Ryan Reynolds started the Deadpool franchise in 2016, re-introducing the Merc with the Mouth to the wider audience. After the success of the first movie, Deadpool 2 was released in 2018, with new characters joining the fray – including a very important mutant – Cable, played by Josh Brolin. But Cable’s real identity – his origin – was never clearly defined in the movie.
Cable aka Nathan Summers is actually the son of Scott Summers and Jean Grey in the Marvel Comics. Or at least he shares DNA with these two mutants. He gets infected by a techno-organic virus, becaue of which, his parents send him to the future to be cured. It is much later, in Cable Vol. 1 #6, that his real identity finally came to light.
The Origin of Cable’s Identity in the Marvel Comics
Cyclops and Jean Grey are two of the biggest names among the X-Men. Two of the founding members, Cyclops and Jean Grey, have been romantically linked with each other from the very beginning. But tragedy struck when Jean Grey died after the Dark Phoenix Saga. And then a new twist occured with the introduction of Madelyne Pryor in Uncanny X-Men #168 (1983).
Pryor – identical to Jean Grey – meets Cyclops, who thinks her to be an incarnation of Jean. They soon get married, even after finding out that Pryor and Grey are two different people. But during the X-Factor (1986) run, Jean Grey is resurrected and Scott leaves Pryor and baby Nathan to reunite with his true love. Later, Madelyne Pryor is revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey, created by Mister Sinister, in his attempt to experiment on mutants.
Long story short, after Summers and Grey are reunited, Pryor commits s*icide to kill Jean Grey in the process. But Grey survives by merging herself with Pryor and the Pheonix Force, gaining Pryor’s memories in the process. This leaves Nathan in the custody of Cyclops and Jean Grey and they become a family, but it wasn’t really meant to be.
How Cyclops and Jean Grey’s Son Nathan Becomes Cable
Apocalypse infects baby Nathan with a techno-organic virus after finding out he will be one of the strongest mutants, and his parents send him to the future with the Askani Clan to be cured. It is revealed much later that Mister Sinister created Nathan to destroy Apocalypse. It was initially undecided if Nathan would grow up to become Cable, but the writers and creators in the comics decided to shake things up a little bit, and thus Nathan Summers became Cable, the time traveling soldier.
We see a live-action adaptation of the character in 2018’s Deadpool 2, where Josh Brolin plays the character on screen. He comes back in time to kill a mutant kid named Russell, who is the reason for the death of his family in the future. Eventually, Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool changes Cable’s mind on the matter, and two manage to change the trajectory of the kid’s life.
X-Men ’97 Spoiler Alert: Fans of Cyclops Would be Disappointed Again After Watching This Marvel Show
Deadpool 2 is available for streaming on Disney+.
