Night of the Sentinels (Part 1)
Encyclopedia
Night of the Sentinels is a two-part pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

 episode of the 1990s X-Men
X-Men (TV series)
X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup...

animated series. It originally aired on October 31 and November 7, 1992. The episode is loosely based upon "Uncanny X-Men #14". Introduced in the episode were an X-Men team similar in look and line-up to the early 1990s X-Men drawn by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...

. The members of the X-Men introduced compose of Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....

, Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...

, Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...

, Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...

, Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...

, Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...

, Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...

, Storm and Jubilee, as well as an original character, Morph. The series was originally to premiere over the Labor Day weekend in September; however, due to production delays, it was pushed to the end of October. The two-parter aired as a "sneak preview" even though it was not considered ready for broadcast. Therefore, there were many animation errors. However, the errors were later corrected when FOX re-aired the pilot in early 1993.

Plot

Part one
The episode begins showing TV news footage of Sabretooth
Sabretooth (comics)
Sabretooth is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne. The character first appeared in Iron Fist #14...

 attacking police forces, indicating a time of unrest between mutants and humans. Jubilee
Jubilee (comics)
Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Jubilee had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to...

's foster parents register her under the Mutant Registration Act, apparently designed to support mutants. Later, The Sentinels
Sentinel (comics)
Sentinels are a fictional variety of mutant-hunting robots, appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are usually portrayed as antagonists to the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in The X-Men #14 .According to Marvel canon, Sentinels are programmed to locate...

 attempt to apprehend Jubilee at a mall. However, the Sentinels are stopped by a group of X-Men who were coincidentally shopping at the time. Jubilee wakes up, confused, at the X-Mansion
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...

. Storm explains to Jubilee that the purpose of the X-Men is to fight for peaceful existence between humans and mutants.

Whilst the X-Men are briefed on the incident at the mall, Jubilee leaves the mansion to visit her foster parents. There, she is ambushed and captured by the Sentinels. Before she passes out, Jubilee sees Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #165 and was created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...

, who is alongside the Sentinels.

The X-Men discover that the group running the Mutant Registration Program intend to track down and eliminate mutants. Storm is assigned to lead Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...

, Morph, and Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...

 into the Mutant Control Agency headquarters to destroy the registration files. The four mutants break in, while Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...

, Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...

, and Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...

 observe from the outside.

Part two
Wolverine smells the soldiers' gun oil and quickly closes the door before the soldiers have chance to fire. Storm enters and sweeps the guards away with her wind power. After destroying the files on mutants, the X-Men escape to the Blackbird, but are confronted by the Sentinels. During the confrontation with the Sentinels, Morph is shot and presumed dead. Beast gets blasted against the fence, electrocuted, and ultimately captured. The rest of the group retreat to the Blackbird on Cyclops' command, though Rogue is forced to render Wolverine unconscious with her absorption powers before he could defy Cyclops' orders and fight a hopeless battle. Meanwhile, shown on TV, the President of the United States claims that several mutants attacked the Mutant Control Agency and that there will be a counter-offense. But after meeting with Gyrich, the President decides to cancel the Mutant Control Registration.

Later that night, Cyclops visits Jubilee's foster parents' home. Her foster father calls Gyrich to inform him of Cyclops' presence. Gyrich sends some Sentinels, but later the father regrets his decision when his wife tells him that Jubilee is suspected to have been kidnapped by the Sentinels. Subsequently, he tells Cyclops everything. Cyclops leaves, but is attacked by a Sentinel. Cyclops gains the upper hand when he blasts off the Sentinels' arm. However, the wounded Sentinel escapes but the Blackbird follows it.

Landing clumsily, the wounded Sentinel damages the electrical box and electricity is released on the base. While the X-Men attack the base, Gyrich and Trask try to escape. After the Sentinels are defeated and Jubilee rescued, Jubilee decides that it's best to stay at the Mansion and waves goodbye to her foster parents, heading for a new future.

Production

Storm's voice actress in Season 1 and the majority of Season 2 of the series is Iona Morris
Iona Morris
Iona Marie Morris is daughter to actor Greg Morris and older sister to actor Phil Morris. She is primarily an American voice actress but has also performed numerous times on television in speaking roles. She was the original voice of Storm in the X-Men and Spider-Man animated series...

. Part-way through Season 2, howeveer, Alison Sealy-Smith
Alison Sealy-Smith
Alison Sealy-Smith is a Canadian actress, born and raised in Barbados.Sealy-Smith attended Mount Allison University where she studied psychology on a scholarship. She is the founding director of Obsidian Theatre, a company that specializes in Black Canadian drama...

 takes over the role for the rest of the series. An original member of the X-Men, Morph, is loosely based upon a shape-shifting character from early X-Men comics, named Changeling
Changeling (comics)
Changeling, in comics, may refer to:*Beast Boy, a DC Comics superhero who used the codename "Changeling" for a period during his membership in the Teen Titans*Changeling , a supervillain who later joined the X-Men...

. The character became very popular, to the point that an alternate version of Changeling in the "Age of Apocalypse" comics run was named Morph.

Morph was originally placed in the series simply because the writers wanted to have a character die in the opening story arc, in order to show how serious the show was. Changeling was chosen because of his past ties to the X-Men, as well as his deceased status in the comics. He was practically considered a blank slate, so the writers were able to use him without angering fans. The name was changed from Changeling to Morph, since DC comics had the rights to the name Changeling at the time. Due to the characters unexpected popularity, Morph returned.

During the episode, Beast is captured and imprisoned. There were two principal reasons for why Beast was chosen to be captured in this episode. The first was that in preparation for the first season, Beast had not been included as a core character. Therefore, since he was a "guest" or secondary character, the writers felt he could be off-screen a lot. Another reason was associated with his character - Beast's articulate personally was considered to work beautifully in a court scene. Lewald mentioned in an interview that the character is reasonable and likeable, making it hard for the prosecution to make him out to be a monster. This is in contrast to Wolverine, who would be more likely locked up if he were in Beast's situation, according to Lewald.

Cultural references

When Wolverine says, "Hey, Tin Woodsman I'm gonna send you back to Oz, in pieces!" Wolverine is referring to the L Frank Baum series of "Oz" books. When Beast says, "As Archimedes
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an...

 said when he discovered the principal of displacement... eureka!", Beast refers to the famous Greek, who indeed said "eureka" after discovering what is known today as Archimedes' principle
Buoyancy
In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...

. Also when Beast says, "Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry. John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

." Beast quotes the 18th century Methodist Church founder. On the screen of the computer which Beast uses John Wesley's name appears on the list of registered mutants just as Beast completes quoting him. While Morph is watching television, he sees a commercial for a new men's fragrance. He transforms into the attractive man on the commercial and says "Aggression, by Calvin Clone". This is a reference to the popular cosmetics company Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

.

Reception

At the height of the series' popularity, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....

 sold two VHS tapes that featured "Night of the Sentinels (Parts 1 & 2)" and "Enter Magneto"/"Deadly Reunions". Also contained were round-table discussions between prominent names such as X-Men creator Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....

 and 1990s writer Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell is an American comic book writer.-Early Career:Scott didn't begin to read comics until he was 17 years old, while lying in bed after lung surgery....

. The story of this pilot was also adapted in the comic book "X-Men Adventures (vol 1) #1-2". According to Marvel Animation Age this was one of the best episodes of the series. This episode has a rating of 8.8 out of 10 on Internet Movie Database and 9.2 out of 10 on TV.com. An IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 review of the X-Men Volume 1 DVD described the episode as "pretty decent" and "as compelling here as it is in comic form."

Cast

Voice actor Role
Cedric Smith
Cedric Smith (actor)
Cedric Smith is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He played Alec King in the CBC television series Road to Avonlea and was the voice of Professor X in the X-Men TV series.-Music:...

Professor Charles Xavier
Cathal J. Dodd
Cathal J. Dodd
Cathal J. Dodd is a voice actor who is best known for his portrayal of the Marvel comics character Wolverine in X-Men: The Animated Series, then reprisal of the role for X-Men: Mutant Academy, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, and the Marvel vs. Capcom series of video games. He has been...

Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...

/Logan
Norm Spencer
Norm Spencer
Norman "Norm" Spencer is a Canadian voice actor, most notable for being the English voice of the X-Men character Cyclops throughout many incarnations of the character in the 1990s, including the X-Men cartoon show, several X-Men video games, and as the character in crossover episodes for other...

Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...

/Scott Summers
Catherine Disher
Catherine Disher
Catherine Wilder Disher is a Canadian actress who won a Gemini Award for Best Actress for her role in the Canadian mini-series Snakes & Ladders, and was nominated for her role as Dr...

Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...

Iona Morris
Iona Morris
Iona Marie Morris is daughter to actor Greg Morris and older sister to actor Phil Morris. She is primarily an American voice actress but has also performed numerous times on television in speaking roles. She was the original voice of Storm in the X-Men and Spider-Man animated series...

Storm/Ororo Munroe (Part 1)
Alison Sealy-Smith
Alison Sealy-Smith
Alison Sealy-Smith is a Canadian actress, born and raised in Barbados.Sealy-Smith attended Mount Allison University where she studied psychology on a scholarship. She is the founding director of Obsidian Theatre, a company that specializes in Black Canadian drama...

Storm/Ororo Munroe (Part 2)
Chris Potter
Chris Potter (actor)
Christopher Jay "Chris" Potter is a Canadian actor, musician and pitchman. He is primarily known for his roles on soap operas and prime-time television. Potter is known for his roles as Peter Caine, on the popular 1990s crime drama, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Dr...

Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...

/Remy LeBeau
Lenore Zann
Lenore Zann
Lenore Zann is a politician as well as a screen, television, stage, and voice actress who has appeared in numerous television shows and films...

Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...

George Buza
George Buza
George Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the X-Men Animated Series.-Biography:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Canada as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. He appeared as Chief Jake McKenna multiple times in the TV series Honey, I...

Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...

/Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy
Ron Rubin
Ron Rubin
Ron Rubin is the name of:*Ron Rubin , Canadian voice actor known for Artemis in Sailor Moon*Ron Rubin , American bridge player...

Morph
Alyson Court
Alyson Court
Alyson Stephanie Court is a Canadian actress who first appeared in the 1985 children's film Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, and played summer camper Dawn in the animated film Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation the following year...

Jubilee
Jubilee (comics)
Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine associated with the X-Men.A mutant, Jubilee had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to...

/Jubilation Lee
Len Carlson
Len Carlson
Len Carlson was a Canadian voice actor on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman during the 1970s and 1980s...

Senator Robert Kelly
Robert Kelly (comics)
Robert Edward Kelly is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He most often appears in Marvel's X-Men and X-Men-related comic books. He is a prominent United States Senator who began his career on an anti-mutant platform, and as the X-Men team is made up entirely of mutants, his role...

Barry Flatman
Barry Flatman
Barry Flatman is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many film and television roles such as Rideau Hall in which he plays a fictional Prime Minister of Canada. His other works include My Name is Tanino, The Company, Saw 3, Just Friends, H2O, and most recently in the 2008 A&E's miniseries The...

Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich
Henry Peter Gyrich is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #165 and was created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...

David Fox
David Fox (actor)
David Fox is a Canadian actor.Fox was born in Swastika, Ontario. He is best known for his role as schoolteacher Clive Pettibone in Road to Avonlea, and for a variety of roles on television...

Sentinels
Sentinel (comics)
Sentinels are a fictional variety of mutant-hunting robots, appearing in the Marvel Comics Universe. They are usually portrayed as antagonists to the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in The X-Men #14 .According to Marvel canon, Sentinels are programmed to locate...

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