Good food to eat and nice things to look at
If a character has been branded with the whole "nemesis" seal, Cable definitely is that person. His destiny (prophecy) of putting an end to the monster Apocalypse filled tons of pages in the X-Universe, delivering some good stories, other not so interesting. The beginning of this new look into Cable and Apocalypse's relationship is very interesting, especially because James Robinson was clever enough to shed new light into the foggness of Apocalypse's past. Something I quite never understood was why Marvel never explored better this villain's past. The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix was set into the future, but the villain's past was never well told, just a remark here and there. This formula is still used in this issue, this is not a complete chapter of Apocalypse's past, but at least there're some interesting facts. In this issue James Robinson explores the partnership between the Hellfire Club and Apocalypse, blending present with the past, resulting in a quite interesting narrative. Again I got the feeling that this story isn't about Cable, since he doesn't appear in the whole issue, it felt like he was a co-star in his own title and, surprisingly, it was a good feeling. Instead of focusing completely in the mutant, Robinson prefered to explain more about the Hellfire's project, introducing new characters both in the past story (Union Jack) and in the present story (Ch'Vayre), culminating in the release of a new "threat", a weapon designed by Apocalypse, his "Harbinger", the very result of his master's ideas and philosophy: adapt or perish. Nevertheless, Robinson took his time to show some important moments for Cable, like his reunion with Cyclops and even with Madelyne Pryor. Speaking of the art, Ladrönn was magnificent in this issue, especially in the designs of Apocalypse's machines, something he's very good at (penciling big and astounding scenarios). This being a special issue, as I finished reading it, even with some flaws here and there, it felt pretty good! I don't know the reasons, but this was Robinson's last issue, kind of strange to leave the title without finishing the arc story.