A new variant of Sentinel appears in March's X-Force Annual #1, and the giant robotic creations appear to be a twist on the bots used by Orchis, the organization fighting against the rise of mutants across all X-Men books.
CBR can present an exclusive preview of the annual, written by Nadia Shammas, penciled by Rafael Pimentel and colored by Carlos Lopez. The preview shows a glimpse of Emma Frost and Beast before focusing on Wolverine, Domino and Kid Omega, who find themselves under siege by a group of Sentinels wearing faceplates and wielding finger blades reminiscent of Wolverine's adamantium claws. Logan immediately goes to work against these opponents, slicing, dicing and doing what he does best.
The cover of X-Force Annual #1, drawn by Taurin Clarke, shows that all of the Sentinels confronting Wolverine and his comrades are emblazoned with Orchis' logo. The deadly group -- composed of various individuals from organizations including Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. -- has been a thorn in the side of Krakoa's mutants since 2019's House of X, and all attempts to destroy their space station, the Orchis Forge, have been unsuccessful.
The forge has been responsible for building several mechanical monstrosities -- including the almighty Sentinel variant known as the Master Mold, which was destroyed by the X-Men in House of X in a battle that incurred great casualties. Thus far, Orchis' efforts appear to be leading towards the construction of the Nimrod -- the ultimate, practically indestructible Sentinel incarnation created by Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. in 1985's Uncanny X-Men #191, and prominently featured in the post-apocalyptic "Days of Future Past" timeline.
"The X-Men are legendary, and they’ve been part of my life since my 6-year-old self turned on the TV one day and heard that amazing theme song," Shammas told CBR when X-Force Annual #1 was first announced. "It’s surreal and so exciting to be writing my first X-Men story, and especially to be doing it with X-Force. Beyond the iconic characters I got to work with, I loved coming up with the subterfuge, the action, and getting to dig a little deeper into Beast."
X-FORCE ANNUAL #1
- NADIA SHAMMAS (W) • Rafael Pimentel (A)
- Cover by TAURIN CLARKE • Variant Cover by FRANCESCO MOBILI
- MISSION FOR MUTANTKIND!
- X-FORCE operates on the fringes of Krakoan society, undertaking the covert ops and dirty jobs the X-MEN can’t handle. So who better a target for enemies of mutantkind? ORCHIS makes their deadly move, as WOLVERINE, DOMINO and KID OMEGA are lured into a death trap designed to alter the mutants’ destiny! The next wave of X-FORCE adventures begins — and possibly ENDS — here!
X-Force Annual #1, written by Nadia Shammas, penciled by Rafael Pimentel and colored by Carlos Lopez, hits comic book store shelves on March 30.
Source: Marvel