Line #40 Recap/XMenS1E11DaysOfFuturePastPart1


1	In the year 2055, Sentinels patrol the ruins of New York City. A couple of mutants are harassed by Sentinels, and while they use their powers to destroy a few, they are nearly overwhelmed if not for the timely arrival of a visibly aged Wolverine. But before they can celebrate, a black man with "m" on his face, Bishop, appears in a flying machine. He is a tracker of mutant "rebels" and uses a gun to knock out the trio. Wolverine wakes up inside a container, and as he tries to touch the ropes, he's electrified. The black man leads them to a [[FinalSolution Mutant Termination Center]] where the Sentinels inform him that the tracker's services are no longer needed and that all mutants are to be terminated.
2
3	The group is led into the center, where they are led to a cemetery containing the tombstones of the X-Men. Enraged, Wolverine and the other two mutants attack the Sentinels. While they manage to defeat them with aid from Bishop, a more powerful Sentinel called Nimrod appears. The two other mutants decide to stay to serve as a distraction while Wolverine and Bishop flee, eventually coming to the hidden lab of a scientist named Forge. It's revealed that the rebels have created a time portal, along with a bracelet ("[[InsistentTerminology temporal transciver]]"), which the time travelers are required to keep because otherwise they will be sent back to their original timeline. Forge says that they must travel to TheNineties to stop an assassination, which the rebels believe is the root of the dystopian future.
4
5	Bishop, however, is skeptical, especially when Wolverine reveals that the only way to stop the assassination is by killing the assassin themself. Bishop points out that Wolverine will not be able to kill the assassin and suggests he should go and the two nearly fight, but then the anti-Sentinel alarms go off. Forge suggests that Bishop should go and orders Wolverine to tell him all he needs to know as he prepares the time portal. Forge straps in a temporal transceiver on Bishop, who jumps into the time portal. But Nimrod, who defeats Wolverine, touches the portal, causing Bishop to be transported across time and space.
6
7	He appears in a ruined back alley and initially thinks that he was merely tele-transported across the city but realizes it worked when he sees children playing outside in daylight. However, due to Nimrod touching the portal before the process was completed, Bishop is suffering from amnesia and does not remember why he traveled back in time, but thanks to reading the newspaper, he decides to go to Charles Xavier.
8
9	Rogue and Gambit visit Beast, who's still in prison awaiting for his trial. Gambit questions why Beast remains in prison and seems uncomfortable overall. He decides to leave, with Beast opinating that he must deal with his own inner demons. Bishop, still under amnesia, starts to piece the puzzle together. He comes back to stop an assassin, but he thinks the X-Men are the assassins. Bishop goes to the X-Mansion and attacks the X-Men but in spite of training and being powerful, he's ultimately defeated. Intrigued, Professor X has him moved to war room where he uses Cerebro to look into his mind. The Professor is shocked to find the dystopian future where the world is consumed by darkness.
10
11	Determined to unveil the mystery, the X-Men release Bishop and help him track down the place he came through time. When they arrive they're attacked by Nimrod, whose advanced technology and armor renders the mutants' attacks nearly useless. Even when combining Storm's ElementalPowers, Scott's EyeBeams and Bishop's BFG to tear Nimrod apart, the robot starts to regenerate soon after. Bishop destroys Nimrod's temporal transciver which sends the robot back to the future.
12
13	The group returns to the mansion where they discuss who exactly could be the assassin. Rogue and Gambit return from their visit to Beast, and suddenly Bishop attacks Gambit
14
15	----
16	!!This episode provides examples of:
17	* AdaptationDistillation: The two-parter is a combination of the "Days of Future Past" story and the "X-Traitor" arc that was running in the X-Men comics at the time, where Bishop was accusing Gambit of eventually betraying the team.
18	* AnimatedAdaptation: Of the famous ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' storyline from the comics.
19	* BadFuture: Mutants are being hunted down in the FallenStatesOfAmerica.
20	* BatmanGrabsAGun: Not that he was averse to lethal force, but the future Wolverine grabs a rifle to prepare to jump back in time to stop an assassination that caused the Sentinel-dominated BadFuture, when before his adamantium claws would've been just fine.
21	* BerserkButton: After being marched past the graves of the X-Men, Wolverine upon seeing his fallen comrades loses it and attacks the Sentinels. Later, he ''really'' doesn't appreciate the suggestion that he's now too old to carry out the mission in the past.
22	** Gambit can't stand being in prison, and asks Beast how he can put up with it.
23	* TheBigRottenApple: The New York City from TheNineties is only slightly better off than its future counterpart. When Bishop arrives, there are smashed cars, destroyed buildings and broken windows- it seems NYC was under a recent attack, but no explanation is given.
24	* CallingYourAttacks: This one of the earliest episodes where Storm is shown being a LargeHam with her ElementalPowers.
25	* CassandraTruth: Bishop scoffs at Wolverine, telling him that the Sentinels aim to kill all mutants... only for [[{{Pun}} Old Man Logan]] to be proven right moments later when the Sentinels tell him he's no longer needed.
26	* CliffHanger: As [[OncePerEpisode usual]] for the series, the episode ends with one, more especifically with Bishop calling Gambit a traitor and attacking him.
27	* CompositeCharacter: Bishop's role combines his own story from the comics (a traveler from a future where the X-Men have been betrayed by one of their own and he suspects it's Gambit) with Kitty Pryde's from the original ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' storyline (looking to stop an assassination to prevent a different bad future ruled by Sentinels).
28	* ContrivedCoincidence: A partially amnesiac Bishop still works to fullfill the mission, all thanks to reading a newspaper about Charles Xavier making a speech about mutant persecution.
29	* CoolOldGuy: Forge and Wolverine, who's still kicking Sentinel ass in 2055 even though he's more than a hundred and fifty years old.
30	* CrapsackWorld: Bishop's whole future is this. By 2055, the Sentinels have taken over the USA (and possibly the rest of the world) and are still actively hunting, imprisoning, and executing mutants, even employing other mutants (like Bishop) to help hunt down their own kind. Countless people have died, including all the X-Men (save Wolverine). Manhattan is in ruins (and it's implied the rest of the world is little better).
31	* CreepyCemetery: One inside the Mutant Termination Center contains the graves of the X-Men.
32	* DeadpanSnarker: Logan is still this in his old age. Also his younger self.
33	* DramaPreservingHandicap: Bishop suffers from partial amnesia, as otherwise the episode would be quite short.
34	* FallenStatesOfAmerica: If the state of New York City is anything to go by, the USA has [[{{Understatement}}fallen on rough times]].
35	* {{Foreshadowing}}: After Nimrod starts repairing itself, Bishop destroys the temporal transceiver and explains how doing so sends time travelers like himself back to when they left.
36	* HealingFactor: Wolverine still ages, albeit very slowly, in the sixty years into the future. Nimrod also seems to have some sort of regeneration capabilities, even after the X-Men tore him apart.
37	* HeartbrokenBadass: The future Wolverine when he sees Jubilee's headstone.
38	* HeelFaceTurn: Bishop has one when he realizes the Sentinels plan to kill all mutants, not just so called rebels.
39	* HeroicBSOD: Charles has a mild one after using Cerebro to read Bishop's mind and sees images of the horrible future.
40	* IncomingHam: Right as Bishop is discussing an X-Man who wuld betray the team and assassinate a prominent figure, Gambit enters the War Room:
41	-->'''Gambit:''' Everyone can relax! Gambit has returned.
42	* ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime: Bishop questions how preventing the assassination will make everything better. Wolverine asks if he has any better ideas.
43	* KickTheDog: A minor bit, but, in the BadFuture, when Wolverine is gazing mournfully at the graves of the X-Men, the Sentinel "escorting" him rudely pushes him and demands he keep moving. This, unsurprisingly, makes him mad enough to [[TheDogBitesBack destroy said sentinel.]]
44	* LargeHam: Storm, when she's using her powers.
45	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Bishop, while retaining most of his memories, does not know why he traveled back in time, possibly because Nimrod meddled with the time portal.
46	* LaserGuidedKarma: Bishop at the start shows no remorse about working for the Sentinels hunting down other mutants and even gloats to a captured Wolverine about how "Trackers" like him have it good compared to the rebels. When he delivers Wolverine and his companions to the Sentinels, they tell him he's reached his quota and that he's to be teminated as well.
47	* MonumentalDamage: The opening shot of the episode is a ruined Statue of Liberty.
48	* MythologyGag: Bishop momentarily forgets his objective after appearing in the present and is only reminded when a group of passing children mention wanting to play their new video game ''Assassin''. A close-up of the cartridge shows a character who bears a striking resemblance to ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''.
49	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Effectively describes the state of the United States in the future.
50	* TheNineties: Obviously, as that decade is ThePresentDay.
51	* NoodleIncident: When discussing who the traitor could be, Jean admits it could be her and says she's had her share of bad days. Given this is ''[[ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga Jean]]'' we're talking about, it arguably counts as {{Foreshadowing}} as well.
52	** It's implied that Gambit did a stint in prison - possibly even juvenile detention, judging by his insistence of leaving early during his visit to Beast with Rogue.
53	* OhCrap: Xavier, upon reading Bishop's mind and seeing the BadFuture.
54	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Bishop initially thinks he was teletransported, but when he sees children playing outside, he realizes it worked.
55	* OldSuperhero: 2055 Wolverine. He's even still wearing his X-Men costume.
56	* PlayAlongPrisoner: Demonstrated during Gambit and Rogue's visit with Beast. Gambit questions how he can just stay in his cell, finding being in there so unsettling and not getting the idea of waiting for his day in court. Since Gambit's eager to leave, Beast bends the bars for him to slip out and then bends them back into place.
57	* LaResistance: A small one operates in the BadFuture, seeking to undo their dystopian reality through time travel.
58	* ShoutOut: The music during the future scenes sounds a ''lot'' like the main theme from ''Film/TheTerminator'', which is quite fitting considering the similarities between the stories. Wolverine later even calls Bishop "Mr. Terminator."
59	* SkewedPriorities: Seeing images of the BadFuture, Wolverine says he at least didn't lose his hair.
60	* StoryBreakerPower: Wolverine's claws, a {{BFG}}, {{Telekinesis}}, and EyeBeams are all [[NoSell no-sold]] by Nimrod. However, Storm then unleashes her ElementalPowers to freeze Nimrod and then uses electricity and energy blasts to destroy him.
61	* RuinsOfTheModernAge: The episode begins with wide shots of the ruins of New York City.
62	* TemptingFate: When the X-Men track the time portal, Jubilee wonders if anything else came through as well. A second later, Nimrod blasts them from behind.
63	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: "Party's over. Someone invited Nimrod."
64	* TimeTravel: As in the comic, a person from the future travels to the past.
65	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: According to the headstones, Jubilee was the first of the team to die.
66	* WhamLine: "[[ComicBook/{{Gambit}} YOU!]] You're the reason I've come back!"
67	* WhamShot: The episode opens with a close-up on the decaying face of the Statue of Liberty, with one eye gone and the other seeming to shed a tear. Seconds later, we get a pan of the ruined Manhattan skyline against a polluted-looking night sky.
68	** The shot of Wolverine -- the last surviving X-Man -- lying face-down and still in the smoking doorway to the rebel base after being shot down. Then the smoke clears and his attacker is revealed to be the super-Sentinel Nimrod, with accompanying {{Scare Chord}}.
69	* YouExclamation: Bishop upon seeing Gambit.
70	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: After Bishop captures Wolverine and the other two mutants, the Sentinels tell him his services as a Tracker are no longer required and he will be sent for termination along with the others.
71	* YouKnowTheOne: When Bishop learns Wolverine is going to the past to stop an assassin, he's stopped from saying the assassin's name by Wolverine interrupting him to say he knows who it is.
72

Context Recap / XMenS1E11DaysOfFuturePastPart1