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Nathan Summers
Nathan SummersNathan SummersNathan Summers

Nathan Summers

709 appearances Β· Copper/Modern Age Β· 1989–2026 Β· 21 key issues
Who is Nathan Summers?

The infant son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, Nathan Summers was infected with a lethal techno-organic virus and sent into the far future to survive. He grew up as a hardened soldier across war-torn timelines, returning to the present as the adult warrior Cable.

Few Marvel characters have carved out a legacy as sprawling and consequential as Nathan Summers, who burst onto the scene in The New Mutants #73 in 1989, courtesy of Louise Simonson and Bret Blevins. A titan of the Copper/Modern Age, he went on to headline his own long-running series and became a cornerstone of X-Force and the broader X-Men universe, sharing countless adventures alongside legends like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Ororo Munroe across 619 catalog appearances. With 21 recognized key issues to his name and a publishing history stretching from 1989 all the way to 2026, Nathan Summers is the rare character who defined an era and never stopped mattering β€” a must-know figure for any serious Marvel collector.

Identity

Real name. Nathan Christopher Charles Summers

Powers. Powerful telepathy and telekinesis; uses TK to hold back a techno-organic virus infection. Time travel. Skilled soldier, marksman, and tactician.

Teams & affiliations
X-MenX-ForceMutant Liberation Front
β˜… First appearance
The Uncanny X-Men #201
Jan 1986

Trivia

  • Cable's true identity as Nathan Summers stands as one of Marvel's most rewarding legacy mystery payoffs, with the thread weaving through The New Mutants and into later X-Men events rather than being handed to readers upfront.marvel.com
  • What quietly drives much of Cable's storytelling is a detail baked into Marvel's own continuity β€” a techno-organic virus he must constantly suppress using his telekinesis, a behind-the-scenes consequence that shaped countless stories built around him.marvel.com
  • Fabian Nicieza has written more of Nathan Summers's comics than any other writer in our catalog β€” 99 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years β€” 1989–2024

The New Mutants #73 β˜… 1989
The New Mutants #73
Marvel Age #116 1992
Marvel Age #116
The Uncanny X-Men #321 1995
The Uncanny X-Men #321
X-Men #-1 1997
X-Men #-1
X-51 #12 2000
X-51 #12
Soldier X #6 2003
Soldier X #6
X-Men Unlimited #11 2005
X-Men Unlimited #11
Cable #1 β˜… 2008
Cable #1
Avengers vs. X-Men: It's Coming #[nn] β˜… 2012
Avengers vs. X-Men: It's Coming #[nn]
Marvel Now! Omnibus #[nn] β˜… 2013
Marvel Now! Omnibus #[nn]
Uncanny Avengers #4 2016
Uncanny Avengers #4
Season's Beatings #1 2019
Season's Beatings #1
X-Men #24 β˜… 2023
X-Men #24
X-Men #34 2024
X-Men #34

Appearances (451–600 of 709, oldest first)

Avengers: X-Sanction (2012)
Deadpool Max 2 (2011)
X-Men: Fatal Attractions (2012)
X-Force: Toy Soldiers (2012)
Avengers vs. X-Men: It's Coming (2012)
Cable Classic (2008)
#3
X-Force: Child's Play (2012)
X-Man: The Man Who Fell to Earth (2012)
X-Men: The Wedding of Cyclops & Phoenix (2012)
Marvel Firsts: Before Marvel Now! (2012)
A+X (2012)
#1
Marvel Now! Point One (2012)
#1
Marvel SΓ©rie II (2012)
#10
X-Force Omnibus (2013)
#1
Cable and X-Force (2013)
Cable & Deadpool (2013)
Cable and X-Force Classic (2013)
#1
Marvel Now! Omnibus (2013)
X-Men Extra (1997)
X-Force: Phalanx Covenant (2013)
X-Men: The Road to Onslaught (2014)
#1
Wolverine by Larry Hama & Marc Silvestri (2013)
#2
Uncanny X-Force (2013)
Deadpool (2013)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Avengers (2013)
#5
Uncanny Avengers (2013)
X-Men: The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix (2014)
Marvel Firsts: The 1990s Omnibus (2015)
X-Men '92 (2015)
#4
X-Tinction Agenda: Warzones! (2016)
Deadpool & Cable: Split Second (2016)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl & the Great Lakes Avengers (2016)
All-New, All-Different Avengers (2016)
#2
Captain America: Sam Wilson (2016)
#2
Deadpool: World's Greatest (2016)
Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus (2017)
X-Force Epic Collection (2017)
Uncanny Avengers: Unity (2016)
Spider-Woman (2016)
#17
Jessica Jones (2016)
#7
Civil War II (2017)
Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus (2017)
Extermination (2018)
Despicable Deadpool (2017)
Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey (2018)
#2
X-Men Gold (2017)
#0
Domino (2018)
#1
X-Factor Epic Collection (2017)
Season's Beatings (2019)
#1
Cable & X-Force: Onslaught! (2019)
Cable & X-Force Omnibus (2019)
Heroes Reborn Omnibus (2019)
Captain America (2019)
#2
Marvel Comics (2019)
Major X (2019)
Fallen Angels (2020)
Deadpool: Hey, It's Deadpool! (2020)
Incoming (2020)
#1
Black Widow: Marvel Team-Up (2020)
Savage Avengers (2019)
#0
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman (2020)
Dawn of X (2019)
#5
Fallen Angels by Bryan Hill (2020)
#1
New Mutants Epic Collection (2017)
#7
Advento (2020)
Reign of X (2021)
Marauders (2019)
Excalibur (2019)
#14
Captain America Epic Collection (2014)
#19
X-Men: Hellfire Gala (2021)
Deadpool: Black, White & Blood Treasury Edition (2021)
Women of Marvel (2021)
X-Men by Peter Milligan: Blood of Apocalypse (2021)
X of Swords (2021)
S.W.O.R.D. (2021)
Avengers by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection (2020)
#4
Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane: The Complete Collection (2021)
X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus (2021)
#1
Cable Reloaded (2021)
#1
Deadpool: Black, White & Blood (2021)
#2
Deadpool Epic Collection (2021)
#1