Warning: contains a preview for X-Men #12!
A classic Mister Sinister, is a fan-favorite character ed for the important role he played in classic X-Men stories such as "Mutant Massacre," "Age of Apocalypse," and even in the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series cartoon. However, the Sinister who appeared in comics until now may not actually be Nathaniel Essex at all.
Nathaniel Essex is a brilliant scientist and geneticist who was born in England in the 19th century. Essex is not a mutant but his fascination with Darwin's theory of evolution led him to predict the rise of the mutant species, and also to become obsessed with the "improvement" of humanity. After a fateful meeting with Apocalypse, Essex was transformed by En Sabah Nur into his prelate, an immortal being capable of altering his own molecular structure, but still not a mutant. Over the years, however, Sinister further altered his own genetic structure using DNA stolen from mutants, which resulted in his official recognition as a mutant by Krakoa and a seat on the ruling Quiet Council. Sinister also has a tendency to clone himself, and his duplicates often develop their own personalities, including the troublesome conviction that they're the original Nathaniel Essex.
Among the of Orchis - the anti-mutant organization that is trying to eradicate Krakoa - the most mysterious member has long been Dr. Stasis, a masked scientist who figured out the secret of the Resurrection Protocols and even managed to murder Cyclops in front of the world. In X-Men #12, by Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, and Clayton Cowles, Scott Summers goes to get his revenge on Stasis, to find out that the man behind the mask is Mister Sinister. However, this isn't Krakoa's mutant schemer, but rather a human version of the villain. This Nathaniel Essex claims that he is the original who arrived in the United States from England, and the one currently in Krakoa is nothing but a corrupted clone, a "failed experiment" who tainted himself with mutant genes. Enjoy a preview of X-Men #12 below, courtesy of Marvel Comics.
The idea of a Mister Sinister is now capable of rebooting the timeline.
Mister Sinister has been lurking behind the scenes of X-Men comics for decades, always pursuing a larger goal that fans have never seen in its entirety. The idea that the mutant version is an unapproved offshoot while the human original has been pursuing his own agenda can help lend some much-needed context, and even makes Doctor Stasis' murder of Cyclops more fitting, given Sinister's longtime fascination with the Summers family.
Mister Sinister is one of the most intriguing X-Men villains of all time. His obsession with scientific progress, combined with his lack of morality, made him an unreliable and unstable ally of mutantkind, but this new version of Essex shows what could have happened if, rather than being fascinated with mutants to the point of making himself one of them, this mad scientist wanted to exterminate them. This new origin story for a classic X-Men villain just made Mister Sinister even more interesting.
X-Men #12 is available from June 22 from Marvel Comics.
