I’ve been getting more and more excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past. Last week the scene after the credits in The Wolverine really got the excitement rolling. Earlier this week all of the viral content at Trask-Industries.com kept the excitement growing. And yesterday Bryan Singer posted the first picture of one of his full-size Sentinels.
X-Men: Days of Future Past takes place in a world where Sentinels have been protecting humanity from mutants since the 70s. Viral images have the Sentinels present at events throughout history, including Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.
Here are some Bible stories that would have been a little different had Sentinels been present.
The Red Sea
The Sentinels have been threatening mutantkind since X-Men #14. They are one of the longest enduring villains of the X-Men and can often be found hunting down those with the x-gene. The Israelites were the ones being hunted in their flight to the Red Sea. If Pharaoh had Sentinels things might have ended a little differently. I think that Sentinels could have handled the Red Sea rushing back over them. Even if there had been Egyptian Sentinels, I still think God’s people would have escaped. Sentinels may be high tech killing machines, but God is God.
David and Goliath
David and Goliath is one of the most famous Bible stories. It is nearly ubiquitous and gets referenced during sporting events and political campaigns. If Goliath had been a Sentinel I think David would have needed a lot more than a sling and some smooth stones. The Sentinels have never really gotten the best of the X-Men but it does take a lot more than ancient weaponry to take them down. If Goliath had been a Sentinel I’m pretty sure God would have given David some admantium claws and a healing factor. The Israelite army was looking for a hero and they would have been more than happy to follow David, the Wolverine.
The Image of Gold
Nebuchadnezzar is one of my favorite characters in the Bible because we have a lot in common. Old Nebby wrestled with pride and that is one sin with which I constantly struggle. I hate to admit it but, if someone offered to build a giant statue in my honor, I might let him or her do it. In order to make sure everyone bowed down to his statue, Nebuchadnezzar could have placed a Sentinel alongside it. A robotic monstrosity as large as the statue would have made me think twice about not bowing down. Thankfully, Sentinel or not, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were unwilling to compromise. They would have said, “God could save us from your giant, purple killing machines, but even if he doesn’t we won’t bow down.”
Even though the Sentinels are godless killing machines, I’m sure God would have no problem dealing with them had they popped up to torment his people. I’m loving everything I’ve seen so far from X-Men: Days of Future past and I certainly hope it all comes together. We’ll have to wait until May 23 of next year to see if it does.
What other Bible story could have used some Sentinels?
Nice post! When I saw the topic, I thought you were going for characters in Scripture who had actually been sentinels, like Ezekiel as the watchman crying out the people’s guilt, Habbakuk on the rampart waiting for God’s answer, et al. I really like the direction you took it, though. Very creative!
Just for conversation’s sake, though, I do have to wonder if God would have really tricked out David with adamantium claws! God’s power is made perfect in weakness, after all… That slingshot and smooth stone would probably have served David well even against a Sentinel! 🙂
Have you seen the short-lived NBC tv series “Kings”? It’s an alternate near-future retelling of the David saga. I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, but want to. In the first episode, the David character takes out an automated, high-tech tank called “the Goliath”
Ok. Maybe God would have given David adamantium claws to cut off Sentinel Goliath’s head. 🙂
I didn’t see “Kings”. The reviews were pretty terrible so I avoided it.