Warning: this article contains full spoilers for X-Men ’97: Season 1, Episode 7. If you want to know many more details, check out our article with the questions that episode 6 leaves us.
X-Men ’97 surprised viewers with its fifth episode, which culminated in the deaths of countless mutants in Genosha, including fan favorite Gambit. But who was responsible for releasing the gigantic Master Mold? Episode 6 suggested that he was Mister Sinister, but after episode 7, we know that a real villain is pulling Sinister’s strings. Meet Bastion.
Bastion is without a doubt one of the most dangerous and resourceful villains the X-men have faced in the comics. But who is Bastion? Is he human, Sentinel, or something else entirely? Here’s what you need to know about this Marvel villain and how it may influence the final three episodes of the first season of X-Men ’97.
Bastion and Operation: Zero Tolerance
Bastion was created by screenwriter Scott Lobdell and artist Pasqual Ferry and debuted in X-Men #52 in 1996. He is the leader of Operation Zero Tolerance, a secret government program designed to neutralize the mutant threat.
Although at first Bastion believes he is a government agent named Sebastion Gilberti., eventually discovers the truth about himself. He is actually a fusion of a Master Mold and the futuristic Sentinel Nimrod, transformed into something entirely new after passing through the mystical portal known as the Siege Perilous. His powers include incredible strength, energy projection, flight and the ability to control other sentinels.
Bastion is the main villain of the 1996 crossover story Operation: Zero Tolerance. With Professor Xavier held captive by the government following the Onslaught story, Bastion gains access to the Xavier Protocols, giving him valuable information about the X-Men’s weaknesses. Using this knowledge and new nanotechnology that allows him to transform normal humans into all-powerful Primary Sentinels, Bastion launches an all-out attack on the X-Men.
Although defeated and Operation Zero Tolerance, Bastion has returned to torment the X-Men on several occasions over the years. In particular, Bastion is the main villain of the 2010 X-Men: Second Coming crossover, which takes place at a time when mutant humanity is on the brink of extinction. This highly evolved humanoid sentinel He will always be one of the X-Men’s deadliest enemies..
Stronghold in X-Men ’97
Bastion was announced through some easter eggs in the first episodes of the series (including a photo in the Forge cabin in episode 4), but this villain makes an appearance for the first time in the fifth episode of X-Men ’97, when he sends a burly Master Mold to Genosha to wipe out this emerging mutant nation. The resulting bloodshed claims thousands of livesincluding those of Gambit and, apparently, Magneto.
Bastion does not appear in “flesh and blood” until Episode 7, when the X-Men mourn the dead and begin to uncover the truth about Operation: Zero Tolerance. Bastion emerges from hiding from him to kill Henry Peter Gyrich and is later seen speaking with Mister Sinister, who appears to have participated in the creation of Bastion’s advanced cybernetic body.
Based on that scene, it seems like the series is altering Bastion’s origin a bit. Rather be a mystical fusion of the Master Mold and Nimrod, Bastion appears to have been designed by Sinister using cybernetics based on Nimrod’s body. Bastion also alludes to be someone the X-Men have faced before, a villain who has managed to evolve in ways that men like Sinister have not. Is he simply referring to being a derivative of Nimrod, or is Bastion actually another villain we’ve seen before, like Graydon Creed or the X-Cutioner?
Whatever his origin, it is clear that Bastion is positioned as the final villain of the first season. The last three episodes of the first season They are titled “Tolerance is Extinction”, suggesting that the series will adapt the plot of the comic Operation: Zero Tolerance. The X-Men’s battle against Bolivar Trask shows that Bastion has already perfected its Primary Sentinel technology. He also seems set to access the Xavier Files and attack the X-Men with lethal force. Will Gambit be the only X-Man to fall this season?
Bastion also reveals that both Xavier and Magneto have a lot to do with his plans. He hopes to expose the lie that Xavier has died, shattering the public’s newfound trust in the X-Men. As for Magneto, we learn that the Master of Magnetism survived his apparent death in Genosha and is now a prisoner of Bastion. Will Bastion transform Magneto into a hideous mutant version of a First Sentinel? Will he take advantage of the fact that the general public remains distrustful of this former mutant terrorist, transforming him into a boogeyman who will further galvanize humans against mutants?
At this point, time traveler Cable may be the X-Men’s only hope. In episode 5, Cable is seen running to prevent the destruction of Genosha, but arrives too late. He returns in episode 7 and narrowly saves the X-Men from their first encounter with a primal sentinel. The threat from the Bastion is now so great that Cable has to travel back in time to prevent a hellish future from coming true. At this point, the X-Men need all the help they can get..
If you want to know more about X-Men ’97, find out why Vulcan’s debut is so important.
