Summary
TheX-Menlive in a world that hates and fears them… and there is no better example of the tragic mutant experience thanthe monstrous Sentinels. For years now, variousSentinel programs have created increasingly more deadly machinesprogrammed to hunt and kill mutants, andMarvelhas revealed that the newest generation of these murder-machines will be featured in a newSentinelsseries.
The X-Men’s brutalFall of Xwas orchestrated by two evolved Sentinels - Nimrod and Omega Sentinel -and also involved the nigh-indestructible “Stark Sentinels,“crafted bythe villainous Feilong using Iron Mantechnology, further cementing Sentinels as enemies of mutantkind.
The upcomingSentinelsseries - a five issue limited run from writer Alex Paknadel and artist Justin Mason - will highlight four brand-new characters to the Marvel Universe. The new Sentinels, who appear to be human-machine nanotechnology hybrids, areDrumfire, Lockstep, Sawtooth, and Voivod, but “the truth behind their creation is darker than you may imagine.”
Who are the new Sentinels? The original Sentinel Program was human supremacy and fear coded into circuitry. But now their legacy falls into the hands of mutantkind! Powered by cutting-edge nanotech, this new generation of Sentinels protects a fragile peace between mutants and humans. But when being a Sentinel is your job—your life—is it possible to stay human? Meet Sawtooth, Lockstep, Drumfire, and Voivod, a brand-new team of heroes that will take on the most heinous mutants! Their first mission: capture Omega Red!
The New Sentinel Program Will Protect A “Fragile Peace”
The precognitive Lawrence Trask has been revived to carry out his father’s mission
The characters involved in the “New Sentinel Program” are all somehow connected toKing in Black, Onslaught, Death of Doctor Strange,Secret Empire,andWorld War Hulk, tragic events connected to superheroes that caused devastation to humanity. Marvel’s announcement reveals that the expanded Sentinel Program, which is being developed at “Graymalkin Prison,” will belead by the mutant child of Bolivar Trask, the original creator of the Sentinel Program. Lawrence Trask, a precognitive mutant who has worked as a hero in the past, was killed in 1972’sAvengers#104, meaning he might have been resurrected by The Five during the Krakoan Age.
“From the Ashes of Marvel’s deadliest events comes humanity’s last line of defense!”
In the wake of the Fall of Krakoa, the X-Men are spread across the world and back to fighting for both mutantkind and humanity. While a tenuous peace might exist between the two species after Orchis' corruption was revealed, a war between humans and mutants could erupt at any time. Lawrence is “cursed with visions of an apocalyptic species war and knows exactly which evil mutants will ignite it,” and the misguided mutant will prepare the new team of cyborg Sentinels for their first mission: capturing the violent Russian mutant known as Omega Red. Writer Paknadel has also confidently expressed that he and artist Mason arecreating the four Sentinel soldiers to be complex characters the reader will care about, writing on X, “They’re not what you think.”
Trask’s Sentinel Program Will Be Housed In The Xavier Mansion
Xavier’s former home is now the Graymalkin Prison
X-Men#35 revealed that the teased “Prisoner X” was a captured Charles Xavier, held at “Graymalkin Prison,” a facility to hold “dangerous” mutants on the grounds of the former Xavier Institute. Now, the solicit forSentinelsfinally unmasks who the other mutant prisoners will be…any mutant that Lawrence Trask deems violentand has his new Sentinel team capture. Paknadel warns that as the Sentinel team begins to fill up the prison, “…the pieces fall into place for the birth of a major new enemy.”
It will be fascinating to learn more about Drumfire, Lockstep, Sawtooth, and Voivod who have allseemingly volunteered to become Sentinels. In the past, Bastion’s Prime Sentinels and Karina Shapandar were forced into becoming cyborg creations, and it was incredibly difficult for them to accept what they had become. Now, theX-Menwill need to face a team of cyborg super soldiers who are willing to put their life on the line, as the newest generation of Sentinels emerge.
