Summary of Cable #68
by The Mighty Juggernaut
Rainer Ho Ten Soeng

Summary of Cable #68: Sign of the End Times. Total Chaos in 3 Parts.
Part 3: Faraway, So Close. Guest-starring The Avengers!

"Observe how the snivelling masses respond to the adversity they face, teeming across this Earth like maggots set upon a corpse. They have had their time.... but that time is over. Today begins a new march that will culminate in a new era -- my era -- when the weak and the infirm will be crushed underfoot by the strong." (Apocalypse)

"This is it! Didn't.... want things to end this way.... not when I've just started.... to live...." (Cable)

Technical information:

· Publisher: Marvel Comics
· Release date: June, 1999
· Writer: Joe Casey
· Penciller: Jose Ladronn
· Inker: Juan Vlasco
· Colorist: Gloria Vasquez
· Letters: Saida Temofonte
· Editor: Mark Powers
· Editor in Chief: Bob Harras
· Total number of pages: 32 pages with ads, 22 pages without ads
· Title of the book: Sign of the End Times. Total Chaos in 3 Parts.

Main characters:

Cable: Two thousand years from now, a dark era will dawn for mankind. The achievements of generations past will be little more than dust, crushed beneath the iron heel of the ageless conqueror Apocalypse. In this future, mankind stands on the precipice of utter destruction. In the present there is one last hope for humanity -- a man who has traveled back to the twentieth century in a desperate attempt to prevent those tragedies before they occur. Now Nathan Dayspring Summers, also known as Cable, uses his mutant abilities of telepathy and telekinesis to fight for a better tomorrow -- and seeks his own fate as a man out of time.

Irene Merryweather: A former reporter for the muckraking Inquiring Eye, Irene dreamt of one day working for a legitimate newspaper as the Daily Bugle. But when her investigations led to the loss of her friends and her job, Irene dedicated herself to chronicling the life and mission of the man called Cable.

Blaquesmith: The gnomish, misshapen enigma known as Blaquesmith has been Cable's mentor and task master, training him in the use of his great powers and following him through time to the twentieth century. Blessed with the innate ability to create all manner of high-tech gadgetry, Blaquesmith has often run afoul his pupil, as he is more than willing to deceive others, even his allies, in order to achieve his goals.

Stacey Kramer: A young waitress from New York who works in a dinner called 'Babel's'. She has come to know Nathan in time after he became a regular customer. Besides working as a waitress, Stacey studies medicine in the hope of becoming a doctor one day and thus improve not only the lives of others but that of herself and her little brother Kenny as well. Perhaps it was due to her knowledge of genetics or perhaps it was due to her personal feelings for him, but fact is that Stacey reacted quite cool and calm when he recently told her that he was actually a mutant. Right now she's one of the few people who Cable really trusts and who are close to him.

Captain America: Also known as Steve Rogers, the living legend of World War II and one of the world's most revered and respected super heroes.

Iron Man: Wealthy industrialist Tony Stark, who dons a sophisticated suit of armor of his own design to protect mankind.

Wonderman: Also known as Simon Williams, Wonderman is a being composed purely of ionic energy with superhuman strength and endurance.

Thor: The legendary Asgardian God of Thunder who has adopted Earth as his home and considers himself to be the protector of the entire planet and its people.

Vision: A so-called 'synthezoid', an android with his own will and intelligence, who was originally created by the robotic super-villain Ultron-5 as a weapon against the Avengers and humanity in general. After being re-programmed Vision has however come to appreciate and emulate humanity during his time with The Avengers.

The Harbinger of Apocalypse: Although originally a human being, Apocalypse's Harbinger totally lost his humanity and his human appearance after spending almost a century and a half in one of Apocalypse's embryonic tanks. As a result of that his consciousness expanded and his capacity to evolve almost became unlimited. He has been endowed not only with the power to adapt to any environment but also with the ability to evolve as situations demand! Being created by the High Lord Apocalypse himself, the Harbinger only has one destiny and one goal to achieve: to bring chaos and destruction to the world and thus annunciate the ascendancy of En Sabah Nur! He is the usher in an era of change and those that cannot adapt will die!

Ozymandias: Once, before a thousand sunrises, Ozymandias stood proudly as a king among his minions. But that was before the dark one called Apocalypse felled and imprisoned him for his resistance and disobedience to the High Lord. Now Apocalypse has cursed Ozymandias in the most horrible of ways: the former king has to set his blind eyes and his stone hands to one singular task: in order to fend off the madness which would otherwise overtake him, he has to record all the images Apocalypse makes him see and etch them in stone like a sculptor.

Apocalypse: Born into slavery at the dawn of civilization, the warlord also known as En Sabah Nur lives by a merciless philosophy: Survival of the Fittest -- that only through conflict and strife will the weak be culled from the strong -- and only the strong deserve to live. War .... Plague .... Pestilence .... Death .... these are his tools. A mutant with an incredibly long lifespan, Apocalypse can also alter the atomic structure of his body to change his form and is possessed of superhuman strength.

=====

Remarkable quotes:

-1. "Look around us. Look upon that which I have awaited and planned for more than two millennia. This is mankind's legacy.... their monuments and their industries collapsing around them. We need only to provide them the spark.... then simply watch as humanity burns itself out." (Apocalypse)

-2. "Observe how the snivelling masses respond to the adversity they face, teeming across this Earth like maggots set upon a corpse. They have had their time.... but that time is over. Today begins a new march that will culminate in a new era -- my era -- when the weak and the infirm will be crushed underfoot by the strong." (Apocalypse)

-3. "This city will burn in effigy, a signal of my imprint upon this Earth.... and there's nothing the so-called 'Chosen One' can do about it. Die well, my Harbinger." (Apocalypse)

-4. "Hold your tongue, Blaquesmith! You mentor the Chosen One.... do not allow personal feelings to cloud your judgment. This city is doomed, if for no other reason than to prevent the rise of Apocalypse -- -- .... -- If you seek to tempt the prophecies.... I fear for humanity's survival." (Ozymandias)

-5. "I said ENOUGH! Do you think, lackey, that I have the slightest interest in the wisdom of one who spent centuries in the servitude of the most vile evil to ever walk this Earth? If my pupil has taught me anything.... it has been to focus on the crisis at hand! And neither this city -- nor its denizens -- will be sacrificed on this day!" (Blaquesmith)

-6. "Stacey Kramer waits as well.... waits for the kind of understanding that she fears will never come. It was an inauspicious meeting. She didn't recognize the attraction at first. He told her his name.... Nathan. Simple. Innocent. But since the day he walked into that diner, things were never the same. That's how it is when two people meet." (Joe Casey; Stacey Kramer)

-7. "Nathan's secrets were many. The fact that he is a mutant -- born with strange, superhuman abilities -- was almost tame in comparison to later revelations. He claimed he was from a distant, hideous future, come back in time to prevent mankind's utter destruction. Despite this new information, she was determined to let him further into her -- and Kenny's -- world.... hoping he would return the favor and let her into his. He did. She never dated a cop. Never wanted to. Too stressful. Too much uncertainty. Never knowing if he'd come back alive. This is immeasurably WORSE. But by now.... she knows it's far too late. The damage has been done. All that's left now.... is figuring out how to live with it. If she even can...." (Joe Casey; Stacey Kramer)

-8. "You are no quicker to learn than you were at our London encounter. I was built to survive any enemy's worst! You, however, were not." (The Harbinger)

-9. "I am the DARKNESS come forth to engulf the light of this world. Enjoy this taste...." (The Harbinger)

-10. "Trouble, Cap -- ! My sensors are reading an internal energy surge within our opponent.... getting stronger.... building at a specific time signature rate!" (Iron Man)

-11. "Don't go barking orders at me, pal! While you were off doing who knows what, I've been here holding down the fort. It's like the End of the World out there!" (Irene Merryweather)

-12. "This bickering is pointless. We.... tolerate each other Merryweather. Nothing more. I thought it foolish of Cable to allow one such as you into his world. But I have seen how much your friendship means to my pupil, how your quiet courage in the face of events far beyond your experience has given him strength. Right now, I -- and the world -- need that courage." (Blaquesmith)

-13. "The situation is as follows.... a prophecy foretells the imminent destruction of this city.... and thus perhaps averting the ascension of Apocalypse. Something must be sacrificed. Either this city and everyone in it.... or the future of mankind. A no-win scenario." (Blaquesmith)

-14. "What you see as a 'no-win scenario' is merely another test designed by Apocalypse. A trial that will -- one way or another -- cull the weak from the strong. -- .... -- That, low-born is precisely Apocalypse's point. He believes that humanity has reached its evolutionary zenith, and that, like all species eventually must -- it will succumb to a stronger race. So you see, there is nothing you can do." (Ozymandias)

-15. "NO! I will NOT give in to such despair! And surely you must believe there is some hope, slave, or why would you have summoned me? The true test is whether or not we carry on in the face of certain death! THAT is where Apocalypse wins.... if we give up!" (Blaquesmith)

-16. "There is wisdom in knowing your limitations. A solution to this dilemma is beyond me.... but perhaps not Cable. Scoring victory in the shadow of death is, as they say, his specialty." (Blaquesmith)

-17. "You believe in him to such a degree.... ? The prophecies say nothing of the Gatherer of The Twelve influencing the outcome here." (Ozymandias)

-18. "Hold him fast, Cable! No being, no matter how mighty, may resist the power of Mjolnir! Perhaps I should offer my thanks, vile construct! You are a foe most worthy of my full attention!" (Thor)

-19. "Hey.... Stacey? He's gonna be alright, y'know. You'll see...." (Kenny Kramer)

-20. "Very well, Dayspring.... if we survive we shall deal with the consequences later. If this is truly the end, boy.... know that you have meant more to me than anything else in my life. G'journey, Nathan Dayspring." (Blaquesmith)

-21. ".... I won't let that happen. I swear it. Whether I live or die.... I won't let that happen. Nothing else matters except the survival of that city. -- .... -- Everything that means anything to me is in that city.... I won't let them die." (Cable)

-22. "Do me a a favor.... if something happens to me, two people need to be contacted. The first is a kid named Sam Guthrie. S.H.I.E.L.D. probably knows where he is. The second.... Stacey Kramer. She works at Babel's Diner in Hell's Kitchen." (Cable)

-23. "They say that in the moments before you die, your entire life can flash before your eyes. But, at this moment, for Nathan Summers, that's not the case. Instead of a life, it's a lifetime's worth of individuals that he has touched.... and, more importantly, that have touched him. Friends and enemies. Allies and adversaries. The evils he cannot deny and the human truths he has fought to embrace. -- .... -- He always thought he'd judge the worth of his life by whether or not he succeeded in destroying Apocalypse. Now, at this moment, he knows better." (Joe Casey; Cable)

-24. "This is it! Didn't.... want things to end this way.... not when I've just started.... to live...." (Cable)

-25. "Her little brother's words echo through her mind.... "he's gonna be all right, y'know".... But her intuition tells her something very different. In her heart, she knows he's gone. No, the world did not end.... but a piece of hers ended tonight.... death can do that to a person." (Joe Casey; Stacey Kramer)

=====

A short synopsis of the most important events of the issue

".... I won't let that happen. I swear it. Whether I live or die.... I won't let that happen. Nothing else matters except the survival of that city. -- .... -- Everything that means anything to me is in that city.... I won't let them die." (Cable)

This issue contains the explosive conclusion to the Sign Of The End Times-storyline. The nightmare looks to be even more frightening and darker than ever before when it becomes clear that the internal mechanisms of the Harbinger have been set to detonate in the near future thus blowing up the entire city of New York! Apocalypse's cunning evil schemes have created a seemingly no-win situation for humanity: either humans will have to give up New York and allow it to be destroyed by the Harbinger or their future will be ruled by the tyrant Apocalypse! Something has to be sacrificed today and it's either the future or New York City which will get lost.... It's an horrible dilemma and an awful choice to make; humanity is really standing with its back against the wall right now.

To make things even worse the heroes are again unable to stop the Harbinger for even a moment: they bravely fight and confront it time after time but the only result is that they get their behinds handed over to them by the Harbinger just as many times! None of the heroes and especially Cable is willing to sacrifice New York City to the Harbinger but what can they do? Every attempt, every strategy they thought of so far failed against that terrible weapon of Apocalypse.... And on top of that time is running out on them: the clock is ticking and it won't be long anymore before the Harbinger blows itself and the entire city to pieces..... Besides you can ask yourself if the heroes have a chance after all: according to Ozymandias the prophecies have foretold that New York should be destroyed if mankind wants to have a chance of averting Apocalypse's ascension in the future. That would mean that the heroes have been fighting a lost battle from the beginning!

But no matter the odds Cable simply refuses to give up on New York and its citizens; everything that means anything to him is in that city and he will not let them die no matter what!

Fortunately things begin to look a bit better after Iron Man decides to put his trust in Cable. With Iron Man's rocket-driven boots on, Cable is able to attack the Harbinger and sweep him to the open sea miles away from the city before it explodes....

But that is almost the only good thing about it: the Harbinger is leaking such incredible amounts of energy while Cable is sweeping it away from the city, that Cable suddenly realizes that he is about to die in a few moments.... This is it! This is the big one! He instinctively feels that he is not going to survive the impact of the explosion when the Harbinger blows up and he already prepares himself to die.... But then something unexpected happens: seconds before the Harbinger blows up a portal opens up and a mysterious person grabs Cable and pulls him in, thus saving the Askani'Son from an otherwise certain death....

=====

Summary of Cable #68: Sign of the End Times. Total Chaos in 3 Parts.

Some say that the night is always at its darkest just before the dawn of a new day arrives. One could argue however that those people who say that are terribly wrong. We probably all want to believe that the light of day is never far away from the darkness of the night, we all like to hope, but history unfortunately has proven us wrong on various occasions. That's why there are some people as well who believe that the night is undoubtedly at its darkest when the dawn of a new day is as far away as possible. People who believe that the darkness is strongest when all seems lost and all hope has vanished. People who will say without exception that when the forces of light seem to be outclassed and defeated, when evil and terror seem to be unstoppable and unavoidable forces who are going to reshape our lives and the world we live in, is when the nightmare is at its darkest because that is when our hopes and ideals are crushed underneath the iron heel of the horror which faces us. And to be honest with you all those latter people seem to be correct: right now the night is darker than ever before for the people in New York City.

Apocalypse has never been this close to changing the world we have all known for so long, according to his ideals into a world in which the weak and the infirm will be crushed underfoot by the strong.

New York City burns and it is heavily damaged. The Harbinger, Apocalypse's servant, has overcome everything the heroes threw at it and it has given them all a beating neither of them will soon forget. Civilization as we know it is about to come to a shattering end but that doesn't worry or impress the High Lord in the least. No, on the contrary, Apocalypse is deeply satisfied to see that the current events, which have been carefully planned and patiently awaited for more than two thousand years, are finally taking place just like they were supposed to take place from the start.

Humanity has proven itself to be weak, unfit and unable to survive and overcome the challenges put in their way. And for that there's no excuse, no defense and no way out. The law of nature has always made sure that the weak disappear to make room for the strong and Apocalypse is very determined to relentlessly apply this fundamental law to mankind now. Much to his disgust Apocalypse notices a couple of people stealing and robbing goods from the damaged and ravaged stores. Is this all they can think of in this desperate hour? Are they really that small-minded? Are these people, these selfish, egocentric and petty thieves and robbers, really evolution's biggest achievement so far? Impossible. Unacceptable. Ridiculous. No, even in this life-threatening crisis, humans have proven once again to be nothing more than disgusting maggots set upon the corpse they are used to call Earth. And for that they need to be punished. It's time for mankind to step aside and burn itself out. Time has run out for humanity and the High Lord knows just about the right way to make them feel his wrath real good....

His Harbinger has been a perfect machine which has shown to be more than up to its task of dealing with all kinds of possible resistance while at the same time announcing the call of a new era, Apocalypse's era, to come. But today his loyal servant will become much more than that, yes today his Harbinger will become that which it was always meant to be: a true engine of destruction! With a simple gesture Apocalypse rearranges some of the internal circuits of the Harbinger thus activating its detonation mechanisms. The Harbinger has now become a walking time-bomb and it won't take long anymore before the energies which have begun to build up inside it, will be released in one huge and devastating explosion which will not only consume the Harbinger itself but also the entire city of New York. The Harbinger is destined to blow up New York City in one huge, merciless and relentless explosion! The Big Apple will burn in effigy and its destruction will become a symbol of the dark times to come. The first steps towards Apocalypse's reign of terror have been set and there's nothing the so-called 'Chosen One' or any of the other heroes seem to be able to do about that. Truly, the dawn of a new day with new hope and new perspectives seems further away than ever before in the darkness of this hellish nightmare....

In Hell's Kitchen, not too far away from the spot where Apocalypse just condemned New York City and its citizens, Blaquesmith is about to be shocked in a way far worse than he ever expected.

Just moments ago Ozymandias teleported himself and his guest from his hide-out underneath Casablanca to the deserted and ravaged streets of New York and Cable's mentor just can't believe the damage that has been done by the Harbinger already. By the Bright Lady.... is it really possible that the Harbinger has hit the city this hard in such a relatively short time? Is the nightmare really as black and frightening as Ozymandias told him? By the look of things it sure seems that the prophecies are really as scary and numb making as the sculptures in stone said they would be....

Ozymandias notices Blaquesmith's revulsion about the things he sees and he can't help but stress once again the truthfullness and unavoidability of the prophecies. Everything Ozymandias saw in his visions and carved down in stone will become an inevitable reality. There's no denying the prophecies and there's no place to run from or hide for them. As predicted long ago Judgment Day has arrived and it would be useless and foolish to doubt that! Humanity is facing the End of Time and everything Ozymandias' visions foretold is about to come true in the most horrible of ways. New York City will have to be destroyed if mankind wants to have a chance of preventing Apocalypse's reign of terror and that process of destruction of the once so proud city is what is about to happen and what Blaquesmith is seeing right now. Humanity can't have it both ways so if they want to secure their future they will have to give up one of their best-known cities on Earth. So is it written down in stone and so shall it be. The prophecies can't be tempted nor can they be changed and that is something which Cable's mentor and the remaining heroes will simply have to accept....

But Blaquesmith refuses to take things as lightly or calmly as Ozymandias however. Neither New York nor its denizens will be sacrificed today no matter what whatever prophecy says!

The Askani'Son and himself have travelled back in time to prevent a hellish future from ever happening and by the Bright Lady, they will find a way to stop Apocalypse and his minions from doing more harm! Together they will succeed, they simply have to, and no mere lackey who spent centuries in the servitude of the most vile evil who ever walked this Earth, is going to scare them away or discourage them from doing what they came back for! No prophecy, no warnings or advice from questionable persons and no centuries old 'wisdom' is going to stop Cable from saving the city from the threat of the Harbinger or die trying. No matter what the future consequences will be, right now it's important to focus at the crisis at hand caused by the Harbinger on its rampage. The question of humanity's future survival will simply have to wait at the appropriate time to be dealt with.... And Ozymandias better remembers something: after this whole thing is over, Cable and his mentor will come after his (former) master. Apocalypse better watch his steps because Cable is far from being finished with him! And that's a warning which is even more true than Ozymandias' so-called unavoidable prophecies!

Blaquesmith sure has as much the heart and backbone of a hero as his pupil but one can wonder if reality backs his brave and proud words up....?

At that same moment Cable and the five available Avengers are once again confronting the Harbinger, throwing everything they got at it. But just like in their previous encounter the best efforts of either Cable, Iron Man, Thor, Wonderman, the Vision or Captain America seem to be greatly insufficient to even worry or impress their opponent too much. The Harbinger is not only calmly taking everything the heroes can think of but it is in a way defying and humiliating them as well. The End Times have arrived and there's nothing any of the heroes can do to stop that; it's only a pity none of them seems to realize that. But with every blow they give to the Harbinger their evident defeat only gets one step closer; it won't take long anymore before time has run out on them and they themselves and the city they so fiercely defend, will be blown to pieces!

The final sequence is complete and the internal mechanisms inside the Harbinger have been programmed to detonate and thus destroy the future of New York and all of its citizens once and for all....

Is this the end? Will the nightmare become even more atrocious than it already is? It's do or die for humanity and unluckily things do not look too good. The situation is grim and chances are that nobody will ever see a new dawn filled with hope and new ideals anymore.

And, in her underground shelter, a few blocks away from the combat field where the heroes try to stop Apocalypse's minion, Stacey realizes that all too well. She's just doesn't understand it. What exactly is happening upstairs? What kind of threat is endangering her city? What exactly is Nathan facing up there? And what is he doing at the moment? Is he alright? Oh please, please let her come back in one piece; please do not let the good thing between the two of them end before it actually started.... Why did this had to happen to Nathan? Why is he forced to risk his life right now? Why can't he be with her at a time like this? Why aren't they allowed to be with each other and enjoy each other's company; yes, why can't they have a quiet and peaceful life together? Stacey is lost in her thoughts, desperately trying to find answers which deep down inside she fears aren't there. It all started so promising and beautiful just a little while ago. She can still see him sitting on a lone table in Babel's drinking a cup of coffee for the very first time. She can still hear the sound of his voice when he first spoke to her and she can still recall all the things which went through her mind the first time he looked her in the eyes. It wasn't love at first sight but looking back she can clearly see that things were never the same anymore for her since the day he walked into her life. Nathan touched her in ways she never thought possible before just like he changed and enriched her world, and that of her little brother Kenny, much more than she ever expected he would. Sure, there have been things which she felt he hid from her at first and she didn't understand that. But his secrets were never able to stop her from falling in love with him. No, Stacey was determined to let Nathan further into her world, desperately hoping that he would return the favor one day and let her into his.

End Part I