WARNING: The following contains spoilers for “Baby’s First Cable” by Skottie Young, Aaron Conley, and Jean-François Beaulieu in Deadpool’s Nerdy 30, on sale now.
House of M is been one of the most impactful events in Marvel’s history. While the story primarily affected the X-Men and the Avengers, the reverberations of the Scarlet Witch’s breakdown were felt throughout the Marvel Universe.
Two characters who felt the effects firsthand were none other than the Merc with a Mouth and the Askani Son, Deadpool and Cable. While they weren’t directly involved in the event, they couldn’t help but suffer through its repercussions in the pages of Cable & Deadpool.
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During the “Enema of the State” storyline, Deadpool, while brainwashed by a villainous information broker known as the Black Box, was tasked with assassinating a missing Cable, thought-to-be-killed in battle with a threat known as Skornn. Not believing his friend and target was really gone, Deadpool, along with his old flame, Siryn, and Cannonball, travel to alternate timelines in search of the real Nathan Summers. After visiting all sorts of worlds—including a world where Cable is one of Apocalypse’s horseman – Deadpool arrives on a nondescript farm, running across a baby Cable in the care of Mister Sinister in Cable & Deadpool #17 by Fabian Nicieza, Patrick Zircher, and Udon’s M3th.
Unaware that they’re actually in their home timeline that was altered by the Scarlet Witch during Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, and Tim Townsend’s House of M, Deadpool, Siryn, and Cannonball play along with the surprisingly hospitable Sinister who claims to have genetically engineered this baby Nathan himself. The mad geneticist is more curious towards the heroes than anything, even attempting to drug them at dinner so that he can study their unique genetics.
Suspicious of this new world, Cannonball and Siryn leave to check on the other X-Men in Westchester while Deadpool stays with Sinister and baby Cable. Wade refuses to leave Cable in the hands of Sinister to grow up under the mad geneticist’s schemes, especially after Sinister reveals his intentions to use Nate to wipe out the rest of humanity as a savior for mutantkind. As Wade fights for his friend, Sinister uses Deadpool’s DNA to accelerate Nate’s growth, resulting in Cable developing his telekinetic abilities from the crib. With his newfound powers, Nate aids Deadpool against his creator, allowing Deadpool gets ahold of the baby before teleporting out of this altered reality as the timeline begins to restore itself.
This wouldn’t be the last time the duo’s time-traveling shenanigans lead to babysitting. Skottie Young, Aaron Conley, and Jean-François Beaulieu’s “Baby’s First Cable” story, found in this month’s Deadpool Nerdy 30 anniversary special plays with similar themes.
In the short story, an infantile Wade Wilson is celebrating his first birthday with his family, only for his old pal Cable to arrive from the future with a mission to save the world from what Wade will become. Before he can act, another Cable arrives to save the further future by saving Wade. One thing leads to another, and yet another Cable arrives with a future-saving mission, only for baby Wade to steal one of his grenades and blow up the house with everyone in it. Dozens of other Cables arrive, including the current teenage version of Nathan, before they unknowingly leaving Wade in the wreckage.
Both stories show how no matter the time-period, Cable and Deadpool are inexplicably linked. Not surprising since Deadpool’s first appearance was with a mission to kill Cable in New Mutants #98 by Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza, and Joe Rosen. While the two may be radically different from one another, they’re a fan-favorite pairing for a reason. And while they may be flying solo from one another right now, it’s only a matter of time before they find their way together again.
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