Sentinels #1

History

Marvel announced the five-issue limited series on June 27, 2024, as part of the coordinated 'X-Men: From the Ashes' relaunch following the conclusion of the Krakoan era. The concept was brought to writer Alex Paknadel — previously known for Red Goblin and Carnage — by Marvel's editors with core ideas already in place; Paknadel then supplied the tonal framework, describing his target register to The Comics Beat as early-2000s Wildstorm: 'smart, politically astute, but very action oriented.' Artist Justin Mason, fresh off two consecutive Spider-Punk miniseries, provided deliberately raw, heavily inked linework that Paknadel characterized as the 'bootleg concert video' of the From the Ashes lineup, edited by Darren Shan and colored throughout by Federico Blee with lettering by VC's Travis Lanham.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearances of Sentinel Fireteam Alpha and all five of its members: Lockstep (Bradley Hansen), Voivod (Dragos Teodorescu), Sawtooth (Camila Rivera), Shellback (Michael Babineaux), and Drumfire (Patricia Pham).
• Shellback (Michael Babineaux) both debuts and dies in this single issue — his nanotech grafts fail catastrophically during the Omega Red capture mission, and he is terminated in the field.
• Lawrence Trask — the precognitive, mutant son of Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask — reappears here in a resurrection role, having been revived on Krakoa; this issue establishes him as the director of the new Fireteam operating out of Graymalkin Prison (the repurposed Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters).
• The issue establishes that each Fireteam member is a veteran of a major Marvel event: Lockstep nearly died during The Death of Doctor Strange; Drumfire's mother was killed in the Onslaught crisis and Drumfire herself was comatose after King in Black; Sawtooth resigned from S.H.I.E.L.D. in disgust during Secret Empire; Shellback suffered severe burns in the War of the Realms; and Voivod was crippled in World War Hulk.
• Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich) serves as the Fireteam's first capture target; the Blob (Fred Dukes) also appears as a supporting antagonist in this issue.
• The issue ends with a cliffhanger revealing Onslaught as a prisoner — and potential threat — being held at Graymalkin, seeding the miniseries' overarching antagonist.
• Written by Alex Paknadel with art, inks, and cover by Justin Mason; colors by Federico Blee; letters by VC's Travis Lanham; edited by Darren Shan; published October 9, 2024 (cover-dated December 2024).
• The series is part of the official X-Men: From the Ashes publishing initiative and was announced as one of the titles intended to 'define the first year' of that era, with Graymalkin Prison serving as a shared setting with Gail Simone's concurrent Uncanny X-Men title.

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