Cable 25 - A Walk on the Wild/Lighter Side

With Second Coming in full swing it couldn't be more serious in the X-books. The fate of the mutant race is on the line. Hope has returned from the future with Cable. There's no room for joking around, humor, or so much as a smile. So it comes as quite a surprise for a book like Cable 25 to come out, which is as heavy on laughs as it is on humor.

For anyone who hasn't been following the X-books up to Second Coming, it doesn't matter. This book takes place way back during Messiah Complex before the X-men even moved to San Francisco. It answered a burning question and gaping plot hole that had been lingering for years. How did Cable get to baby Hope before the X-men and the Purifiers? This one-shot answers that plain and simply. He had help from his old pal Deadpool and the results are both serious and hilarious.

Deadpool is one of those characters who can make even the most grave of situations something ot laugh about. He came into this comic helping Cable save Hope from being burned alive along with a whole host of other babies. Yet he finds room to make a Sarah Palin joke in the process. For anybody looking for a little something less depressing it's definitely welcome. Who doesn't love a good Palin joke in the midst of slaughtering a bunch of heartless baby killers?

This issue goes a step further. It shows how Deadpool helped Cable get away from the Purifiers before anyone could find out he was the one with the baby. They survived in the Alaskan wilderness and fought off a hungry Predator X in the process, which Deadpool made all the more entertaining and grotesque by allowing himself to be eaten (that's not an exaggeration by the way). It was full of action and the same witty humor readers have come to expect from Deadpool, but at the same time it had the right levels of drama that went along with Messiah Complex. It's very difficult to strike that kind of balance in a comic that plays a serious role in the plot of the trilogy. For there to be just the right humor and just the right amount of drama is nothing short of uncanny and it makes this book truly special in that regard.

It ends with Cable and Deadpool parting ways once again, leaving Deadpool to go off on his own series (which he even hints at with his 4th wall breaking awesomeness) and Cable to go into the future with Hope. It ties things together nicely, but at the same time the separation was a bit contrived. It felt as though Cable and Deadpool separated just so it would fit into what happened later with Messiah Complex. It wasn't blatant, but it wasn't very subtle either. If there was one knock on this book, it was this seemingly overt twist. It doesn't bring the whole thing down, but it does make it a little bit bland in the end.

Overall, it's still a solid comic. It earns itself a 4 out of 5 for doing all the right things, striking the right balance, and being damn entertaining in the process. Some have argued that Deadpool has been too overexposed in wake of Messiah Complex. This comic proves there can be no such thing with a character as awesome as him. If anything, it necessitates more Deadpool after Second Coming! He can only make the X-books more awesome.

Cable & Deadpool: The Original Odd Couple

In the annuls of comics there are some very memorable partnerships. There's Batman and Robin, Spider-Man and the Black Cat, and pretty much anybody and Wolverine. Some partnerships allow characters to really compliment one another and help tell better stories. Some help contrast the characters, bringing out new sides to their persona that wouldn't have emerged otherwise. Either way there are many ways that such partnerships exude awesomeness. But one in particular is very special.

Enter Cable and Deadpool, the two people you would least expect to get along. On one end you have Cable, a rugged soldier from the future. He was born of a clone, raised by Cyclops and Jean Grey, and earned his battle experience in the worst of environments. He has a dark, serious demeanor. Who wouldn't after growing up in a dystopian future? He has Wolverine's badassery and the poise and determination of Cyclops. He's the last person you would think could get along with someone like Deadpool, a man who by any measure is one of the craziest characters in comics. He's a wisecracking, 4th wall breaking, offbeat psycho mercenary who can have a heart of gold at times. He's lovable in so many ways. If Spider-Man used guns, could heal, and was nuttier than squirrle turds then that would be Deadpool. You would think that someone like him wouldn't be able to stand someone like Cable. And yet, they make it work.

The Cable and Deadpool series brought out the best in each character. They showed once again that the old ploy of the odd couple can still make for great stories. Leading up to Civil War, it most certainly did. These two kicked some serious ass together, creating a partnership you would never see anywhere else. What's more is it worked for them. These characters were able to grow and develop. It has often been said that Deadpool's surge in popularity was helped in part because of the success of Cable and Deadpool. It was somewhat of a shame that this partnership ended after Civil War, but both characters have gone on to better things. Now Deadpool has so many ongoing titles it's hard to keep up with. He's almost as omnipresent as Wolverine and that's saying something. Cable has taken center stage in the Messiah Complex story, now helping to raise Hope Summers, the first mutant born after M-Day, in the future. It has made for some great moments, but there's still no substitute for that old classic partnership.

And it seems as though we may get one last gasp at Cable and Deadpool. It was recently announced that the Cable series, which began after Messiah Complex, is about to end and the final issue, Cable 25, will bring Deadpool back into the fold.

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It's an exciting prospect, promising to tell the story of how Cable was able to get the infant Hope before the X-men and the Purifiers. It is a tale that hopes to bring the odd couple back together, but is it for the last time?

Recent releases for the upcoming Second Coming event indicate there will be some deaths by the end. Is Cable one of them? The man has pushed himself a great deal in the comics. He raised Hope into her teenage years and even for a time traveler, he isn't getting any younger. Will he end up making the ultimate sacrifice for her? If so it would be fitting, but at the same time it would be tragic because that would mean the end of the Cable/Deadpool partnership. Only time will tell. We'll just have to wait and see. Either way, Cable and Deadpool have already shown that no matter how uptight or certifiably crazy two people may be it can always work to produce grade-A awesome.