Retcons are nothing new for publishers like Marvel, and their most recent twist on Cable's history changes his relationship with his father Cyclops forever. Secrets, time-travel shenanigans, and hidden identities are trademark features of the dynamic that Cable shares with his parents Madelyne Pryor, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers. This newest retcon only adds to the endlessly interesting facets of Cable's familial bonds, as confirmed by X-Men editor, Jordan D. White.
First introduced simply as Cable the time-traveling soldier by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld in The New Mutants #87, he would eventually be known by other names such as Nathan Dayspring, Askani'son, and most importantly, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. Due to the nature of Cable's character as a time-traveler and the fact that much of his backstory is established via multiple retcons, Cable's own knowledge of present-day events in the Marvel Universe is always a bit of a mystery. However, a new piece of insight into Cable's character was explored in Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto's recent Cable series, which detailed the adventures of a teenaged Cable during the dawn of the X-Men's Krakoan era.
The premise of this new series was that teen Cable had killed his older self and decided to spend the rest of his adolescence with his family in the present day. Over the course of the run Cable realizes that he cannot simply erase his future self, and that adult Cable is who Krakoa needs. One of the final revelations of this arc is the twist that Cable's timeline has not changed at all, meaning he remembered that one day he would be killed and resurrected by his teen self. In an interview with AIPT, X-Men editor Jordan D. White confirms that old Cable has teen Cable's memories, and has had them since he first appeared in Marvel Comics.
AIPT: But old Cable does remember all those family dinners in the Summer House, right?
Jordan: He does, absolutely. And here’s the thing, we’re saying he always did.
AIPT: Right, that’s what I was going to ask. So back when X-Force #1 came out in the ‘90s, that Cable remembered Krakoa?
Jordan: I think the proposal is that he’s always remembered it. I can tell you exactly how I feel about it. We put the stories that we want to put on the page on the page and that’s what counts most of all. And who knows, you know, 5 years from now, 10 years from now, somebody might do a story where they’re like, “No, back then, he didn’t know that.” Time travel is nonsense and therefore people interpret it in different ways.
But also, you’ve got Cable remembering a terrible future that hopefully we’ve averted at this point, right? Like that future shouldn’t exist anymore. Somehow, he still goes back to it. Is it an alternate timeline or are we still saying it’s the future? Are we still saying it’s a possible future, even though it’s hopefully a less likely future? It’s all complicated.
To my mind, though, we closed the loop on it and said yes, old Cable knew about young Cable’s experiences. As far as we are concerned, when we told that story, Cable went into Extermination knowing — maybe not remembering he was there yet — but knowing, “Young me kills me at some point. And then I still come back because young me remembers bringing old me back.”
AIPT: And I’m sure that was all planned when Extermination was being planned, right? [Laughs]
Jordan: Oh yeah, yeah — we’ve known for years. No — but again, that’s why Gerry Duggan put in stuff about the bomb. He puts the bomb in the arm because he knows, “Oh, I’m going to need that bomb.” All of that crazy nonsense. I’m really happy that we closed that loop, because I like closed-circle time travel stuff. I mean, you’re talking to the guy who allowed Shatterstar and Longshot to become each other’s father. So there you go.
Now, the Krakoan era is not the only opportunity that Jean Grey and Scott Summers have had the opportunity to parent their time traveling son. Scott Lobdell and Gene Ha's The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries details the 12 years raising Cable in a dystopian future after being brought there by Rachel Summers, Jean and Cyclops' daughter. This series seriously altered the dynamic between Cable and his parents as Nathan never knew he was being brought up by his actual parents, and this most recent retcon flips that notion on its head. Cable's life becomes less like the story of a child abandoned to a post-apocalyptic waste, but instead of a man with a patchwork childhood, closely bonded with the people he loves, but none of them are ever fully honest about what all they know about each other.
Thinking about the life of Cable risks melting one's own brain, especially when adding his relationships with Scott, Jean, and Madelyne into the mix. On the one hand, Scott and Jean really did get to raise their son, but on the other, the time they spent together apparently doesn't change anything. The Cable known to readers is still the Cable he has always been, and he relates to his dad in the same way as ever. The future of Cable's relationships with his parents remains to be seen, as Cyclops and Jean Grey are over in X-Men, Madelyne Pryor is in New Mutants, and Cable's on X-Men Red, all of which have ongoing stories from Marvel Comics.
More: Cyclops' Cruelest Insult to Wolverine Proves No-One Knows Him Better
Source: AIPT
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