Cable & Deadpool #5

Issue Date: 
September 2004
Story Title: 
If Looks Could Kill - part 5: Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Staff: 

Fabian Nicieza (writer), Patrick Zercher (penciller), Rob Ross and M3th (inks) Shane Law and Kevin Yan (Colour) VC’s Cory Petit (letterers), Erik Ko (Udon Chief), Nicole Wiley & Andy Schmidt (assistant-editors), Tom Brevoort (editor), Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief), Dan Buckley (publisher)

Cable created by Rob Liefeld and Louise Simonson

Deadpool created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza

Brief Description: 

Both Deadpool and Cable are still unable to move, respectively due to the Façade and Techno-Organic Virus. Meanwhile, Anton Kruch travels to Singapore to get the perfected strain of Façade Virus. In New York, Irene Merryweather tries to motivate Hammer to help her stop Kruch. Back in France, Cable manages to activate his telekinetic powers again and he swallows Deadpool, who has been reduced to a pile of goo. The process saves them both and even has the added bonus for Deadpool of restoring his face. Cable leaves for Singapore to stop Kruch. Deadpool gets on a plane to follow him. In Singapore, Cable tries to recover the Façade Virus from the Sunic Plant before Kruch gets there, but he has to fight Lightmaster, their new security measure. Cable manages to remove Lightmaster from the battlefield, long enough to modify the virus himself. Kruch appears and tries to convince Cable to let him go through with the plan. Cable rejects and uses Lightmaster, who turns out to be on Kruch’s side and his backup plan to transmit the modified virus instead all over the world. Deadpool’s flight is just about to land when it is hit by the virus, turning all the passengers pink.

Full Summary: 

Deadpool and Cable lie on the ground between the wreckage caused by their fight. Deadpool’s legs and the rest of his body are slowly dissolving, due to the effects of the Façade Virus, while Cable has been completely paralysed by his rampant T.O.-virus. Deadpool keeps talking, trying to find a different solution than to mix blood with Cable, but both his hands start to dissolve.

In Frankfurt, an employee of the Sunic Corporation informs Prime Minister Anton Kruch of the One World Church that the virus he had stolen was flawed and the Singapore Plant contains the perfected strain. He sends Kruch information about the increased security at the Singapore Plant (showing a picture of Dr. Edward Lansky alias Lightmaster). At an airport in France, Kruch decides to go to Singapore.
In New York, Irene Merryweather calls Hammer and tells him that she’s a friend of Cable. Eugene is obviously less than interested with her call, but Irene warns him: if he doesn’t want to wake up blue, he better help her. At his home, Hammer wonders what Cable has gotten himself into.

Deadpool calls for help, but the One World Church Monks just stand back and watch. Deciding to kill the time he has, Wade starts to talk to Cable about his new plans for a superhero porn site. Cable still doesn’t reply and Deadpool’s larynx starts to dissolve. Deadpool is reduced to a pile of goo, but Cable’s left eye lights up. Several drops of Deadpool start to float in the air. Cable then telekinetically lifts and swallows the complete Deadpool-goo and his body returns to normal. He coughs up the goo and Deadpool returns to normal as well. Deadpool takes a few seconds to adjust and then hits Cable, shocked by Cable’s actions.

Cable explains that they saved each other’s lives. Cable decides to stop Kruch from repeating this. Deadpool notes that they already destroyed Kruch’s machine, but Cable telepathically contacts Irene Merryweather, who is tracking Kruch’s flight. Cable tells Deadpool that Kruch is going to Singapore and starts to fly away. Deadpool offers his help; his loyalty to Kruch understandably destroyed by Kruch not mentioning the Façade’s side-effects. Cable flies up and, when Deadpool asks how he’s supposed to get to Singapore, Cable tells him a flight is leaving in seven hours.

Deadpool calls Cable a prima-donna and mutters how Cable would still look like an upchucked VCR without his healing factor, but then looks at himself in a piece of reflecting machinery. Deadpool sees that his face has been restored to normal. He jokes a little about how the scars and blisters use to draw women, but then reminds himself that they were the wrong type of women.

At Singapore, the board of directors is told that the security measures are in place. A couple of them think that using Lansky seems excessive, especially with no indication of any assault pending. The next moment, the whole boardroom is telekinetically taken apart by Cable. He explains that he’s there to rescue the Façade Virus from small minds. A voice asks him what makes him so sure that his hands are the right ones. Cable is then hit by laser-beam that goes straight through his chest and turns itself into Edward Lansky alias Lightmaster.

Lightmaster asks if Cable has difficulties reading the mind of a being who is pure light. Cable is impressed by Lightmaster, but mentions that Lansky doesn’t know about a new gift that Cable recently received (meaning Deadpool’s healing factor). Lightmaster attacks him again: his hands reformed into some type of blades he makes several high speed passes at Cable, but Cable is still up and talking. Lansky wonders what it takes to shut Cable up and Cable realizes the influence that Deadpool has had on him in the last few days.

On a flight to Singapore, Deadpool tries to get his neighbor’s pretzels.

Back in Singapore, Cable explains his appreciation of Lansky’s dedication, but his own mission is too important. With those words, he telekinetically seals Lightmaster into a sheath of metal formed of debris and transports him to the moon. One of the scientists wonders if Cable has killed Lightmaster, but Cable explains that he just needed some time. He then modifies the machinery with the new virus. Anton Kruch appears and asks Cable to stop: Cable should agree with Kruch’s goal. Cable is sceptical about the blue people, but Kruch tells him that that’s not the point. By erasing skin colour, he could unite humanity and create one world. Cable agrees, but doesn’t want it to be Kruch’s world. Kruch wonders whose world it should be then. Cable just smiles and notices Lightmaster returning just a bit too early.

Kruch tells Cable that he made a mistake: Kruch wanted to spread the Façade Virus through television systems and the Internet, but he realised that many people would never look at a monitor in their entire life. So he thought of another method: using somebody who could send the virus on light-waves all across the world. Kruch and Lansky both say the creed of the One World Church. Cable asks if Lansky is a member of the Church and if he was supposed to be their new method of transmission of the virus all over the world. Kruch confirms. Cable then telekinetically throws Lansky into the batch of virus he just modified and tells Kruch and Lansky that he already knew that. Lansky is surprised and Kruch shocked. Lansky then explodes in a burst of light and sends the virus as beams of light all over the world.

Deadpool’s plane approaches Singapore when it is hit by the light and everybody in the plane turns pink. Deadpool doesn’t seem to care and asks his surprised neighbour for his pudding.

Characters Involved: 

Deadpool/Wade Wilson

Cable/Nathan Christopher Summers

Irene Merryweather (reporter at the Daily Bugle and friend of Cable)

Eugene Eisenhower Canty / Hammer (former ally of Cable, technological genius)

Anton Kruch / Prime Minister of the One World Church

Lightmaster / Dr. Edward Lansky

Story Notes: 

Science is really taking a backseat in this series. First, we have a virus that can be attached to light somehow and now we have Lansky lighting up the whole world. There also seems to be some timing error: if Deadpool can leave 7 hours later, how come his flight arrives at just about the same time as the Cable/Lightmaster fight (that took only seconds) ends.

Issue Information: 

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