Here we are in the middle of our greatest guns blogs here at Star Clipper, and I’ve got a doozy for you. In this case it’s not a matter of the quality of the gun but the quantity. And who has a bigger arsenal of massive guns in comic-dom than Cable? You’d think that 1000 years in the future, or whenever he’s from that technology would have advanced to the point where weaponry is more compact and concealable. But no, thanks to Rob Liefeld’s vision of the future, firearms just became more cumbersome and massive.

At least in X-Man Bishop’s not-to-distant future, the guns available seem much more manageable and practical. In Cable’s far more distant future, they became bigger than the person who operates them. I suppose that would explain Nate Summer’s predisposition to wearing big shoulder pads. It would make it that much more comfortable to hold one of those bulky cannons over your shoulder when you’re trying to pose all cool-like in a splash page. Much as I’m not a fan of Rob Liefeld’s ability to draw, you have to admit that the man defined an era of comics for better or worse. How many Image characters were basically a rip-off of Cable? Especially characters created by Liefeld himself. Also, how many classic characters dabbled briefly with bulky armor, and ridiculously massive firearms? Even Superman came back from being dead and started lugging around a big-ass gun, not to mention sported pouches galore on his extreme! black costume. And the mullet too…

One of the greatest Cable moments, for me anyway, came during the Phalanx Covenant from 1994 when Cable was helping the adamantium-less Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean Grey fend off the techno-organic menace with not one, but two massive guns mounted on tracks on his shoulder-pads. Now that’s extreme! By the way, check out this link and witness the ebb and flow that is Cable’s wardrobe over the years.

I also should mention that Cables best guns aren’t always the ones that fire bullets, or energy blasts, or whatever it is they shoot. The biggest, deadliest guns Cable possesses are attached to his torso, and one of them is made of organic metal. That’s right, few characters of average strength can take you to the gun show quite like Cable.

-Jim

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