Cable’spowers have often been defined by his techno-organic virus (that and carrying big guns), but a new series is introducing a twist to the techno-organic mythos that could change Cable’s relationship to those powers forever. Trapped in the future, Cable’s ready to discover that he may not be as unique as he once thought, and it may be up to him to stop the fate that he’s narrowly avoided for years.
Marvel’s solicitation forCable: Love and Chrome#2 by David Pepose and Mike Henderson has revealed that Cable’s power set is ready to be expanded like never before ashe encounters a whole city infected with the same techno-organic virus as him, which is a fascinating twist to his story.
CABLE: LOVE AND CHROME #2 (2025)
February 12th, 2025
Variant Covers:
Tony Daniel; Mark Brooks
A HERO SHALL FALL! For as long as he could remember, Cable thought he was alone in his struggles against the Techno-Organic virus. That is…until now. Stranded in the dystopian timeline of Salvation Bay, Cable now finds himself fighting to protect an entire city infected with the same disease – but as he battles side by side with Resistance leader Avery Ryder, Cable’s new cause will become personal in ways not even he could expect. With their own mortality staring them in the face, can Cable and Avery survive against the mutated horrors of the Prime Conclave? Or will these star-crossed soldiers discover that their borrowed time has just run out?
All that we know is that the miniseries seesCable stranded in the future in a city called Salvation Bay, which is entirely infected with the techno-organic virus. Issue #2’s solicit also reveals Avery, a new character who has a techno-organic right arm to match Cable’s left.
Cable Encounters an Entire City Infected with the Same Techno-Organic Virus as Him
Variant Cover by Tony Daniel
Cable’s techno-organic virus is the most iconic part of his look. Infected with the virus by Apocalypse, the baby Nathan Summers (son of Cyclopsand Maddie Pryor) was sent into the future to survive, where he was raised by the religious Askani Sisterhood as a savior prophesied to defeat that future’s Apocalypse. The virus itself isn’t Apocalypse’s originally and isactually part of the life cycle of the alien Phalanx, though Apocalypse got it from a Celestial ship in a story long, long, before the virus’ Phalanx retcon origin was ever established.
Marvel Is Changing Cyclops' Son Forever in CABLE: LOVE AND CHROME
Marvel’s upcoming Cable: Love and Chrome limited series will see Nathan Summers stuck in a deadly civil war during an apocalyptic future.
One of the big questions here is how this new city fights off the techno-organic infection.Cable has the benefit of being an absurdly powerful telepath, and the majority of that power is spent stopping the techno-organic virus from spreading to the rest of his body and killing him. Without the virus,Cable might be as powerfulas someone like X-Man, his not-quite alternate self from the Age of Apocalypse timeline. Has this city found another way to halt the spread of the virus? Or is it a civilization that’s been subsumed by it in a way that we’ve never seen?
Where Did This Strain of Cable’s Techno-Organic Virus Come From?
Is This New Strain Cable’s Fault?
As a matter of fact, how did this city even get infected by the techno-organic virus in the first place? Importantly to his character, Cable isone of the very few sources of the virus in the whole known universe. With his penchant for time-travel, it wouldn’t be shockingto find out that Cable himselfwas actually responsible for the propagation of the virus in this city. If he was involved in bringing it there, then maybe that could also explain how the city fights it off, since they would be connected to his powers.
Cable was originally infected with the virus by Apocalypse, so maybe this dark future is also connected to the immortal mutant villain.Recent years have deemphasized Cable and Apocalypse’s connection, but this could be the series to reintroduce the rivalry. The only thing that makes this unlikely is the recent seriesX-Men:Heir of Apocalypseby Steve Foxe and Netho Diaz, in whichApocalypse finds an heirin Doug Ramsey before leaving Earth behind. He could’ve gone off to Salvation Bay, but then why bother “retiring” him first?
How Does Cable Feel about This New Development?
I’m Going with “Conflicted”
Apart from any intricacies of the plot,I’m most curious about what this means for Cable himself. In contrast to a lot of other cool action heroes of 1990s comics,Cable has always been surrounded byteammates and found families. How is he going to feel discovering that there’s a whole city that’s potentially full of people like him in ways that no-one else ever has been? This question goes doubly if it turns out that it’shistechno-organic virus that’s somehow responsible for the state of Salvation Bay. Overprotective, thy name is Cable.
Sadly, if there’s one thing I’m pretty confident of, it’s that this new techno-organic city won’t last.
Sadly, if there’s one thing I’m pretty confident in, it’s that this new techno-organic city won’t last. The very concept has two major factors that make it unlikely to stick around. One: it’s a divergence from Cable’s status quo. Cable can’t get too happy or too attached to any home that’s not anchored in the present. Two: it’s an alternate future. How many of those really stick around in X-Men lore? I’m not saying thatCablecan’t save his new techno-organic city but that readers shouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t keep in contact.
Cable: Love and Chrome#2is available February 12th, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
