'The Mandalorian' Meets 'Avatar' in Netflix's New Sci-Fi Western Masterpiece
Created by LeSean Thomas and Studio Mir, who both worked on The Legend of Korra , Bass X Machina is a reimagining of the story of Bass Reeves (Brian Tyree Henry), an escaped slave who worked in Indian Territory as a deputy U.S. Marshal. Reeves’ real life was extraordinary, and is said to have inspired the character of the Lone Ranger, but Bass X Machina also gives him a cybernetic arm that shoots magic bullets. The…
Westerns are filled with stories about the toll violence takes on the soul and quests for revenge that begin with digging two graves. Netflix’s new animated Western Bass X Machina leans into those themes on both a personal and societal level, tackling America’s cycles of brutal violence from the Trail of Tears to the Civil War to the outlaws of the Wild West. It also adds in mechs, magic, and one of the best opening themes since Cowboy Bebop. In short, it slaps.
Created by LeSean Thomas and Studio Mir, who both worked on The Legend of Korra, Bass X Machina is a reimagining of the story of Bass Reeves (Brian Tyree Henry), an escaped slave who worked in Indian Territory as a deputy U.S. Marshal. Reeves’ real life was extraordinary, and is said to have inspired the character of the Lone Ranger, but Bass X Machina also gives him a cybernetic arm that shoots magic bullets. The criminals he fights get even bigger upgrades, and the stakes can at times escalate to truly ludicrous levels. Henry does an especially great job expressing exasperation as Bass faces plenty of absurd foes, like an outlaw in a rampaging bull mech that requires complex cooperation to take down.
At the start of Bass X Machina, Bass is a bounty hunter hoping to pull off one last job. Then he’s offered stable employment as a lawman if he can find Eugene Starr (Nick Thurston), a missing engineer capable of building incredible technology. Eugene’s tinkerer niece Dana Starr (Tati Gabrielle of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The Last of Us) insists on tagging along. Dana serves as comic relief and an audience surrogate Bass can explain things to, but she also proves herself repeatedly in combat with an endless supply of useful devices. Her goofy Inspector Gadget-like fighting style and constant preaching of nonviolence in a brutal world could easily become grating, but Gabrielle’s earnest delivery and the surprising depth of her character arc make the odd dynamic work.
The Legend of Korra combined steampunk with fantasy, and Bass X Machina does the same, though its TV-MA rating means the fights are far gorier than anything Avatar Korra ever experienced. Bass finds himself at odds with the Holy People, a group of Choctaw Nation women with the power to channel the elements like Avatar’s benders. Battle scenes where they work together to create cyclones and huck icicles demonstrate Studio Mir’s mastery of showy animated choreography, especially when there’s also plenty of gunfire and absurdly powerful war machines in the mix. Unfortunately, the 3D animation Studio Mir leans on for the final two episodes lacks the sharp style of the rest of the work and detracts from the show’s climax.
Another highlight is the music. Janelle Monáe plays Bass’ wife Glory and penned an original theme with a rich intro animation you will never want to skip. Composers Roman GianArthur and Nate Wonder developed a dynamic score that evokes the classic rhythms of Western showdowns while speeding them up to a tempo more fitting for the action-packed anime stylings.
Bass X Machina tackles the darkest parts of U.S. history
Bass X Machina is only six episodes and probably could have benefited from a bit more time to establish its characters — or even just to do more of the episodic bounty hunting missions that are the focus of the first half of the season. The show is set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War when Confederate veterans loyal to the twisted General Rivenbark (Currie Graham) pose a major threat, and the story of a bounty hunter pitted against the evil remnant of a defeated army makes this feel like a darker version of the early seasons of The Mandalorian.
The series is tonally more akin to Fullmetal Alchemist in its examination of the horrors of both science and war. Bass X Machina never shies away from portraying racism, whether in the way that white people cheat and demean Bass or the multiple horrific massacres led by U.S. troops against the Five Tribes. Bass X Machina is relentlessly focused on its theme: that it is incredibly hard to forgive the sins of the past, but building a better future is the only way to end the cycle of violence. Bass has been wronged as much as any character in the show, and in classic Western fashion, he both wants vengeance and understands how meting it out would hurt the fragile peace he’s worked so hard to attain.
Bass’ internal struggle is a microcosm of the battle for the soul of America, a plot that can feel a bit trite at times but overall works to make Bass X Machina surprisingly touching. The show tells a satisfying, twisty story in its six episodes, and leaves the door open for plenty more adventures. Bass Reeves spent 30 years as a lawman; Netflix's blend of real history, fantasy, science fiction, and dramatic action feels like it could easily sustain a few more seasons.
Bass X Machina is streaming on Netflix.