Wolverine/Cable: Guts And Glory #1

Were you there when the two toughest mutants met for the very first time? This special one-shot blows the lid off their past and their future! One came from the far-flung future to prevent untold carnage. One has waged an eternal one-man war on evil and on his own inner demons. Now find out the truth behind Cable and Wolverine¹s legendary first meeting! When Nathan Summers was a stranger in a strange land, when Logan was the deadly government operative known as Weapon X, they faced a common foe. A foe who threatened the present and future alike! Only their combined fury can defeat the being called D’Von Kray… that is, if they don¹t kill one another first! Guest-starring many familiar faces, and introducing some brand new ones! Writer Joe Casey (CABLE) spins a tale of action and intrigue while penciler Stephen Platt melts your eyes with his awesome art!

Synopsis

The setting is New York City. A tall, mysterious man wanders the streets, fresh off the boat from Scotland. Cable attempts to read a newspaper to catch up on the current events of this time but gets rebuffed by the newsstand operator. As Cable walks away, the newsstand mysteriously topples. Cable is learning what it takes to survive in the Big Apple. The setting is now northern Canada. Wolverine sits up late, contemplating his past. He receives a transmission from Department H and is informed that he should simply turn on the radio to get information as to his assignment. Doing so, the radio reports about a creature running around. Wolverine suits up. Back in New York, Cable is perusing 20th Century history so as to catch up on all the info his time lacks. He does some special research on Charles Xavier, a man who will soon begin to act on his dream of tolerance between humans and mutants. A scream is heard as he goes to check out and he learns that someone is robbing the Jewelry Exchange across the street. Using his telepathy to bypass the guards, Cable sneaks into the building. He locates the vault and sees a very hi-tech bomb. Before he can figure out his next plan, he is ambushed by the Vulture on his very first heist. The bomb detonates and the Vulture makes off with his haul. Once the dust clears, an security guard heads towards the vault and finds Cable among the rubble. In Canada, Wolverine arrives to a scene of officers firing at a huge being. He’s never seen anything like this guy. In the creatures mind, it’s learned his name is D’Von Kray and he was a fallen soldier in Cable’s time that was altered and sent out to get revenge on Cable in this time. Unfortunately, the creature is out of control because the time travel has wiped his mind and he’s merely attacking and destroying on instinct. Kray and Wolverine spar, but Wolverine comes out on top when he hurls the beast into some electrical wires. Department H arrives to take the creature away. Cable is taken to the apartment of Franklin Rhodes, the security guard that pulled him from the rubble. Rhodes is sympathetic to Cable because he knows an ex-military man when he sees him. Cable is appreciative. Rhodes explains that he’s a security guard, but he was one a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He also buys guns off the street to keep them from being involved in crimes. He offers Cable a place to stay, one ex-vet to another. Up in Canada, Wolverine witnesses Department H experiment on D’Von Kray. The government wants to retrofit the cyborg with modern weapons and enlist the thing in the Alpha Flight program. Wolverine is adamantly against it. As Franklin buys a gun from an old hunter, Cable reminisces about his past; the world’s future. He recalls that he can’t recall names of fallen comrades. His melancholy mood prompts him to ask Franklin about his days in S.H.I.E.L.D. Franklin tells of an eight year tour of duty of horror and nightmares. The men have an understanding and toast those who never made it back. At the lab in Canada, everyone has gone home for the night. D’Von Kray awakens. He bursts from his shackles with his memory returned. He is here to find and kill Nathan Dayspring; Cable. Having been fitted with jet packs, Kray flies into American airspace. Wolverine is alerted and told that Department H has scrambled radar for now. Wolverine can track Kray via a tracker injected into Kray’s spinal fluid. Suited up, Wolverine departs to recapture Kray. In New York, D’Von Kray gets closer. Cable and Franklin are out with some old vets. Drunk, Franklin decides it’s time to leave. As they walk home, Kray unleashes a blast that is barely detected by Cable. The men avoid the blast and Franklin declares that he is now good and sober. The men make their way to Franklin’s home. Armored up, Cable admits to being a mutant from the future. Unfazed, Franklin orders them into the back room. D’Von Kray arrives and shouts his hatred for Cable. He gets a lock on Cable’s body but, before he can attack, he notices a helicopter approaching. Wolverine jumps out and attacks the creature. He then gets a gut full of firepower. With Wolverine down, Franklin runs decoy to draw fire. He’s successful, but also gets hit. Kray is out of ammo and Cable kicks him through a wall. Kray is not out, however, and pins Cable. Wolverine then pops Kray through the skull while Cable gives the cyborg a tek-blast. Cable then becomes wary of Wolverine because his thoughts are so wild and animalistic. Instead, Cable turns to Franklin. Franklin’s been shot up and soon dies. Cable feels the pain of losing one of his first friends and Wolverine seems like a likely source to take that pain out on. Instead, Wolverine leaves and the two vow that this confrontation can be played out later. At Franklin’s grave site, Cable knows this will be the first encounter of friends and enemies that he has in this time. He leaves to find Professor Charles Xavier. Note: This one-shot acts as a supplement to Wolverine and Cable’s meeting in New Mutants #’s 93 and 94.