CABLE: LOVE & CHROME #5: Winning is a Losing Game

Cable finds himself in the impossible position of having to stop the woman he loves, who has become the relentless Cicada, because of his many attempts to try save her from dying. Pursuing her across the timestream risking the destruction of everything. Pepose dials the melodrama up to 11 (this is the requisite setting for good x-men) as the crustiest of Summers chases her across the pages of this issue. The action is excellent but it’s Pepose’s superb writing of Nathan’s internal narrative that elevate the final to something both triumphant and at the same time heartbreaking.

Pepose reminds us of the hard singular existence Nathan lives. His very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, the lengths he will go for those he loves and how keenly he feels the loneliness of his unique existence are superbly on display through the script and Mike Henderson’s art. Cable is a man who is always out of time but that doesn’t ever stop him. The issue ends the only way it can. There is resolution, but the Summers family wear tragedy like high fashion and our wild man of Borneo is no exception. After lengthy pursuit across the time stream, it all arrives back where it began and confrontation with his earlier self and Cicada actually provides the solution to the problem. However even when they win, mutants often lose and that’s exactly what happens here. Cable fixes the mess he made but in doing so erases the timeline that gave him his time with Avery. The Salvation Bay timeline is saved, the curse of the transmode virus never infects the residents, Avery gets her second chance…and the only thing that’s broken is his heart. He’s Cable though, and he will always do what he needs to.

Mike Henderson gets to have fun with the pursuit this issue, drawing up different era’s from a futuristic Neuva York to a dinosaur infested Laramidia, to a world war II battle scene as Cable Chases after Cicada. Henderson is really good at the wide action splash but then can pull in tight to show the emotional range of the subject. The paneling is cinematic and feels like you watching a movie as you follow the action across the page. In fact, while I’m certain others would argue in favor of other Cable stories being made into live action, this series could certainly, in my opinion, make the leap. Arif Prianto is great with bright bold coloring while Joe Sabino gets to put in an array of cool sound effects. The art from the series has been of an excellent standard and this issue is no exception. This finale moves at breakneck speed and doesn’t let up for a moment until the last few pages. Once again Ian Churchill delivers a fantastic cover to round off this series on a triumphant note as the entire team sticks the landing.