Wait, you mean Josh Brolin (Thanos) plays another Marvel character in ‘Deadpool 2’?!
You know Thanos, that big purple bad guy in Avengers: Infinity War? It turns out that he’s also playing another leading Marvel character in Deadpool 2 – Cable!
If you’re even a casual fan of the X-Men (or you watched the 90’s X-Men animated series), you’ll know how important Cable is to the X-Men mythos. That’s why him appearing in Deadpool 2 is so important – it’s not just fan service, but a significant addition to the X-Men film universe. Why, Cable’s appearance means that we might finally see the resolution to the budding romance between –
But wait, maybe we should explain just how important a character Cable is in the X-Men universe. He’s possibly even more important than Deadpool himself, because Cable’s existence means that –
Okay, okay, we’re going to explain why Cable is so critical to the expansion of the X-Men cinematic universe.
1. He’s the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey… sort of
Cable (Josh Brolin) in Deadpool 2. Credit: Twentieth Century Fox
So you know how Cyclops and Jean Grey are the classic X-Men couple, but we never really get to see their relationship pay off? It turns out that in the comics, Cable is the son of Cyclops (yes, that optic blast wielding Cyclops) and Madelyne Pryor (a clone of Jean Grey).
This means that genetically speaking, he’s virtually the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey! Deadpool 2 doesn’t exactly go into the the parentage of Cable, and it’s possible that he might very well be the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey. Perhaps Dark Phoenix, the upcoming X-Men film, will shed some light on this.
Finally, a conclusion to the Cyclops-Jean Grey romance!
2. Cable comes from the future
We already had a time traveller in X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bishop, who can absorb energy and channel it back at his foes. While we don’t quite see that time travelling aspect in the film, Bishop is a time traveller in the comics who ends up getting stuck in the past when he changes events (and hence, the future where he comes from).
The reason why Cable has all that high-tech gear is because his equipment is literally from the future. It’s even lampshaded in the old Marvel Overpower collectible card game, where one of his powers is the Really Big Gun (a reference to his oversized, futuristic guns).
Really Big Gun. Credit: eBay
He’s also from a possible future where Apocalypse (remember him?) has sort of taken over the world and, well, started the apocalypse.
So since Cable exists, it means that Apocalypse is eventually victorious in the future.
3. Cable has vast psychic powers – and is very, very sick
Cable and Deadpool. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas
Being the son of Jean Grey’s genetic material, Cable has vast psychic powers (inherited from his mother). But why don’t we see him flinging enemies around like they were made of cardboard?
That’s because he’s infected with a deadly techno-organic virus. In the comics, Apocalypse exposed Cable to a virus that turns all his organic body parts into machinery. Once his entire body has been converted to technology, he dies. So Cable needs to constantly use his psionic powers to keep that techno-organic virus at bay. It explains his cyborg appearance, and why he has a robotic arm and eye in most appearances.
Recently, he has been cured of the techno-organic virus in the comics – but whether that will last is a whole other matter altogether.
4. Cable was raised by Cyclops and Jean Grey
In the most convoluted family drama possible, Cable (who’s real name is Nathan Summers) was kidnapped as an infant from the near future, and then brought to the far future to be raised as the last hope against Apocalypse’s reign.
Then Cyclops and Jean Grey were kidnapped from the present timeline and transported to the future to raise their son for twelve years, under the guise of Slym (Cyclops) and Redd (Jean Grey).
It would be much easier if everyone stayed in the present and Cable was raised like a regular child (no techno-organic virus, for one) – but the X-Men comics being what they are, Cable had to have the most complicated childhood possible.
Wonder if Dark Phoenix will show how Cable was raised in the X-Men movie universe?
5. Cable has a son
If you were a fan of the 90’s X-Men animated series, you’ll remember that Cable had a son. A son! Yes, that grumpy grizzly cyborg veteran had the time to make a son, despite growing up in a wartorn universe.
His son was Tyler Dayspring, although in the comics, Tyler has never been been proven to actually be Cable’s son. But Tyler’s existence means that Cyclops and Jean Grey have a grandson who grew up in the future. Given that they seem to be still working out the kinks in their relationship in the comics (long story, one of them is/was dead for a while), it’s huge news that their son has already had a son of his own.
It’s unlikely that we’ll see Tyler in the movies, but you never know what the studios are thinking!
6. Cable has an evil clone
Cable vs Stryfe. Credit: The Unspoken Decade
So we’ve covered Cable’s parents (Cyclops and sort-of Jean Grey), son (possibly Tyler), and nemesis (Apocalypse). That sounds like enough drama to last for a couple of movies, assuming Cable gets his own spin-off film, right?
Well, it turns out that Cable also has an evil clone (which means Cyclops and Jean Grey sort of have an evil son), named Stryfe! Unlike Cable, Stryfe doesn’t have to constantly fight off a techno-organic viral infection, so it means that he can utilise his psychic powers to their fullest extent. This makes him one of the X-Men’s deadliest enemies, so much so that he was the central villain of the 1992 comics crossover even, the “X-Cutioner’s Song”.
X-Cutioner has a certain (punny) ring to it, as with many objects and people in the X-Men universe. You might also chuckle or groan at the fact that Cable has a Psi-Mitar, a spear that helps him to focus his psychic powers.
Deadpool 2. Credit: Golden Village Cinemas
So now that you know everything about Cable, what about seeing him in action? The time-travelling psychic cyborg mutant soldier, played by Josh Brolin, appears in Deadpool 2 to clash with the Merc with a Mouth. If you thought that Josh Brolin was a tall, broad-shouldered fellow, you’ll be surprised to discover that he’s only 1.78m (which means he’s got a much smaller frame than his comics counterpart). That means he looks much shorter when standing next to his co-star, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), who’s an impressive 1.88m tall.
But that doesn’t make Cable any less deadly. In fact, he’s one of the reasons why we even have a Deadpool 2 movie! While their battles look spectacular on screen, they’ll look even better on a laser projector in a Duo Deluxe hall!
Are you ready to catch everyone’s scarred fast-healing mutant mercenary on screens again? He’s back in Deadpool 2 (and also, it’s M18, sorry kids!).
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Credits: Golden Village Cinemas, Twentieth Century Fox, The Unspoken Decade, eBay
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