The Gifted‘s pilot episode was packed to the brim with Easter eggs and character reveals, but one may have slipped just under the radar: the introduction of Sage, the X-Men’s human supercomputer. The longtime X-Men character made her live-action debut during a scene in Polaris and Eclipse’s secret headquarters, where she coached Jamie Chung’s Blink on what would happen to her next.
She was not named in the scene, but Fox has confirmed to CBR that the character is indeed based on the same Sage who first appeared in Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s X-Men #132. Though she did not show her mutant powers in the pilot episode, she will as the series continues. Of course, since her mutation is her smarts, her super ability will be revealed through her dialogue in upcoming episodes.
RELATED: How Does The Gifted Fit Into the X-Men Timeline?
Photo provided by Fox
RELATED: The Gifted’s X-Men: The Animated Series Shoutout Nearly Didn’t Happen
Sage is played by actress Hayley Lovitt in The Gifted. Lovitt is no stranger to the world of comic book adaptations, having appeared in Powers as Michelle Claremont. She also played Janet van Dyne, aka the Wasp, in Ant-Man, though her character’s face was never shown on screen. Her past credits also include The Originals, Sleepy Hollow, One Tree Hill and more.
In the comics, Sage made her debut in 1980’s X-Men #132. Though she was one of the first mutants discovered by Charles Xavier, he did not enlist her at his school. Instead, he sent her undercover at the Hellfire Club, where she assumed the name Tessa and pretended to be Sebastian Shaw’s assistant. Since then, she has been affiliated with several mutant groups, including X-Treme X-Men, New X-Men and New Exiles. Notably, Blink was at one point made leader of the Exiles.
RELATED: The Gifted: Expect a Very Different (But Recognizable) Blink
As something of a human supercomputer, Sage has eidetic — or photographic — memory, which means she can recall any memory she has experienced or any information she has learned. Even so, her abilities extend far beyond that. She can predict probabilities and perform multiple tasks at the same time. She even exerts total control of her body, which has allowed her to become a skilled martial artist. Her power gives her the ability to locate other mutants and understand how their powers work. She also possesses some telepathic abilities, like creating illusions and communicating over short distances. It is yet to be seen which abilities Sage will exhibit in The Gifted.
Airing Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT on Fox, The Gifted stars Stephen Moyer as Reed Strucker, Amy Acker as Caitlin Strucker, Sean Teale as Marcos Diaz/Eclipse, Coby Bell as Jace Turner, Emma Dumont cast as Lorna Dane/Polaris, Jamie Chung as Blink/Clarice Fong and Blair Redford as John Proudstar/Thunderbird, Natalie Alyn Lind as Lauren Strucker and Percy Hynes White as Andy Strucker.