Cable vs. Captain America: Who Wins?

credit: Marvel Comics

Setting two soldiers with superhuman abilities against each other is typical in the Marvel Universe, and to be fair, Cable and Captain America have met before, and Cable has even managed to tangle with each other in the comics before, but it’s fair to assume that a lot of people either don’t remember this or don’t want to remember the outcome. The fact is that Captain America is insanely strong, but the super soldier serum only extends his reach into superhuman status so far, while Cable is naturally gifted in a few ways that would manage to give Steve Rogers a few serious problems. Being a mutant is usually seen as a social detriment in the Marvel Universe since no matter how hard the X-Men and other mutants have fought to save humanity, they tend to be hated, feared, and ostracized quite often. Despite being from the future, Cable isn’t much different since he can’t embody the spirit of humanity as much as Captain America seems to in the comics. But with or without support, Cable is still bound to come out on top for a few reasons, not the least of which is the capability of messing with Cap’s head thanks to his telepathy. 

credit: Marvel Comics

With backup, Captain America could take Cable down.

Given that he’s part of the Avengers, Captain America usually has backup not too far away in the likes of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and several others that could render aid of some sort. Against Cable, this would still make for a tough fight since Cable is typically well-prepared and has an answer to just about any type of attack possible. But against the Avengers, it’s possible that Cable would falter eventually since, depending upon who sought to help Cap and what they brought to the fight, it’s possible that Cable would find himself on the run eventually. But without backup, Captain America isn’t enough when it comes to taking on one of the toughest X-Men ever created. 

Cable has far more experience than Captain America. 

This could be debatable since Captain America has been using his skills and his shield to great effect for a long time now, but the fact is that when one is a mutant in the Marvel Universe, it’s fair to say that fighting for survival starts at a young age and doesn’t stop that often. Cap has definitely seen his fair share of combat, and he’s learned from every encounter, but Cable has been fighting to survive since he was a kid, and he knows what pain and suffering are all about. Because of this, it’s very easy to state that he knows how to go longer, harder, and give more of himself than even the legendary WWII hero, which is saying something since Cap tends to give everything in a fight when it’s required. But Cable is superior here since he has the experience, and being from the future, it’s easy to think that he has some idea of how Cap might fight, as well as how to counter it. 

credit: Marvel Comics

If not for the virus that Cable has to deal with, he’d wipe the floor with Cap without breaking a sweat. 

The techno-organic virus that Cable has had to deal with since he was young, the same one that has been slowly killing him for so long, is one of the only reasons why he can’t let loose with the full scope of the power he holds inside. If not for that, Captain America wouldn’t stand a chance with Cable since the mutant’s gathered power would be enough to put the star-spangled Avenger down without much effort. Some might want to state that Cable is a bit overrated and that mentioning how the virus is damaging him isn’t relevant, but the fact is that he’s been turned into someone who is more or less one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Thinking that the two would never get along is folly since they were on the same side during Civil War, but the fact is that Cable is kind of like Cap, but with the morals dialed way down. 

Both men are highly-trained soldiers, but Cable still has more experience than Cap. 

When looking at their stats, it’s very easy to note that Cap and Cable are evenly matched when it comes to skill. But where they differ is that Cable doesn’t need to rely solely on the weaponry he uses, and he is a bit stronger than Cap. While the Avenger could hold his own against Cable for a while, if Cable had something to fight for and Cap was in his way, that problem would be remedied in one way or another. It’s interesting to think about whether Cable would use dirty tactics on Cap or if he would try to keep the fight as honest as possible.