Cable and X-Force #3

As it turns out, Cable may be dying but as a parting gift, it’s left him with the ability to see the future. Events that Cable is convinced that only he can change for the better, dying and the want to retire from it all be damned.

Writer: Dennis Hopeless | Artist: Salvador Larroca & Frank D’Armata

Cover: Salvador Larroca & Frank D’Armata | Publisher: Marvel

Maybe because it’s Cable, but the idea of screwing around with time can be clichéd or confusing depending on whose telling the story, but it looks like Hopeless so far has the right idea. Actually there’s not much of a time jump and it’s all very subtle. Each issue starts with a flash into the future, with the X-Force dealing with the aftermath of events that we’ll see happen later on, and it’s intriguing. Half the fun of picking up these issues is piecing it all together. In this issue the Uncanny Avengers make an appearance holding Hope Summers on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and asking vague questions so we can’t quite decipher what’s going on. Hope is always this underdog, and it’s always great to see her hold her own; more often than not so far in this series a lot of it is cheering for Hope.

Back to present time, Cable sees what’s about to happen in the future, and it concerns an epidemic that revolves around (surprise, surprise) mutants. Cable and Hope (who is very much her father’s daughter, they’re so similar in personality sometimes it’s fantastic) share the plan with the rest of X-Force, the sensitivity of their mission and how it’s all going to go down.  Each member has their assigned tasks, and the way Hopeless writes them interacting with each other feels like gold. Every member can be so ridiculously snarky, that it’s joyful to read. (Sidenote: Doctor Nemesis has some of my favourite lines).

Despite Cable’s handy new ability to see into the future, this don’t totally go to plan, but when Forge makes his escape it’s so cool to see how he does it, his analysis of weak points and overall assessment of his obstacle is executed so well, serious kudos to Larroca for putting that on paper. Overall everything he puts to paper is easy to look at, visually stimulating, but that particular bit with Forge was impressive. Movie impressive; think Minority Report but Cable and X-Force cool.

At first it seemed like their mission was maybe going to last just for the issue because, seriously Cable can see into the future and their foe is a fast food chain, it doesn’t particularly sound like a multiple issue problem, but Hopeless, Larroca, and D’Armata leave us with some good surprises at the end.