Random Happenstance

I'm not a big Cable guy, but this cover grabbed me: from 2001, Cable #96, "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago" Written by Robert Weinberg, pencils by Matthew Ryan, inks by Ted Pertzborn and Harry Candelario.

Cable looked older than dirt back when Liefeld drew him, didn't he? Then he maybe got a bit younger looking when Greg Capullo was on X-Force; and by this issue Cable looked like a strapping 23-year with a full head of white hair. Riding a motorcycle that looks like an Akira homage, Cable stops at a roadside diner that promises "the best sandwich in the world," served by a winsome young waitress. Surprisingly, the sandwich is damn good, and on the house; as the cook wants to arm-wrestle him. Said cook, Cole, is odd-looking, stout and thick; and Nate can tell he wasn't human. More surprisingly, he wasn't a mutant, either.

After losing the match, Cole admits he hadn't lost one recently, like the last three thousand years. He had a business proposition for Cable, already trusting him: Cole was a Neanderthal, born about 30,000 years ago. He had been a hunter, with a family, before he was abducted by Lemurian scientists, who used him and two other cavemen in an experiment to slow aging. While it worked, the scientists would never know, as right about then Lemuria sank: the three cavemen survived, although Cole went his separate ways since he never liked them. He never found his family, and quietly lived through history, although he did fight in both World Wars. Cole eventually moved out west for some peace and quiet, but the other two cavemen caught up to him and looted his treasure stash; and he needed some help to get it back. Of course Cable helps him out, maybe with a little lesson at the end. 

This was the last issue before a shake-up on the book: next month would be the start of Igor Kordej's run.