New Mutants 87 (1990) First Full Appearance of Cable Marvel Key Issue

The New Mutants #87 (March 1990) is one of the major copper-age keys, marking the first full appearance of Cable, the time-traveling mutant who went on to become one of the central figures in X-Force, Deadpool lore, and the 1990s X-Men franchise. Created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, the issue introduces Cable as the mysterious soldier from the future who arrives to reshape the New Mutants’ direction. This is the first time Cable appears fully in costume, named, and in action, making it the true key over issue #86. This issue also features the first appearance of the Mutant Liberation Front (MLF) and early work from Rob Liefeld during the era that defined Marvel’s 1990s aesthetic. The cover itself is an iconic copper-age standout: Cable framed in targeting sights along with the New Mutants team members. Any collector building an X-Men, X-Force, Cable, or Deadpool-adjacent run considers #87 essential, and demand on raw copies remains consistently high. Condition based on photos: The cover retains strong colour and high gloss, though there is light spine wear including several non-colour-breaking ticks. Top edge shows very minor stress and the corners appear slightly blunted with some light wear visible on the lower left. Small colour loss and print rub appear near character faces in the circular panels. No major creases or tears visible, staples look tight, and paper quality shows typical early-90s off-white to light cream. Overall, based on photos, this presents in the FN/VF range — a solid raw copy of an important key.