ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT CABLE
Jonathan Hickman has rewritten the rules when it comes to the X-Men. While he has not forgotten the past forty-plus years of continuity dating back to the Chris Claremont era, he has reimagined basically the entire X-verse. Villains and heroes now live side-by-side, and even Apocalypse has joined the good guys.
Overall, fans have been happy with the X-Men's new direction, but that does not mean it is not without its misses. Case in point: Kid Cable.
WHO IS HE?
Before Hickman took the reigns of all things X, Old Man Cable was given a younger, hipper replacement (not a young hip replacement; that’s totally different).
In 2018’s Extermination #1, the older Cable was killed by his counterpart. The story goes that the original Cable had created so much of a mess in the time-space continuum that Kid Cable decided the old man had to go. Think of it as Back to the Future if Doc Brown was a psychopath.
Although Hickman reset many characters and storylines from the X-verse, he chose to keep Kid Cable in the new continuity. For the first time, Cable was put into a family dynamic with Cyclops and Jean Grey.
Judging by recent sales data, collectors want their old-fashioned Cable.
NEW MUTANTS #87
For most grades of New Mutants #87, values have fallen to two-year lows. Granted, the fair market values are showing signs of life over the past 90 days for many of those graded issues, but most sales are still below those previous figures.
Take the 9.8. When Deadpool 2 hit movie theaters in 2018, this issue averaged just under $500. A year later, it fell by over $100 and dipped below $400. For the past 90 days, it has ascended to a $430 FMV, but that is still a far cry from the $500 average.
The reason behind this is two-fold. First, prices were bound to deflate after the film introduced Josh Brolin as Cable. Like all live-action debuts, values immediately balloon when the news hits the internet before the FMVs dip once the movie is old news.
The second piece of this puzzle is Cable’s death and the premiere of Kid Cable. While we are seeing an increase in FMVs for New Mutants #87, Kid Cable’s first appearance is sorely lagging behind. Clearly, fans are not happy with Cable's death and the rise of his doppelganger.
EXTERMINATION #1
In the age of first appearances, it is unusual for a character’s debut to be ignored. Here we have the premiere of Kid Cable and the death of the original Nathan Summers, and basically, no one cares. True, Kid Cable is a spin on an existing character, but that didn't stop the Batman Who Laughs and Cosmic Ghost Rider's first appearances from skyrocketing.
Since 2018, there have been just 11 sales for this issue. Keep in mind, that includes every grade, the standard cover, and all five variants. In fact, the 9.8 standard cover brought the highest price, and that was for just $50 in May.
What is even more impressive with these numbers is that Kid Cable is being positioned as a future star in the X-Men titles. After all, he is immensely powerful, and he has appeared in multiple series. Yet, hardly anyone wants his first appearance. That is a testament to how much fans dislike this character.
BRING BACK MY CABLE TO ME
Eventually, Old Man Cable will return, I feel sure. When that happens, New Mutants #87 FMVs will spike, especially if he is given a major storyline in the X-Men titles.
