When the X-Men characters and franchise were controlled by Fox, most of their movies featured the same set of recurring villains. People got sick of William Stryker and Magneto and, now, with the characters back in control of those behind the more successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, people are suggesting villains for the planned reboot and a lesser-known one ties to films of the past.
For those unaware, the mutant-hunting Sentinel robots appear in Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and recent discussion online suggests a more advanced one named Nimrod (yes, really, comic books can get silly) should appear as the antagonist in the next part of Kevin Feige’s seemingly infallible mega-franchise. Nimrod comes from an alternate and ruinous future and first appeared in comics in 1985. Technically genderless, it later presents as a male figure and has killed some members of the X-Men before. Nimrod also shows no reservations about killing people in contrast to Marvel heroes who generally do only on rare occasions and at one point, he becomes a cyborg character who ultimately attempts to save mutants so only he can exterminate them later on.
Nimrod can also self-repair, can alter his size at will and can counter almost any superhuman power used against him. His systems also allow him to shoot plasma and teleport. While his name is commonly associated with foolishness today, it is tied in reality to the biblical figure with the same name who is described as a man of power and a mighty hunter. The robot who brings a reckoning to anyone who opposes him has been on X-Men: The Animated Series and is a character in Marvel Snap. If included in a future reboot, it would certainly be something fans have not seen on screen before, but would also be a tasteful nod to the prior legacy.
What will happen next remains to be seen. Right now, little is known about how the X-Men are coming into the fold, though producer Kevin Feige has said they do have ideas about how and when to introduce one of the company’s most-beloved IPs. Here’s hoping whatever happens, Marvel does not bring back one of the performers from a past film who did not pull off their character. Fans did not love it and several say if anyone returns in the future, they should get new characters to play with for a clean break.
