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Sentinel Squad O.N.E. #1-5
Decimation: Sentinel Squad O.N.E.
Discover the origin of the Sentinel Squad How did they come together and become the elite group of soldiers to pilot the Sentinels that have made their presence known at the Xavier Institute? Collects Sentinel Squad O*N*E* #1-5.
116 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1999
2 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
John Layman
817 books586 followersJohn Steele Layman is an American comic book writer and letterer. Layman is most known for writing Chew, published by Image Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 20, 2022
A quick re-read of this for the first time since I got it way back in 2006 to see if it deserves a spot on my bookshelves or if it should be relegated away to to the comics long boxes.
It's decent fare as far as a typical origin story type book, but I never noticed how much comics retread the same information when I was a kid. Like a mutant re-explaining their power over and over again three comics in a row -- but it's the same principle as pro wrestling, I suppose. Every comic/episode might be a new reader/viewer's entry into your product, so there is some amount of re-explaining that needs to be done.
Some weird time warps threw me off a bit, and this was a little too short with too many characters to really get attached to any. However, the two "villains" were really put over as truly reprehensible and I do NOT like either of them.
Overall you could do worse, so if you're interested in some of the side stories for House of M then this is a fine spot to land.
It's decent fare as far as a typical origin story type book, but I never noticed how much comics retread the same information when I was a kid. Like a mutant re-explaining their power over and over again three comics in a row -- but it's the same principle as pro wrestling, I suppose. Every comic/episode might be a new reader/viewer's entry into your product, so there is some amount of re-explaining that needs to be done.
Some weird time warps threw me off a bit, and this was a little too short with too many characters to really get attached to any. However, the two "villains" were really put over as truly reprehensible and I do NOT like either of them.
Overall you could do worse, so if you're interested in some of the side stories for House of M then this is a fine spot to land.
January 31, 2015
Only finished for the background information.
April 20, 2022
In the main X-Men book, its revealed that a camp is setup for wayward mutants seeking refuge. The camp is setup on the lawn of the X mansion. It's supposed to be a haven of sorts, but it seems a bit more like a prison camp. It doesn't help that there are huge sentinels standing guard.
These sentinels are a bit different however. They have human pilots, which should eliminate some of that pesky programming against mutants that constantly cause them to turn on mutants. And this book is the story of the crew of the sentinels and how they got to be the ones chosen to be on the guard patrol.
Honestly, this was a story that seemed to have a few good ideas, but any ideas that were touched upon were never really fully explored. Instead, the story constantly shifts from internal problems, to battles in the savage land, to more interpersonal problems... the constant shifting I think really hurt the book. It's also very "90's"-esque in it's dialogue, with a lot of over explaining and exposition.
This was at best ok, but I would say skip it if you're doing an X-Men chronology read.
These sentinels are a bit different however. They have human pilots, which should eliminate some of that pesky programming against mutants that constantly cause them to turn on mutants. And this book is the story of the crew of the sentinels and how they got to be the ones chosen to be on the guard patrol.
Honestly, this was a story that seemed to have a few good ideas, but any ideas that were touched upon were never really fully explored. Instead, the story constantly shifts from internal problems, to battles in the savage land, to more interpersonal problems... the constant shifting I think really hurt the book. It's also very "90's"-esque in it's dialogue, with a lot of over explaining and exposition.
This was at best ok, but I would say skip it if you're doing an X-Men chronology read.
January 17, 2023
Took me so long to write a review because the story was so lackluster and pointless. Even though it takes place after House of M, it’s not necessary to read if you wanna know about the state of the world in the aftermath. It’s just an origin story for the O*N*E* Sentinels that the government stationed on the X-Mansion grounds. The fact that the men inside the Sentinels are a bunch of voyeurs spying on people showering but it’s dismissed as for “security” was so hilarious 💀
April 7, 2009
Hmmm. The author really builds these sentinels up in the first few issues, detailing how thick the armour is, adamantium chestplates etc. One sentinel takes on 100s of tanks, jets etc. Then in the second half 20 Sentinels get taken out by a bunch of augmented T-Rex. Very silly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2021
Serial Sentinel Squad ONE berkisah tentang asal mula pembentukan pasukan sentinel yang merupakan program pemerintah sebagai tanggapan atas krisis yang disebabkan oleh manusia-manusia yang berkekuatan super. Model sentinel yang berbeda dari yang selama ini ada di jagat Marvel diperkenalkan kepada pembaca, salah satu perbedaan utamanya adalah sentinel ini "dikemudikan" oleh manusia. Lima nomor dalam serial ini berfokus pada dinamika yang terjadi di kelompok pilot pengemudi sentinel, dari semenjak perekrutan mereka hingga tugas-tugas yang mereka jalani. Nomor terakhir bersinggungan dengan peristiwa House of M dan M-Day ketika para mutan kehilangan kekuatannya akibat perkataan Wanda Maximoff.
Salah satu adegan yang epik dalam komik X-Men akibat peristiwa M-Day adalah ketika Institut Xavier "dijaga" oleh para sentinel yang bertugas melindungi para mutan di dalamnya, termasuk para anggota X-Men. Ini merupakan adegan yang janggal karena selama ini sentinel dikenal sebagai robot pembasmi mutan yang merupakan musuh bebuyutan X-Men. Jadi, bagi mereka yang tidak tahu sejarah bagaimana sentinel-sentinel itu bisa berada di sana dengan tugas yang berlawanan dengan yang diketahui selama ini, serial Sentinel Squad ONE ini harus dibaca.
Salah satu adegan yang epik dalam komik X-Men akibat peristiwa M-Day adalah ketika Institut Xavier "dijaga" oleh para sentinel yang bertugas melindungi para mutan di dalamnya, termasuk para anggota X-Men. Ini merupakan adegan yang janggal karena selama ini sentinel dikenal sebagai robot pembasmi mutan yang merupakan musuh bebuyutan X-Men. Jadi, bagi mereka yang tidak tahu sejarah bagaimana sentinel-sentinel itu bisa berada di sana dengan tugas yang berlawanan dengan yang diketahui selama ini, serial Sentinel Squad ONE ini harus dibaca.
December 12, 2025
A thoroughly self contained comic book story featuring big robots, mutant panic, a team coming together, and great big dinosaurs. I wasn't expecting much from this, but honestly, ended up thoroughly enjoying the read. It's not going to get you emotional, but it is a great comic book tale by Layman and Lopresti knocks it out of the park with his visuals - especially his dinosaurs!
May 10, 2022
Why are the mid 00s so out of ideas?
August 17, 2022
I actually really enjoyed this one. It answered the questions about the formation of this team.
September 9, 2024
3.5/5.0
July 27, 2025
Updated Review From 2025 Reread:
This is a fairly paint-by-numbers Meet The Team book for a team that you're never going to see again.
The premise that Iron Man has designed and built a fleet of sentinels to be operated by humans is a neat conceit. I also like that they use Val Cooper and Rhodey (aka War Machine) as the director and the initial trainer.
Unfortunately, this is a one or two-issue story at most dragged across five mostly uninteresting issues. Were this the beginning of an ongoing series, I'd say that after the first issue, it was a weak start. But since I don't recall ever seeing any of the characters introduced in this book used again, I'd say it's an unnecessary read. It really doesn't add any drama to the other Decimation books nor does it influence any books that came after it.
John Layman is a hit-or-miss writer who hits big when he hits: (Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice, but his misses are never terrible just mildly forgettable, and this is a miss.
There is no reason to read this book as part of an X-read but I also don't anticipate any readers being angry or annoyed if they do read this. They'll just probably be bored.
***
Original 2018 Review: The Sentinel Squad has a very short shelf life in Marvel continuity, so I was expecting this book to be a complete trash fire. It's actually okay. The first issue sets up a premise and a set of characters that, sadly, the rest of the volume never delivers on, but I liked the characters and where the story took them.
This is a fairly paint-by-numbers Meet The Team book for a team that you're never going to see again.
The premise that Iron Man has designed and built a fleet of sentinels to be operated by humans is a neat conceit. I also like that they use Val Cooper and Rhodey (aka War Machine) as the director and the initial trainer.
Unfortunately, this is a one or two-issue story at most dragged across five mostly uninteresting issues. Were this the beginning of an ongoing series, I'd say that after the first issue, it was a weak start. But since I don't recall ever seeing any of the characters introduced in this book used again, I'd say it's an unnecessary read. It really doesn't add any drama to the other Decimation books nor does it influence any books that came after it.
John Layman is a hit-or-miss writer who hits big when he hits: (Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice, but his misses are never terrible just mildly forgettable, and this is a miss.
There is no reason to read this book as part of an X-read but I also don't anticipate any readers being angry or annoyed if they do read this. They'll just probably be bored.
***
Original 2018 Review: The Sentinel Squad has a very short shelf life in Marvel continuity, so I was expecting this book to be a complete trash fire. It's actually okay. The first issue sets up a premise and a set of characters that, sadly, the rest of the volume never delivers on, but I liked the characters and where the story took them.
September 21, 2016
This is such a weird miniseries.
The first issue is a brisk read, setting up an intriguing premise - the Suicide Squad in mech suits, by way of "who watches the watchmen" task force - and a promising group of scoundrels who conflict the minute they lay eyes on each other.
From issue 2 on, there is a shocking dip in quality, and the rest of it is a completely unentertaining slog. Dialogue becomes laborious and overly expository, stakes are lowered, and focus is put on the least interesting characters. The whole point of the Sentinel Squad - a government-owned superhero replacement squad for when the usual teams break up or die - is never explored, the main skirmish instead being a flat romp through the Savage Lands. Meanwhile, action scenes are not only drawn with no sense of dynamic, but are also extremely confusing since the various Sentinel models look the same.
There's also a bizarre technical issue that I've never seen in any other comic, wherein word balloons that have obviously been designed to be cut off by the panel borders are never aligned properly, leading them to either overlap or not quite reach them. This is a problem in every issue and I have no idea how it got through editing.
It seems like after the first issue of this, everyone involved with it basically stopped caring.
The first issue is a brisk read, setting up an intriguing premise - the Suicide Squad in mech suits, by way of "who watches the watchmen" task force - and a promising group of scoundrels who conflict the minute they lay eyes on each other.
From issue 2 on, there is a shocking dip in quality, and the rest of it is a completely unentertaining slog. Dialogue becomes laborious and overly expository, stakes are lowered, and focus is put on the least interesting characters. The whole point of the Sentinel Squad - a government-owned superhero replacement squad for when the usual teams break up or die - is never explored, the main skirmish instead being a flat romp through the Savage Lands. Meanwhile, action scenes are not only drawn with no sense of dynamic, but are also extremely confusing since the various Sentinel models look the same.
There's also a bizarre technical issue that I've never seen in any other comic, wherein word balloons that have obviously been designed to be cut off by the panel borders are never aligned properly, leading them to either overlap or not quite reach them. This is a problem in every issue and I have no idea how it got through editing.
It seems like after the first issue of this, everyone involved with it basically stopped caring.
May 27, 2009
This book started out as a surprisingly good boot camp story about a squad of recruits being trained for a special military unit, except -you know- with mutants and giant robots etc. There's nothing particularly original about any of it, but the dialogue is strong and the action is easy to follow. Unfortunately the quality just seems to drop off in the second half. There's big plot holes, the story directly contradicts itself and the dialogue suddenly becomes juvenile. For example one recruit says "We're going to do this with out using Sentinels, and the next thing you see is them using Sentinels, or the squad chooses to retreat when its clearly shown that they have an opportunity to neutralize the threat at hand.
June 25, 2015
Pacific Rim meets the X-men's sentinels. Okay story, nothing really stands out.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews