First Mutant's Mutant X Warehouse

The Setting of Mutant X

An early article about Mutant X stated that the show's place and time were never defined, in order to make the action applicable to anytime in the near future. This, of course, has not stopped fans from trying to determine when and where Mutant X occurs.

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Sanctuary's Location
The Official Site's FAQ sheet has the following insights to offer about the setting of Mutant X:

Q: Where does Mutant X take place?
A: Earth.

Not particularly helpful. Let's try to narrow the field a bit.

Theory #1. Canada
The Mutant X team travels to many different cities, (such as Gilroy, California in "Wasteland" and New York City in "Past as Prologue"), but no indication is given of how far Sanctuary is from these locations. The series is filmed in Canada with Canadian actors, so there are Canadian references scattered intermittently throughout the show. However, the cars of the second and third seasons have United States plates, and Adam specifies in the first episode that Genomex is a branch of U.S. intelligence. It makes sense that Mutant X would be based in the United States as well.

Theory #2. Florida
In "Crossroads of the Soul," Brennan tries to call Sanctuary from a telephone in New Hope, getting as far as 754-245- before the operator cuts him off. 754 is an area code in Florida. Since there is snow on the ground in "Inferno" and "Reality Check," it is unlikely (though not impossible) that Sanctuary is that far south.

Theory #3. Upstate New York or Colorado
A search for U.S. mountain ranges named "Stormking Mountain" reveals two possibilities: the first in upstate New York, and the second in Colorado. The former Genomex.net website listed Genomex's address as Pueblo Colorado, so it's entirely possible that Sanctuary would be somewhere in the same vicinity.

The Mutant X Timeline
Establishing a solid Mutant X timeline is a confusing task because of discrepancies among the three seasons of the series, as well as contradictions between the series, the official Mutant X website and Tribune's faux websites. One timeline based upon the faux websites and the first two seasons is here; another based upon the official site's information and cast/crew interviews is here. I have based the following timeline solely upon data from the show's three seasons.

The Mutant X Timeline
1850's The Creator begins his work
1913 William Kilmartin is born
1943 Colonel Henry Burns begins Operation Immortalis
1968 Gabriel Ashlocke, the first new mutant, is born
1969 Scorpion feral Lorna Templeton and precog John Bishop are born
1970 Molecular Hector Friemark is born
1972 Brennan Mulwray is born; Adam becomes friends with Dr. Benjamin McTeague, Sr.
1975 Jesse Kilmartin, Lexa and Leo Pierce are born
1976 Telepath Riley Morgan (née Isabella Eastham) is born
1978 Adam Kane begins at Genomex
1979 Gabriel murders his parents in April and is podded; ferals Shalimar Fox and Nikki Rogers are born
1980 Genomex's stem cell research program is underway; Psionic Johnny Cummings is born
1981 Adam and Mason Eckhart form a partnership
1982 Adam has an affair with Lucy McTeague
1985 Adam meets stealth mutant Danielle Hartman
1986 Catherine Hartman is born
1988 Shalimar is institutionalized; Adam's last dinner with Charlotte and Anthony Cooke; Johnny Cummings burns down St. Pastor's Hospital
1989 Lexa and Leo leave the military facility
1990 Lexa is hired by Mason Eckhart
1992 Adam recruits Lexa for Mutant X 1.0; elemental Joshua Valentine is born
1993 Nick Maddox becomes a mutant
1994 Lexa leaves Adam; Adam finds Shalimar and Nikki for Mutant X
1998 Leo escapes from Genomex and Lexa joins The Dominion
2001-2002 Season 1
2002-2003 Season 2
2003-2004 Season 3

Evidence by Episode
"Shadows of Darkness." Psionic Johnny Cummings was born in the summer of 1980, when Genomex's genetic embryo research "was in full swing."
At 8 years old (1988), he burned down St. Pastor's Hospital and remained there for 15 years until "Shadows of Darkness." That means that the first episodes of season 3 take place in 2003.

"Divided Loyalties." While making Brennan's rap sheet, Jesse mentions that it's been three years since Brennan joined Mutant X in "Shock of the New." This means that each season lasts a little longer than a year, so season 2 runs from 2002-2003, and season 1 from 2001-2002.
This is confirmed in "Inferno," where Ray Larkin's obituary lists his death year as 2002.

"Time Squared." Adam's first day at Genomex was in 1978, when Gabriel Ashlocke was 10. That means Gabriel was born in 1968.
Since Adam met Gabriel in October 1978, when Gabriel murdered his parents six months later, it would be April 1979. Gabriel says in "Past as Prologue" that he had been podded about 25 years.

“A Normal Life.” Shalimar says she’s been with Adam for 10 years, so she must have met Adam in 1994. Since we learned in "Understudy" that Adam found her and Nikki Rogers when they were 15 years old, that means that both Shalimar and Nikki were born around 1979.
It also means that Shalimar is now 25 years old.

“Brother’s Keeper.” Leo Pierce’s age in the database is listed as 28, so his fraternal twin Lexa must also be 28. That means Lexa and Leo were born in 1975.
Lexa and Leo left the military facility when they were 14 (1989); Lexa then joined the GSA to pay for his treatments.
Lexa joined the Dominion five years ago (1998) to look for Leo after he escaped from Genomex.

"Into the Moonless Night." Lexa says she was part of Mutant X 1.0 for two years. Since Shalimar and Lexa did not meet while each lived at Sanctuary, Lexa must have been gone by the time Adam found Shalimar in 1994.

"Lest He Become." Jesse says that he's "been waiting 28 years to trust someone." If he's 28 in this episode, he was born around 1975 like Lexa and Leo Pierce.

"No Man Left Behind." If Brennan's biological father was shot down in Vietnam in 1971, the latest he could have been born is 1972. That would make him 29 or 30 years old.

“The Assault.” The Creator states that he began his projects 160 years before season three, which would be in the mid-1800s.

"Age of Innocence." Jesse's grandfather William was part of Project Immortalis in 1943. When he de-ages, he has the body of a 30 year old, so he must have been born sometime around 1913.

"The Meaning of Death." Charles Marlowe says that Adam and Mason forged their partnership 20 years ago (1981).

"A Whiter Shade of Pale." Adam says that he first met Danielle Hartman at Genomex 16 years before (1985); Danielle's daughter Catherine has just turned 15 years old (born in 1986).

"Under the Cloak of War." 20 years ago (1982), Adam had an affair with the wife of his best friend, Benjamin McTeague. At that time, they had been friends for 10 years (1972).

"Crime of the New Century." Josh Valentine, the son of psionic Lisa Valentine, is 10 years old in this episode. He must have been born in 1991.

"Altered Ego." Adam says the last time he dined with Charlotte Cooke and her father was 13 years prior to this episode.

"Deadly Desire." Scorpion feral Lorna Templeton's age is listed as 32 in the mutant database. She was therefore born in 1969.

"Within These Walls." Jesse discovers that the assassin Nick Maddox was made into a mutant 10 years prior (1992 or 1993).

"The Taking of Crows." Molecular Hector Friemark's age is listed as 32 in the mutant database, so he was born around 1970.

"The Prophecy." Precog John Bishop's age is listed as 34 in the mutant database, putting him around the same age as Lorna Templeton. Riley Morgan (Isabella Eastham) is 27 years old, meaning that she was born a year after Jesse and Lexa.

Timeline Contradictions
1. In "Brother's Keeper," Lexa says she worked as a GS agent in exchange for her brother's treatment in a Genomex facility. Since Mason Eckhart did not officially create the GSA until the beginning of season one, this would mean that Lexa was a GS agent years before the GSA was actually formed. Some fans have pointed out that Frank Thorne’s statement in "Shock of the New": “Our GS agents are new at this,” along with Adam’s assertion that Emma’s pursuers were from the security branch of Genomex imply that the GSA existed in some form before Paul Breedlove’s death. Lexa might have been part of this covert organization, or serving Genomex in some other capacity.

2. Shalimar's been living at Sanctuary since she was 15. Or has she? In "Ex Marks the Spot," she complains that when she last saw Zack Lockhart 6 years before, he stashed stolen loot in her freezer. Unless she's referring to the freezer at Sanctuary, Shal must have been living someplace else at the time.

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