Joe Casey Comics: Cable #69

[In which I discuss the penultimate issue of Joe Casey's run on Cable. New posts on Thursday and Saturday, at which point, I'll start on another book. Which book? Who knows! Any requests?]

An odd issue that examines the concept of fate from another angle as Cable is taken outside of time by a group of scientists that protect the time-space continuum--and he's told (at least implicitly) that he can't change the future. All of his attempts will do nothing and, in a way, his trying to change the future will create it.

Of course, Cable accepts this, but also puts forther the divergent time-line theory that while the future he knows will still exist, at the point where events are different, another future will also be created, and that's what he's fighting for.

In the process, he must fight against one of the scientists in a battle of wills over the fate of Sanctity, who is to be put to death for all her time travel-related activities. Cable wins, saves Sanctity and is sent back to the present...

...where Stacey thinks he's dead, and is confronted by Irene who thinks that by discussing things, they can help one another. This leads to Irene bringing Stacey back to the safehouse where she meets Blaquesmith--in one of the true comedic moments of the run as she freaks out at this weird bug-eyed guy while Irene does her best not to laugh.

In the end, Cable returns and Casey sets up next issue where Caesar, a former acolyte (the doubting Thomas of the group, if you will) returns for revenge against Cable.

An interesting issue as it examines whether or not Cable's mission is really worthwhile--the one thing that hasn't been questioned during this run. Cable has questioned everything except that Apocalypse should be killed. And, here, that question is posed in a roundabout fashion and not from an ideological perspective as one would think, but from a practical one: if nothing can change the future, why bother trying? In a sense, Cable's version of nihilism.

I wonder if Casey had stayed on the book longer (something I'll discuss a little on Thursday), would he have asked the ideological question about Apocalypse and if, maybe, Apocalypse's goals aren't correct in their own way. Guess we'll never know.

Ladronn's art here is its typical greatness, particularly the panels with Irene, Stacey and Blaquesmith where he really plays up the comedy with exagerated expressions and body language. It's not a side of Ladronn we get to see much, but I really dig it.

On Thursday, the final Casey/Ladronn issue of Cable.