Villain: Bolivar Trask, Sentinels

First Appearance: Bolivar Trask, Sentinels, Bernard the Poet, Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Worthington

Guest Appearance: Zelda, Bernard the Poet

Cameo: Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Worthington

Innovations: first monthly issue, first major reflections of anti-mutant hysteria, first mention of the Master Mold

Gadgets & Technology: Ice-Intensifier, Energy Resister

Letters Page: Page One • Page Two

Trask and Xavier meet in front of the TV cameras, but Xavier's appeal to reason is no match for Trask's hysteria-mongering. Trask unveils his invention which he will use to track down and destroy mutants- the Sentinels! They are an army of twelve-feet tall robots which are encoded to hunt down mutants and use their awesome powers to destroy them. But something goes wrong, and the robots turn on their inventor, blasting Trask into unconsciousness.

Professor X calls out to his students to leave their vacations immediately and come to his aid. Bobby and Hank must leave the coffee shop they're hanging out in, and Warren must abandon a family dinner. Xavier uses his mental powers to tranquilizing the crowd around him. All the Sentinels save one fly off to their headquarters, taking Trask with them, as they want the scientist to continue making more Sentinel robots. Since they were created to help safeguard humankind, the Sentinels feel the best way to do this is to totally control humans.

The X-Men begin to arrive, and attack the lone Sentinel that stands guard over the TV station. On his way into the TV station, Scott acidentally lets loose an optic blast, causing the crowd on the streets to chase after him as a "mutie." He makes it into the studio and lashes out at the giant robot attacking his friends, but the Sentinel is quick enough to side-step the blast. But out of nowhere, the Sentinel, without any attack from the X-Men, topples over and becomes inactive.

Outside, the Angel sees the Sentinels flying overhead. Slowly, they recognize him as a mutant and begin to attack him. He is pulled safely to a passing train by the telekenetic powers of Marvel Girl, and the Sentinels lose track of him. They join their mates at the TV studio, in time to hear Xavier discuss the light mental projections he has picked up from the robotic mind of the Sentinel. As best he can make out, he hears the words "Master Mold." He has also discovered the location of the secret base where Trask developed the Sentinels, and where they are now headed with Trask in tow.

At that very base, the Sentinels command Trask to develop more robots. He refuses, and the Sentinels notice the X-Men heading towards the base. As the X-Men stand before what looks like a simple grassy knoll, they are unsure that this is where the base is. But Xavier insists they have tracked to the right location. Suddenly, the entire hill lifts up out of the ground, with a fortress underneath the grass and trees, with laser beams firing at the mutants.

(continued in XM #15)

--synopsis and panel images by Gormuu