Mutant X Articles: 4/8/03 "Final Judgment"
Comics Continuum 4/8/03
NEW MUTANT X EPISODE
"Final Judgment," a new episode of Mutant X, airs in syndication this week. The episode was written by David L. Newman and directed by Bill Corcoran. Below the photos is a complete synopsis, with spoilers. Click the thunbmails for larger and fuller images.
Adam (John Shea) rushes out of Sanctuary after receiving a call from Marsden (Gary Reineke), an old acquaintance who's extremely connected in the underground world and who claims to have information regarding an imminent threat to Adam's life.
Waiting for Marsden at the marina, Adam is surprised when Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) appears. He explains that he's waiting for a friend who claims that Adam's life is in danger and promised he would come alone. Seeing Marsden's car parked in the distance, Adam tells Shalimar to leave. As Adam heads towards the car, a mysterious truck pulls up next to him and two men jump out and grab him. Shalimar rushes to help, but one of the men opens fire on her while the other forces Adam into the truck. The gunman then turns his sights on Marsden, grazing him in the shoulder with a bullet. Watching the truck speed away, Shalimar calls the team to let them know Adam's been kidnapped.
Back at Sanctuary, Brennan (Victor Webster) asks Shalimar about the man Adam was meeting. She tells the team that Adam would not reveal the man's name, only that he had vital information. Informing them that the man was shot during the abduction, she takes out a bag containing wood chips stained with the man's blood, which she took from the scene.
Meanwhile, the bag that had been placed over Adam's head is ripped off, and he finds himself in a large chamber in front of a Judge (Nick Mancuso), strapped to a high-tech chair. Demanding to know where he is, the Judge tells him that he is at the Tribunal, a court that punishes criminals who believe they are untouchable. Infuriated, Adam insists that he is a scientist, not a criminal. The Judge then promises that everything will soon be resolved.
As the Mutant X team searches the database for clues, Adam, who's been placed in an isolation cell, is visited by Janet Nicholls (Amy Price-Francis), a woman who's been assigned to represent him. She tells him he's being charged with manipulating human DNA and creating super-powered mutants in order to gain world dominance. Adam insists that the charges are a lie, but Janet isn't convinced.
Later, Adam is brought back to the chamber and sees the Judge from before sitting on the dais with two other Judges, a large monitor on the wall, and the prosecutor, John Warren (Nigel Bennett), at a table.
When Janet pleads not guilty for him, Adam is restrained in the high-tech chair, and a neuro-imaging device is clamped to his head.
As Warren begins the trial, he explains that the device has been programmed to trigger Adam's memories of specific times and dates, which will be projected on the wall monitor and used as evidence in the case. Numerous instances of mutants committing violent crimes suddenly flash across the screen. When Warren finally deactivates the imager, he tells Adam, who's physically worn from what he's just been through, to confess. The court then takes a recess and Adam begs Janet for her help as he's carried back to his cell.
Back at Sanctuary, Jesse (Forbes March) and Brennan are becoming more frustrated about Adam's disappearance when Marsden suddenly appears on the computer screen. He tells them that by using his blood samples to try to determine his identity, they are now all in grave danger. When Brennan orders Marsden to help them find Adam, Marsden reluctantly gives them an address to meet him at.
Meanwhile, Adam tries to convince Janet that he's been set-up and tells her to investigate Genomex and she'll learn the truth.
Brennan, Jesse and Shalimar enter the meeting place and are suddenly surrounded both by Marsden's voice and a number of lasers with tracking missiles. After some time Marsden comes out of hiding and Shalimar confirms that he was the man Adam had planned to meet. Marsden explains that he has to go to such extremes because he knows that the people who took Adam are watching him. He finally reveals that Adam is at the Tribunal, a secret all-powerful organization that judges people associated with certain world events, almost always convicting them.
The moment Marsden gives them the coordinates to find the Tribunal, a group of armed men rush in and begin shooting. Using their powers, the team defeats the men while Marsden escapes through a trapdoor.
Back at the Tribunal, Janet presents Genomex files to the Judges, but they refuse to allow them to be submitted as evidence. As the trial continues, Warren again uses visuals from Adam's memory to show that the Mutant X team members are terrorists who commit crimes at Adam's command.
A short recess is then granted for Adam to prepare a statement. When the trial reconvenes, Adam tells the court that he is innocent and the evidence has been taken out of context.
Meanwhile, the team lands the Double Helix at Tribunal and Shalimar takes out two guards at the entrance. As the team races to find Adam, the Judges return with a guilty verdict and orders Adam's immediate execution. An IV is inserted into Adam's arm, but just as the poison starts to flow into his veins, Brennan appears and fires a bolt of electricity that shatters the IV. As the guards fire at Brennan, Shalimar attacks them from behind and Emma (Lauren Lee Smith) uses the opportunity to free Adam.
Wanting to know who set him up, Adam forces Warren into the chair and puts the neuro-imaging device on his head. The Mutant X team gasps when an image of their old enemy Mason Eckhart appears on the monitor. The team heads back to Sanctuary, filled with shock and fear that Eckhart is again at large.
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