The creative team from Marvel Legacy’s Cable series reunite to give the big guy one last sendoff. X-Men: The Exterminated #1 acts as a bridge from Extermination to the upcoming X-Force series, but delivers much more.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
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In the wake of Exterminated, Hope Summers is having a hard time adjusting to her father (Cable)’s death. She butts heads with her grandmother (Jean Grey) as they go through all of Cable’s old safe houses to wipe them clean.
Thank god for Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler, they’ve shown such a deep love for not only Cable but X-Men comics in general with their brief history of work with Marvel’s mutants. The impact of Cable’s demise didn’t carry much weight until they got a hold of it here.
Making a comic book character’s death matter is no easy task in today’s Marvel continuity. Showing us the grief and pain through both Hope and Jean made this a memorable and touching sendoff for one of the greatest X-Men of all-time. These two go through such deep development in a single issue.
Hope’s surprise showdown with Deadpool is a wonderful interruption. Deadpool meant a lot to Cable, no matter how much Hope likes to disagree. We got to see his passing from both sides and what it means for both of them as they try to move on without Cable.
X-Men: The Exterminated didn’t have to be this profound and heartfelt, but I’m extremely happy that it was. Give it up for Thompson & Nadler again for utilizing Hope Summers as well. She’s a criminally underused character despite the love for her among X-Men faithful. It’s not only great to see her involved, but also to be deployed and developed so flawlessly.
Artist Neil Edwards raises the emotional impact as well. Rarely repeating expressions, there are a huge amount of emotions on display without over-doing anything that would take the reader out of these moments.
The heaviness of this script is illustrated in an effective fashion without bashing us over the head with the tone. Colorist Jay David Ramos keeps the tone lighter as well, never drenching us in dread or sadness but keeping the flow consistent and allowing the story to breathe.
X-Men: The Exterminated #1 is an emotional study of Hope Summers and Jean Grey as they navigate each other’s mourning of Cable together. This is a touching story about loss and family that should hit home with plenty of readers.
Quieter, more human moments like this in an X-Men comic are what makes them such powerful characters. No matter how convoluted or confusing the continuity can be, these characters are very much like us. Thompson & Nadler are a dynamic pair when it comes to telling X-Men stories.
Following the main story, the god of all X-Men creators (Chris Claremont) tells us a tale about Cyclops and Corsair. This story is the definition of short and sweet, showing us a moment in the cloudier days of Cyclops and his newborn son, Cable.
To properly enjoy this short story definitely requires an above average knowledge of X-Men comics. If you can jump in and understand what the hell is going on, you’ll enjoy this quick bit about two terrified fathers trying to do what’s right for their families.
