Exterminating evil, one era at a time.
CABLE: Uh-uh.
Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origins of
Cable, otherwise known as Nathan Summers.
CABLE: Not a great start.
[grunts]
As with most comic book characters, there are often reimaginings and different versions to a character's past.
CABLE: I don't mind bein' wrong, as long as I can correct my mistakes.
We've chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in 1986’s Uncanny X-Men issue #201,
which was expanded upon in 1991's X-Factor #67.
This mutant has appeared through multiple continuities of the X-Men franchise
with the aid of his time-traveling tech.
He's also quite notable for boasting some of the most powerful telepathic
and telekinetic powers his universe has ever seen.
GAMBIT: Who are you?
CABLE: The wild man of Borneo.
See ya around.
Cable first appeared as a newborn conceived by X-Men's Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor,
who was soon revealed to be a clone of Scott's first love, Jean Grey.
Upon learning of her false origin, Madelyne became unhinged
and planned on using her newborn as a sacrifice to open a portal between Earth and a demon-inhabited Limbo.
Saving his son and foiling Madelyne's diabolic plot,
Scott would later encounter an even greater threat
when Apocalypse infected Nathan with a deadly techno-organic virus.
Apocalypse discovered that the birth of the child was actually an elaborate scheme
hatched by Mr. Sinister and decided to retaliate before the plan could be completed.
MR. SINISTER: Your genetic material will be the foundation.
CYCLOPS: [groans]
MR. SINISTER: The master bloodline for an unbeatable race of mutants who will be my slaves.
Apocalypse's infection would soon see Nathan's whole body transformed into techno-organic material
if Scott and Jean couldn't develop a cure.
Faced with no other options, the two left their baby in the hands of a Clan Askani member from a distant future,
claiming she could save the boy.
Taking him 2,000 years into the future, the Mother Askani determined that
the virus was far too developed and settled on cloning Nathan in case he didn't make it.
This would soon lead Apocalypse to kidnap the clone and raise it as his own super-soldier, known as Strife.
APOCALYPSE: I, who am eternal, can never be defeated!
The Mother Askani then opted on manifesting the projections of Scott and Jean
to help raise the young Cable in the distant future.
In growing up with his parents, Nathan soon discovered how to cease the progression of the
techno-organic virus with his telekinetic abilities.
When his mutant powers further increased into his teenage years, he succeeded in destroying Apocalyspe.
CABLE: The name's Cable. Remember it... Apocalypse.
Confident in his skill, Nathan takes off to defeat the super-mutant in the past, while also adopting
the alias of "Cable."
Catching on to the time traveler's plans, Strife follows suit to see an end to Cable
and to stop him from killing Apocalypse.
While in the present, the two would frequently butt heads.
However, the evil clone's armies proved too formidable for Cable to contend with alone.
It wasn't until the mutant formed a resistance team known as the X-Force
that he was able to decimate Strife and his moon base.
Without his clone in the picture, Cable now had the full opportunity
to face off with Apocalypse once more to save the sanctity of the present era.
Cable defeated Apocalypse and preserved his own future,
but, thanks to temporal paradox, he would still live on in multiple timelines.
Cable's future time travels would inexplicably link him to Apocalypse, so much so that it was revealed
that Cable himself infected Apocalypse with the techno-organic virus long ago,
thereby allowing Apocalypse to infect him many years later, rendering his whole existence into a paradox.
COMPUTER: Somehow, the past is being changed and the timestream is realigning.
Over the years, Cable has appeared in various X-Men titles, spin-offs, and media.
His insurmountable telekinetic powers and advanced weaponry from the future
not only make this character possibly the most capable X-Man of the series, but one of the most favored.
Are you a fan of the time-traveling mutant?
CABLE: Take your best shot! You'll never win!
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CABLE: If you don't, my future won't exist.