Days of Future Past Where have the Sentinels been?

[gdw]

Ok, so one think which I've been curious about since the beginning, but more recently became more confused than curious, is the Sentinels.
Specifically, where the hell have they been?

Yes, we got the Danger Room tease in X3, though that looks to have no real connection to the Sentinels in DOFP.

The implications from what we've see are that Trask will be introducing the Sentinels in the past, which means they should have existed throughout the first 3 X-films.

Initially I figured they would be tied to some past altering event which precipitates the DOFP future, which alters the course of history to ramp up the human mutant conflict and leading to the Sentinels.

This would explain their absence throughout the franchise, and why they weren't deployed during, say, the climax of X3.

However, recent marketing, in particular the 25 moments time-line, seem to suggest the Sentinel time-line is the same as the original time-line, with mentions of both the development of the Sentinels, as well as the events in X3.

Sentinels are being made to look like a prominent part of history, with the inclusion of them at, was it Nixon's inauguration, meaning they've been around, and prominent, since long before the evens of the first X-Men movie.

It's also interesting that the near mass genocide of both mutants, and then humans, in X2 wasn't mentioned on the time-line. That would seem like a HUGE event in history. Arguably the general public would have no idea what caused it, but considering now the government ties to Xavior's early days and the development of Cerebro, you'd think someone, at some point during in the investigation into the world wide near aneurysm everyone experienced, would have brought it up. Not to mention the ending of X2 shows the world is aware of the mutant connection to the event.

But I digress. So, does anyone have a clue where the Sentinels were supposed to have been? Have they addressed it and I just missed it? WILL they address it in the film?

 

[Weather Witch]

Well I still think that the timeline is different from the original trilogy. In the end they are trying to prevent this timeline with Sentinels from happening. If both take place in the same timeline all the events from the original trilogy might be erased, which is not what we want.

 

[Rike]

Killing mutants.

 

[GuestStar2004]

That's not the case, its the same OT timeline

 

[Farren]

I think it's possible it could be an already altered timeline, but I think technically it could still work as the same timeline. I'm just going to repost something I wrote a while ago about the sentinels and the trask viral site:

Perhaps at the time of the original films the sentinels weren't in active service OR that they were unauthorized for use on US soil. This also could be coupled with another thought I had, which is that over the years the sentinel program turned into the equivalent of a cold war nuclear arms race, which was sorta-kinda halted in the mid nineties. (I'll explain why below). According to the trask-industries site:

The Sentinel Program

In 1973, Trask Industries introduced the first Sentinel production model, the Mark I. Bolivar Trask’s groundbreaking research in AI, robotics and autonomous ballistic systems laid the foundation for the world's most capable anti-mutant defense system. Since the program's inception, we’ve continued to advance our founder's cause through eight additional generational upgrades and enhancements.

As we celebrate five decades of achievement, we also bid farewell to regular production of the Mark I and shift our efforts to full-time manufacturing of the Mark X — our first complete overhaul of the Sentinel line. These highly anticipated units will combine next-generation nanotechnology and bioweapon breakthroughs, promising an even brighter future for the human race.

Sentinel Mark I (9th generation)

Between 1973 and 1996, Trask produced 8732 Sentinel Mark Is for the governments of the United States, China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, France, India and the United Kingdom. The Mark I is still in service and current generations include the following features...

Anyone else think it's odd that the data doesn't include anything post 1996? This is the kind of PR that seems like it's hiding something, like, perhaps there weren't any sentinels being made after 1996.

In 1996 the UN passed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The treaty has never gone into effect, because there are still 8 countries which haven't ratified and/or signed the treaty. Those eight countries are: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, United States. It's not the same 8 countries that are known to have purchased sentinels, but there is some overlap, and countries like France and Russia did have nuclear programs, so there seems to be a similar pattern imo.

So maybe we're looking at an MCU take on the matter, only in this version it's sentinels instead of nuclear testing, and in this version the equivalent treaty WAS fully ratified. Now I'm not suggesting this "treaty" completely banned sentinels, but it may have been one which limited their use and included a ban on NEW sentinels being made. Basically, much like the nuclear arms race, the overall public opinion towards sentinels changed. Perhaps there was no treaty behind it. Maybe it was just a domestic US law, or general policy.

So what happens after 1996? Mutants start to become publicly acknowledged to exist, and Magneto starts stirring up trouble. Around 2013-ish (I would guess at the time of the Wolverine mid-credits scene), Trask industries comes along and says, "My, what a coincidence. With our knowledge of genetics and our old sentinel program, we can outfit those old Mark I's to hunt mutants for you." That could be what prompted Xavier and Erik to contact Logan.

I'm also going to throw out a little bit that caught my eye. This might explain why the sentinels aren't so prolific:

"Maintenance: Because the Sentinel Mark I is based around autonomous systems, it incorporates a hibernative maintenance stasis mode, which offers reduced maintenance costs or maximum efficiency."

This is a nice way of saying "this stuff costs a lot to fix, so don't use it for trivial things. And keep it turned off when you aren't using it." And it suggests to me that sentinels spent a lot of time turned off, as opposed to being in constant patrol or guard mode. That might explain why they aren't so prevalent.

 

[DarkXorn]

The Sentinels most likely have been in the background over the years as a precaution, but Trask Industries has been present and involved in pharmaceuticals and research concerning mutants throughout the entirety of the OT, just not prominently named. You have politicians fighting for mutant rights like Charles and Beast, who have most likely been holding off the use of Sentinels through diplomacy. Then as things start to grow sour, the Sentinels were deployed and finally put into use ever since their conception which we'll see in the past of DOFP. If you look at the 25 Moments website, the images show the Mark I being used late 2000's after the events of X3, so that's probably when they began mass producing and enforcing them, leading to the creation of Mark X and subsequent loss of control.

My theory atleast.

 

[DarkXorn]

Farren already beat me to it but you can get the idea!

 

[Great Mind(s)]

The Danger Room practice was against Sentinels, so one could assume they're training against them because they know they're out there. Strykers computer also had Project Wideawake.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

My theory:

They've been collecting dust having been deemed a weapon of mass destruction or declared inhumane.

Humanity have been trying to deal with the Mutant threat over the years with registration and then with a forced cure and then containment.

Sentinel Mark X's were deployed as the final solution, but in the 70s the MK 1s were deemed to extreme a measure and it was needed to try less hostile methods.

 

[X-Maniac]

I agree with Farren, DarkXorn, Great Mind(s) and CyclopsWasRight.

The Sentinels were put on the backburner, like the atom bomb and nuclear warfare is in our own world.

Magneto was in prison for decades (having not been broken out as he is in DoFP), so the main threat had been stopped.

But when Magneto broke free and the X3 Cure/Alcatraz incident happened in 2006, things started to go sour with more and more mutant rebels appearing. As the 25 Moments website details, the Mark X is unveiled in 2013.

 

[Nerial]

I think this is a good question, and one that isn't really foreshadowed in the original trilogy (except the Danger Room, but that felt like an after thought).

I agree with CyclopsWasRight, and add this--even in the original movies, where you get the impression that mutants are controversial at best and need to be handled with kid gloves in the media.

In X1, Senator Kelly says that the vote for mutant registration will be close because the bill itself is so loaded. And in X2, the president warns Stryker that when he infiltrates Xavier's School, he detain the residents but they didn't need to see the body of a dead mutant kid on the television.

Those details create the idea that the tensions are so high at this point, any one act for or against mutants could set off a firestorm.

I would say, having gigantic robots monitoring humanity and policing mutants (especially with machine guns) was grounded when the mutant issue became more public and heated.

Just thinking off the top of my head here. But yeah, it's still a bit inconsistent regardless of the reasons.

 

[HauntedKnight]

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I don't know the intricate details of the timeline, but is it as obvious as:
-25Moments is the current timeline. Sentinels exist in a non public fashion until the Mark X is unveiled to stop mutants. The OT timeline seems like it's only escalated since the bridge incident and they were deemed needed and became part of a doomed future as shown in DOFP.
-DOFP shows wolverine sent back leading to some escalation where the Sentinels are deemed essential in the 70s leading to some timeline that really has nothing to do with the Future shown throughout DOFP.

 

[Sithborg]

I think X-men and X2 were left off of the 25 moments because they didn't want to lock down the timeline between X1 and X3.

In world explanation, I am sure the government would do their best to suppress the cause of the X2 events. Sure, Magneto was involved. But Stryker, apparently a very influential contractor, being the root cause would not help the presidency. And I'm sure a failed terrorist attack (Liberty Island in X1) wouldn't be that influential.

 

[darkangel]

The question is...Where were the Sentinels when this happen?

 

[gdw]

That all actually makes sense.

I always got the impression in the first X-Men film that mutants were only really just coming to the forefront of public awareness.

That is, although there clearly had been mutants in existence for decades (if not a centuries,) the public was largely unexposed to them until more recently.

This even worked with First Class, as it seemed that mutants were more something certain people within the government were aware of, but mutants themselves had kept themselves hidden out of fear. Arguably, even at the end of the film, the government could have still been trying to keep the involvement, and even the existence of, mutants somewhat secret from the general public.

Now, that said, what you guys are all saying makes sense, and the history of mutants, and public awareness within the film universe probably makes more sense this way, and parallels modern civil rights movements in same sex marriage and equality.

Homosexuality is something humanity has been aware of for centuries, and there has always been bigotry against it, but the prominence of it in terms of awareness and focus is, once again, a good parallel.
Despite there being active violence, and political discourse around homosexuality for decades (longer really, but the latter half of the past century it has been more prominent,) and is even more in the forefront today.

With this look at the cinematic X-universe, it makes perfect sense that there was the backassward and overblown "initial" reaction of the likes of the Sentinels, and then phasing them out of regular use, due to public reaction and change.
Then diplomacy shuffles thing around for a couple decades, Dr. Mccoy has some progress within the system, and then Magneto goes and buggers things up.

Makes sense.

Makes me wonder then, what is the event they are tying to change in DOFP to "fix" things?
Just stop the Sentinel program in it's infancy?

They're certainly coming at it from a very different place than the comics, in as far as it was something about to happen that the future was trying to change. That is, it wasn't an event that would have already been history for the "modern" X-Men, but one which was ABOUT to happen, and will change the course of history.

It looks like it will still revolve around stopping Mystique, though obviously not from assassinating Sen. Kelly.
I'm curious how they will make whatever that is the event that somehow is pivotal for the future, as opposed to changing whatever brought the Sentinels back (we assume the events of X3), or better yet, stopping the Sentinels BEFORE they even begin, which would be BEFORE what we are seeing in the film.

Damn, that ended up being a LOT longer than I expected.

 

[gdw]

Sorry if this doesn't make sense, I don't know the intricate details of the timeline, but is it as obvious as:
-25Moments is the current timeline. Sentinels exist in a non public fashion until the Mark X is unveiled to stop mutants. The OT timeline seems like it's only escalated since the bridge incident and they were deemed needed and became part of a doomed future as shown in DOFP.
-DOFP shows wolverine sent back leading to some escalation where the Sentinels are deemed essential in the 70s leading to some timeline that really has nothing to do with the Future shown throughout DOFP.

That makes sense too. I hadn't thought about the possibility that the Sentinels in the 70's were only made public due to the intervention in the past.

I could see that working too.

I think X-men and X2 were left off of the 25 moments because they didn't want to lock down the timeline between X1 and X3.

In world explanation, I am sure the government would do their best to suppress the cause of the X2 events. Sure, Magneto was involved. But Stryker, apparently a very influential contractor, being the root cause would not help the presidency. And I'm sure a failed terrorist attack (Liberty Island in X1) wouldn't be that influential.

Regarding the failed attack in X1, if they didn't end up with Magneto in custody then I imagine it would have been much more likely to have brought out the Sentinels.
The X2 events, especially if they could have pinned them on Magneto, seemed more likely to have brought this about, but the X-Men's appearance at the whitehouse, preempting the presidents broadcast, probably played the biggest part on preventing bringing the Sentinels out of retirement.

 

[gdw]

The question is...Where were the Sentinels when this happen?

That was kind of my initial point, thought the explanations provided make sense for why they would not have been around for that. Assuming they existed, they likely had been decommissioned.

 

[icekid]

I think the Phoenix was the reason behind Sentinel X and the Trask takeover. They had long theorized about what a powerful mutant could do, but after seeing an entire island torn to pieces and the San Francisco bay thrown into the sky, they definitely had to create the final solution.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

^Good point. Until that point there had never been such a huge display of Mutant destruction.

 

[X-Maniac]

I think the Phoenix was the reason behind Sentinel X and the Trask takeover. They had long theorized about what a powerful mutant could do, but after seeing an entire island torn to pieces and the San Francisco bay thrown into the sky, they definitely had to create the final solution.

Except that's not what the 25 Moments says at all...

 

[icekid]

Except that's not what the 25 Moments says at all...

No, it doesn't. It doesn't say why at all in fact. It doesn't say what was the turning point between Mutants helping to rebuild the GGB which was the utopian world we see at the end of X3 and when a war broke out either. We literally see it go from one extreme to another with no reason or explanation.

 

[X-Maniac]

It does say. It say the rise of mutant rebels led to the Mark X being launched in 2013.

http://www.25moments.com/#!/moments/2013

 

[darkcajld]

My theory:

They've been collecting dust having been deemed a weapon of mass destruction or declared inhumane.

Humanity have been trying to deal with the Mutant threat over the years with registration and then with a forced cure and then containment.

Sentinel Mark X's were deployed as the final solution, but in the 70s the MK 1s were deemed to extreme a measure and it was needed to try less hostile methods.

Basically this.
They existed but were removed from mass production as the humanity wanted to deal with mutants on more peaceful way and after X3 happened and cure didn't work they started to produce new and improved ones.

It's simple as that.

 

[icekid]

It does say. It say the rise of mutant rebels led to the Mark X being launched in 2013.

http://www.25moments.com/#!/moments/2013

I meant to the war breaking out rather than the announcement of the Sentinel X (it wouldn't be too far fetched to say that it was in development for 7 years, 06-13)

Also the destruction and takeover of the school just 4 years after the incident. As Ron Burgundy would say, "Well that escalated quickly" *insert gif here*
We see mutants rebuilding the bridge and a utopian world in X3 (06) and then it jumps into the US strengthening its boarders and creating mutant inhibitor collars. Why would they need that based on how mutant relations ended unless they were trying to prevent another Alcatraz incident all over again, which then escalated to 2013 when they were finally ready to deploy their best weapon.

 

[X-Maniac]

Basically this.
They existed but were removed from mass production as the humanity wanted to deal with mutants on more peaceful way and after X3 happened and cure didn't work they started to produce new and improved ones.

It's simple as that.

No, it isn't. Read the 25 Moments website.

The new and improved Sentinels weren't launched until 2013.

The X3 events were in 2006. It took another seven years for the next Sentinel model to appear.

So what happened in those 7 years. Read the 25 Moments website:

http://www.25moments.com/