Netflix’s 'Bass x Machina' Reimagines Bass Reeves as Steampunk Hero — SkimNews
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- Bass Reeves is reimagined in the Netflix series 'Bass x Machina' as a steampunk lawman with a robot arm, voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, who also serves as executive producer.
- LeSean Thomas created 'Bass x Machina' in collaboration with Korean animation studio Studio Mir, blending anime aesthetics with an alternate-history American frontier filled with mechanical suits and elemental powers.
- General Rivenbark, a Confederate commander, conducted gruesome experiments during the Civil War, giving Bass Reeves his cybernetic arm—an origin that haunts him throughout the series.
- Dana Starr, a young engineer voiced by Tati Gabrielle, joins Bass on a bounty mission, embodying the show’s celebration of youth, innovation, and underrepresented ingenuity in the Old West.
- Etta, a Native inventor portrayed by Starletta DuPois, defends her home with electrified fruit trees and asserts that her people’s advanced techniques are science, not magic, challenging colonial narratives.
- Janelle Monáe voices Bass’ wife Glory, who urges him to resist vengeance, while Cree Summer plays Ahni, a lightning-wielding rebel who condemns Bass for upholding a corrupt system.
Why it matters: By centering Black and Indigenous characters as technologically and spiritually advanced heroes, 'Bass x Machina' reframes Western mythology to challenge historical erasure—making representation itself a narrative engine, not just a backdrop, in a genre long dominated by white protagonists.
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