WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool 2, in theaters now.
The Deadpool films have proved a little more faithful to the source material than the rest of Fox's X-Men franchise. That's not to say they don't take some creative liberties, such as with Domino, who in the comics is a friend and occasional lover to Cable. Then there's Cable himself, the superhero soldier we can't quite categorize. So let's take a look at his depiction in Deadpool 2 to determine whether he's a mutant, like his comic book counterpart, or if he's just well equipped with futuristic tech.
When Cable, played by Josh Brolin, first appears in Deadpool 2, he's shown grieving over the charred remains of his wife and daughter before traveling back in time to try and kill the young mutant Russell before he can grow up to become a monster. His cybernetic enhancements are pretty clear, as they run from his left eye, and across the entire upper-left side of his torso. It looks painful, but they definitely come with benefits, as he's able to view his surroundings using augmented reality and generate powerful force fields.
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It quickly becomes apparent just how powerful his metal arm is; the rest of his body seems pretty durable as well. He gets back up after being tossed into buildings, thrown off of cliffs and punched in the face by adversaries as strong as Juggernaut. It's possible Cable's ability to endure that kind of punishment stems from more technological enhancements, it could be part of a mutation.
He definitely looks like Cable, and bears all the superficial characteristics of the Marvel Comics character; even his personality matches. So how do his powers differ from those of the comic book character?
Nathan Summers, who first appeared as Cable in 1990's The New Mutants #86, by Louise Simonson, Rob Liefeld, Bob Wiacek and Glynis Oliver, has a complicated backstory. Really complicated. It can be simplified like this: His parents are Cyclops and a clone of Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor, who was created in an attempt by Mister Sinister to breed a superior mutant capable of defeating the ancient and powerful Apocalypse. As a result, Cable was born a powerful mutant with incredible psionic abilities.
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Unfortunately, as a child, Cable was infected with the Techno-Organic Virus, which turns organic matter into technology, hence Cable's technological appendages. He was able to keep it from spreading by consciously using his powerful telekinetic abilities. The extent of his telepathic and telekinetic powers have varied over the years as he lost and gained new abilities.
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Deadpool 2 seems to have replaced Cable's psychic powers with technology. Telepathy isn't a favorite for filmmakers due to the difficulty in depicting its use visually onscreen. It is therefore understandable that, even if Cable is a telepath in Deadpool 2, the film wouldn't immediately showcase those abilities. What about telekinesis, which lends itself brilliantly to cinematic scenes?
We see Cable lose his rifle multiple times and retrieve it without ever having to reach for it. At first glance, it seems to be telekinesis, but the sound effects tell us otherwise. Much like Cable's orange force field, it seems to be a techology-based feat. After all, even if you ignore that the sound effects indicate the use of an electromagnetic device similar to that utilized by Captain America in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we can't overlook that this ability is only ever employed with the rifle, and not as an offensive ability. Coupled with the fact that Cable never once demonstrates any evidence of possessing telepathic abilities, it's pretty safe to say the film adaptation of the character doesn't possess psychic powers.
What about his strength? Definitely superhuman, not necessarily a mutation.
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In the comics, Cable (where unaffected by the Techno-Organic Virus) possesses the strength of a particularly athletic human. That doesn't seem to be the case in Deadpool 2. There are several scenes in which Cable survives beatings that would destroy any human, which is why we must consider whether it's an indication that, despite the lack of extrasensory powers, Cable may still be a mutant in the film.
Considering all of this, it's difficult to say for certain whether Cable, as depicted in Deadpool 2, is a mutant. Most, if not all, of his abilities seem to stem from his technological augmentations. For now, with the lack of definitive proof, it's safer to assume that Cable is simply a time-traveling soldier and not actually a mutant like the rest of the key characters, at least until either a potential X-Force film or Deadpool 3 tells us otherwise.
Directed by David Leitch, Deadpool 2 stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder, with newcomers Zazie Beetz as Domino, Josh Brolin as Cable and Julian Dennison as Russell. The film is playing in theaters everywhere.