2017 has been a busy year for Josh Brolin in the realm of comic book movies. Brolin simply wasn’t content to only play Thanos, the biggest and baddest villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brolin also lined up a major part in Deadpool 2 as the time traveling mutant cyborg, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. But comic book fans know him better as Cable. Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds revealed the first look at Brolin in costume as Cable, and today’s Nerdist News is all about the hidden clues within those images!
There are potential spoilers ahead for Deadpool 2. This strikes us as a movie where spoilers aren’t going to be a huge issue, but your flux capacitor may vary. Either way, you’ve been warned!
We all have that one, grumpy, heavily armed Uncle from the future. #PremiumCABLE #JoshBrolin pic.twitter.com/JV3yBIIPQH
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 7, 2017
Join host and Earth’s ambassador to the Technarchy, Jessica Chobot, as she runs down the details on Cable’s outfit. It’s not 100% Rob Liefeld, but no mortal man could pull off over-sized shoulder pads and more pouches than we can count. But this seems to capture the spirit of Cable, and Liefeld has voiced his support for this version of his character, and what’s not to love? Brolin is as close to a physical match for Cable as anyone could ever hope to see on film. His arms aren’t ridiculously large like a superhero, but those “guns” put many other arms to shame. Yeah… we definitely think that Brolin looks the part.
But let’s get a little deeper, shall we? In the comics, Cable is the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey who was created by Mr. Sinister. Nathan Summers was also a flesh and blood mutant before Apocalypse infected him with the Technarchy’s techno-organic virus. To save his son, Cyclops had to let Nathan go to the future, where he spent decades fighting Apocalypse and his heirs. By the time that Cable traveled back to the present, he was even older than his father!
How much of that is going to be in the movie—all of it or none? We expect Deadpool 2 to have a lot of fun mocking Cable’s origin story. However, Brolin’s costume suggests that Cable’s cybernetic parts may actually be robotic, rather than flesh that was transformed into metal. That’s certainly a less complicated way of getting that across. But there’s also an intriguing detail that was immediately noticed by fans: Cable’s teddy bear, which was attached to his belt.
Now, is Cable unable to let go of his toy from the past? Or is the bear secretly Deadpool’s favorite stuffed animal? We can’t rule that last reason out, but we’re pretty sure the bear means one thing: Cable is in the present to save Hope Summers, the young girl who may be the mutant messiah.
As you can see, Hope takes after her foster dad. In the Marvel Universe, Cable took baby Hope into the future and raised her as his own daughter. But we suspect that she’ll only be a baby, if she shows up in Deadpool 2. Still, she would be a very intriguing character to include in any sequels, including the long-rumored X-Force film.
What do you think about the first look at Josh Brolin as Cable? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
