The Sentinels Wreak Havok

Getting back to the X-Men and their impending doom, issues 58 and 59 are going to up the ante. There are more villains, more heroes, more danger, and more action than anything we’ve seen up to this point. It’s an epic story with high stakes, resulting in both triumph and tragedy. There will be secrets revealed and plots set in motion, as the events of these issues will shape a large part of the X-Men universe in the decades that follow. Get ready for the mutant genocide, finally put into motion by a revengeful, grieving son. Trask Industries is back online.

Monolithic Robotics

Did you think we were done with the Living Pharaoh? Didn’t I warn you not to be fooled? He isn’t done giving the X-Men trouble, and he still has it in for Alex. What seemed like another short encounter with another forgettable villain has instead turned out to be a much greater plot that connects directly into the nest story arc. This tale will lead through the next four issues, and here we’ll talk about the first two, 56 and 57. We get some nasty new villains and the return of another old favorite.

R.I.P. Bolivar Trask

Bolivar Trask, the inventor of the Sentinels, is responsible for more mutant suffering than probably any other human on Earth. Yet somehow I know almost nothing about him. He is the very first villain in the X-Men universe that we see perpetuating a universal hatred and distrust of mutants. He uses the media and the military-industrial complex to oppress a minority and move towards his final solution. Many will follow in his footsteps, most notably Senator Kelly, William Stryker, and Cameron Hodge. Many of these villains will even use the sentinels in their crusade to rid the world of mutants. Some will see varying success before they are eventually stopped, but Bolivar’s victory will be short lived.

Licking Ka-Zar and Reading Robot Minds

Okay so the Beast is going to lick some neanderthals and it seems, from context, that Ka-Zar is actually a neanderthal and not even a lowly homo sapiens. Suck it, Ka-Zar. It’s gonna be a rollicking day for the X-Men.

Among Us Stalk… The Sentinels!

Issue 14 is yet another milestone first appearance, introducing the Sentinels. As with the Blob and Juggernaut, I was not aware that this villain had so much history with the X-Men. I probably would have bet money that the Sentinels were a Chris Claremont creation. Instead they go all the way back to the Kirby/Lee issues. Considering Galactus and remembering the insane concept art that Jack Kirby drew for Argo, it starts to make a lot of sense.