From the get-go, Fox wasn't shy about telling audiences that its new series, The Gifted, while set in the X-Men world, would not feature the famous team of super-powered mutants. The studio concentrated all of its energies on selling a show that could stand on its own, and yet co-exist with the X-Men audiences came to know through the films. In short, while the ads and marketing reminded you that The Gifted is related to your favorite mutant superhero team, it's really the story of a family just trying to survive in a world that now hates and fears them.

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Despite that, it's probably a safe bet to guess that more than a few of the pilot's viewers tuned in curious to see if Fox would make good on its advertising, or if the X-Men would actually show up. In the end, however, we got exactly what was promised, as well as the mystery of what happened to the X-Men and the Brotherhood. The premiere of The Gifted was lite on answers, and very big on questions, first among them: With what we know of the series' premise, with what we know of the X-Men and the current state of The Gifted's world, where does the series fit, timeline-wise?

The Gifted

As those who have followed the multitude of interviews with the cast and show creator Matt Nix know, the short answer is, The Gifted doesn't fit into any established X-Men timelines at all. But that's no fun! Those, we've developed a few theories based on the series' premiere,

which Nix and crew are more than welcome to crib from should they eventually decide that, hey - it'd be really cool to merge this timeline with an established one.

The Gifted takes place not exactly in the present, and yet, not quite in the future. The show doesn't put a precise date on its story. Instead, it seems to borrow a cue from the original X-Men movie, which opened with a caption that read “The Not Too Distant Future.” While The Gifted doesn't use that line, it appropriate. The series seems to take palce perhaps six months to, at most, a year from now. People drive to work, kids go to the school dance, the sky is bright and clear. But there's also the odd superpower mutant, as well as an almost Orwellian overwatch at work in the form of the government's Sentinel Services, a special department who tracks down and incarcerates mutants.

To help hunt mutants, Sentinel Services employs surveillance drones, as well as mechanical, robotic spiders whose purpose are to chase, ensnare and possibly even exterminate. These spiders may sound like a far cry from the mutant-hunting Sentinels from the X-Men universe, but they could certainly be seen as some sort of stepping stone towards the robot giants. A first model, or the basis of what the technology could be built on. And with a name like Sentinel Services, it definitely looks like we are witnessing the beginnings of the Sentinels, before they become an army of robots that rule the world with an iron fist, as seen in the famous X-Men story Days of Future Past.

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And yet, The Gifted isn't offering a view of the dystopian days of that particular story, either in its movie or comic book incarnation. The X-Men movies (whichever time period they are set in), have shown us a world where mutants and humans sort of co-exist, albeit with constant friction. But in The Gifted, we have a reality where mutants are reviled, demonized and hunted. We come to learn that, after a catastrophic and devastating event, laws had previously ben mulled over were passed with little opposition -- laws that led to the open persecution of mutants.

When we meet the Struckers, the central characters of the series, they're leading their normal day-to-day lives. Andy even casually uses the term “muties,” a derogatory, highly insulting word used to describe mutants. Whatever event took place, whatever led to the disappearance of the X-Men and the Brotherhood and the oppression of mutants, it wasn't yesterday. It was most likely years ago, because the world has had time to move on and rebuild in its wake. A world without the X-Men is now the norm, and other mutants have had the time to build a network -- an underground movement -- to help those in need. To hide them, give them new identities, and send them where the mutant laws are less strict. This, of course, is another clue, indicating that this isn't a worldwide phenomenon yet. The United States appears to be the place where the hunt for mutants is at its peak. But this could only be the beginning.

As the series moves forward, the dangers to mutants will only increase -- first in the form of Roderick Campbell (Garret Dillahunt), an X-Men villain from the comics. In the source material, Campbell is the alter ego of the mutant-hunting Ahab, a time-traveler who hailed from the Days of Future Past timeline, which would help reinforce the idea that this is the timeline The Gifted is set in. Should Campbell follow a similar path as his comic book counterpart, it could lead to the creation of Nimrod, the nigh-indestructible, super-intelligent Sentinel who also hails from, you guessed it, the Days of Future Past timeline.

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In The Gifted, Fox has created a universe that isn't beholden to any particular X-Men continuity. The series takes place in its very own branch, its very own reality that will not have to adhere to any one movie or any one comic book. And yet, it seems like we're witnessing a new spin on the early days of the Days of Future Past timeline or, at least, something similar to it. A modern take on the birth of a dark future, the positioning of the first dominoes that will lead to possible doom. But whether this is a thread that remains ignored, or now The Gifted will choose to eventually follow, one thing is certain: With or without the X-Men in play, dark days are ahead.