Cable v.3, #1 unofficial spoiled recap, discuss without needing spoiler tags.

[Ann Nichols]

THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, ANNOTATED, OPINIONATED RECAP. THE OFFICIAL REVIEWS ARE HERE: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...isplay.php?f=4

THE OFFICIAL ISSUE SUMMARIES ARE HERE:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...splay.php?f=48


THIS RECAP WAS POSTED LATER THAN THE ON-SALE DATE AS A COURTESY TO THE WRITER.

COVER: Cable looks extremely grim and the baby girl looks as if she, too, is ready for a fight. Cute baby!

Writer: Mr. Duane Swierczynski, Artist: Mr. Ariel Olivetti, Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Mr. Joe Caramagna, Cover Artist: Mr. Olivetti, Assistant Editor: Mr. Will Panzo, Editor: Mr. Axel Alonso, Editor In Chief: Mr. Joe Quesada, Publisher: Mr. Dan Buckley
Variant Cover by Messrs. Rob Liefeld & Mike Caprioti
Scroll down to see the variant cover: http://marvel.com/catalog/?date=2008-03-05

Story Arc title: "War Baby, Chapter One"

Eric Travis & Robin Lewis' summaries of the issues in the "Messiah Complex" crossover:
"Messiah Complex" one-shot: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=43855
"Uncanny X-Men" #492: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=43878
"X-Factor" v.3, #25: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=43945
"New X-Men" v.2, #44: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=43993
"X-Men" v.2, #205: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44029
"Uncanny X-Men" #493: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44079
"X-Factor" v.3, #26: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44121
"New X-Men" v.2, #45: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44147
"X-Men" v.2, #206: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44205
"Uncanny X-Men" #494: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44242
"X-Factor" v.3, #27: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44293
"New X-Men" v.2, #46: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44326
"X-Men" v.2, #207: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ad.php?t=44375

SPOILER!

RECAP PAGE:

CABLE

Soldier. Hero. X-Man. Nathan Summers, the former mercenary known as Cable, is many things to many people, but above all he is a mutant. Born with special abilities that distinguish him from normal humans, he has fought to prevent his dwindling race's extinction. Now charged with protecting the first mutant born since M-Day, the day when all but one percent of mutantkind lost their powers, he has escaped with the "messiah baby" into the timestream. Abandoning his world and his allies, Cable knows that wherever he lands he'll have to fight for survival.

********
"the day when all but one percent" Not again! Not when Marvel was finally getting it right and admitting that there were millions of mutants before M-Day. I wish they'd settle for a nice, safe "tiny percentage" or "fewer than one percent".

Cable bios: http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/spotli...=10&fldAuto=64
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...ead.php?t=2101
http://www.marvel.com/universe/Cable
http://www.mutanthigh.com/cable.html
http://marveldirectory.com/individuals/c/cable.htm
http://marveldirectory.com/individuals/b/bishop.htm
********

PAGE ONE:

[The road ends at the water and there is no bridge. I like the effect of the sunlight on the water, but the grey sky is almost as depressing as seeing so many damaged skyscrapers (some of which have me wondering why their top floors haven't caved in already), in the distance. Nathan stands a prudent distance from the end of the road. No, he's not going to swim across.]

(CAPTION) NEW JERSEY. 2043 A.D.


CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): My name is Nathan Summers. I'm a soldier. I'm trained for this. Hurrah! None of that trying to pretend he's not a Summers nonsense!

********
A.D. = "An abbreviation used with a date, indicating how many years have passed since the birth of Jesus. The abbreviation may appear before the date (a.d. 1988), or it may appear after the date (1988 a.d.). It stands for anno Domini, a Latin phrase meaning 'in the year of our Lord.' (Compare b.c.)" The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Answers.com 11 Mar. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/a-d
********

PAGE TWO:

[Pages 2-7 have black backgrounds, giving the panels black borders.]

[headshot, Nathan's dufflebag lying across his left shoulder.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): This used to be East Orange. The barge captain laughed when I said I wanted to go to New York. "Yeah, me too," he said.

[In this panel we can tell that Nathan isn't wearing a cape, it's a poncho (without a fringe). Nathan has apparently turned to go the other way. Water is splashing over the edge of the road.

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): I heard some radio on the boat. There were references to massive East Coast flooding and "the Superstorm of 2012." I didn't imagine it would be this bad. That storm was 31 years ago and things are still this bad, huh? Wow...

[Cable glances over at a gas station to the right. I wince to see that the price on the sign is $39.95. I'm assuming that's per gallon.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): But it's okay. I'm a soldier. I'm trained for this.

********
East Orange, New Jersey: http://www.answers.com/East+Orange?cat=travel
If East Orange is a suburb of Newark, I guess we can figure out which area was flooded: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/c...sstates/nj.htm

poncho: http://www.answers.com/topic/poncho

1 gallon [US, liquid] = 0.832 674 184 629 gallon [UK]
********

PAGE THREE:

[The Honda Explorer ad has Bigfoot from that old film chatting with the car. I've been forgetting to mention it. It makes me smile.]

[Someone, probably a man under the hood, tunic, wrapped in bandages like a mummy's except for the toes of the shoes, clothing, eyes & forehead, and fingers below the knuckles. Thick glasses or goggles cover the eyes. Is that a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun he's holding?]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): I'm trained for everything. No you, aren't! You can't possibly be trained for EVERYTHING. Suppose you woke up in the body of a female toy poodle in heat and the other dogs in the pen are an Irish Wolfhound, a Great Dane, and a St. Bernard -- all intact males. Were you trained to cope with that?

[The stranger points his gun at Nathan.]

SHOOTER: You haven't paid your toll, big man.

[Nathan looks irritated.]

CABLE: Toll?

[three-quarters upper body view of the guy who hasn't sense enough to worry if the man he's pointing his gun at doesn't even seem nervous]

SHOOTER: For the bridge. You're in Jersey, friend. Nothing free here.

[headshot, Nathan sneering]

CABLE: I don't see any bridge.

[The twit gestures with his gun. The bridge is between two buildings' upper stories and has nothing to do with the road.]

SHOOTER: Why sure you do. It's right over there. How could you miss it?

PAGE FOUR:

[Nathan frowning. His expression would make me take an involuntary step backwards.]

CABLE: I'm an old man. My vision's not so good.
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): I can see him in the reflection of that storefront window.

[Another guy dressed like the first except his face is covered, not wrapped, and his hands aren't wrapped either, except for the fingers below the knuckles. He's in the middle of the three windows we can see.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): The second shooter, six o'clock. One floor up. Sniper rifle trained on my head.

[The third guy has bandages across the bottom of his face, but it looks as if he doesn't have a nose -- is that some kind of flat, triangular metal plate where his nose should be? His hands are unwrapped. I think he's missing almost all of his right forefinger.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): And there's a third shooter with a grenade launcher. Four o'clock. Insurance shot.

[Shooter #1 and Cable are seen as small silhouettes. The backgrounds in these panels show what a decayed place this is : broken concrete, rusted metal, including big oil drums, a piece of broken wall lying in the road, peeling paint...]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): All of this ordinance (sic) tells me one thing.

********
If you've known only digital clocks, here's a photo of a clock face so you'll be able to see where 6 o'clock is:
http://www.fotosearch.com/DGV035/200255432-001/

"Insurance shot" -- Nathan is using this definition of "insurance": "A protective measure: biking helmets that provide insurance against a head injury." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 12 Mar. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/insurance (The third shooter is there to make sure that Cable is killed if neither of the other two shooters kill him -- if they decide to kill him.)

"All of this ordinance" -- I'm quite sure that Cable meant "ordnance".
"ordinance" = http://www.answers.com/topic/ordinance
"ordnance" = http://www.answers.com/topic/ordnance
********

PAGE FIVE:

[Nathan, still sneering, reaches for his knife]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): They're amateurs.

[Shooter #1's eyebrows are raised and, in spite of all that bandaging, he looks nervous]

SHOOTER # ONE: Hey now! Don't get stupid.
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): And there are certain things to keep in mind when dealing with amateurs.

[focus on Nathan's fingerless-gloved right hand, its fingertips touching the knife's hilt. I doubt that that is a watch on Nathan's right wrist. He's got a little rectagular pouch hanging from his belt. Behind him, not close, is a chain link fence. An oil drum filled with what is probably trash is behind the fence. The sun shining on that drum makes it look almost like silver. How pretty.]

CABLE: You misunderstand me, friend. I don't want any trouble.

[Nathan's hand tossing the nice, big knife at Shooter #1's feet. The mummy-like wrappings are completely around his boots in this panel. The knife has one smooth edge and one serrated edge.]

CABLE: Here.
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): For one, they're easy to distract.

[The building behind him appears completely shadowed as Shooter #1's left hand picks up the knife. His sawed-off double-barreled shotgun is still pointed at Nathan, but the fool's eyes are on the knife.]

CABLE (OFF-PANEL): Nice, huh? Check out the tip of that son of a $#$%^.

********
"Don't get stupid." = "Don't do anything stupid." (Shooter #1 probably means, "Don't do anything that would force me to shoot at you because I'm not sure I'd be able to kill you with my first shot and you might still be able to hurt me.")

chainlink fence (also spelled "chain link fence") photo: http://www.fotosearch.com/DSN014/1790945/

oil drum photo: http://www.fotosearch.com/PDS149/rbv1_15/

You misunderstand me, friend. -- Cable is using "friend" the way Wolverine uses "bub".

"I don't want any trouble." "I don't want any trouble from you." is a warning to behave well that implies the threat of punishment, which could be as light as being forced to sit or stand in a corner or as harsh as death, depending upon the circumstances. "I don't want any trouble." is a phrase that means "Please don't hurt me."

"Huh" is usually used to show that the speaker is surprised or didn't understand what s/he just heard. "Huh" can also be used to ask if another or others agree with what the speaker has suggested. Cable is asking for agreement.

"Check out the tip of that son of a $#$%^." = Visually examine the tip of that son of a [word meaning female dog that is rude when used with "son of a"].
********

PAGE SIX:

[Are those goggle-like lenses just held by the eyelids? In any case, Shooter #1's gaze is on the knife. He is very foolishly checking out the tip.]

[Nathan kicks his right boot into Shooter #1's left shoulder, driving the big knife about 3/4ths of the way in to the chest near the fool's right shoulder. TWUCK] &

SHOOTER # ONE (VERY BIG BROWN LETTERS THAT SPILL OVER THE BORDER OF THE WORD BALLOON): AGHH!

[Shooter #2 aiming his sniper rifle]

[Nathan grabs Shooter #1with his left arm and pulls him to his chest.]

SHOOTER # ONE: Uhhhhhhh...
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): They're also easy to surprise.

PAGE SEVEN:

[Shooter #2 has fired three times. ZING ZIP ZING Two of the bullets hit Shooter #1, but one just cut a nasty hole in Nathan's right arm. Still, Shooter #1 has let go of his gun -- within extremely easy reach of Nathan's right hand!]

SHOOTER # ONE (BIG BLACK LETTERS THAT SPILL OVER THE BORDER OF THE WORD BALLOON): HRGK

[Ha! Nathan fires the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun!! BA-DOOM]

[A hole appears in Shooter #2's lower chest. His head is snapped back into the window frame in a spray of blood!]

[Shooter #3 is in the background. We can tell by the set of Nathan's head that he hasn't forgotten the man. On the other hand, Shooter #3's head doesn't look as it did on p.4. It's not that his hood is down -- he's wearing ordinary goggles, a white band across his forehead, and his lower face is uncovered. He most certainly has a nose.]

[Nathan's right hand yanking his big knife out of Shooter #1. SKUTCH]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): You can even use the same weapon twice.

********
sawed-off double-barreled shotgun photo: http://www.fotosearch.com/CRT001/000096bs/
********

PAGE EIGHT:

[Nathan throws his knife toward the left and, at the same time, shoves Shooter #1 to the right.]

[The knife lands in Shooter #3! THWUK His grenade launcher goes off. FWOOOOOOSH]

SHOOTER # THREE: Urk!
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Even better, you can often turn their own weapons against them.

[Nathan ducks and Shooter #1 gets hit by the grenade. He's in flames! FA-BOOOOOM]

SHOOTER # ONE (BIG BROWN LETTERS THAT SPILL OVER THE BORDER OF THE WORD BALLOON): AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE
I'm surprised he wasn't dead before this.

[Nathan, profile shot -- note the body of Shooter #3. I'm not sure, from looking at later pages, if Nathan retrieved his big knife.

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Still, for a bunch of amateurs, that was close.

PAGE NINE:

[Gah! pages 9 & 10 (and the two-page ad on their other sides) came loose very quickly.]

[There's a skyscraper in the background as Nathan lifts the front of his poncho, revealing the baby. She's a strawberry blonde with cute little curls and her eyes are blue-green.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Way too close.

[smaller panel of the baby turning her head. I think she's looking around.]

********
strawberry blonde photo: http://www.fotosearch.com/PHD620/rbf1_04/

"Way too close" -- Nathan means that they came too close to being killed.
********

PAGE TEN:

[Nathan removes the baby from her carrier on his chest and holds her so that she faces him. He wrinkles his nose. Thank goodness! In this panel it's clear that the baby is bigger than Nathan's hands.]

CABLE: *sniff*

[Nathan headshot -- you can tell the diaper stinks.]

[Nathan, baby, & to the left -- the corpse of Shooter #3 with that white scarf headband.]

[Nathan's right hand removing the scarf. What is that reddish spot on Shooter #3's neck -- a birthmark?]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): I'm a soldier.

[Nathan holding the scarf, which is folded so that it's a triangle. I do hope he's checking to see if it's clean. I also hope he's going to clean that carrier.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): I'm trained for everything.

PAGE ELEVEN:

[We've finally reached the title page! Nathan's right arm still has blood running down it. He squats as he changes the baby's diaper. She's lying on a white cloth laid on a big chunk of broken wall. Note the size of the hole in Shooter #1's corpse. Did Nathan put out the flames?]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Everything but this.

********
I don't know Cable that well. Didn't he help care for Tyler when he was a baby?
Tyler: http://www.marvel.com/universe/Genesis
http://www.mutanthigh.com/genesis.html
********


PAGE TWELVE:

[Nathan winds a bandage around his wounded arm while the baby cries.]

BABY(BIG BLACK LETTERS): WAAAHHHHH!
CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): We've been traveling five months, much of it on a boat, from the coast of Scotland to here. The beach town of East Orange, New Jersey.

[upper half of the baby. Nathan's thoughts explain what she's doing]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Much of it listening to the baby cry. I'll bet that didn't endear you to anyone else who was on the boat -- unless you two were alone.

[Nathan looking troubled (or, perhaps, trying to be patient), as he uses his techno-organic hand to hold the baby against his right shoulder.]

BABY (BIG BROWN LETTERS THAT SPILL OVER THE BORDER OF THE WORD BALLOON): AHHHHHHHH!
CABLE: Come on, little girl. It's okay.

:warp: WE HAVE JUST ENTERED A FLASHBACK

[Cooperstown, Alaska hospital, Nathan holding the newborn baby, who is long enough to reach the base of the skull of her five months-old self, nursery incubator in the foreground]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): Which is strange, because five months ago, she rarely cried. Not when I took her from the incubator. After I skimmed the information below, I think the baby is very unhappy about being in that carrier so much, especially when she's hidden by a poncho. What are you doing to interest her mind, Nathan?

Typical infant development at 4 to 6 months of age:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/infa...9/METHOD=print

********
Why did the trip take so long? Was the boat stopping off at a lot of places? Is the Atlantic Ocean that much worse to sail in 2043? This guy used a sailboat and took only 7 weeks, two of those weeks spent in port.
https://cms.amherst.edu/users/B/hfbl...6/trnsatlantic

"Come on, little girl." -- Nathan is using this definition of "come on": "To stop an inappropriate behavior; abandon a position or an attitude; be obliging. Used chiefly in the imperative: You've used the same feeble excuse for weeks. Come on! The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/come This type of "come on" can also be used to encourage or coax someone, and that is how Nathan is using it.

********

PAGE THIRTEEN:

[Grim Nathan shooting, wide-eyed baby in the carrier, silhouette of someone in the background -- the person has red circles (lenses?) over his/her eyes or for eyes. I wonder what he did with that Captain America's shield design over the sleeve cap on his right shoulder. It's not visible in the present.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Not when I had to blast our way out of the hospital.

[Nathan using his right hand to brace himself as he leaps over a fallen tree in a forest. They traveled a long road from "XM" v.2, #205 - 206, see the links before this recap starts.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Not on the long road we traveled.

[The background looks like some ruin with the baby lying on the ground or street and Nathan trying to get up. Lucas is pointing a gun at the baby. It does not look like Forge's place in Eagle Plaza, Dallas, Texas, where Nathan temporarily lost the baby in UXM #494, nor does it look like Muir Island in "X-Men" v.2, #207. Lucas did indeed shoot at Nathan and the baby in the opening pages of #207, but Nathan did not lose hold of the baby.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Not even when I lost her.

********
Lucas Bishop bios: http://uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/...=10&fldAuto=74
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/...read.php?t=336
http://www.marvel.com/universe/Bisho...ucas_Bishop%29
http://www.mutanthigh.com/bishop.html
http://marveldirectory.com/individuals/b/bishop.htm
********

PAGE FOURTEEN:

[Different ruins that don't make me think of Muir Island, although the action here is definitely from "X-Men" v.2, #207. Lucas looking at Nathan, Nathan in the middle (both men have their hands clenched into fists), Predator X on the right. The mutant-eating monster is looking at Lucas. The baby is not visible.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): And in the end, there wasn't time to think.

[Predator X biting off Lucas' right arm]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Just act.

[Scott giving the baby to Nathan. The silhouletted figure behind Nathan is Professor X.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Just run.

********
http://www.answers.com/Predator+X?cat=entertainment
********

PAGE FIFTEEN:

[Nathan and the baby (in her carrier) travel in the time stream. It looks beautiful. (Nathan was still holding the baby when he arrived in the future at the end of XM v.2, #207.)

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): This baby is our only hope. Someday she will save us all.


:warp: WE HAVE JUST LEFT THE FLASHBACK

[Nathan looks troubled. The baby, sleeping on his shoulder, looks adorable.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): Once, I was sent forward in time so that my life could be spared. I was told I was destined for something important. Maybe it's this. Heaven knows your attempts to destroy Apocalypse haven't worked out in the long run. See Cable's bios -- the links are among the annotations for the recap page.

********
Scott let Nathan be taken to the future in "X-Factor" v.1, #68.
Issue summary: http://uncannyxmen.net/db/issues/sho...p?fldAuto=2587
********

PAGE SIXTEEN:

[The baby is back in her carrier and back to looking really small. I think she's sucking her thumb. Nathan has his left hand over the carrier. I believe he's looking down at her.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): That bullet should have never touched me. I'm getting sloppy. Probably exhaustion.

[eyebrows to lower lip Nathan faceshot. He's looking up, his mouth downturned]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOXES): I haven't fully closed my eyes since Muir Island. Rest would be good. And knowing you, kid, you'll be hungry again soon.

[It's a diner. The sign reads, "LAST STOP U.S.A." (Each letter of "U.S.A." is painted red, white, & blue.) ]

[Closer view of the diner. Three silhouettes seen inside. A window is covered with boards. I'll bet that's cold in the winter. Under the sign we can see part of the original name: "Celestial Diner."]

********
"I'm getting sloppy." -- Nathan is using this definition of "sloppy": Marked by a lack of care or precision; slipshod: sloppy use of language." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 15 Mar. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/sloppy
********

PAGE SEVENTEEN:

[Inside a diner or the "Last Stop U.S.A." diner. The weather in this time might be different enough from our time to account for how long it took Nathan and the baby to get from Scotland to New Jersey. The TV screen reads "Seattle Drought in Day 79" (with "TWCNN" in smaller letters). There's a set of empty shelves on one wall. Three men are sitting at the counter. A blonde appears to be working behind the counter. There's a booth in the foreground. That blue bottle might be filled with beer. We can't see much of the person sitting there except for a bionic right arm with muscles big enough to be worthy of the Juggernaut -- and almost big enough to be worthy of the Hulk from "World War Hulk". I hope it's not as heavy as it looks.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOXES): It's not so much the miles behind me. It's everything else. The waiting. The repetition. The monotony. The spaces in between.

[The bionic hand reaches for the bottle with a WHI-RRRRRRR sound. There's a stack of paper on the booth's table, over to the right.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOX): Day in. Day out. Year in. Year out. How many years?

[The bionic hand had closed around the bottle. The top piece of paper has writing on it.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOX): But in just a few minutes...

[The metal thumb flips the bottlecap off and golden liquid bubbles out. The stack of paper is actually a note pad. The writing on the is too scribbled for me to read any words. It's not the top sheet of the note pad -- one piece of paper has already been turned over.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOX): ...it will all be worth it.

********
This link answers the question, "Is Seattle really the rain capitol of the world?" http://www.komotv.com/weather/faq/4308212.html

"Blonde" is the feminine form of "blond."

the Juggernaut bio showing this big arms: http://marvel.com/universe/Juggernaut_%28Cain_Marko%29
the Hulk bio: http://marvel.com/universe/Hulk_%28Bruce_Banner%29
********

PAGE EIGHTEEN:

[Nathan puts the poncho back over his chest. If that's a poster over to the right, I can't make it out.]

CABLE (SOFTLY): Shhhhh. Don't fuss now, little girl. It's just until I check the place out.
CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Here's hoping they have something that passes for milk.
Here's hoping the baby isn't malnourished!

[Nathan looks inside as he nears the diner's entrance.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Just a little food, maybe some rest. Then we keep moving.

[Nathan pushing the door open. A clock hung over the two windows in front of the entranceway shows that it's 15 minutes after 9 o'clock.]

[A closer look at that clock and the time.]

PAGE NINETEEN:

[It's a digital watch with a red "X" on its circular face and at least a part of that circle has a red border. The arm the watch is on is either brown or is covered with a brown sleeve. The time is 9:15:55.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOXES): Just seconds away now. Oh yeah.

[The bionic hand reaching for a big gun next to the owner's leg. Note the bit of red showing under the edge of the booth's table -- could it be an "X"?]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOX): I can feel them.

[There's a SNAP -- I think the bionic hand has released the gun's safety catch.]

[Some of the people in the diner, minding their own business -- they all have their backs to the gunman, whose gun is pointed at the inner door of the diner's glassed-in entranceway.]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOXES): No hesitation this time. Not this time.

PAGE TWENTY:

[Nathan opens the inner door and looks toward our left. There's a security camera behind him. I wonder if it still works.]

[One man on a counter stool, under the TV, two booths next to the back wall, but people are sitting in them]

CABLE (OFF-PANEL THOUGHT BOX): I need a table against the wall.

[Two other men sitting at the counter, the blonde (who is quite pretty), wiping the counter as she looks toward our left]

CABLE (OFF-PANEL THOUGHT BOX): It's important to be able to keep an eye on the whole...

[Nathan looks toward our right and is alarmed.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): No!

[Bionic hand, gun pointing toward our right]

BIONIC RIGHT ARM (THOUGHT BOX): No waiting. No flinching. Just finish the job.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE:

[The gun shooting, three cartridges flying into the air, one above the panel, a streak of gray in the black background beyond the panel. BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM]

[Nathan, his teeth clenched, has his techno-organic left arm across his chest. Three of the bullets hit it. ZIP ZIP PING The fourth hits his right arm below the bandage and goes on to break the glass in the door.]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Got to protect the baby.
CABLE (shakily outlined word balloon): Uh.

[Nathan falling backwards through a big window. KRAAAAASH]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Protect the baby.

[Nathan's head. He appears to be lying on his back, probably on the sidewalk. His techno-organic eyes, the only one visible, is closed. Blood is trickling from the left corner of his mouth. Oh, dear...]

CABLE (THOUGHT BOX): Protect...

I'm not spoiling the last page, but if you haven't figured out who Bionic Right Arm is...



Yes, I found the issue interesting. Poor Nathan -- he's had a rough time of it. I'm also worried about that baby's health, both physical and mental, and how it's being affected by their on-the-run lifestyle. The art is grim without being utterly dark. I want to know just what changed the weather and how Nathan and the baby are going to get out of this cliff-hanger.

Rabid fan checklist [a cameo, a flashback, a photo/painting even!]: Bishop, Baby, Cable, Cyclops, & Predator X

[the m0nk3y]

Weird. I remember hating the art when they first previewed some of the pages, but now I love every single page of it. Really surprised me.
The whole issue was setup, though I enjoyed it. So I'm currently in for the next five issues. Also didn't mind how Bishop showed up. Some readers seem bent on typing him into black hat wearing, mustache twirling villain. I call that a disservice to the character. The guy is a classic case of Greek Tragedy. Hopefully the writer gives a fair portrayal of both sides. Frankly, haven't been this much interested in Bishop since forever.

[Berry]

"I'M A COP!"

Shut up Bishop, that line was old by the 2nd issue of X-Treme

[Havok-X2]

Finally Cable has his own solo again and I loved it! Great first issue. The art was unique and top notch and the writing was good. Im really going to dig this series. The violence shocked me though and Im not used to seeing that in my comics but it seems to be a trend with the X-books with Wolverine and X-force heading in this direction.

WTF happened to Bishop's arm. He couldnt at least get one that was in right proportions? His new arm just looks odd. lol..loved seeing the flashback of Predator taking a bite out of his old one. It should have eaten his head

[psi.lock]

I really enjoyed this issue. It was slow paced, and not too in depth. I liked that with everything going on with the other x-titles right now. I really like the contrats between Bishop, and Cable.

Both from the future.
Bishop black, and Cable white.
Bishop has a bionic right arm, and cable has a bionic left arm.
Bishop has an M over right eye, and Cable has a glow with his left eye.
It's like Ying and Yang

I wonder if those were planned on with these two characters, or just fell into place like that...??/

[MrMizzarc]

Are we going to get a Cable Thread like we have for all the other books, so we can have somewhere to follow the book?

[Havok-X2]

Originally Posted by MrMizzarc

Are we going to get a Cable Thread like we have for all the other books, so we can have somewhere to follow the book?

I think we should. I was looking for one before I saw this thread

[MrMizzarc]

Well after reading this weeks X-Position, i think Cable (the book) Deserves his own thread. Can us Users Create it, or does it need to be mod Created?

[Ann Nichols]

Let me check and see if solo books (except for individual issue threads) have to have their threads under the character's name in the character discussion section. If that rule is no longer in effect, one of us will start a thread for the title.

Edit: I asked.

[Ann Nichols]

Okay, the recap is finally finished. Yay!