Issue(s): Cable #-1
Cover Date: Jul 97
Title: "The devil's herald!"
Credits:
James Robinson - Writer
Jose Ladronn - Penciler
Juan Vlasco - Inker
Mark Powers - Editor
Bob Harras - Editor-in-Chief

Review/plot:
When you think of Cable, whether you like him or not, you think of a grizzled soldier from the future. His hair is grey because he's a veteran of a thousand battles. So who's this emo-looking dude?

Well, it is indeed Cable, and he's traveled back in time and appeared in Scotland, looking for Professor Xavier. He's turned up in the wrong place due to the inaccuracies of time-travel, which is illegal in his time period. His appearance has attracted the mouth-frothing attention of Reverend Craig...

...but Moira shows up (with a young Rahne Sinclair in tow)...

...and calms the crowd down and takes Cable back to her place.

Moira agrees to take Cable to Xavier. And that's basically where the story ends, except for an interesting epilogue. So i don't know if Cable ever actually spoke to Xavier. I was expecting this issue to end with a mind-wipe, but that's not the case. (The MCP lists Cable's next appearances as being flashbacks in issues #1 and #5 of the Cable series, which don't have Cable meeting with Xavier).

The epilogue shows that it was Cable's arrival in this time period that woke up Apocalypse, who had been in hibernation.

It would have been cool if this had taken place a little later, since Apocalypse won't be doing much of anything except boosting up Moses Magnum in Classic X-Men #25 until his first published appearance in X-Factor in 1986. But i guess he's just been studying things and making preparations.

The other character appearing in this story is Angus MacWhirter, a boatsman who will later be killed by Proteus.

Jose Ladronn has an interesting art style. Certainly cartoonish, but also very Kirby-inspired.

As with most of these Flashback issues, there's not too much of a story here, and the revelations/new material don't really seem to have gone anywhere.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - a little bit of info about Apocalypse, establishes that Moira MacTaggert met Cable

Chronological Placement Considerations: This definitely takes place during a period when Moira and Professor X had been out of touch. Rahne seems to be about the same age as she appears in the Classic X-Men addition to Uncanny X-Men #94. But there's also Moira's appearance in Hidden Years #10 to contend with, so this issue will need to take place before that, preferably with enough time for Moira and Professor to get re-acquainted to the point where he's comfortable bringing Jean to Muir Island for examination in that Hidden Years issue. More importantly, see Michael's comment below. This needs to take place before Amazing Spider-Man #2 due to the events of Wolverine/ Cable: Guts and Glory. For Cable, since this is out-of-sequence for him due to the time travel involved, i'm listing him with a separate tag than i do for his regular appearances.

References: N/A

Crossover: Flashback

Continuity Insert? Y

My Reprint: N/A

Wolverine/ Cable: Guts and Glory, from 1999, takes place shortly after this story. In it, Cable travels to New York from Muir Island and encounters the Vulture, who is committing his first robbery as a super-villain. So this issue has to take place before Amazing Spider-Man 2.
And yes, later issues of Cable confirm that Cable did meet with Xavier.
The weird thing about this story is that Rahne is Moira's ward. Rahne was Craig's ward in Classic X-Men 2 and Marvel Graphic Novel 4, both of which take place after this story. And other stories make clear that Rahne was originally Craig's ward. I guess that Rahne started out as Craig's ward, Moira gained custody of Rahne, Craig regained custody and Moira regained custody one final time.

Thanks, Michael. Sounds like i need to add another back-issue to my want list. I'll get to it after 1985 at this point.

Judging from the cover, looks like Cable got a haircut by the time of Guts and Glory, anyway.

If you're thinking of getting it for the Vulture, be advised that he only appears on a few pages.

It's too late, Michael. If i read that issue and don't like it, i'm holding you accountable. ;-)

I really just want to see the degree to which this "Cable's first visit to the Marvel Age" story is developed/resolved.

"But I guess he's just been studying things and making preparations."

Well, obviously. I mean, scouring the entire Earth for a handful of people who have suspiciously appropriate power-sets to take on the role of Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death takes TIME, man!

Seriously though, due to the quirks of Marvel time compression, the gap between "1963"-era Marvel and Apocalypse's first appearance in X-Factor (1986) is probably only about 5-6 years or so. Which would be a nice, effective span of time to learn as much as he can about modern culture, technology, and society in general, but also to start tracking down various individuals with powers, seeing what they're capable of, learning their weaknesses, and then deciding who is fit and who needs to be culled to improve the species.

(and the Moses Magnum story would take place about 4 years after his first appearance, and a little less than 2 years before his next one, giving him ample time to recruit the Alliance of Evil, and possibly contribute to at least a few other "unrevealed" schemes in the meantime)

Apocalypse has always been portrayed as more of a thinker and a plotter than someone who just leaps into the fray, so it makes sense that he'd sort of lay low for a while after waking up (especially if he doesn't wake up at full strength/awareness).

I think Michael deserves a no-prize for explaining the ward aspect. Could the writers not have just looked at Rahne's earlier appearances? Or do people like us just have better memories for such things than the people who actually write books like these?

The disadvantage (and this was a problem with Marvel Saga as well) of doing this, is that you go from old-style art like Ditko and Kirby to horrible 90's art like this and it's just jarring.

As bizarre as Apocalypse looks in this (not as bizarre as the huge lips in his first published appearance though), I like the idea of him just sitting on the outside preparing for the long-game in the universe. He just got up and needs to know what he's dealing with; so of course watching the next 20+ or so years will allow him to witness what he needs for his plans accordingly. (though through placing, I do also think its funny he doesn't intervene when the F4 go to Egypt; at least he's allowing his own rise in the past by having them help him indirectly kick out Kang)

I never figured out after the Classic X-Men #25 back-up, why Apocalypse didn't make Moses Magnum his Horseman, War!?

uh... WOW. I've never seen this ever.. and I don't GET that artwork. That's not the Cable I'm used to, I don't remember the Flashback event but I guess that's why I'm on this site, lol! I've always felt Cable is one of the "modern legends" that Marvel was lucky to have- the next in the line of iconic, legendary characters to take the MU into the next century and I'm amazed they haven't made a CABLE film yet. This issue looks bizarre, so I have to wonder what fans thought of it in "real time"- doesn't look like there's a lot of action in this either, sadly.

Fans at the time don't seem to have liked it- Paul O'Brien wrote a very negative review of the issue a few days after it was published.

I had originally placed this just before Wolverine -! but had overlooked Guts and Glory so I may have to adjust for that.

Fnord, were you paying a little homage to Blue Oyster Cult with your opening poaragraph?

I must admit this is one comic I picked up solely for the art, given that I'm not a big Cable fanboy. While Ladronn is an acquired taste, the Jack Kirby-meets-manga characters plus the detailed backgrounds and inanimate objects (particularly clothing) were a neat contrast and a visual treat, IMHO. Also recall him doing an Inhumans mini-series which featured Carlos Pacheco's debut as a writer, which admittedly fizzled out for me due to missed deadlines and coming off the stellar Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee Marvel Knights interpretation of Black Bolt and company.

@Brian, not an intentional reference to Veteran of the Psychic Wars but that's probably a good theme song for Cable. :-)

I like how Rahne is here in 1963 when she couldn't possibly have been born before 1968 :p
Also, Ladronn's art actually works for me in the midst of 1963, whereas in 1997 it's just completely out of place.