Sentinels opened strong with a series featuring cyborg soldiers who were all victims of previous Marvel events. It had the action and sci-fi of Alien mixed with the oorah of Jarhead. The series features a mission-based approach, making each issue a new adventure. Enter Sentinels #2 this week, as the crew must subdue and capture Sebastian Shaw. Piece of cake, right? Hardly.
Sentiels #2 is a good action issue. A prison breakout keeps you excited throughout while new character details emerge. The crew is made up of Lockstep, Drumfire, Sawtooth, and Voivod, led by Lawrence Trask, a precog mutant. The team is meant to keep the peace between humans and mutants, which it appears requires them to subdue supervillain mutants to keep them from killing innocent humans.
The complicated nature of this team, comprised of people who faced superhuman traumas, is brought to the forefront on the first page as Drumfire is reminded of Onslaught’s attack. In a bit of clever writing, Alex Paknadel has Vision save her before she was a cyborg and connects her to his inability to feel fear. At the time, she envied him, but then we smash-cut to her on the way to a new mission, and her emotions are subdued with her nanotech.
Nice scene!
Credit: Marvel
To describe the visuals in this issue, I’ll use the word “loud”. Justin Mason has a twelve foot tall Sebastian Shaw mop the floor with the Sentinels, making for a lively battle in a supervillain prison. Throw in wall busting, explosions, and nanotech weirdness, and it’s a riotous time.
As far as this being a team book, each has some decent moments. Vovoid is a bit of a loose cannon, while Drumfire’s visions are going to be a problem. Lockstep ends up being a Captain America type as he’s straight-laced and by the book, making him a bit boring. A bit of a romance is seemingly growing, but too little is done to really believe it. As far as the team is concerned, they’re a mess, and that’s likely on purpose, but more interaction could help build up the team’s identity.
All that action leads to a quieter final few pages, one of which fleshes out Lockstep’s home life, and another sets up a new threat. Given the heroic nature of Lockstep and the other Sentinels (more or less for some), we see that the organization they work for is boldly evil. We already kinda knew that, but it’s a turn that leaves you guessing how it may play out. Will the Sentinels go rogue or end up having to fight a monster their bosses can’t control? Either way, Magneto is up next on their hit list.
Sentinels #2 delivers a thrilling mix of explosive action, character intrigue, and ethical dilemmas, cementing this series as a must-read for sci-fi and superhero team dynamics fans. Alex Paknadel’s clever storytelling ensures the emotional weight of the characters’ past traumas resonates amid the chaos, while Justin Mason’s kinetic artwork makes every battle feel grand and chaotic.
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