20 Facts Even True Fans Don't Remember About Josh Brolin's Cable
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Josh Brolin is absolutely destroying this summer, having performed the critical role of Thanos in the biggest film of the year thus far...Avengers: Infinity War. However, we cannot forget about his terrific performance as Cable in Deadpool 2. While we know Infinity War has been breaking record after record, Deadpool 2 is doing amazing at the box office too. As of this writing, they have reached nearly $400 million. They have barely been out a week too. While the success of the first sure helped in getting people to see the second movie, Brolin coming in as Cable likely did some good for them too.
The reason we know this is likely because of the character being so well-liked in the comics and having his first appearance in live action with Deadpool 2. Of course, Cable and Deadpool are pretty friendly in the comics. Yet in this movie, they are on opposite sides as Cable seeks to take out a kid for reasons made clear in the movie. Cable as a character is by no means easy to play. He's purposely made to be almost unbelievable.
He came about in a time when comics were beginning to reach a look for characters that were absolutely insane. While women might have been almost nude in comics, men were overly muscular and huge. This was something even WWE would have no way of keeping up with. This meant Brolin had to not only look good as Cable, but get as close to the look as he could. The look is not the only thing we have to keep in mind regarding the character and what Josh had to do. In fact, there are a ton of things he had to know going in or do on-screen.
In this list, we're going to be breaking all of this down. We're going to go over, of course, all of the things regarding Cable that Deadpool 2 had to make sure made it into the final cut. On top of this, we'll be going over what Josh Brolin personally had to do to play him, or little tidbits on what got him into the role. We'll even include some interesting situations from the movie, Deadpool 2. So with that said, this is an official spoiler alert! We hope you enjoy our list of 20 things even true fans don't remember about Josh Brolin's Cable.
Josh Brolin Had To Become Ripped To Play Cable
We went over this slightly above, but Josh Brolin had to be in insane shape to play Cable in Deadpool 2. While Brolin has gotten into great shape in the past, having to play Cable is a different sort of thing. He began getting into truly great shape back in 2016. He did so due to a movie he was working on called Only the Brave. Unlike others in the Avengers films, he was mostly all green screen/CGI as Thanos. So the shape he was in did not matter here, as some might assume. Only the Brave hit theaters in 2017, and he knew he would have to get into great shape for it. This was not the Cable look, but it was amazing physique wise. Brolin mentioned how he was in the best shape of his life when playing the role.
When the call came through for Brolin to play Cable, he not only had to keep up the look he had in the other film but add some muscle along with it. Cable as a character is almost impossible to reach. However, Brolin would get into the best shape one could get at his age. Cable is also tall, which Josh isn't sadly. The movie made note of this because obviously, it would. In fact, a line from Deadpool in the movie pokes right at it, where Wade says "he's smaller, not like the comics." Despite this, Brolin had the look to pull off the character. The question is, can a 50 year Brolin keep this up for future Cable appearances? Brolin claimed he did all of this naturally, without steroids. But he may need them next time out.
Several Major Names Were Up For The Part Of Cable Before It Went To Brolin
A lot of people were truly wanting to play Cable it seems. Funny enough, Josh Brolin was actually not up for the role originally. In fact, he was not even truly wanting to read for it. He would do so and get the part, but not before other big stars attempted to get it before him. The list of names that wanted to play Cable are almost unbelievable but confirmed as true. Michael Shannon, who played General Zod in the Man of Steel movie wanted the part. Stranger Things' David Harbour attempted to get it as well as Pierce Brosnan of the 007 franchise. There was even a rumored thought that Russel Crowe could be up for it.
However, the biggest name who attempted to get the role was the major name of Brad Pitt. We're totally serious, he really worked hard to try and get the role too. He even met with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch about it. This is likely why Brad Pitt ends up making a cameo appearance in the movie toward the end. It's a blink and you'll miss it type of appearance, but he WAS in the movie...just not as Cable. Pitt is said to be on some lists to take on a superhero role eventually, so this may not be a huge miss for Brad. Josh Brolin getting the role obviously worked out, but could you imagine Pitt in the role?
The Man Who Created Deadpool Also Created Cable
An often forgotten thing about Cable is that he and Deadpool are almost like brothers in the comics, but that could be due to the man who created them being the same person. Rob Liefeld created Deadpool with major writing side being done by Fabien Nicieza. However, the two often are credited with creating Wade Wilson together more than Rob individually. At the same time, Rob is credited with the look and idea of who Wade is. Cable, on the other hand, was also a Rob creation with some help from some of X-Men's legendary writers, Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson.
However, the entire look, feel, and overall arc of who Cable happened to be as a character came from the mind of Rob Liefeld. Deadpool and Cable debuted at different times and obviously one became more popular than the other. However, Cable has deep ties to X-Men's universe while Deadpool is sort of able to be separate from them as his own thing. This is often why he sticks out of the pack while Cable blends in more with the X-Men, despite being a loner. It is interesting that though Deadpool and Cable are not written completely by Rob, he had a huge hand in the character creations. No wonder things seem to just, well, "work" with the two characters.
Brolin Has Made Superhero Movie History
Josh Brolin is one of a certain group of people to debut a character from a superhero universe to the live action film genre. Many have done this for television and film, but most of the times we see a superhero...it's on a second or even third attempt. Spider-Man alone has had 3 different guys play the role. Even Nick Fury, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four have been played in live action before they were brought to the screen in the 2000's. Brolin does have the distinction of debuting 3 characters to live action, however. At best, it has only been done twice outside of Josh.
Obviously, we know Brolin for his role as Thanos and now Cable. Yet he also played Jonah Hex in likely one of the worst superhero movies in history. Hex is an amazing character, but the movie did not do him any justice. The failure of this movie ultimately made people assume Brolin would never get another crack at the genre. Yet he did, 2 more times! Brolin is also the only man to play the main villain in two different superhero franchises as a different character. While Cable becomes a hero toward the end of Deadpool 2, he starts out as the big bad. This also puts Brolin as the only man to play a hero and villain in two different superhero franchises as a different character. Clearly, Josh has made an impact in this world.
Cable Is A Telepath But This Is Not Made Clear In Deadpool 2
In Deadpool 2, whether you have seen the movie or only the various trailers, the studio did a terrific job at hiding things from us. Deadpool as a franchise now knows they can hide behind Wade and the comedy aspect and leave out critical info for the movie that will interest people greatly once they see it. If you've seen the movie, you know one thing was kept out and probably should not have been. Cable is a telepath. He developed this due to his parents, who were also mutants. One of them, Madeylne Pryer, was a clone of Jean Grey.
Grey, of course, was one of the most powerful mutants ever known. Her telekinetic abilities and overall telepathy were even as strong as Professor X's when she reached her potential. As The Phoenix, they far surpassed his and landed her on an Omega-Mutant level, giving her the most powerful abilities in comics at one point. That said, Cable is getting his powers secondhand from the clone of THIS woman. That said, one would assume he would have used his telepathy in the movie somewhat yet never did so. While they are likely holding off on it until Deadpool 3, they may also be holding off due to a certain virus Cable has.
Cable Is Slowing Passing Away Due To His Own Powers, Somewhat
In the comics, Cable is born with some very good powers. He has the telepathy mentioned earlier as well as heightened strength, speed, and agility. Overall, Cable is born with extremely impressive abilities that would have made him a major mutant. The thought among mutants was that he would be the one to take down Apocalypse, who had taken over the world by the future Cable happens to be within. However, he is kidnapped by Apocalypse one day due to the man knowing ole' Nathan Summers here was coming for him later. He infects him with something known as the techno-organic virus. This was meant to, at the time, take him over completely and thus make him a pawn for Apocalypse. As he is being infected, some very timely heroes come to save him and stop the process.
This allowed Cable to get the techno-organic virus within him and vastly enhance his powers while giving him new ones. Yet this virus only gets worse each time he uses his mutant abilities. This is why half his face is metal as well as his arm. Overall, the techno-organic abilities that combine with his current make him too unstoppable to actually compete with. This is why he was written to have a limitation. Unchecked, his powers would make him Omega-Level and truly no one could compete. The virus forces him to be limited. The more he uses his powers, the closer he gets to ending his life. In theory, Cable would simply become a pawn of Apocalypse or whoever controls the programming and would not actually pass. Just his brain and soul would be gone, thus being a true end of life.
X-Force Was A Cable Group, But Not In Deadpool 2
In the Deadpool movie, one glaring and massive problem was thrown in automatically that will likely tick off some fans of the Marvel Comics universe. While Deadpool and Cable worked together a lot in the comics, and Wade even joins up with X-Force...he did not start the group. X-Force was a group founded by Cable and led by Cable. While he does seemingly join Deadpool in the group at the end of the film, this was never the original move in the comics. It does make sense that the franchise went for this concept, considering Wade is the established character and Cable is just now being introduced. However, the comics are pretty clear.
What seems to be the goal with a possible third installment is that Cable will lead the team considering Wade will have learned by the issues he saw in the last movie, he isn't a leader. To make things even more compelling, Cable claims to not be a "team player." To be fair, he truly isn't one. However, X-Force lasted as long as it did because Cable led it. Cable seems to work well in groups when he can lead them but has issues when he has to be a mere part of it. It could be that he will lead alongside Deadpool in the next movie, but it could be that he simply has problems doing that too.
He Is The Product Of Two Mutants That Are At Odds
As mentioned, Cable is the son of technically two mutants. While one is Madelyne Pryer the other is Cyclops, she is a clone. The weird thing is that Cable often has a complicated relationship with both his parents, but especially his father Scott Summers (Cyclops). In fact, Cyclops is known for his inability to be a good father likely more than most. Cable's biggest issue when it comes to his dad is likely that he left he and his mom when Cable was younger. So the story goes that Pryer was a cloned Jean Grey, which worked for Scott considering he missed a recently passed Jean. He would go on to marry Pryer and have a child with her. Then Grey comes back to life.
He decides to leave Pryer to be with Grey. This is even after traveling to the future to keep the family safe, as his family is a top priority at one point. But then Cyclops leaves them behind to go back to Jean? What's even worse is that Scott proceeds to leave his family knowing the future is considered to be kinda bad, despite their thoughts of a good one. Cyclops goes back to Jean and then she passes again, she comes back again and then he cheats on her with Emma Frost. Jean passes once again and his relationship with Frost goes public. He then betrays Emma later on to get the power of The Phoenix. Cyclops is not always the best dad, and Cable knows it. Therefore, while the two have been fine with the other in the comics some, they're usually not the best father/son duo you'll come across.
Cable Isn't Technically A Normal Human, But Can Seem Like It
If you have seen previous X-Men movies or read the comics, you know one thing. Mutants can be spotted with certain detectors. The most common way to find them is usually with Professor Xavier's Cebro. However, another commonly used way to hunt down mutants is with the infamous Sentinals. These machines are huge and quite powerful. They can, at times, adapt to mutant powers. This is why stopping Mystique from getting caught was so important in the X-Men: Days of Future Past film. Cable is from the future, so he has come across the Sentinals more than most it seems. They also are heightened and better at their job by this point, which isn't good.
One would assume Cable would be easy to find. Not only is he a mutant, but technically part machine due to the virus he has. Yet he can actually present himself as human if he needs to do so. Cable cannot just turn off his mutant ability or machine parts. He happens to have the ability to suppress them. Any sensor is looking for a certain mutation level, and everyone has some form of this in their body due to simple evolution. The mutant abilities come into play when these are much much higher. So by suppressing his mutant side, he becomes more in tune with his human side. This allows him to come across human to any sensor despite not being this. This is a key thing that Brolin brought to the character. He gave us a machine through the movie, but a truly human side near the end.
He And His Mother Were Not Extremely Close For Good Reason
After marrying a man like Cyclops, anyone would be psychologically messed up. Especially if this guy then breaks you and leaves you in a dystopian future at one point. In the comics, Madelyne Pryer finds a way to truly connect to her Jean Grey side but decides that the hero situation isn't her road to take. Instead, she goes down the path of the bad girl. While going bad is an issue, likely Pryer did not have limits that most seem to. Cable was actually sacrificed by his mother to unleash demons on Planet Earth. We're totally serious. Basically, Pryer is working alongside a Demon Lord named N'astirh. He is able to unleash the Grey powers completely for Pryer and turned her into a character known as the Goblin Queen. There's a lot to read into here, and we'll save that for you to do on your own.
The gist of the story is that due to needing to bring N'astirh to Earth, she has to sacrifice 13 babies. Finding 13 babies and taking them from families might be tough, but she had an ace in the hole. She only needed 12, as a 13th could be her own son Nathan. She attempts to sacrifice the kid by throwing him into the air to complete her task. Cable managed to survive this experience and go on to become the character we know and love. This was not the only time he and Pryer would be at odds. Cable and his mother were mostly at odds due to an evil put upon her. She was a pawn of Mr. Sinister's from the beginning.
Deadpool May Want Wolverine Around, But Cable Wouldn't
A lot has been made about Ryan Reynolds and his consistent push to bring Hugh Jackman, or Wolverine, to the Deadpool movies. In each movie thus far, he has made sure Hugh and Wolverine have had some role. In the first movie, a picture from a magazine of Hugh is used among other things. Meanwhile, in Deadpool 2 he starts the movie off with one of the last scenes in the movie Logan, where the character passes away. He's especially part of the end-credits scene in a fun way too. Reynolds is trying all he can to bring the character in, no matter what he has to do. Deadpool, being able to break the 4th wall, is trying noticeably too.
Cable, however, would not be thrilled with it. The two are long-term rivals in the comics and this has been quite notable for years. Cable and Wolverine have similar personalities and this clashes horribly. Wolverine even has to take out Cable's son, but for good reason. He is turned evil in the future and though Cable thinks HE took out his son before he hurt a teammate of his, the real story is that his son survived and then sought to find his father and take revenge. Knowing Wolverine despised Cable, he tries to recruit Logan. He even tried brainwashing him, but this did not work. Logan would go into a rage and take the kid out for real this time. This got back to Cable, who wasn't happy.
Nathan Summers And Nate Grey Are The Same Freaking Person!
There's a lot of problems with timelines in the X-Men comics. On top of this, there are issues with universes off and on. Likely one of the biggest has to do with Nathan Summers and Nate Grey. You may be wondering what the issue could possibly be. It's kind of interesting. Basically, Nate Grey was introduced years after Nathan Summers. He would come in during the Age of Apocalypse storyline. Yet people often overlook the fact that the two of them are the exact same person at the end of the day. The differences are there, however. Mr. Sinister in this universe happened to be a nicer guy and artificially created Nate Grey from genetic material he took from Cyclops and Jean Grey. Cable, on the other hand, was born normally through the "getting it on side" of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryer.
Sinister speeds up the progression of Nate due to the constant threat of Apocalypse. Nate was then randomly thrown into the main Marvel timeline due to some random thing with M'Kraan Crystal. He has been part of the universe ever since, which is why he and Cable are sort of in a complicated relationship. Nate began to take on the name as literally X-Man, we're serious. Due to the fact that both come from a different sort of universe and timeline, it is tough to know who the original is. As a result, they merely call each other "brother" when seeing each other. Nate has many of the same powers Cable has, but there are some major exceptions. Cable has the techno-organic virus that helps enhance everything and Nate does not. Grey can absorb the power from all around him and eventually destroy himself as a result.
He Can Time Travel, But On A Limited Basis
One thing most liked about Cable is that he can go throughout time. This has led to major use in comics in solo missions, or missions alongside Deadpool and/or X-Force. The issue with time travel is that it follows the same rules as all other time travel does. Any action taken in the past will affect the present, even if it is a small change. A lot of people look at the situation with Cable and see the things he changes when he goes back. For the longest time, this is forgotten or overlooked. Meanwhile, other forms of time travel can change things drastically. It simply depends what the mission does or if he is attempting to change the change that someone else put into play. Yet he does not have the power of time travel.
This is actually a machine of sorts that he uses to allow him the ability to jump forward and backward in time. In Deadpool 2, he sort of gets stuck in the past due to the amount of power he has left with the time traveling machine he holds. Of course, the supplies to power it are in the future and that can be a bit tough. We obviously know what happens when Deadpool finds the time-traveling machine in his hands at the end of the film. However, the movie was true to Cable's device. Powering the thing can be tough and ultimately this is the correct timeline for him. The future is not his true home, and he can always go back to it. Yet the longer he stays and anything that happens to him now will affect his future and the rest of the world's too.
Cable Is Framed For The passing Of Professor X, But His Father Actually Takes The Professor Out Later
There is one thing that is absolutely insane from the X-Men comics that people have trouble overlooking. We've already mentioned how Cyclops had trouble being a dad most of the time, but this is a whole new level of issue. We start with the first part of the story, in that Cable is framed for the death of Professor Xavier. The story goes that Cable has been sort of at odds with the X-Men for years due to time-jumping in for many years. One day, he is framed for taking out Professor X because of the techno-organic virus being the thing that did the deed. Considering Cable is infected with it and did not like Xavier's nonviolent ideals of handling threats, people assumed he did it. Rather, it was his evil brother of sorts, Stryfe.
He is able to take care of Stryfe by sending them both into a time vortex. Though later on in the comics, Cyclops does the unthinkable where there is no debate he was responsible for the death of the Professor. Cyclops was hungry for power randomly, and when Emma Frost grabbed The Phoenix power to handle it and thus wield it properly being a telepath...he betrays her. He literally stabs her in the back and takes it for himself. He then ends the life of the Professor. Some think it was due to the power he now held, but it had not even taken him over halfway by this time. Therefore, Cyclops was in complete control of his actions. This was especially true when stabbing Emma Frost.
About That Evil Brother Of His....
We made reference to an evil brother of Cable's named Stryfe. Some would call them clones rather than brothers. Stryfe is the evil finished techno-organic character that Apocalypse attempted to make Cable into. Basically, Stryfe was created for an understandable reason. Due to Nathan being infected by the virus, they felt cloning him would make sure their threat of Apocalypse was removed if he did not make it. During the cloning process, a child was forming when Apocalypse attacked. Thinking Stryfe to be Nathan, he takes him. Upon realizing that he grabbed a Cable clone, he makes sure to infect Stryfe fully and he is able to become an evil warrior for Apocalypse.
Due to being a clone, he has a lot of the same abilities that Cable has. However, he is more techno-virus than Nathan. He only has limited abilities Cable had before the virus, which gives him some of an edge. Though they look a lot alike, so it is likely we could see Cable and Stryfe fight in future Deadpool films. It makes sense, considering the two are constantly at odds. Stryfe is considered Cable's #1 enemy, as only someone near his power level seems to be able to actually compete.
Cable's Daughter Was Mentioned In Deadpool 2, But Who Is She?
A lot was made about the daughter of Cable in Deadpool 2. In the future, Cable comes back home to learn that a person has come and destroyed everything around him. This included his own family and daughter in particular. All he has to remember her by is a scorched teddy bear that he keeps on his person throughout the film. His daughter's name is Hope, and this is a name picked for interesting reasons. In the comics, Hope happens to be an incredibly powerful mutant. Her powers put her on the same level as her father at the best of his abilities multiplied by 3,000. Hope is similar to Copycat, Rogue, and Mystique. She is sort of a mix of them all into one. She has what is known as "power mimicry."
Yet she does not just lose these powers nor does she have to touch a person like Rogue must do to absorb their powers. Mimicry is usually a power Mystique and Copycat hold where they can take on the look of someone, with partial appearances of their powers if it's a mutant. To this day, there is no actual limit that has ever been put on her power wise, which makes her useful but dangerous. She is one of the few Omega-Level Mutants but some believe that she has reached a level higher. She and Scarlet Witch are the only two mutants who go beyond other Omega types. Hope actually blocked Cerebro from finding her, which no mutants before could do. It is said she has some telepathic powers from her father but her power mimicry makes her an impossible person to defeat. When she mimics, she has the exact same level of power to whom she mimics. On top of no limit for which she can use it.
Cable Is Actually Wolverine In An Alternate Universe
We've already highlighted Cable not being Wolverine's biggest fan, so it'll come as a surprise that Cable actually IS Wolverine in an alternate universe. Cable comes back from the future to the technical present day and happens to be the "Wolverine of the future." This was part of the Ultimate X-Men universe of comics. This came complete with Cable still looking a lot like the Cable we know and love but containing all of Wolverine's powers. He has the claws and healing ability Logan possesses. This is combined with a similar backstory to Logan as well, especially regarding when he is injected with adamantium metal.
He gets the metal arm after a fight with Apocalypse, which is why he remains with this in the comic line. They could not change Cable too much apparently. Why did Cable come back in time? Simple, to get Charles Xavier and take him to the future to help in the fight against Apocalypse. In order to get Professor X away, he had to go through the entire X-Men unit at the time. Obviously, it would be too simple to simply ask if the Professor and possibly other X-Men would be willing to go to the future to help in a battle against a major villain. It's not like it's a superhero comic, right? Wait. That said, this version of things was not well-liked by fans.
Cable Of Deadpool 2 Is From A Possible Future That Isn't Set Yet
At the end of Deadpool 2, most assume Cable decides to stick around because he has grown fond of the world. Some believe he has remained behind to experience a timeline he would have grown up in had he remained here and not taken to the distant future as a child. He is much older than those around him, despite being younger than them all. He has experienced a horrific time in the future that is affected greatly by villains of extreme power. He comes back in time to stop Firefist from becoming the bad man that takes out his wife and daughter. However, he sort of accomplishes this in the movie. So why did he stick around?
Some think Cable remains behind because he wishes to change more about his future. If he remains in the past and takes his time to battle through various issues that cause his future to become terrible, he can always go back. People think he was lying when he said that he ran out of power with his time traveling gear. This is especially possible considering Deadpool uses it later and it seemed so easy to power. He knows he can always go back to be with his wife and daughter in a better future that he will work to make that way. The problem is that time is not set, but the future is going to happen anyway. The first rule of time travel is that you change nothing. For any change can develop a possibly worse outcome. Is Cable staying behind to ensure he did not create such an outcome? It is possible.
Cable Is Not Fond Of His Father, This Is Likely Why
We've already mentioned how Cable did not really care for his parents. While we already highlighted issues with his mother, Cable had issues with his father Cyclops a lot too. When he goes to the past and fights alongside him, he is a good bit older than his father. He also has to fight alongside a man that is still considered not so great by most comic book readers. Likely one of the biggest things we can turn to in proving this is a time period when he attempts to end his own son's life! Yes, he truly tries this with Cable. The story goes that Cyclops sends both the X-Force and even X-23 after Cable.
X-23 happens to basically be Wolverine's daughter, and Logan tells Scott not to send his daughter on a mission like this. He does it anyway and later is punched out for it. X-23 needed to be rehabilitated due to her shall we say, bloodthirsty tendencies from her past mental programming. Taking the teenage X-23 alongside an X-Force he reformed to end his son was not "Father of the Year" material. It doesn't end here. The Avengers are sent by Cyclops to take out Cable later on due to some future prophecy. Of which he did not even check to see if it was his evil clone Stryfe whom he KNEW OF FOR YEARS! When your father is constantly trying to end your life, he doesn't seem to be the best dad one could have.
There Might Be A Core Issue With The Movie Cable Versus The Comic Book Version
One of the core parts of Cable that is supposed to be the number one thing about him is that he is prophecized as the man who will help take down Apocalypse. It is a big deal in fact. So much so, the entire origin of his character and the battles he has for years within the comics is based on this very principle. Obviously, no one is going to be upset if Cable hits the live-action world, which is why bringing him to Deadpool 2 for his live-action debut was a terrific plan. The characters of Deadpool and Cable work well together, and it'll be fun to see future projects including the two. Here's the rub though, there is a core issue that must be addressed eventually.
While Cable and Mr. Sinister have some issues, and it looks like they partially set this possibility up in the movie....his main big bad won't be back. Remember the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past? Do you remember the villain for that movie? You're right, it was Apocalypse. He was not only defeated but destroyed by the X-Men. There is nothing to resurrect for a possible return either. Cyclops and Jean Grey were even teenagers at the time of defeating him.
This means Cable's true reason for being was gone before he was ever thought of. This means his future has to be switched up to create a new big bad, which he never spoke of. The only thing that can work is Russell, who is technically Kid Apocalypse in the comics, but was turned good by Deadpool in the recent film. Though Cable does bring Apocalypse back to life in one comic for a crazy reason they could not use in the movies.
