Bass x Machina is available as a six-episode Netflix animated series, according to Variety's review. Created by LeSean Thomas and produced by Studio Mir, it places a version of Bass Reeves inside a steampunk Western rather than presenting a conventional historical biography.
History provides the starting point
Reeves was a real lawman who escaped slavery. The series' mechanical arm, extraordinary weapons and elemental powers, however, belong to its invented world. Brian Tyree Henry voices Bass and also executive produces.
The fictional plot pairs him on a bounty mission with Dana Starr, a young aspiring engineer searching for her uncle. Anime-influenced machinery and action coexist with questions about racism and a social order that does not treat its protagonist equally.
The review's interpretation
Variety praises the combination of ethical questions and accessible adventure. Its reading emphasises how Black and Indigenous characters occupy the centre of this imagined frontier, rather than its margins.
The voice cast includes Tati Gabrielle, Chaske Spencer, Cree Summer and Janelle Monáe, who also performs the theme song. Their characters offer different pressures and choices around Bass.
A robbery on a high-tech train with racially separated carriages turns those ideas into a practical dilemma about obeying or challenging an unequal order. Glory urges Bass to resist being consumed by anger, while Ahni seeks his support for a violent campaign. Viewers can follow those choices across the six released episodes.