X-MEN '97: SEASON TWO #2 — Salva Espin Brings Cable to Life in the Past

The X-Men are scattered through time, leaving a vacuum for a very different kind of mutant. In Season Two #2, Salva Espin’s Cable steps up, but his lethal past clashes with the heroes of the present. A visceral look at how far one man will go to fix the future.

When the X-Men vanish into the timestream, the present doesn’t just go quiet—it goes dangerous. That’s the premise Steve Foxe and Salva Espin pick up in the second issue of X-Men '97: Season Two, and it’s a fantastic reason to keep reading. With the team out of commission, the world is left exposed, and there’s someone else ready to fill the void. Not a teacher, not a student, but a soldier.

Cable is arriving, and he brings his own brand of salvation. Raised in the brutal wastelands of Borneo with a single, burning directive: destroy Apocalypse. He isn’t looking for friends or allies; he’s looking for an army. But the recruits he pulls from the past might not be ready for his methods, creating a friction that’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

Visually, this issue is a standout. Salva Espin’s art captures the grit of Cable’s origin while grounding the character in the vibrant, animated style of the '97 series. Todd Nauck’s cover sets the stage, but it’s Espin’s inside work that sells the weight of Cable’s presence. You can feel the tension in every panel as this hardened warrior tries to fit into a world that hasn’t earned his trust yet.

If you’ve been riding the waves of the animated series’ legacy, this arc feels like a natural, high-stakes evolution. It’s not just about saving the day; it’s about the cost of saving it. Cable operates in gray areas that the X-Men usually try to avoid, and watching that clash unfold is pure comic book joy.

Keep an eye on the variant covers for this drop—they tend to move quickly, and Nauck’s work is always worth grabbing. This is a great time to jump in if you love character-driven conflict, or just want to see how Espin handles a more mature tone within the familiar aesthetic.