Prime Sentinel
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| Prime Sentinels | |
|---|---|
 The Prime Sentinels attack. Cover to X-Men (vol. 2) #65. Art by Carlos Pacheco. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | X-Men (vol. 2) #64 (April 1997) |
| Created by | Scott Lobdell Carlos Pacheco |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Agent Boyd Agent Mathers Arvell Curtis Felipe Helmut Mustang Number 5 Sanjit Shaara/Unit 3 Saroyan Karima Shapandar Tanya Ginny Mahoney/Unit #1031 Daria |
Prime Sentinels are an advanced type of fictional Sentinel appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as a humans-turned-cyborgs that uses nanotechnology from the "Days of Future Past" alternate future. Like the original Sentinels, they are typically depicted as antagonists to the X-Men.
Creation
[edit]The Prime Sentinels were created when Bastion initiates the "Operation: Zero Tolerance" program. These Sentinels are humans fitted with cybernetic nanotech implants which, upon activation, transform them into armored beings with powerful weapons systems. The Sentinels are set up as sleeper agents, unaware of their natures until a signal from the Operation: Zero Tolerance base activates their programming. Bastion uses the Sentinels to capture Professor X for his own purposes, as well as attack various mutants associated with the X-Men across the country.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Bastion and his Prime Sentinels are eventually defeated by the X-Men with help from the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which shuts down Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Powers and abilities
[edit]Prime Sentinels are equipped with several technological enhancements which give them flight, enhanced physical abilities, optic lasers, and the ability to dampen or disrupt the powers of mutants around them. On board scanning and homing sensors which enable them to detect mutants within their vicinity.[4]
Omega Prime Sentinels, like Karima Shapandar, are equipped with mechanical regeneration coupled with some level of electromagnetic powers. Omega Sentinels also possess adaptive countermeasure facilities which enable them to create weaponry tailored to counter specific mutants.[2][8][9]
In X-Men 2000 Annual they, like Omega Sentinels, are shown to have limited nano-mechanical morphing abilities that enable them to sprout cannon artillery from their bodies. Additionally, Prime Sentinels are able to inject nanites into other humans, transforming them into Prime Sentinels.
Known Prime Sentinels
[edit]- Agent Boyd
- Agent Mathers
- Arvell
- Curtis
- Daria
- Felipe
- Ginny Mahoney - Known as Unit #1031.
- Helmut
- Karima Shapandar
- Mustang
- Number 5
- Sanjit Shaara - Known as Unit #3.
- Saroyan
- Tanya
In other media
[edit]Television
[edit]- A variation of the Prime Sentinels appear in Wolverine and the X-Men. These versions originate from a Sentinel-dominated future and possess a failsafe implanted by Master Mold that activates if their human half is compromised.
- The Prime Sentinels appear in X-Men '97.[3][4][5][6][7] These versions were transformed by Mister Sinister's techno-organic virus and can transform into a variation of a normal Sentinel.[10][11]
Video games
[edit]- Prime Sentinels appear as bosses in X-Men: Next Dimension.
- The Prime Sentinels, referred to as Bio-Sentinels, appear in X-Men Legends. These versions are controlled by Master Mold.
- The Prime Sentinels appear in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
Miscellaneous
[edit]In 2020, two Prime Sentinel figures were released as part of the Marvel Legends line.[1][12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Thompson, Luke Y. (July 13, 2020). "Female Prime Sentinel Action Figure Is the Final HasLab Sentinel Bonus". Superhero Hype. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
First introduced in 1997, the Prime Sentinels, created by Bastion, began life as regular humans. Augmented with nanotech, they could be activated as powerful weapons whenever necessary. Just like their kaiju-sized brethren, they also come with a fierce hatred of all things mutant. It's right there in the name of their program: Operation Zero Tolerance.
- ^ a b Johnston, Rich (December 8, 2021). "Spoilers: Inferno Reveals House Of X Is Days Of Future Past Reversed". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
Karima Shapandar was once a police officer from India who was transformed into an Omega Prime Sentinel by Bastion of the Operation: Zero Tolerance program. She had discovered she was a Prime Sentinel: humans transformed into Sentinels and set up as 'sleeper' agents, unaware of their programming until a nearby mutant activated them.
- ^ a b Harris, Jeffrey (May 8, 2024). "Who Are 'X-Men '97's Prime Sentinels in the Comics?". Collider. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
The Prime Sentinels in the comics operate much in the same way as they do in X-Men '97. They are humans that have been infected with a type of nanotechnology, which overwrites their memories and individual personalities. This effectively transforms them into mutant-hunting instruments of death, all subservient and under Bastion's control, with Bastion recognized as the "prime unit."
- ^ a b c Simmons, Charlotte (April 24, 2024). "'X-Men '97' Just Gave Us a Look at the Deadliest Anti-Mutant Task Force Yet". The Mary Sue. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
Prime Sentinels are a group of new Sentinels developed by Bastion. These Sentinels are humans who have been fitted with special nanotechnology that, upon activation by the Operation: Zero Tolerance program, takes over their sleeper agent host and transforms them into a deadly robot warrior designed for combat and mutant apprehension/extermination. These Sentinels are many times more powerful than regular Sentinels, with far more durability, strength, and agility, and boasting extra abilities such as projecting laser blasts.
- ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (April 24, 2024). "X-Men '97's Bastion Explained: What You Need to Know About This Deadly Super-Sentinel". IGN. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
Bastion is the main villain of the 1996 crossover storyline Operation: Zero Tolerance. With Professor Xavier a captive of the government following the Onslaught storyline, Bastion gains access to the Xavier Protocols, giving his invaluable intel on the X-Men's weaknesses. Using this knowledge and a new nanotechnology that allows him to transform ordinary humans into all-powerful Prime Sentinels, Bastion launches an all-out assault on the X-Men.
- ^ a b Kelley, Aidan (April 25, 2024). "Who is 'X-Men '97's Bastion in Marvel Comics?". Collider. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
[Operation: Zero Tolerance] gained notoriety for not just creating more Sentinel soldiers, but also turning unsuspecting humans into Prime Sentinels similar to Bastion, which we see firsthand in X-Men '97 with Bolivar Trask's (Gavin Hammon) shocking transformation.
- ^ a b Young, Kai (April 27, 2024). "Every Sentinel Type In Marvel's X-Men Movies & TV Shows". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
In Marvel Comics, the Prime Sentinels were created by Bastion during 1997's Operation: Zero Tolerance event, which included him enhancing regular humans with cybernetic implants that would transform them into Sentinels in the presence of mutants. These Sentinels are a harrowing addition to X-Men '97.
- ^ Excalibur (vol. 3) #10 (April 2005)
- ^ X-Men: Legacy #242-243 (2011)
- ^ Anderton, Ethan (April 24, 2024). "X-Men '97 Has Revealed Its New Big Bad – And Marvel Fans Will Know His Name". SlashFilm. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
After the X-Men track down Bolivar Trask in Madripoor, they discover that he's been turned into a Prime Sentinel, a human being implanted with Sentinel technology by way of the Techno Organic Virus, the same affliction that Cable has contracted before. When activated, Prime Sentinels are deadly armored beings with destructive weapons, making them formidable opponents for the X-Men.
- ^ Miller, Leon (April 26, 2024). "What Are Prime Sentinels in X-Men '97?". The Escapist. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
Prime Sentinels are cyborgs: human/machine hybrids designed to blend in with their surroundings (unlike their all-machine, purple-and-red counterparts). They were created by X-Men '97 Season 1's main antagonist, Bastion, and his OZT outfit, with input from Mister Sinister.
- ^ Weintraub, Steven (July 13, 2020). "Giant 26 Inch Sentinel Marvel Legends X-Men Figure Is Being Crowdfunded by Hasbro". Collider. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
- ^ "Hasbro Launches Crowdfunding for 26-Inch 'X-Men' Sentinel Figure". Hypebeast. July 14, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
Once the 9,000 backer goal is reached, fans will also receive a Marvel Legends 6-inch Female Prime Sentinel figure.
- ^ Asuncion, Joseph (July 21, 2020). "Hasbro is making a 26-inch Sentinel action figure with 72 points of articulation". www.oneesports.gg. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
With more than 11,000 backers already locked in, Hasbro has unlocked all three tiers of the project, providing fans with alternative accessories to the Sentinel such as a Master Mold head and a 6-inch figure of a Female Prime Sentinel.
External links
[edit]- Prime Sentinel at Marvel Wiki