Who Sent the Sentinel? - X-Men 97 Theory 

It's definitely *NOT* Magneto ... Poor guy was having Holocaust PTSD flashbacks

Nando two weeks ago: "It's a good show but I won't be doing this every week." X-Men '97: "We'll see about that."

Sunspot's dad theory is REALLY GREAT. Could be all of the above. Bastian and Sunspot's dad and Mr. Sinister could all be working together. They might even call themselves Orchid.

I listened to all 5 episodes with the “audio description” turned on, and it revealed something really interesting. In episode 1 when Roberto is showing Jubilee his Sunspot powers, the narrator specifies that “Roberto’s arm glows with the same solar energy that Jean saw in her vision.” I didn’t even consider Roberto somehow having a part to play in the Genosha Incident, but I think that narration confirmed it, so Nando might be right that his family is involved. Although, I think the show might switch it up and have it be his mother instead of his father because he constantly brings her up and SHE is the face he sees scolding him during episode 3’s Inferno.

I just love that we’re back to Wandavision times-theorizing, anticipating, and hanging on every episode.

I think the sentinel just woke up and chose violence

I really feel like the title of the finale being “Tolerance is Extinction” is a HUGE giveaway that Magneto survived. Because, as has been said before, it would have felt really cheap for him to just go back to his old ways after the attack at the UN. BUT, an attack of this magnitude - the actual realization of what he has feared all these years (especially given the holocaust flashbacks we saw) - carries exactly the gravitas needed to not only have him returning to his old ways, but also having us agree with him that “tolerance is extinction.”

Bastion was created in '96 so there wasnt much time for him to pop over to the animated series. I completely missed that photo in Forge's place, but thats absolutely Bastion's uniform.

In episode 1, Gyrich in prison uses the phrase "tolerance is extinction", which is the title of the last 3 episodes of the series. Coincidence?

My Monopoly money is on Sebastion Gilberti. Bastion’s picture was covered at Forge’s home and he walked in front of the camera at the Hellfire party at Genosha before things went awry. The 3-part conclusion named “Tolerance is Extinction” could be a combination of “E is for Extinction” and “Operation: Zero Tolerance.”

I think it's pretty clearly Bastion. The picture in Forge's basement. He is a Nimrod in the future. That clip floating around online of the whitehair guy at the gala. Forge saying a Scottish guy made the tech, Dr. Adler, the other guy in the picture.

Bastion is Nimrod fused with Master Mold. I hadn't seen that image of Bastion from the show. Has me intrigued. Your out of left field pick is pretty cool. My pick, though, is Stryfe.

It's funny you mention Apocalypse and Stonehenge, because recent comics HAVE established him as a magic dude. Because he's been around for millennia, of course he's going to have tried magic. Like Doctor Doom he's going to work all the angles.

18:30 Currently, the Hellfire Club isn't all Mutants. It's just the ultra rich and influential. Kingpin is currently the Black King

What about Stryfe? Then we tie together Apocalypse, Sinister, Cable. Make him retroactively responsible for what Gyrich did to Xavier at the end of the original series, turn it into a quasi-adaptation of X-Cutioners Song, same motivations and everything. And just when the X-Men think they've saved the day... Legacy Virus.

You love to see a Nando video at 5 am

I don't think it is going to be Emmanuel Da Costa, but I really like that theory. It really does seem like a good way to tie everything together and would explain why Sunspot has got so much focus so far. Even if Emmanuel isn't the mastermind, it would be pretty cool if he was involved with whoever does turn out to be the mastermind.

Don't forget at the end of Episode 1 when the X-Men took out the Sentinals and Wolverine delivered the final strike against the new Master Mold, Val told Scott there was a special task force team coming in that would dismantle the Master Mold... I never trusted that. Reminded me of Justice League Unlimited when the JLU defeated the alien organism/robot Dark Heart and the U.S. armed forces took it for their own purposes...

Emmanuel Da Costa is a very interesting idea. I still think it's Bastion, but having Da Costa involved would create good tension for Sunspot.

In “Wolverine and the X-Men” Magneto stages a false flag Sentinel attack on Genosha. Seems out of character for this version though.

Roberto‘s dad would be interesting but my guess is Stryfe because of his connection to Cable and the Summers-family. He‘s another clone and he is also associated with technology.

A little bit of crumb for your Sunspot's dad idea: Something that bugged me slightly during the episode was how the camera crew at the X-Mansion was getting footage of Roberto/Jubilee hanging out, considering Roberto is hiding his mutant identity.

Always love getting your theories on weekly shows, adds so much to the experience tbh

Regular humans may be behind the attack on Genosha.

I think it’s Apocalypse ultimately manipulating everything with assistance from Bastion. Magneto wouldn’t kill non-combatant mutants, but Apocalypse would easily kill humans and mutants alike and in the past has constructed situations that would turn both against each other.

I think it’s interesting that Magneto was fighting with the sentinel for like 10 minutes *and then* it suddenly says “omega level threat detected.” So it could have been targeting one of the Morlocks with him (prob Leech).

My personal top 3: 1) Cassandra Nova - after episode 5 seems like the obvious choice. Cable using “He” could just be him confusing Cassandra for Charles since they are “twins”. Plus there’s brand synergy with Deadpool and Wolverine. 2) Onslaught - kinda leeching off of the “Evil Professor X” angle from Cassandra but 90s-afying it. Plus in the OG series the X-men did fight an evil psychic doppelgänger of Chuck, so this could be an evolution of that. 3) Stryfe - Sinister already did the clone switcheroo with Jean/Madelyne, so he could’ve easily done it with Nathan. Believing he’s the real one, this is his way of getting revenge on the X-men for abandoning him.

Bastion: How do they explain him being re-born via the Seige Perilous? Yes. Based on Forge's photo, it is Bastion.

Stryfe it would fit into the session with focus on nathan and sinisters plans with him, and it would explain why sinister was so eaisly defeated he wanted the x-men to leave there guard not realizing he cloned nathan

I don’t think Stryker is in the original series, but Cameron Hodge is. He’s in the Phalanx arc and is pretty cool in it.

"I didn't expect a mastermind pulling the strings." Meanwhile, the teasers for each episode released months ago explicitly says the XMen discover a mastermind behind all of this in episode 7

after having watched the subsequent episode, it’s funny coming back to this video. you were dead on lol

Sunspot dad and Bastion make so much sense. Sunspot is deathly afraid of his parents finding to an extreme level. This is make this element make more sense

This episode was so good it got two nando videos. Respect.

You have my favorite thumbnails. They're professional looking and not click baity.

Mystique can't be Val, since the sentinels didn't target her on Genosha

Bastion is tied to Operation: Zero Tolerance plus we’ve already seen him in the series so it’ll most likely be him.

Sunspot's dad being behind the Genosha attack makes more sense. I think Bastion can still pop up. Pushing things even too far for Sunspot's dad who wouldn't want Sunspot killed & simply not want mutants like Shaw & Frost in positions of powers, but not necessarily dead.

I like the idea of it being Sunspot's dad. But in terms of who I think is actually is...probably Apocalypse trying to cull the weak or something. Would certainly explain how Cable knows him. That said, even though he was already kind of overused in the OG series, I still wouldn't rule out more fukkery from Gyrich.

Bastion, Nimrod, and Emanuel seem like the most sus out of all of the suspected villains here. They definitely would do this kind of thing.

Jean saw this and recalled it when she read gyrics mind tho

Why is no one talking about the possibility of Stryfe being the one behind it. He's connected to Cable, Jean, Madelyn, Sinister, Apocalypse, all the major players here...

Talking about clones all of the time? Setting up Gambit to come back as Death? Cable entangled body sliding? X-Cutioner's Song to start the season? It's Stryfe.

Nando hit the nail on the head at 16:42 😂

It was Bastion...you see him for a quick second when Magneto walks into the party and he looks up at the balcony

I’m gonna throw in Onslaught: • Prof X is alive and an disaster event like this would alert/pain him telepathically • Magneto “dies” but his consciousness is saved by Prof X • this creates the evil combined psychic entity Onslaught • it was one of the few Watcher level X-men events in the 90s, that also included the Avengers/FF • the theme of the season is escalation between humans/mutants and each side’s fear of their own extinction (X-Men are the key to stopping both) • Some X-Men/heroes die, setting up a whole new team next season This is a wild shot but damn would this be an unmissable Marvel event. I’d want to see it in theaters.

“Tolerance is extinction” is a direct quote from Gyrich to Storm in the first episode

If I was going by connections, I'd say it was Cameron Hodge because he has connections to Cable, Forge and Magneto, and he was heavily involved with the former Genoshan government. Hodge is a character that was severely held back in the 90s series due to it being kid friendly, so they could want to circle back and do him better. He's a well suited bad guy for our times being a public relations media guy. The only problem is he has no relation to sentinels, however he could be the guy who is backing the Friends of Humanity who have been seen messing with sentinel tech. EDIT - I also wanted to point out that Cable says "He is coming" not "He did this" so who he is referring to might not be connected to the godzilla sentinel. It could be anyone like Ahab or Stryfe or something.

Bang on prediction

I've heard one other RU-vidr bring up Bastion, and after that I was all on board. But Sunspot's dad sounds like a no-brainer knowing more about him. Great idea! And man, this show is great!

After thinking about it for a couple of days. Bastion.

You really know your xmen ... great vid!

I really like the Sunspot's dad theory, I'd really like it if that were the case. It'd give more credence to why Roberto keeps popping up. Also a point against the Magneto theory: I believe Magneto could pull off a false flag attack like this, but I don't think he would have made it nearly so devastating. I think if he were responsible, it would do plenty of damage, kill hundreds even. But by the end of it Genosha would still be there in a position where it could be reasonably rebuilt so it could serve as a mutant capital where he could launch a war from. As it stands, Genosha is utterly devastated and probably can't rebuild at all, with truly staggering amounts of death.

Bastion is my guess given his connection with the Nimrod models in the future where Cable is from.

Robertos father funding Bastions Operation Zero Tolerance seems to be a good shout. I think there's a chance that Prime Sentinels become a thing. The FOH were already sporting their wicked megaman/sentinel arm cannons so some in the FOH would gladly lose their humanity to unalive the mutants. This show is so exciting for a 90s kid who starting reading x books during the late 90s

Nando: here's so.e options for who sent the wild sentinel, I wonder which one it will be? 97: yes.

Screencrush also believes Bastion will be the big bad. They believe he showed up at a very interesting point in the episode. The evidence looks promising.

The moment when Magneto used a Train to destroy a Nazi robot was a chefs kiss. Oh, how the turns have tabled

My money is on some kind of adaption of Stryfe, Nimrod or Sebastion Gilberti, maybe there working together, I guess we’ll see

Has to be bastion Operation Zero tolerance in the comics is literally the name of the 3 part series. Sunspots dad could be a tiny subplot that doesn’t need to be the main

We’ve seen Bastion with his face hidden twice now this season.

It feels like the house of MXCVIII comic. A twist on continuity and working with newer stories within the limitations of the show. Love it

Since the first episode was tribute to "Night of the Sentinels", I could see the last episode being a tribute to "Days of Future Past" (the last episode of X-men TAS season 1) with Bastion being the main villain, who, much like in the comics, could be reveal as Sentinel from the future, trying to do change the future so that the Sentinels eliminate the mutants (basically a Days of Future Past in reverse).

My instincts said Bastion, but also maybe Stryfe.

I’m sure it’ll be Bastion seeing that the last 3 part episodes are called Tolerance is Extinction which I think is a play on the comic ark called Operation Zero Tolerance from 1997.

Bastion. Nuff’ said…lol! Cool vid.

Bastion was there, there is a scene where magneto looks up and sees someone resempling bastion

19:13 - 19:16 Oh the way I want Roberto to get that moment. And with all the ways humans have been emphasized as the antagonists, totally agree with the Sunspot dad theory- it has to be a human behind this.

Bastion is the combination of Nimrod and Mastermold who combined in the Seige Perilous (comics).

Yeah it's prolly Bastion. Tolerance is Extinction being the title of the finale episodes, Bastion was introduced in the comics in Operation: Zero Tolerance.

They will probably tie Sunspot to the main baddie but properly do it through his mom as she has been referenced almost every time he mentions his feelings about mutation and his father has never been mentioned

nando: "im not going to make and xmen 97 video every week" also nando:

Beau De Mayo is a real x men fan and so far, he's been taking the hits and remixing them. Therefore, I believe that it's the return of Apoc and t h is devastating attack was just him culling the weak wholesale. He doesn't need the horses when he's planning on having an army to conquer the world

Bastion is the fusion of a master mold and nimrod that became human after some cosmic shenanigans against the X-men

Its Bastion. Operation Zero Tolerance=Tolerance Is Extinction

Man, I like your idea best.

It was that doc forced by Sinister.

Please never quit.

The Gyrich interrogation scene in episode 1 now has alot of weight and meaning seeing how things have unfolded in Episode 5

I love the idea its Stryfe. A lot of clues pointing to it.

14:50 Nando: He's not a little robot with a bird friend Me: Oh? Nando: He's MEAN Me: OH NO

I'm absolutely convinced it's Bastion. They had the brief, headless cameo in LifeDeath, and, being a fusion of Mastermold and Nimrod, wiping out mutants is what he's all about. Going off the beaten path here, I think Bastion will be the "replacement" for Apocalypse that Beast hinted at back in the original series ("Beyond Good and Evil," to be exact) when he said that if Apocalypse were destroyed*, evil would only take another form. I think Bastion will be created in the future, coming back to the past at this point, which would explain why Cable shows back up, to wipe out mutantkind's best chance at coexistence with humanity. "Tolerance is Extinction" being a play on both "E is for Extinction" and "Operation: Zero Tolerance" is also a big indicator to me**. * I know Apocalypse technically came back from BGaE in the last season in Fabian Cortez's body, but I think his place in Cable's future will be wiped out because of the timey-wimey shenanigans in BGaE. ** I know Gyrich explicitly said, "Tolerance is Extinction" to Storm and Cyke in episode 1, which I also think is hinting at Bastion, being a Sentinel-related villain.

Rob (from Comics Explained) theorized Cassandra Nova, which was also the first person/story I though of once I saw the wild Sentinel. That seems obvious, but with all the stuff with Cable, Stryfe could also be one if they want someone new to introduce.

Love your theories, I thought of Bastion as well but Sunspot’s father just clicked. You might be on to something, it would really be a gut punch (another one). He is rich, maybe he funds the FOH and works with Trask, Guyrich and Bastion…

At the gala, there was a glimpse of someone with short white/silver hair walking on the foreground, could be Bastion. Also, during the interview with the X-Men, one of the scenes shown was of Roberto at the mansion, possibly leading to him being outed as a mutant to his parents

I'm looking at Onslaught since he had a prelude in the original seasons and he did control the sentinels in the comics. Considering how much anguish and hate Magneto now has (yes, I do think he's alive), he will probably turn back to villainy, with a revelation that Xavier has been in deep sleep instead of dead. The combination of the extreme emotions of Xavier and Magneto resulted to Onslaught.

Could we say that final theory is... *SPOT* -On?

I feel like if I see the old team photo again, then you better be giving me Bobby Drake

Imagine if Apocalypse intended for a culling event to thin the herds and allow the strongest to survive but only mutants like Beak, Forgetmenot, and Bailey Hoskins.

I think it would incredibly fun for it to be Roberto’s dad! Nice theory!🎉

I thought about Kang. He even was in the last season of X-Men TAS posing as a crazy teleporting guy outside of time like in Loki. But Emanuel DeCosts also works

In the mid-season trailer, they do suggest that Trask will make an appearance, but he's definitely not in the lead. I think it's some sort of Tenet situation where there is a benefactor from the future that sent the Wild Sentinel using information from the present that Trask is giving them. I just don't find it feasible that they could build the Wild Sentinel without it being noticed in the present.

I don't see magneto actually killing that many innocent mutants...

finally finished the og seires and watched 97 and omg i was gonna cry at the end of episode 5

Sunspots dad would also fit because the tv show inside of the series (the one where cyclops was being interviewed) also shows sunspot being with the x-men. this could be the tipping point for his dad maybe?

Haven’t seen anybody mention the possibility of it being Stryfe. It’s future stuff, Cable is involved, and destroying Genosha is right up his alley.

The description for episode 7 mentions the team getting played by a mastermind, which is oddly specific wording that makes me think it might have been a power play from within the Hellfire Club

So happy to see I wasn't the only one who thought of Gambit becoming a horseman

I never trusted Magneto since he first showed up pretending to now honor Charles. I believe it was Magneto that handed over the mutants just so he could use it as a false flag to get his war on humans. He protected Rogue and he wanted her to turn on humans and he sacrificed Remy to achieve this end. Also with the Hellfire club being around and Emma not getting a single scratch on her is fishy. I believe Magneto is using her to get in between Jean and Scott. It also wouldn’t surprise me that Magneto has been working with Mystique and she is there as Valerie Cooper.

One more video before bed