powerful? Is Deadpool's healing factor keeping his TO virus in check so he can go balls out like that?

3) What was the point of Cable turning everyone pink?

4) What caused Deadpool's healing factor to attack the virus and revert his appearance to the way its always been? Cable explains that he knew it would happen but his reasoning makes no sense at all...

Thanks for the help!

[Hookworm]

Originally Posted by Cbenioff

1) Deadpool's eyebrows weren't blonde. I thought it was established that he had blonde hair... the Deadpool/Death annual is the best source material for this. Perhaps this is more support for Joe kelly's story were we learn T-Ray is Wade Wilson (this was reversed sorta in funeral for a freak but debate rages on). So if Deadpool isn't Wade and he actually has dark hair then were his flashbacks with death just part of his whole crazy Wade Wilson complex... Or did the colorist just mess up?

Well sometimes people with blonde hair have darker eyebrow hair color....or...erm.....maybe a coloring mistake

3) What was the point of Cable turning everyone pink?

So that when he publicly turned everyone back to normal they would view him as the savior of humanity.

4) What caused Deadpool's healing factor to attack the virus and revert his appearance to the way its always been? Cable explains that he knew it would happen but his reasoning makes no sense at all...

Yeah...um... I didn't understand this part either.

[autonomousaxiom]

I love this series so far, but then again with Deadpool you can't go wrong in my opinion. Only thing I can really gripe about this issue is Cable keeping 'Pool's healing factor, I hope he loses it soon. That'd make his post "body slide by one" seperations interesting. I agree, Zircher makes Cat-Beast look cool, and I hate Cat-Beast...

Originally Posted by Cbenioff

I1)...Deadpool's eyebrows weren't blonde. I thought it was established that he had blonde hair...

Actually I believe the majority of issues where 'Pool has been seen with hair it's been brown. Briefly in Simone's run, all throughout Kelly's run on the regular series. Deadpool Teamup's sumo wrestling flashbacks, etc.
The only blonde haired issues I recall are Kelly's Deadpool/Death Annual issue and that X-Force issue in that asylum.
I've always thought him to have brown hair...

[The Big Q]

This series has been much fun. I'd never read any of either Cable or Deadpool's books before and just picked it up from a recommendation (and it was a slow week). After the first issue I was hooked. Best line, "Or do they just call you Priscilla now?". I hope the next arc is as much of a hoot as this one was!

[FabianNicieza]

[QUOTE] What caused Deadpool's healing factor to attack the virus and revert his appearance to the way its always been? Cable explains that he knew it would happen but his reasoning makes no sense at all...


Yeah...um... I didn't understand this part either. [END QUOTE]

I should've explained it a bit better but I didn't have the room.
The Facade Virus created a cellular shape-shifting that counteracted Deadpool's normal constant cellular flux, allowing him to have a "normal" face. With the Facade turned off, there was no counteragent, so his body went right back to its flux state, deteriorating to crusty-scabby Wade.

(which, BTW, was never technically the look I wanted. To paraphrase the original plot a decade ago, I wanted "skin like a lava-lamp, always bubbling, oozing and moving like a mercury river." It was simply too hard to draw that, although it sure would look nifty on a movie screen!)

-- fabian

[Chris Day]

i thought that this first arc, overall, was fantastic. now we've got a really interresting and creative reason why cable and deadpool will be spending so much time together in the future.

i want to see deadpool fight the great lakes avengers (lightning-rods) again, at least that way, Fabian can have them return in his new thunderbolts series (with Kurt Busiek) as well...

[ScottyM]

I am really liking this series, love your work Fabien

[Cbenioff]

[QUOTE=FabianNicieza]

What caused Deadpool's healing factor to attack the virus and revert his appearance to the way its always been? Cable explains that he knew it would happen but his reasoning makes no sense at all...


Yeah...um... I didn't understand this part either. [END QUOTE]

I should've explained it a bit better but I didn't have the room.
The Facade Virus created a cellular shape-shifting that counteracted Deadpool's normal constant cellular flux, allowing him to have a "normal" face. With the Facade turned off, there was no counteragent, so his body went right back to its flux state, deteriorating to crusty-scabby Wade.

(which, BTW, was never technically the look I wanted. To paraphrase the original plot a decade ago, I wanted "skin like a lava-lamp, always bubbling, oozing and moving like a mercury river." It was simply too hard to draw that, although it sure would look nifty on a movie screen!)

-- fabian

Wow an official response from the man himself... I feel special. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I never knew why deadpool looked the way he did. I always figured it was because of something Weapon X did to him and not something his healing factor was constantly doing to him. Good to know.

I don't want to push my luck but if you feel like answering another question I would be curious to hear if the current creative team buys into the whole Deadpool is not Wade Wilson thing or not... although its kind of fun not knowing for sure.

[charm]

Brilliant end of the first arc - loved the reappearance of Greymalkin (kinda makes you wonder why Cable hadn't tried it before!). Loved the end - can't wait for Cable to kick Cyke's butt.

However, a quick query - how can Cable read Irene's mind, given that her thoughts were scrambled so that Cable couldn't do this, during the Dark Sisterhood arc ?

Roll on the next arc.

Charm

[BlackSamurai]

Cable has been cured of the techno-organic virus for some time now, although the side effects of robotic parts has remained.

[FabianNicieza]

Don't know diddly about any Wade is not Deadpool story. I've read a lot of the DP monthly series, but not all of it.
Far as I'm concerned, Wade is Deadpool.

Irene's mental scrambling, whether it was meant to be permanant or not, isn't anymore.

I know Cable lost the t-o virus in #100, but like so many kinds of cancer, it came back. I think the character works far better with that liability and limitation imposed on him.

-- fabian

[Scott Williams]

Originally Posted by FabianNicieza

Don't know diddly about any Wade is not Deadpool story. I've read a lot of the DP monthly series, but not all of it.
Far as I'm concerned, Wade is Deadpool.

Irene's mental scrambling, whether it was meant to be permanant or not, isn't anymore.

I know Cable lost the t-o virus in #100, but like so many kinds of cancer, it came back. I think the character works far better with that liability and limitation imposed on him.

-- fabian

Okay everybody, I know this one.

At the end of Joe Kelly's DP run, Wade was fighting T-Ray, because he had kidnapped his Wife, Mercedes Wilson; who was brought back from the dead by T-Ray's paranormal tampering. And then T-Ray revealed that Deadpool wasn't Wade Wilson. That Deadpool was some nameless mercenary on the run who took refuge in the Wilsons' house (Wade, T-Ray's real identity, and Mercedes) and after a period of hospitality, Deadpool killed them both and assumed the identity of Wade Wilson. And I think this was supposed to be before he was ever involved in Weapon X, but I'm not sure.

Then in the second half of Frank Tieri's 8-issue run, T-Ray used his powers to break down all of DP's personality components, but the tables were turned when DP did this to him, and somehow this made it so that DP really was Wade Wilson after all.

Well I don't really understand that part but I remember that was the gist of it. So I disregard the "DP isn't Wade" stories now, and just think of him as being Wade after all. Maybe if you asked Frank, he could help explain it to you. And once you've done that, could you explain it to me?

Keep up the good work, Fabs.

[autonomousaxiom]

Y'see, I do the exact opposite and disregard the ending to Funeral for a Freak. Kelly's story made more sense and just stuck with me too much to be written off by an off-handed comment in a subpar story.

Just my point of view ...

[Cbenioff]

Originally Posted by Scott Williams

Okay everybody, I know this one.

At the end of Joe Kelly's DP run, Wade was fighting T-Ray, because he had kidnapped his Wife, Mercedes Wilson; who was brought back from the dead by T-Ray's paranormal tampering. And then T-Ray revealed that Deadpool wasn't Wade Wilson. That Deadpool was some nameless mercenary on the run who took refuge in the Wilsons' house (Wade, T-Ray's real identity, and Mercedes) and after a period of hospitality, Deadpool killed them both and assumed the identity of Wade Wilson. And I think this was supposed to be before he was ever involved in Weapon X, but I'm not sure.

Then in the second half of Frank Tieri's 8-issue run, T-Ray used his powers to break down all of DP's personality components, but the tables were turned when DP did this to him, and somehow this made it so that DP really was Wade Wilson after all.

Well I don't really understand that part but I remember that was the gist of it. So I disregard the "DP isn't Wade" stories now, and just think of him as being Wade after all. Maybe if you asked Frank, he could help explain it to you. And once you've done that, could you explain it to me?

Keep up the good work, Fabs.

I was basically of the same mind until I checked out a few deadpool fan sites recently. I saw a poll on one that showed that over 50% of die-hard Deadpool fans believe T-Ray is Wade Wilson and they like it that way. Their reasoning was basically that Tieri's story didn't count and made little sense, while Kelly's story was fantastic and added so much depth to an already dynamic character. I also think that since it was Deadpool's own reasoning in Funeral for a Freak that leads him to think he actually IS Wade, then he very well could be trying to convince himself of something he knows isn't true.

But Deadpool is Fabian's character now as he was a decade ago so I will go along with whatever he says. I understand that he can't be expected to read everything a character ever appeared in... although I think some responsibility has to fall on the editor if Marvel even uses editors any more. Joe Kelly's run was just about the greatest 33 issues of any comic I have ever read, and its unfortunate that such an interesting development will most likely be forgotten forever.

I know writers probably hate to hear about what other writers did with their characters, so I won't harp on this issue... I just wanted to hear what people thought. I love the book as it is and Fabian is doing a great job. Cable and Deadpool is tops on my pull list and I can't wait to see where its going!

['zel-J]

Originally Posted by Scott Williams

At the end of Joe Kelly's DP run, Wade was fighting T-Ray, because he had kidnapped his Wife, Mercedes Wilson; who was brought back from the dead by T-Ray's paranormal tampering. And then T-Ray revealed that Deadpool wasn't Wade Wilson. That Deadpool was some nameless mercenary on the run who took refuge in the Wilsons' house (Wade, T-Ray's real identity, and Mercedes) and after a period of hospitality, Deadpool killed them both and assumed the identity of Wade Wilson. And I think this was supposed to be before he was ever involved in Weapon X, but I'm not sure.

Then in the second half of Frank Tieri's 8-issue run, T-Ray used his powers to break down all of DP's personality components, but the tables were turned when DP did this to him, and somehow this made it so that DP really was Wade Wilson after all.

Well I don't really understand that part but I remember that was the gist of it. So I disregard the "DP isn't Wade" stories now, and just think of him as being Wade after all. Maybe if you asked Frank, he could help explain it to you. And once you've done that, could you explain it to me?

Blimey- my brain hurts trying to get my head around that! Kinda makes me glad I don't know much of Deadpool's back-story. Next someone will be telling me that Cable is actually Cyclops' son who travelled back from the future, and is now biologically older than his father. Nah, just kidding- that's just too far-fetched, even for a comic!

[charm]

Know what you mean - I mean, next they'll be suggesting that Cable might be Cyclop's son's clone & that some sort of alternate reality version of him exists in this timeline

Charm

[lobofrag]

never read much of cable or deapool before in their respective series of the past. I picked this up not knowing what to expect, issue's 1 and 2 were decent enough, but the last 4 have been really boring for me. I'm done with this series for now. =/ I guess I would like it more if I was familar with both of their pasts and what not...but as a newbie , this series is just meh to me.

[Scott Williams]

Originally Posted by lobofrag

never read much of cable or deapool before in their respective series of the past. I picked this up not knowing what to expect, issue's 1 and 2 were decent enough, but the last 4 have been really boring for me. I'm done with this series for now. =/ I guess I would like it more if I was familar with both of their pasts and what not...but as a newbie , this series is just meh to me.

I guess I can understand that, but it's lamentable.