Have you ever wondered why the Sentinels in Marvel: Crisis Protocol are Mk IV Sentinels? I have — and it turns out there’s way more of them.
It’s shouldn’t be a shocker that I’m a fan of Marvel: Crisis Protocol. However, being a person who grew up with the X-Men cartoons of the 90’s I have a particular soft spot for the Mutants and their enemies — particularly the Sentinels. So when Sentinels were added to MCP a couple years ago I was excited to see them. However, one of the things that always stuck out in my mind was the fact that these were Mk IV Sentinels.
This little nugget stuck in my head and sat dormant for a long time. But when AMG announced at AdeptiCon Sentinels were getting reinforcements this idea bubbled back up.
It should be obvious by the naming convention that there has to be Sentinel Mks I through III. And there are. Or there were. Just not in MCP. These Sentinel series are pretty old school. So let’s talk about these and then get into some of the other more…creative Sentinels.
Mk I Series
The Mk I series were first introduced all the way back in X-Men #14 (September 1965). They were introduced by Bolivar Trask around the same time Professor X was on TV. Anyhow, these Sentinels had a “unique” artificial intelligence that quickly made them uncontrollable. The Sentinels quickly reasoned that the best way to protect Humanity was to control the humans. Sound familiar? These Sentinels also had their own version of Master Mold. But we’re just going to focus on the Sentinel Mks and not their Master Molds.
Mk II Series
The Mk II Sentinels first appeared in X-Men #57 in April of 1969. These were upgraded from the Mk I series by Bolivar Trask’s son, Lawrence Trask. Lawrence (who went by Larry) blamed the X-Men for his father’s death. The new Sentinels could adapt physically to any threats. This made them more of a problem to deal with for sure. However, they were guided by logic to a fault. Cyclops used this against them and convinced these Sentinels that they should go after the “real cause of the mutations” instead of the mutants themselves. The Sentinels agreed. So what was the cause? The Sun.
Look, it was the 60’s man. And “Because Comics!” this caused the Sentinels themselves to want to destroy humanity. Thus brought on the ire of not just the X-Men, but also the Avengers. This eventually lead to the destruction of the Mk II Sentinels and the supposed death of Larry when a de-powered Sentinel fell on top of him.
Mk III Sentinels and The X-Sentinels
The Sentinel Mk IIIs we created by another anti-mutant scientist, Dr. Stephen Lang, as part of a US Government program. This wasn’t Project Wideawake, but I’m pretty sure this tech was either rolled into or absorb by that program later. Anyhow, these Sentinels were made with partial notes from the Trask versions and with one key difference: they were dumber. Dr. Lang made them more controllable that way. But these weren’t the only ones he created…
The X-Sentinels were kind of like a sub-set of this series. They were created to basically mimic the X-Men. While they fooled most of the X-Men, Wolverine figured it out and once these imposters were discovered, he did what he does best.
There was also a battle that took place on a Space-Station (again, “Because Comics!”) and that fight led to the destruction of the station as well as the Mk III Sentinels. Lang was also lobotomized during the battle. But not before his mind was “backed-up” and eventually used for the basis of a new Master Mold.
“Current” Sentinels
Okay, so now we’re caught up to the Mk IV Sentinels. These were actually produced by Shaw Industries under part of Project Widewake. This is where Henry Gyrich comes into the picture, too.
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Basically, the Mk IV, V, and VI Sentinels were all produced by Sebastian Shaw and Shaw Industries. He tinkered with the designs but learned from the failures of the previous models. Anyhow, this also leads to the Sentinel Mk VII but those only had one appearance in X-51 #7 in December of 1999.
The “Let’s Get Weird” Sentinels
There’s actually QUITE a list of really weird Sentinels. Ultimately they culminate into Nimrod and Bastion (via some time-jumping shenanigans). But you probably know about those two. Instead I just want to point you towards a handful of the really weird Sentinels.
This whole story line is WILD. It involves Cassandra Nova and the Genosha massacre. It’s too long to detail here but it’s totally worth checking out.
Again, long story to cover here but they involve Bastion and the Operation Zero Tolerance Program. But just think “People that became fused with Sentinel-tech” and that’s basically what you’ve got here.
There’s both Mk Is and Mk IIs floating around out there. And if you’re thinking “Wait, Stark? Like TONY Stark? Aka Iron Man?” Yes. But, to be fair, Tony was under the influence…of Red Skull (not of alcohol). “Because Comics!” This was during/around the Civil War era of Marvel Comics so of course heroes were doing villain things anyhow.
So Many Sentinels
Marvel Comics has so many more Sentinels to cover. But to circle back around to MCP, I think the Mk IV Sentinels make the most sense. Really series IV, V, VI are kind of interchangeable anyhow. They weren’t as “smart” as the early models, but they had things like the restraint cables and weapons we see on their card profiles.
Personally, I’m hoping we get even more Sentinels (beyond what AMG already teased) one day. I’m really hoping we get a HUGE Master Mold miniature. Really that’s more of a terrain feature…but still. Either way, the Sentinels are here to stay in MCP. And there’s more coming soon!
Do you have a favorite Sentinel? Which series would you want to see added to MCP?
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Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.
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