The Final Decision
| "The Final Decision" | |
|---|---|
| X-Men: The Animated Series episode | |
|
Master Mold with a factory in his chest. | |
| Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 13 |
| Written by | Mark Edward Edens |
| Production code | 113 |
| Original air date | March 27, 1993 |
| Episode chronology | |
The Final Decision is an episode from season 1 of the animated TV series X-Men Animated Series.
Characters
X-Men: Professor X, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Beast
Supporting Characters Senator Robert Kelly, Magneto, Ghost Rider, Bella Donna, Bishop
Villains: Master Mold, Bolivar Trask, Henry Peter Gyrich, Sentinels, Mister Sinister
Synopsis
This episode follows Days of Future Past, part 2. The episode begins with the X-Men watching anti-mutant protests, over the kidnapping of Senator Robert Kelly. Magneto has kidnapped the Senator and brought him over to a sunken ship to kill him, so that mutants and humans would go to war. As he tries to kill him, Sentinels come and badly injure Magneto, because he couldn't use his powers on the Sentinels, since they were made of plastic. Then the Sentinels take the senator. When the X-Men finally find where Magneto is, it's too late, the Sentinels are already gone with the Senator. They find Magneto under the rubble and take him to the X-Mansion.
The Sentinels take Senator Kelly to Master Mold. Bolivar Trask had sent them to bring the senator. In return of saving him, Trask wants Kelly to pass a presidential order putting Sentinels in-charge of controlling mutants. Trask asks the Sentinels to return the Senator to his campaign headquarters, but the Sentinels refuse. Master Mold wants to replace all the world leaders' brains with computers, so that Sentinels could control the world, with Kelly being the first.
Confused, Trask reminds Master Mold that he and the other Sentinels were programmed to only hunt and control the mutant population, not the humans, but is shocked when Master Mold reminds him that mutants are humans; therefore, logically, humanity must be protected from themselves, regardless if they have mutant powers or not. Trask, initially believing Master Mold to be mistaken, tries to reason with the robot, but as the accurate and irrefutable truth of Master Mold's words starts to sink in, he realizes that he's created an even more dangerous threat than the mutants he created them to hunt.
Gambit had seen the man in charge of the Sentinels in Genosha, so they find out who he is to find out where the Sentinel base is. They find that his name is Henry Peter Gyrich. Then they find Gyrich and get the location of Sentinels' base. Then the X-Men go to the base to rescue Kelly. When they get to the base, Master Mold activates all the sentinels and they attack. Cyclops, Wolverine, Gambit, and Jean Grey go underground to defeat Master Mold, while the others fight the Sentinels above ground. Later Magneto also comes to help the X-Men.
Jean Grey and Cyclops find Master Mold, and Trask blows up a propane gas line near Master Mold. The whole mine starts blowing up and the X-Men escape with Kelly and Trask. All the Sentinels go to help Master Mold. Then the mine blows up, destroying all the Sentinels. But master Mold survives, so Professor X rams an X-Jet filled with explosives into Master Mold. Xavier parachutes out and Master Mold is destroyed.
Later, Senator Kelly helps Beast be released. Almost at the same time, Cyclops proposes to his girlfriend Jean Grey, who accepts. Sinister is shown watching Cyclops and Jean's happiness on a monitor and laughing.
Production
The first season order was 13, standard for a network show. The Sentinel story wrapped up at this episode, and that was because the writers weren’t sure that there would be more than 13. Looking back at the previous Marvel animated adaptations, there was great fear that X-Men would fail. When the first season became a #1 hit, the network ordered 39 more episodes.
References
- X-Men - The Legend of Wolverine [DVD]. Buena Vista Home Entertainment.