Bass X Machina opens with a violent train robbery and an unfamiliar version of Bass Reeves. Voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, Reeves is a bounty hunter with a steam-powered mechanical arm, not yet the lawman he is destined to become. The Netflix series gives the historical figure an alternate-history setting where robots and cyborgs are commonplace, while retaining the harshness of the Western frontier.
The episode frames its world through Reeves’ account of the years after the Civil War, when some Black soldiers headed west, some became Buffalo Soldiers and a few became lawmen. Here, however, Reeves is already living by the gun. Brief, blood-red glimpses of his past suggest that the story behind his missing arm will be explored later. He says it was stolen, a revelation that connects his personal history to the episode’s central mystery.
That mystery begins with the disappearance of Dr. Eugene Starr, who is believed to have gone into Native American territory known as the Badlands. Starr has apparently been involved in experiments using a mysterious metal on people. His niece, Dana Starr, an engineering prodigy voiced by Tati Gabrielle, joins Reeves in searching for him. She brings both practical inventions and a calculating, unsentimental approach to the dangers ahead.
Janelle Monáe voices Glory, Reeves’ wife, and the episode establishes that they have two sons. Yet Reeves remains drawn to the search, believing it may reveal something about his past. The premiere ends with him and Dana setting out for the Badlands, with Reeves on horseback and Dana riding a makeshift boilertech scooter.
Created by LeSean Thomas, Bass X Machina blends familiar Western elements with retro-futuristic machinery and stylized, graphic violence. The opening episode establishes a lively animated setting and the beginnings of Reeves’ transformation from bounty hunter into lawman.
Sources: IGN.