Cable’s latest high-tech upgrade has just proven itself to be exactly what he needs going into the fray of The Last Annihilation, and it puts his iconic metal arm to shame.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Cable: Reloaded #1, available now from Marvel.
Few X-Men stand out quite like Nathan Summers, the time-traveling soldier better known as Cable. In recent years, the Marvel Universe has spent quite a bit of time getting to know a younger version of this classic hero, but the original has returned to help tackle the threat of Dormammu in “The Last Annihilation.”
Thankfully, the newly resurrected Cable is walking into his next battle with a brand new upgrade, a hard-light prosthetic arm in Cable: Reloaded #1, by Al Ewing, Bob Quinn, Java Tartaglia, Tom Muller, and VC’s Joe Sabino.
Not long after in Cable’s return, he took his younger counterpart’s spot within the mutant-operated S.W.O.R.D. under Abigail Brand. Almost as soon as he signs up to fight, Cable finds himself freefalling towards the surface of Breakworld from orbit. Belle, the A.I. of Cable’s cybernetic arm, reminds him that its shield wasn’t built for this sort of impact or jump, but that isn’t the only piece of tech he has working for him.
Unfortunately, none of his preparations manage to hold up, which Cable’s cybernetic arm falling to pieces in mid-air as he crashes into the ground with a painfully explosive impact. However, even that isn’t enough to keep Cable down. After dusting himself off, Cable jettisons the remains of his famous metal arm and activates a new hard light holo-prosthetic. This arm isn’t just a replacement for the one that he lost; it comes with its own A.I. , the devlish, combat-ready Nicky.
Unlike Belle, Nicky is suited especially to combat. The arm’s A.I. is fully capable of automatically locking on to any enemies Cable comes across, leaving him free to deal with whatever else comes his way while Nicky handles the shooting. This system is even forward-thinking, with Nicky knowing when to switch to non-lethal tactics well before Cable officially makes that call, but that isn’t what makes Cable’s new arm so impressive.
While the Techno-Organic Virus that turned Cable’s arm into a machine was initially seen as a massive disadvantage, it gave him a way to hone his immense telekinetic power in a way that kept him from burning the rest of his body out. However, he’s since grown out of the need for that, and he’s able to jettison his most distinctive feature as soon as it’s of no further use to him.
Although it’s not clear if this new energy-based arm will be a permanent change for Cable, its appearance here rings in a distinctive new era for the mutant soldier. Even if he’s been out of action for a while, this new arm reveals that Nathan still has some futuristic tricks up his sleeve, and he’s as ready as ever for the fights ahead of him.
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