Out of all the Sentinels that the X-Men have faced, Nimrod has probably endured for the longest. Especially in the Krakoan era, Nimrod has been presented as mutantkind’s deadliest enemy, foreshadowing a bleak future.
In the past, however, several mutants have defeated Nimrod, providing hope for the future of mutantkind.
Harry Leland
Harry Leland, of the Hellfire Club, defeated Nimrod in 1986’s Uncanny X-Men #209, by Chris Claremont, John Romita Jr., P. Craig Russell, Glynis Oliver and Tom Orzechowski. Nimrod interrupted a battle between the Hellfire Club and the X-Men, while on the hunt for Rachel Grey. In the ensuing chaos, Nimrod attacked both parties, hurling Sebastian Shaw into orbit.
With Shaw immobilized, Harry Leland took command of the Hellfire Club, working with the X-Men to fend off Nimrod. Leland used all of his mutant powers to increase Nimrod’s mass and drive it into the ground. Unfortunately, this strain gave Leland a fatal heart attack. In his last moments, Leland used his power to bring Shaw back down to Earth, crashing straight into Nimrod. Damaged almost beyond repair, Nimrod was forced to retreat through time.
Cable and X-Force
Nimrod faced its next major defeat at the hands of Cable and his X-Force, in 1994’s X-Force #36, by Fabian Nicieza, Tony Daniel, Kevin Conrad, Joe Rubenstein, Harry Candelario, Chris Eliopoulos and Marie Javins. Cable and his team discovered that a lab called Camp Hayden was developing advanced Sentinel technology, which was twenty-five years ahead of its time. Arriving too late to stop it, X-Force witnessed Nimrod’s self-activation.
A giant battle ensued, with X-Force doing its best to stop Nimrod. Siryn used her sonic scream to momentarily disable Nimrod, enabling Cable and the two doctors at Camp Hayden to enter Nimrod’s mind. There, Cable discovered that Nimrod was acting to save human lives twenty-five years early. In response, Cable asked Nimrod how many human lives would be lost if Nimrod acted this early. This question shocked Nimrod, causing the Sentinel to deactivate itself.
Forge
Another version of Nimrod came to the present, in 2006’s New X-Men #28-31, by Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Paco Medina, Duncan Rouleau, Juan Vlasco, Brian Rever and Dave Sharpe. This Nimrod had been exploited for parts by the Purifiers, escaping and subsequently approaching Forge for help repairing itself. Forge had no choice, as Nimrod threatened to kill Storm.
Fortunately, Forge tricked Nimrod into entering a new body, which was programmed to help mutants. Unfortunately, Forge had already called for help, and the New X-Men arrived. Unaware of the situation, the New X-Men damaged Nimrod enough for its original programming to take over. An intense battle took place, before Forge and Prodigy had an idea, telling the New X-Men to overflow Nimrod’s power core. Surge, Mercury and X-23 accomplished this task, sending Nimrod back through time.
Hope Summers
The final mutant to defeat Nimrod was Hope Summers, in 2010’s X-Force #28, by Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Mike Choi, Sonia Oback and VC’s Joe Caramagna. Hope faced off against the Super-Sentinel at the end of “Second Coming,” after Bastion had trapped the mutants of San Francisco underneath a massive red dome. Bastion had also sent an army of Nimrods from the future to destroy the mutants, but X-Force went into this future and destroyed these Nimrods’ Master Mold.
Ultimately, Bastion reverted into his Nimrod form, desperate to kill Hope Summers, since she was the mutant messiah. Hope, however, was fueled by anger, as her father, Cable, had just sacrificed himself to save everyone. Redirecting this anger, Hope finally manifested her mutant powers against Nimrod, in a fight to the death. Hope channeled the powers of her fellow mutants in an awesome display, destroying Nimrod.
In the future, it seems as if Nimrod will possibly be the biggest threat to mutantkind. Even so, it’s comforting to see how many mutants have already defeated the Sentinel. It’s true that Nimrod might be different now than before. Even so, with mutants united under one umbrella, Nimrod’s defeat is still possible.
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