X-Men hero Cable is “Dr. Who with a really big gun,” according to author Tim Seeley. The writer is taking over writing duties for the time-traveling mutant, meaning Cable has been on his mind a lot lately. The pop culture connection highlights why Cable is a longtime fan-favorite X-character, and why his on-screen Deadpool appearance shouldn’t be the end of his MCU arc.
Seeley spoke to AIPT about Undeadpool, his Age of Revelation tie-in miniseries. Undeadpool is illustrated by artist Carlos Magno. The second issue of the series reunites Deadpool with Cable.
Seeley will follow that with the Cable-centric Inglorious X-Force, in which the toll of the hero’s time travel antics will apparently catch up with him.
Cable Is The Marvel Equivalent Of Doctor Who, Except He Carries “A Really Big Gun”
Undeadpool #2, Written By Tim Seeley; Art By Carlos Magno; Cover By Erik M. Gist
The essence of Cable’s character is that he is a man-out-of-time. A temporally displaced warrior with messianic pretensions from Earth’s future. The Doctor, from Doctor Who, is a long-lived extraterrestrial with a time machine. They’re certainly two very different characters on the surface, yet fundamentally, they spring from the same archetype.
Author Tim Seeley cited the connection between the characters, noting how their respective lore has made them “tired” as characters. Not that fans are tired of them, but rather that the characters themselves feel the weight of their trials and travails across vast stretches of time. As Seeley put it:
I think of Cable as a guy who has been at war his whole life, across millions of years of history, and he’s tired. So tired. But, he can’t stop. He HAS to keep fighting, or he’ll run out of time. He’s like Dr. Who with a really big gun.
Like the Doctor, time travel has changed Cable over time.
Of course, the differences between the two characters are just as important as their baseline similarities as world-weary time travelers. That’s where the “really big gun” comes in. Cable is like the Doctor, but he’s also like Kyle Reese and the T-800 from Terminator rolled into one. Which is why he should have a future in the MCU.
X-Men Fans Think Marvel’s Time-Traveling Mutant Hero Cable Should Have A Big MCU Role
The Hardcore Doctor Who Equivalent Of The Marvel Universe
Josh Brolin’s turn as Cable in Deadpool 2 was well-received, but both the nature of time travel and the limitless possibilities of the Marvel Multiverse mean there is a lot more that could be done with the character on screen, whether Brolin returns to the role or not. Like the Doctor, it’s a role that is easier to recast than most major MCU heroes.
With the X-Men franchise set to merge into the MCU, many fans feel that the door is still open to a significant role for Cable. For Doctor Who fans, author Tim Seeley’s comparison offers the perfect reason to check out X-Men comics, while fans of Cable should consider giving the iconic British time-travel series a try.
- Movie(s)
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X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- First Film
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X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
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X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
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X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968