# Stern X Men teaser reaction!

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast Live Streams (YouTube)  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-08-30  
**Duration:** 6m 34s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzRoYec9zq8

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## Analysis

Don reacts live to the newly released Stern Uncanny X-Men teaser trailer, analyzing a 10-second clip showing a Sentinel head toy/mechanical feature and comic book-style X-Men artwork. He speculates on game mechanics, art direction (Jeremy Packer likely involved), tier differentiation, and the teaser's timing (9/4 release announcement), while expressing excitement about the innovative playfield feature and uncertainty about its mechanical function.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The X-Men teaser has been rumored for weeks with repeated delays ("always two days away") — _Don's opening remarks about the teaser being delayed multiple times over what felt like weeks_
- [HIGH] Jack Danger is doing the X-Men game design/teaser — _Don states 'Jack Danger's doing it' after being messaged about the teaser creator_
- [MEDIUM] Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) is likely the artist, noted as 'tops at Stern right now, especially for comic book style art' — _Don speculates on artist identity: 'Jeremy—Jeremy Packer is like, you know, tops at Stern right now, especially for comic book style art. And I haven't heard anything on who's doing the art.'_
- [MEDIUM] The game is based on Uncanny X-Men comic style, not X-Men '97 license — _Don mentions a rumor: 'I did hear a rumor that it wasn't X-Men '97, it was what appears to be the '97 X-Men, but Uncanny X-Men, and that tracks.'_
- [HIGH] The teaser artwork uses comic book shading/style, not cartoon style — _Don's analysis of the teaser: 'That doesn't look like the cartoon show. That looks like comic book. I see some plastic.'_
- [HIGH] Stern is announcing/releasing the game on 9/4 (September 4th) — _Don reads the teaser: '9-4? 9-4, so that's next frickin' week.'_
- [MEDIUM] The Sentinel head is a mechanical/interactive playfield feature, possibly rising up — _Don's speculation: 'Stern, is this the Premium Edition that's gonna have the Sentinel head rise up, and the Pro is gonna have just, you know, whatever?' and 'Can we see him rise up? How high does he get? No, it comes up like already kind of coming up.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "It was always two days away. Oh, that Stern teaser is going to drop on Tuesday, and Tuesday would come. Oh, it's going to be there Friday, and Friday would come."
> — **Don**, 0:00-0:30
> _Illustrates the frustration with repeated teaser delays in the community_

> "If it comes, it comes. And then what dropped in my lap today while I was sitting there relaxing, watching some television? Not another Jersey Jack Pinball—James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) teaser picture. Although I'm sure that's coming later today, but the Stern Uncanny X-Men teaser."
> — **Don**, 0:35-1:00
> _Confirms Stern X-Men teaser finally released; references ongoing Avatar LE speculation_

> "Jeremy—Jeremy Packer is like, you know, tops at Stern right now, especially for comic book style art."
> — **Don**, 2:50
> _Establishes Jeremy Packer's reputation at Stern for comic-style artwork_

> "That doesn't look like the cartoon show. That looks like comic book. I see some plastic. So Stern, is this the Premium Edition that's gonna have the Sentinel head rise up, and the Pro is gonna have just, you know, whatever?"
> — **Don**, 4:30-5:00
> _Identifies art style as comics-based and speculates on tier differentiation via Sentinel head feature_

> "Talk about like, we need more air balls in pinball... Dude, if there is a hatch, I don't want to get too excited. I don't want to get too excited. He's going to get his paint chipped."
> — **Don**, 6:30-7:00
> _Analyzes potential mechanic (hatch cover for Sentinel rise) and expresses both excitement and durability concern_

> "Somewhere Zach Manny is recovering from his Bush Light party from last night and celebrating, while Dennis audibly groans because he was calling it—that there was going to be something in August, and here it is."
> — **Don**, 9:00
> _References community figures and insider predictions about August announcement timing_

> "What's up with that Sentinel man? Comments below, you know where to find them. Share this video around everywhere too. Let's get it popping on YouTube."
> — **Don**, 10:00+
> _Closing call-to-action; emphasizes the Sentinel mechanic as the primary talking point_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; providing live reaction analysis to X-Men teaser |
| Jack Danger | person | Designer of Stern Uncanny X-Men game (confirmed via email/message to Don) |
| Jeremy Packer | person | Stern Pinball artist (Zombie Yeti); speculated as likely artist for X-Men based on comic book art expertise |
| Zach Manny | person | Community figure referenced as celebrating August announcement; mentioned in context of insider predictions |
| Dennis | person | Community figure referenced as having predicted August announcement timing |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer announcing Uncanny X-Men pinball machine |
| Uncanny X-Men | game | New Stern Pinball machine designed by Jack Danger; announced 9/4; features Sentinel head mechanical feature; comic book art style |
| X-Men '97 | product | Disney+ animated series; initially rumored as potential license but reportedly not used for pinball game |
| Buffalo Pinball Stream | organization | Referenced as possible source/venue for teaser release |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Competitor; James Cameron's Avatar LE teaser also expected simultaneously with X-Men announcement |
| Avatar (Limited Edition) | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game; teaser expected around same time as X-Men announcement |
| Sentinel | product | Mechanical toy/head feature on X-Men playfield; X-Men villain; central playfield mechanic visible in teaser |
| Black Knight: Sword of Rage | game | Referenced humorously as existing Stern game in context of 'Stern expanded universe' joke |
| Circus Voltaire | game | Referenced as historical Williams pinball with ringmaster character; Don speculates on mechanical parallels to Sentinel design |
| Jurassic Park Home Edition | game | Game Don plans to play at Costco while considering X-Men purchase decision |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Stern Uncanny X-Men announcement and teaser reaction, Sentinel mechanical feature design and speculation, Game art style (comic vs. cartoon) and artist attribution
- **Secondary:** Teaser delays and community frustration with announcement timing, Tier differentiation (Pro vs. Premium vs. LE) based on mechanical features, Licensing: Uncanny X-Men vs. X-Men '97 distinction
- **Mentioned:** Community response and insider predictions, Durability concerns with complex mechanics (paint chipping)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Don expresses genuine excitement about the teaser reveal, the Sentinel mechanic design, and comic art style. Some mild frustration with delays, but overall enthusiastic and analytical tone. Excitement tempered by uncertainty about mechanics and durability concerns, but net positive sentiment toward the game announcement.

### Signals

- **[sentiment_shift]** Community enthusiasm and speculation around X-Men announcement; Zach Manny and Dennis tracked announcement timing and expressed positive anticipation (confidence: medium) — Don references: 'Somewhere Zach Manny is recovering from his Bush Light party...and celebrating, while Dennis audibly groans because he was calling it'
- **[design_philosophy]** Jack Danger designing innovative mechanical playfield feature (rising Sentinel head) suggesting continued envelope-pushing design approach (confidence: medium) — Don's analysis: 'What are you doing, Jack Danger?' in context of unusual gate/ramp design; speculation about hatch mechanism for rising Sentinel
- **[licensing_signal]** Game uses Uncanny X-Men comic license rather than X-Men '97 Disney+ series, suggesting licensing availability or strategic preference (confidence: medium) — Don reports rumor: 'it wasn't X-Men '97, it was what appears to be the '97 X-Men, but Uncanny X-Men, and that tracks.' Art analysis confirms comic-style over cartoon
- **[market_signal]** Concurrent announcements of Stern X-Men and Jersey Jack Avatar LE teasers suggesting coordinated major manufacturer releases in same timeframe (confidence: medium) — Don mentions: 'Not another Jersey Jack Pinball—James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) teaser picture. Although I'm sure that's coming later today'
- **[announcement]** Stern officially announces Uncanny X-Men pinball with 9/4 release teaser featuring Sentinel head mechanic and comic book art style (confidence: high) — Teaser video released showing Sentinel head and X-Men characters; 9/4 date visible in teaser
- **[product_strategy]** Potential tier differentiation with Sentinel head feature possibly exclusive to Premium/LE models vs. Pro (confidence: medium) — Don speculates: 'Stern, is this the Premium Edition that's gonna have the Sentinel head rise up, and the Pro is gonna have just, you know, whatever?'
- **[product_concern]** Early community concern about paint durability on complex mechanical features (Sentinel head); potential manufacturing/durability risk flag (confidence: low) — Don expresses concern: 'Dude, if there is a hatch, I don't want to get too excited...He's going to get his paint chipped.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Multiple weeks of false/delayed teaser announcements created anticipatory hype and frustration in community before official reveal (confidence: high) — Don describes cycle: 'It was always two days away...Tuesday would come...Friday would come...the beginning of next week'

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## Transcript

 what's up fan don here from don spinball podcast you know where to find me hey i was just sitting in my easy chair relaxing after work and what should happen to drop in my lap but the stern uncanny x-men teaser that's been largely rumored to have been coming out for like what seems like weeks now it's probably only been two but it seems longer than that it was always two days away oh that stern teaser is going to drop on Tuesday and Tuesday would come. Oh, it's going to be there Friday and Friday would come in. Oh, the beginning of next week to the point that I was like, if it comes, it comes. And then what dropped in my lap today while I was sitting there relaxing, watching some television, not another Jersey Jack avatar teaser picture. Although I'm sure that's coming later today, but the stern uncanny X-Men teaser, I saw a little, somebody emailed me a link or messaged me. Jack danger's doing it. I haven't watched the trailer yet. owner teaser whatever it is it looks like it's pretty short so we're gonna check it out you're getting a live reaction from this guy right now let's go roll that beautiful bean footage all right so comics right ah there it is The Bafa Bash toy. 9-4? 9-4, so that's next frickin' week. I'm gonna watch that ten more times. Alright let break that down That was cool When I first loaded up the video like the first couple seconds played and it looked like the Marvel intro from the movies So I was like okay we just going to get confirmation that this is a theme and then we going to find out what it is later I didn expect to see that Sentinel head pop up there All right So what do we got It looks like the OG cartoon It looks like they likely riding the wave of X 97 without going for that particular license but going back to cartoon or comic uh looks like the cartoon show mimicked the comics pretty closely as far as art style looks like what we're getting i'm gonna go back in there watch it again and see if i can see some detail of what's going on with the uh the the art on the play field now who's doing this zombie yeti is like you know tops at stern right now especially for comic book style art and i haven't heard anything on who's doing the art um i did hear a rumor that wasn't x-men 97 it was what appears to be the 97 x-men but uncanny x-men and that tracks that tracks so we were getting some good info i like that i like that all right let's jump back in and watch this thing again here all right so let's just tab through here so yeah all right so got all the characters in there you know like the whatever you call the magnificent seven or something is that jean gray looks like jean gray wait a second hang on hang on hang on can we figure out this art style this doesn't that doesn't look like storm from a cartoon that i remember is that comic book storm must be must be comics i dig that yeah dude this look at the look at the shading this is comic shading all right this is a marvel what if stern starts doing pinball movies the stern expanded universe who ready for that i want to go on Black Knight Sword of Rage I want to see the prequels it a Black Knight how did the Black Knight become the Black Knight uncanny X-Men dude there we go okay hang on here for just a dang second this is all we have to go on until now look at the art on that sentinel head is that just a smooth dome with that cool painting on there I dig it man all right it's definitely comic yeah that doesn't look like the cartoon show that looks like comic book I see some plastic so it is stern is this the premium that's gonna have the rise up head and the pro is gonna have just you know whatever whatever that looks cool man all right inserts I can't really see much are these fast locks I can't tell I see a new pinball machine for the first time it's so awesome we're gonna digest this all labor day weekend just this 10 seconds of static frame on this. What's this over here? Is that a gate? Is that like a ramp that just ends right there and there's like a one-way gate on it? The hell is that? What are you doing, Jack Danger? I was talking. What did he even say? It's gotta be a bash toy, right? so wait it can't be a dome on top because that's got to go down and sit flush with the play field can we see him rise up how high does he get no it comes in like already kind of coming up yes he's already coming up so what the hell do you just bounce balls off there talk about like we need more air balls in pinball So is this the middle of the play field Is this the back third Kind of where the inserts look like Is that a bridge behind him? Dude, I want to know more now. I want to know so much more. All right. I'm going to have to analyze the heck out of this. But yeah, that's cool. I don't know how that works if that's all the way down. Maybe there's a hatch cover. Would it be cool if there was like a hatch that would move aside and then this guy would come up? because his head doesn't look like it would be smooth for balls rolling over it. Looks like it'd be airball heaven. Dude, if there is a hatch, I don't want to get too excited. I don't want to get too excited. He's going to get his paint chipped. Is this like we're dipping into some old John Papadiuk designs? Is this the ringmaster from Circus Voltaire? So 9-4, what day is it today? It's the 30th, right? So is that Tuesday? I have to look at a calendar. yo all right thank you stern no i don't want to buy a jeep all right back to this okay so we got it man next cornerstone and it's still august somewhere zag many is recovering from his bush light party from last night and celebrating while dennis audibly groans because he was calling it that there was going to be something in august and here it is all right so if you excuse me i'm gonna run over to Costco go play some Jurassic Park Home Edition and then figure out if I'm gonna get this game or not I guess I'm gonna have to wait and see what more is in there but what's up with that Sentinel man comments below you know where to find them share this video around everywhere too let's get it pop in on YouTube

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8737f728-fa30-4084-bcae-0a3106dc7505*