The Sentinels fill several fascinating roles in the X-Men franchise. They often appear as meaningless henchmen, no different from the Foot clan in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the Putty Patrollers in Power Rangers. Other X-Men stories depict the Sentinels as an apocalyptic nightmare that will inevitably end mutantkind. There's always a new Sentinel model that will escalate the threat beyond any the X-Men have previously faced. The newest upgrade in X-Men '97 is called the Prime Sentinel.
Sentinels represent a common trope in science fiction. Mutants, as docile or threatening as they may be, have superhuman powers that could make them very dangerous. Humans, who are regularly prejudiced monsters, have only one recourse against their perceived foe. When humans encounter a problem they can't defeat, they pick up their tools and invent a solution. Humans built giant killer robots to put down mutantkind, and the narrative follows Sentinels through a dozen phases of new development.
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What are the Prime Sentinels in Marvel Comics?
Selected Members | Karima Shapandar, Agent Boyd, Agent Mathers, Arvell, Curtis, Felipe, Helmut, Mustang, Numbuh 5, Sanjit Shaara/Unit 3, Saroyan, Tanya, Ginny Mahoney/Unit 1031, Daria, Lance Gwynn, Graydon Creed, Cameron Hodge, Stephen Lang, and Arkea |
|---|---|
Created By | Scott Lobdell and Carlos Pacheo |
First Appearance | X-Men (Vol. 2) #65 |
First Appearance Date | April 1977 |
The Prime Sentinels are a team of anti-mutant executioners developed by an android called Bastion. Bastion is a humanoid machine created after the unwanted fusion of the Master Mold supercomputer and an advanced Nimrod Sentinel from the future. The resulting organism fell through a mysterious portal, which spit him out with a more humanoid form and a case of amnesia. After some human supremacists awaken Bastion's core programming, he devises Operation: Zero Tolerance to wipe out mutantkind forever. His scheme followed a familiar template as he attempted to create yet another new generation of Sentinels.
Bastion's Prime Sentinels are human beings equipped with cybernetic nanotech enhancements. The apparent volunteers were unaware of their new augmentations, which would lie dormant until appropriately activated. Unlike most Sentinels, Prime Sentinels could hide in plain sight. Ginny Mahoney, for example, was a high school student enhanced with Bastion's nanomachines. Bastion slipped her into Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where she manipulated a student and caused a public incident. This opened one of the many flaws of the Prime Sentinel process. The Sentinel programming should deaden emotions in subjects, but Ginny felt guilt and pleasure during the operation. Bastion eliminated her after she ran away from the scene of the crime.
The X-Men didn't exactly defeat the Prime Sentinels or Operation: Zero Tolerance. Instead, they convinced a few politicians to ask the president to shut the program down. S.H.I.E.L.D. incarcerated Bastion, and Wolverine cut off his head, delaying the android's plans significantly. He left a set of prototypes unfinished. The Omega Prime Sentinels were also humans equipped with nanotechnology, but their design was clunky and ill-conceived. While the existing Omegas were prototypes, Bastion intended them to develop the ability to adapt to mutant powers. The surviving Prime Sentinels scattered after Bastion went away. Stryfe, a villainous clone of Cable, took over the Primes briefly, but the X-Men defeated his army with Lady Deathstrike's help. The only notable surviving Prime Sentinel is Karima Shapandar, who has outgrown her anti-mutant programming and sought humanity.
What are the Prime Sentinels in X-Men '97?
Bastion and his Prime Sentinels will be the final bosses of X-Men '97's first season. While examining the attack on Genosha, the X-Men hear of a mysterious organization called "OZD." Their first brush with Operation: Zero Tolerance allows the series to drop its long-hidden endgame. The series placed blame for the Genosha bombings on Mister Sinister rather than Cassandra Nova, who did it in the comics. Sinister has been the major overarching antagonist throughout most of the first season. The show reveals Bastion as his partner, or perhaps the mastermind behind his already considerable strategic villainy. The first Prime Sentinel in the series is Bolivar Trask, who suddenly unlocks incredible powers after Rogue drops him to his death. Trask is a massive threat, seemingly capable of defeating several dangerous mutants singlehandedly. Cable emerges from the future to quickly and efficiently handle the Prime Sentinel. With Cable's help, the X-Men must fight Bishop's army of Prime Sentinels to save the species.
The Prime Sentinels are one of many terrifying upgrades to the traditional mutant-killing machine. The ability to hide in plain sight and act as a sleeper agent makes every human a potential threat to mutantkind. Bishop's plan never worked out in the comics. He moves past the Prime Sentinel idea pretty fast, but there's still a ton of fun stuff writers could do with the concept. X-Men '97 has demonstrated its ability to master the best of the franchise's villains. This is another opportunity to do something unique with a familiar idea.
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