If Deadpool’s future is still uncertain, where does that put his good friend Cable? In the grand Fox Studios reshuffling into the Disney umbrella, will he be lost in the transition? Would Marvel Studios have an aversion to having their biggest villain Thanos be portrayed by the same actor as a hero in the same cinematic universe? So many questions about the future of a cybernetic soldier… from the future. Ironic.

While the world waits for Cable’s silver screen uncertainty to clear up, here we will examine the current market for Cable’s key comic books.

 

THE UNCANNY X-MEN #201 (1986)

Before we talk about the more popular book that contains the first appearance of Cable as an adult, it is important to address that Nathan Summers, the son of Scoot Summers and Madelyn Pryor, actually first appeared as a baby in The Uncanny X-Men #201. The issue not only covers the birth of Cyclops’s son, but also focuses on a match between Cyclops and Storm to decide on who will be the next leader of the X-Men (which makes for a very striking cover).

The sales for Uncanny X-Men #201, graded CGC 9.8 (a large 31.5% top of the census), are shown below:

Sales prices for The Uncanny X-Men #201 have been in overall decline for much of the last 2 years. In any given stretch of a few weeks, the range of sales prices is very wide; but it keeps making lower lows and lower highs. If looking to exit this book, time is unfortunately not in your favor.

 

 

THE NEW MUTANTS #87 (1990)

To cover all technicality bases, with the acknowledgement of baby Nathan Summer’s first appearance years earlier and with Cable’s first appearance in cameo form in New Mutants #86., we finally arrive at the 1st full appearance of Cable and the book the market has deemed as his most valuable key, The New Mutants #87. In the "A Show of Power!" story, Cable tracks down members of the dangerous Mutant Liberation Front. Cable attacks them, but is overpowered.

New Mutants #87 isn’t just Cable’s first full appearance, but also that of the Mutant Liberation Front and its various members, including Stryfe who is a clone of Cable. Below is sales for the first printing of the book, graded CGC 9.8, which represents the top 20.9% of the census.

It appears that sales prices for New Mutants #87 peaked in early 2018 around the theatrical release of Deadpool 2 (2018); and has been on a very unmistakable decline for the last year and a half since. Interestingly, this negative trend was very rapid throughout the rest of 2018, but slowed down in 2019. It’s still negative, but about half rate. The only thing that might turn this around is official confirmation of a future movie appearance of Cable; but given that Marvel is dragging their feet on Deadpool, the outlook for Cable is slightly bleaker. New Mutants #87 would be the one to benefit; but again, who knows how much longer the negative trend will continue. At least the value loss appears to have slowed down.

 

 

CABLE & DEADPOOL #1 (2004)

The fates of Cable and Deadpool seem ever so intertwined. Best buds. With that, we will take a quick look at their first shared comic book series Cable & Deadpool #1, which has gained a noticeable volume of sales and value. Below is sales for the book graded CGC 9.8, the top 42.8%.

Cable & Deadpool #1 was included here more so for the novelty. From a financial perspective, it’s a terrible investment that has consistently lost value for the last 3 years. From a cool cover and story perspective, definitely worth collecting, but don’t overpay.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • The Uncanny X-Men #201 - SELL
  • The New Mutants #87 - REDUCE
  • Cable & Deadpool #1 - SELL

 

 

“Spider-Man, on the other hand, is more of an anomaly, acting like this is all one big joke. It's hard to believe his legacy will someday be that he was the greatest hero of all. But not today.” - Cable