Mumbai: Based on Bass Reeves, one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals, LeSean Thomas’ Bass X Machina is a fun mash-up of science fiction, steampunk and western. All the familiar archetypes are present and correct, with a dash of something extra that elevates the fast-moving six-episode miniseries.
The Setup
Bass Reeves (Brian Tyree Henry) is the tough bounty hunter with a tragic backstory — a former Union soldier who did not get his due from the government, and was experimented upon by General Rivenbark (Currie Graham).
In this alternate-history steampunk universe, all manner of machines are part of daily life. Rivenbark, like all sadistic military scientists, wishes to create super-soldiers, and his method involves chopping off Black soldiers’ limbs and replacing them with aianhli, an indestructible metal sacred to Native Americans.
When the robotic arm Rivenbark fixes on Bass doesn’t take, he is thrown out and left to die. Bass is found by Nanye, a Choctaw holy woman, who takes him to Etta Yellowtail (Starletta DuPois), a brilliant engineer who fixes Rivenbark’s clumsy work and gives Bass a proper robotic arm.
Love, Loss and a Last Job
Bass and Nanye fall in love and marry. Their happiness is short-lived as a raid destroys the village, and the heavily pregnant Nanye forces Bass to leave while she stays back for a last stand.
Since learning of Nanye and their unborn child’s death, Bass roams the countryside as a bounty hunter, battling inner demons. He gets a second chance at life when he meets Glory (Janelle Monáe). The couple have two sons, and when we first meet Bass, he is on his last job before retiring to the farm.
The offer from the U.S. Army is irresistible: find the missing inventor Eugene Starr (Nick Thurston), and Bass will be made deputy marshal and earn $1,000.
Starr’s 14-year-old niece Dana (Tati Gabrielle), who aspires to be an engineer like her uncle, tags along. Along the way, the reluctant associates meet Lighthorse (Chaske Spencer) of the Choctaw and reconnect with Etta. All roads point to the 1874 Tuskegee science fair, where Bass confronts his past demons while trying to stop future horrors.
The Questions It Asks
Thomas — the man behind The Boondocks and Black Dynamite — has created a beautiful, blistering series unafraid to ask uncomfortable questions about race, justice, revenge and colonisation, against a backdrop of dusty streets, shoot-outs, dim saloons, a burning sun and lumbering automatons.
Animation by South Korea’s Studio Mir grabs the eye and keeps it. While sequences featuring the giant war machine Colossus flattening Central City inspire shock and awe, the action aboard the train to Tuskegee is thrilling and visually spectacular. The train, with its segregated coaches, also presents the reality of the time while revealing crucial information about one of the characters.
The Performances
The character work is gripping, from the warring emotions on Ahni’s (Cree Summer) face to Dana growing from an inquisitive teenager into one facing a moral dilemma.
The voice work is equally good, with Henry revealing Bass’ world-weariness and Gabrielle embodying Dana’s spiky curiosity.
The Verdict
Bass X Machina is a comprehensive package of thrills and eye-popping visuals against the backdrop of Janelle Monáe’s silky, sultry rendition of the title song, ‘Honor Killing’.
Bass X Machina is currently streaming on Netflix.
