61 years ago, the X-Men were hunted by the deadly Sentinels – towering robots built to slaughter mutants by the hundreds. Now, these callous villains are getting a sleek new design, and franchise favorite Colossus is in their deadly crosshairs. The new Sentinels are the latest evolution in Sentinel technology, with X-MenThe newer era also features a heroic team of humans equipped with Sentinel technology.
In recently released requested information for the next Strange X-Men #9 and #10Marvel reveals that “Stealth Sentinels” – designated as “Blood Dogs” – will attack Rogue’s new studentsthe Outliers. Instead of being giant humanoids, these Sentinels have a canine design, with “enhanced senses and chainsaw-like teeth.” Marvel has made it clear that not even Colossus’ steel skin can keep them away.
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Strange X-Men #9 |
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Release date: |
January 22, 2025 |
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Writer: |
Gail Simone |
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Artists: |
Javier Garrón |
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Cover artist: |
David Marquez |
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The Outliers, still finding their place in the mutant world, are hunted by a lethal new set of enemies: a band of stealthy, bloodthirsty, ruthless and unstoppable Sentinels! Isolated from their mentors and allies, unaware of who built or aimed these deadly drones, four untrained mutants are on the run and completely unprepared for the violent hunters who make them their prey! |
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Strange X-Men #10 |
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Release date: |
February 5, 2025 |
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Writer: |
Gail Simone |
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Artists: |
Andrei Bressan |
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Cover artist: |
David Marquez |
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The four potential mutant recruits known as OUTLIERS are the targets of a new, cruel and unstoppable anti-mutant weapons initiative, a band of cold-hearted, dog-based tracking Sentinels who use their enhanced senses and chainsaw-like teeth to hunt. and KILL mutants! Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, as the Outliers face… the bone-chilling BLOODHOUNDS! |
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Mysterious X-Men has been hinting that the Bloodhounds are coming for months, with issue #1’s bonus page (protected by a QR code) including an image of the robotic dogs. More recently, Strange X-Men #5 showed a precognitive vision where Colossus lies dead at his feet in a pool of blood.
The new era of the X-Men is radically evolving the Sentinels, including the robotic Bloodhounds and a new team of heroes using the code name.
The X-Men’s New Sentinels Are Killer Robot Dogs
The new Bloodhounds could be based on the X-Men’s Predator X
Sentinels are one of the most iconic aspects of X-Men lore and a constant symbol of humanity’s fear and hatred of mutants. Invented by Bolivar Trask, Sentinels have since become a worldwide industry, with many nations having their own versions of the mutant-killing machines. While the Sentinels are generally gigantic, it’s no surprise that the franchise’s new era sees the X-Men’s foes trying out a new design. The ‘From the Ashes’ era follows the loss of the mutant nation of Krakoa and a vast disinformation campaign by the hate group Orchis, driving respect for mutants to its lowest point. Mutants are now as hated and vulnerable as they have ever been.
One possible explanation for the Sentinel’s new canine design is that they are based on the Predator X. Introduced in 2007, the Predator X species are genetic abominations designed to hunt and kill mutants. They have metallic skin, enhanced senses, the ability to track the mutant X gene, and adaptive evolution derived from the mutants they eat. Predator X has an established history of killing mutants, but as living beings there is an inherent level of unpredictability in their behavior. Creating Sentinels with similar metallic dogs could be the best (or rather, worst) of both worlds.
For its new era, X-Men is making two big changes to the Sentinels’ traditional design.
The evolution of the X-Men Sentinel went far beyond giant robots
From Cosmic Spider Sentinels to a Heroic Human Team
The new Bloodhound Sentinels are the latest evolution of technology that has become increasingly adaptable. During the previous Krakoan Era, mutants fought the ultimate Sentinel, Nimrod, as well as Sentinels grown from plants and advanced Stark Sentinels created using technology stolen from Iron Man. Their godlike AI nemesis, Enigma, also created ‘Arachno-Sentinels’ – killer spiders that could hunt mutants on higher planes of reality.
About that, Cassandra Nova presented the scariest killing machines in the franchiseincluding deadly Savage Sentinels constructed from found materials and Nano-Sentinels that attacked the X-Men from within their own bodies. It was Nova’s gigantic Tri-Sentinel that carried out the Genosha massacre, in which more than 16 million mutants were killed. This history makes it all the more surprising that the X-Men franchise has just introduced a team of seemingly heroic Sentinels.
The X-Men’s New Sentinel Heroes Are a Huge Blow for the Franchise
It makes sense that X-Men is balancing heroic sentinels with a dark new model
The recent Sentinels Alex Paknadel and Justin Mason’s series follows a group of humans who have been injured in various Marvel events, now equipped with Sentinel technology that gives them unique powers. The Sentinels are a team dedicated to tracking major mutant threatsfacing enemies like Sebastian Shaw and Magneto. These “heroes” serve Corina Ellis – a new X-Men villain who took control of the team’s old school base, turning it into a mutant prison.
‘From the Ashes’ aims to create a new era of the X-Men with a unique status quo, but one that specifically welcomes new readers and doesn’t require much prior knowledge of the franchise. Reinventing the Sentinels is a smart move, expanding the role they can play in the series. While gigantic robotic Sentinels have always been an imposing threat, stealthy Sentinels make sense in a world where mutants struggle to find safe haven and are constantly confronted by threats they didn’t see coming.
Meanwhile, heroic Sentinels are an idea that has rarely been done before, although the concept has been controversial. Some eras of X-Men defined the Sentinels as a literal symbol of hate, making it a difficult (and some would say harmful) concept to ‘redeem’. Whatever the strengths and weaknesses X-MenThe new human Sentinels, the Bloodhounds, certainly fit the bill of updating anti-mutant technology for a new era, and it’s looking more and more like Marvel may be about to sacrifice Colossus to solidify its fearsome reputation.
Strange X-Men #9 comes from Marvel Comics on January 22, 2025, followed by Strange X-Men #10 on February 5, 2025.