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Quote1 It takes more than bullets -- or a harlot's kiss -- to kill Nathaniel Essex. Quote2
Mister Sinister[src]

Mister Sinister is one of three self-clones created by Nathaniel Essex, along with Doctor Stasis and Orbis Stellaris,[49] as well as Mother Righteous, a clone of Essex's late wife Rebecca.[50] In many ways, he is the most similar to the original Essex, maintaining the Red Diamond on his forehead and the deep interest in mutants held by the original. Through the years, Mister Sinister became one of the greatest geneticists to have ever lived, skilled in cloning, creating new life, and even in the manipulation of mutant DNA for enhancing powers, incorporating mutant DNA to his own.[51]

The original Nathaniel Essex had been transformed by the mutant known as Apocalypse, and the Mister Sinister clone spent most of his life scheming ways to break free from Apocalypse's grasp.[52] For that purpose, he secretly manipulated the lives of major representatives of the mutant race, such as Cyclops,[53] Jean Grey,[54] Gambit,[55] Havok,[56] and even Professor X.[48] The main results of his machinations were the creation of Madelyne Pryor[54] and the birth of Nathan Summers, whom he believed to be the bringer of Apocalypse's end.[57] Mister Sinister's actions directly crossed the lives of the X-Men after he ordered his Marauders to massacre the Morlocks.[58]

When Professor X established the mutant island nation of Krakoa, Mister Sinister was granted not only citizenship, but also a seat on the Quiet Council of Krakoa, the Krakoan supreme government.[59] Sinister's life work of cataloguing the genome of all mutants proved to be a crucial resource for Krakoa Resurrection Protocols.[60] As an important member of the Krakoan society, Mister Sinister assembled his own mutant group to act for his own interests, the Hellions.[20] More recently, Sinister learned the existence of other versions of Nathaniel Essex, with other suits on their foreheads instead of his signature diamond, but remained adamant about being the only real one.[61] With his Moira Engine to ensure his success, Sinister plans to reach Dominion status before other Dominions can consume him.[62]

History

From Mister Sinister's perspective, his early history is the same as the original Nathaniel Essex's, except the knowledge of the latter's death, the four clones, and Enigma.

Origins[]

Mister Sinister is a clone of the original Nathaniel Essex, one of three created in 1895[49] along with a clone of Essex's late wife Rebecca[50] to explore different solutions to the problem of inevitable Machine supremacy. Like the rest of of Nathaniel's clones, he believed himself to be the only one and the original Nathaniel Essex, having no memory of his death in Bedlam.[49] He maintained the shape-shifting powers obtained by the original Essex by incorporating the stolen DNA of Courier.[63]

Freed from Apocalypse[]

In 1899, Mister Sinister awoke Apocalypse from his slumber once again, only to betray his master by infecting him with a techno-organic virus he had bred at Apocalypse's behest. As Apocalypse's ability to alter his molecular structure saved him, Mister Sinister fled while he could, driving his desire to find and create a powerful mutant to defeat Apocalypse later on. Sinister envisioned that the solution lied in Cyclops and Phoenix, the travellers he had met prior to his transformation. From his immense interest in their bloodline, he concluded that a Summers-Grey offspring would have the necessary power to overcome Apocalypse.[52]

Mister Sinister kept doing his work all over the world. In 1907, one of his experiments, a polar bear, massacred the wolf pack the clawed wild man known as Logan was living with in Canada.[64] On the trail of Logan, Sinister sent his Marauders to finally hunt down his first mutant.[65] As Logan was captured by a circus, Essex managed to vivisect and torment him, which led Logan to seek revenge.[66] Mister Sinister was seemingly slaughtered by an angry Logan in his quarters.[67] In 1909, Dr. Essex resurfaced and joined the Ravencroft Institute staff, a good opportunity to have easy access to more subjects for his experiments. During this period, assisted by Victor Creed, Sinister got his hands on Logan again, lobotomizing and experimenting on him. Sinister's co-worker, Dr. Claudia Russell, was able to free Logan, though she was killed by Sinister and used in his experiments. This was followed by Dr. Essex leaving the institute.[28]

His wanderings lead him to Russia, where he wished to learn more about Grigory Rasputin, the "Mad Monk", who was accompanied by the twins Ivan and Elena. Essex was able to convince them to aid him in his work to create a race of superhumans. Rasputin impregnated various women, including Elena as part of his project. For months, until his assassination, Grigory Rasputin worked closely with Sinister.[68] Soon after, during World War I, Sinister, back in England with knowledge of the Shaw family, probably predicted the birth of mutants in its lineage. In 1915, he forced Jacob Shaw to develop shape-shifting abilities, which he used to murder his brother, Esau Shaw.[69]

In 1919, Essex met Adler again in Paris. Adler whispered to him a message which caused Sinister to bleed and pass out,[34] he had no recollection of the meeting afterwards.[70] Years later, Dr. Essex worked at Oxford, interacting with young scientist Herbert Wyndham.[25] In 1928, a mysterious man gave Herbert papers containing a blueprint for breaking the genetic code, something he had long dreamed.[71] This influenced Wyndham's work immensely, as he was able to build a genetic accelerator.[72][73] The mysterious man resurfaced in the years to come, providing Wyndham with more resources for him to become the High Evolutionary. Whether Wyndham's benefactor was Sinister or not remains unrevealed.[74]

Following the Great Depression, Sinister established a scheme in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, where he continued gathering subjects for his experiments. He used to host glamorous parties, where he met and became interested with radio comedienne, Faye Livingstone. Discovering his secret laboratory one night, she learned his interest in her came from her potential to birth mutant offspring. Sinister kept her prisoner for months, filled with degrading examinations which broke Faye in mind and spirit. One night, during a raging storm, Essex released her without speaking or gesturing. Livingstone never married or had the offspring Sinister so eagerly anticipated. Once a year, Essex would visit her at Carlyle Nursing Home in San Diego.[75]

Sinister Wars[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Weapon X Vol 2 14 002

Working at a Nazi Concentration Camp

As a Nazi scientist, Mister Sinister worked along with geneticist Josef Mengele, earning the nickname “Nosferatu” from the captive children at Auschwitz after his pale skin. Working in the camps was a convenient opportunity for him to have easy access to large amounts of genetic samples by offering candy to children in exchange for their blood as a means of bribery. Back then, he used to play a piece by Franz Schubert. Young Max Eisenhardt witnessed "Nosferatu's" terrible experiments, aimed at catalyzing the mutator gene by deforming his victims.[8]

In 1944, still in the Nazi camps, Sinister became fascinated with Invader Namor the Sub-Mariner, the first modern mutant. Sinister collected Namor's blood, cloning him as Experiment N2, who confronted Namor and the android Human Torch. To Sinister's considerable surprise, his creation was defeated by Captain America. During this period, Sinister came across a man named John Greycrow, who would become known as Scalphunter. Scalphunter would later become Sinister's first mutant Marauder.[27] During the Vietnam War, Sinister had another war to use as an opportunity to kidnap soldiers and villagers to perform experiments on, which granted him the alias White Devil. In 1968, Victor Creed was hired to investigate the disappearances in Vietnam, but his employer was beheaded by Scalphunter, who gave Creed a large sum of money to buy him off and recruit him as one of Sinister's Marauders.[76]

Alamogordo[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) and Charles Xavier (Earth-616) from X-Men Legacy Vol 2 212 001

At Alamogordo with a young Charles Xavier

As Dr. Milbury, Sinister was involved with Project: Black Womb, a secret government project based in Alamogordo, New Mexico, headed by Amanda Müeller. In that base, where Dr. Brian Xavier, Dr. Alexander Ryking, Dr. Kurt Marko, and Irene Adler worked, thousands of children, mostly mutants, were studied in post-natal holding tanks.[26][77] Most of Black Womb's researchers were non-mutant bearers of the x-gene, assembled by Jacob Shaw. During this time, Sinister, renaming the project Cronus, conducted an analysis of his associates' children: Charles Xavier, Cain Marko, Carter Ryking, and Sebastian Shaw, encoding his own psychic matrix onto these children's DNA.[78]

Sinister met Charles Xavier again years later when working as a lecturer at Oxford, teaching Genetics. Charles, as mutant telepath, was suspicious of his professor as he could not read his mind. Moira Kinross was also one of Sinister's students, being advised by him during her doctorate. Moreover, it has been hinted that Essex interfered with Moira and Xavier's relationship.[79][80] However, given Moira's past, this could be false.[81]

State Home for Foundlings[]

Sinister's obsession for observing the development of mutant children as they grew led him to take control of an orphanage: the State Home for Foundlings, in Omaha, Nebraska. Creating a cutting-edge laboratory underneath the orphanage, which seemed to have some quasi-biological properties, Sinister cruelly manipulated the children's development without his staff's knowledge. He would also frequently masquerade as the orphanage's director “Mr. Pearson”, or even as a child inmate “Nate”.[82]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) and Scott Summers (Earth-616) from X-Factor Vol 1 39 001

Capturing a young Scott Summers

A young Scott Summers had his mutant powers activated when, in order to save himself and his younger brother, Alex, from a plane crash that left them seemingly orphaned. Sinister's sensors registered the optic blast and he met the boy where he was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the landing. For a year, Sinister carried on experimentations on a comatose Scott. Upon recovering, Scott and Alex were placed in the State Home for Foundlings. Alex was soon sent away for adoption, as a way for Sinister to keep the Summers brothers separated. Sinister then created ruby-quartz lenses for Scott to keep his powers under control, so he could function in society.[53][83]

While Summers was an inmate at the orphanage, Sinister fabricated a friendship with him using his “Nate” identity. One time, Sinister orchestrated a situation where Summers witnessed the death of Toby Rails, a fellow inmate who used to bully them, only to break his spirit.[7] Sinister manipulated every small aspect of Summers' routine and relationships. For that reason, when a new doctor named Robyn Hanover joined his orphanage's staff and was especially interested in helping Scott to be adopted, Sinister faced a problem. To solve it, Sinister murdered Richard and Tricia Bogart, who made an application to adopt Summers, and lobotomized Hanover, eliminating her affection and care for the boy.[6]

As soon as Summers learned about the Bogarts' deaths, he ran away from the orphanage. Outside Sinister's influence, he was eventually found, recruited, and protected by Professor Charles Xavier.[84][53] However, Mister Sinister continued to monitor the Summers family, becoming a long-time neighbor of his grandparents in Alaska,[14] and forcing his brother, Alex, to have his powers activated,[56] permanently linking his powers to those of Ahmet Abdol, the man who would be known as the Living Monolith.[85] During this time, Sinister also kept track of Jean Grey, though, due to Xavier's early interactions with her, she was saved from being captured in her childhood.[54][86]

Sinister Secrets[]

After Professor Xavier founded the mutant superhero group known as the X-Men (which had Scott Summers as their leader, Cyclops), Mister Sinister secretly hired Kraven the Hunter to obtain DNA samples from the members of the team.[87] Eventually, Mister Sinister, used the DNA of Kraven, the original X-Men, and a sample of the Carnage Symbiote to create Xraven.[88]

As Sinister was not able to gain sufficient access to Jean Grey, he decided to create a clone of her. To Sinister's disappointment, the lifeless clone did not develop any mutant abilities as he had hoped. However, after the Phoenix died on the moon, a portion of her spark kindled life in the clone. Mister Sinister named the clone Madelyne Pryor and fabricated an identity for her as a pilot for Cyclops' grandparents.[54][89] Eventually, Madelyne met Cyclops[90] and the pair quickly fell in love and wed,[91] giving birth to a baby boy, the perfectly powerful mutant Sinister had waited so long to breed.[57]

At some point, a young Remy LeBeau, having problems with controlling his power levels, approached Mister Sinister, learning of him through underworld contacts. Sinister performed surgery to remove some brain tissue, reducing LeBeau's power levels and affording him a greater degree of control over his powers. As a result, LeBeau was now in the geneticist's debt.[63][92][93]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Powers of X Vol 1 4 001

Joining Xavier's and Magneto's mission

Around this period, Mister Sinister perfected cloning technology, establishing a base on an island in the South Pacific which he named Bar Sinister, populating it with clones of himself. One of the clones was transformed into a mutant by having Thunderbird's DNA mixed into its genetic code. One day, Professor X and Magneto approached Bar Sinister to persuade Sinister to catalog the entire mutant genome, prioritizing all the material into a comprehensive database that would be safe, secure, and redundant. "Mutant" Sinister then assumed the role of ruler for Bar Sinister and the other clones, though he had no recollection of this fact, as Professor X erased his memories of their encounter.[30]

Mutant Massacre[]

The Morlocks were a group of outcast mutants who were experimented on by an alternate version of Dr. Henry McCoy, a.k.a. the Beast, who in turn used to be the student of an alternate Mister Sinister. McCoy's experiments turned out to be a perverted version of Sinister's work.[94][95] Upon learning about the Morlocks' existence, Sinister secretly orchestrated their massacre, deeming them scientifically useless and harmful to the mutant genepool. In order to do that, he ordered Gambit to assemble a new group of Marauders.[96] The Marauders ravaged the Morlock tunnels, and Sinister's massacre was almost a complete success. A few Morlocks were spared as a result of the efforts of the X-Men, X-Factor, and Thor, which resulted in the deaths of some of the Marauders.[58]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 221 001

First appearance

After the massacre, Sinister sent one of his Marauders, Malice, to possess Dazzler. With the X-Men's intervention, the plan failed.[97] Malice in turn possessed Polaris' body, becoming the leader of the Marauders and Sinister's top henchperson.[98] In one of Sinister's most macabre schemes, Malice was permanently trapped in Polaris' body.[47]

Inferno[]

After the unexpected return of Jean Grey,[99] Sinister decided to eliminate Pryor before the truth of her creation was revealed, dispatching his Marauders to kill her and kidnap her son. Pryor was hired to fly cargo to San Francisco, bringing her baby with her. She was shot multiple times and left for dead, but survived and was taken to a hospital. However, Sinister took her baby to his secret lab hidden under his orphanage and erased all records of the existence of both Madelyne Pryor and her son.[100][97][89] Upon learning Pryor survived, Mister Sinister, infuriated, sent his Marauders to complete the job. This time, she was rescued by the X-Men.[101]

While Cyclops attempted to rescue his son, Pryor also wanted him back, making a bargain with demon N'astirh in trade of unleashing a demonic inferno on Earth. N'astirh took Pryor to Sinister's laboratory where Mister Sinister revealed himself and her origin story. Using her power to break free of Mister Sinister's bonds, Pryor reclaimed her son. As the Goblin Queen, Pryor descended into madness and returned to New York City where she battled X-Factor and the X-Men, blaming Summers and Grey for the misery in her life.[102]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) and Scott Summers (Earth-616) from X-Factor Vol 1 39 002

Destroyed by Cyclops

After Madelyne's death, Grey was psychically assaulted. Psylocke took Cyclops and the X-Men into her mind, where they found Mister Sinister erasing her memories. Following Mister Sinister's psychic trail, Jean Grey tracked him to the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where X-Factor and the X-Men were ambushed by the Marauders. Mister Sinister proceeded to destroy the school. Among the ruins, Summers recognized his aggressor from his childhood memories. After tormenting Cyclops by revealing the truth of his role in his life, Mister Sinister was pulverized with an unchecked optic blast.[102]

Nasty Boys[]

Mister Sinister's death was actually a ruse. He resurfaced months later allying himself with Senator Steven Shaffran, a mutant senator who tried to discredit the new X-Factor in order to spur on his political career. Their schemes led X-Factor's leader, Val Cooper, to contact her ex-husband, Edmond Atkinson, a polygraph expert, to interrogate an evil duplicate of James Madrox. Sinister impersonated Atkinson and accused the real Madrox of being the impostor.[103]

The duplicate wished to kill the true Madrox to ensure his continued independence and sought Sinister's help in doing so. Sinister then sent his new goons, the Nasty Boys, to aid the duplicate by fighting X-Factor. Eventually, the duplicate was reabsorbed by the original Madrox, and subsumed into him. Meanwhile, unknown to Shaffran, Sinister took his appearance and revealed his deeds to X-Factor. Sinister's real intentions were preserving Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok, the field leader of X-Factor. Shaffram later confronted Sinister, but only succeeded in killing himself when his bullet ricocheted off of Sinister's armor.[5]

Legacy Virus[]

Mister Sinister's next manoeuvre involved him impersonating Apocalypse and ordering his former master's Horsemen to capture Cyclops and Jean Grey. He then traded them with Stryfe's Mutant Liberation Front for a canister purportedly containing a genetic matrix with the Summers' future bloodline. As soon as Sinister predicted that Stryfe intended to harm Cyclops and Jean Grey, he went to the X-Mansion and gave away Stryfe's identity to the X-Men. Later, when the canister was opened, it was apparently empty. However, Sinister unwittingly unleashed the Legacy Virus upon mutantkind, a plague engineered by Stryfe.[104]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from X-Men Vol 2 22 001

Worried about the Legacy Virus

When Cyclops was visiting his parents, he was met by their neighbor, Michael Milbury, who revealed to be Mister Sinister in disguise. Mister Sinister realized the horrible consequences of unleashing the Legacy Virus after his mutant head geneticist succumbed to the plague, and wished to alert Cyclops and the X-Men about its existence. Mister Sinister then unexpectedly protected Cyclops from Stryfe's former mercenaries, the Dark Riders, vanishing as soon as the threat ended.[105]

Stryfe's actions not only caused the Legacy Virus to be released but also revealed the apparent truth about his origins: he claimed to be Cyclops' and Pryor's son, who had been sent to the future after being infected by Apocalypse with his techno-organic virus. Stryfe also claimed that X-Force's leader, the man known as Cable, was his clone.[104][106] These claims caught Sinister's attention, since the missing baby had always been one of his main priorities. Confronting Cable at Pryor's grave, Sinister brought shocking revelations: he shared that one of Cable's nemeses, Mr. Tolliver, was actually Cable's adopted son, Tyler, and that Stryfe, not Cable, was the clone.[107]

In parallel, Sinister allied himself with Gamesmaster, who had Siena Blaze attempt to steal Proteus's DNA on Muir Island. Although Blaze failed her mission, stopped by Rachel Summers, she managed to scratch her. Initially angry at Blaze's failure, Sinister changed his mind when he claimed Rachel's DNA from under Blaze's fingernails.[108]

The Legacy Virus epidemic had a severe impact on a mutant named Threnody, whose powers became specifically sensitive to those who succumbed from the infection. Mister Sinister's immense concern with the disease led him to use Threnody's unique powers to track down victims, which would help him in developing a cure. Threnody agreed to join Sinister after a brief discussion with some X-Men.[15] Under Sinister's care at the State Home for Foundlings, Threnody's condition improved as she became overly familiar with his laboratory, localizing ill mutants all over the world.[109] Meanwhile, Mister Sinister also turned his attention to his former ally, Malice, who had gone rogue and attacked Polaris and Havok. As Sinister disapproved of Malice's conduct, he assisted Polaris and Havok, with the help of the Nasty Boys, essentially destroying Malice.[110]

Age of Apocalypse[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) and Remy LeBeau (Earth-616) from X-Men Vol 2 45 001

Tormenting Gambit

After the creation and apparent collapse of the divergent timeline known as the Age of Apocalypse, Mister Sinister had to deal with several consequences of its aftermath as well as surviving mutants of the alternate reality. During the crisis, for instance, the X-Men learned Gambit kept a secret from them without any details. This led Sinister to torment Gambit about their former businesses together.[111][55]

Later, Mister Sinister recognized his work in Genoshan Mutates, created by the hands of the Sugar Man, who had also had contact with the alternate Sinister's technology similarly to Dark Beast. This time, differently from the Morlocks, Sinister decided not to intervene, as the mutates were turned infertile, and thus below his consideration. However, as Sinister assessed the Sugar Man, he discovered the existence of Nate Grey, a creation of his counterpart from the Age of Apocalypse.[112] Sinister's quest for Nate Grey was constantly undermined by Threnody, who saw in Grey an opportunity to break free from Sinister's control. She kept Nate Grey's location hidden from Sinister, following him to Paris, but was ultimately tracked by the Marauders. Nate Grey defeated the Marauders and the pair escaped together.[113]

WAome of the X-Men were captured by Mister Sinister, namely Bishop, who kept memories from the Age of Apocalypse divergence, and the Dark Beast from that reality, who had impersonated the real McCoy. Especially interested in Bishop, whose genome had not been catalogued, Sinister scanned his memories and fully learned about the existence of the Age of Apocalypse. McCoy's real identity was almost revealed, but Sinister was interrupted by Gambit, who freed his teammates, destroying Sinister's archive in the process.[114]

During the Onslaught crisis, Mister Sinister found Apocalypse was alive, thus having Nate Grey by his side became his top priority. After reaching Threnody, Sinister proceeded to battle X-Force to finally meet Nate Grey, the pure culmination of his life's work.[95] X-Force unsuccessfully tried to impede Sinister from kidnapping Nate Grey.[115] Mister Sinister then tried to convince Nate Grey to accept his role as Apocalypse's executioner in the name of mutant supremacy, but Grey refused and managed to escape and battle Onslaught.[116]

Death of Apocalypse[]

As Mister Sinister predicted the imminent rise of Apocalypse, he was overly worried for Cable's potential to be the warrior he had engineered to destroy Apocalypse. Sinister then approached Cable and told him about his inheritance and his duty to overcome Apocalypse. He masquerade his Marauders as Apocalypse's goons to test and train Cable for his approaching encounter with Apocalypse.[52]

When Apocalypse made his move for his ascension, Mister Sinister first manipulated the Living Monolith to serve his interests.[85] The Monolith was one of the twelve mutants captured by Apocalypse to ensure his ascension through a bizarre ritual.[117] Ultimately, Cable sundered the spirit of Apocalypse, fulfilling his destiny. With Apocalypse destroyed, Mister Sinister was given the freedom he had long sought.[118]

When the High Evolutionary activated a satellite that stripped all mutants of their mutations,[119][120] Essex, who had come to support his student's work, revealed himself as Sinister and modified the beam to mutate every human on Earth, hoping to create an entire planet of lab subjects.[25] As a consequence, the mysterious Neo attacked many of Sinister's facilities.[121]

Dr. Moira MacTaggert eventually developed a cure for the Legacy Virus, which was released through the sacrifice of the X-Man Colossus.[122] The mutant race was safe from the pandemic, and Sinister offered the X-Men the opportunity to clone Colossus as a form of gratitude, though he might have had ulterior motives. The X-Men refused his offer.[123]

Weapon X[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Weapon X Vol 2 13 002

Infiltrated in the Weapon X Program

When the Weapon X Project returned, Mister Sinister secretly joined the science team under the alias of Dr. Robert Windsor, where he had the opportunity to interact with several mutant operatives and captives.[124][125] As Windsor, Sinister apparently helped a number of prisoners escape from Weapon X's concentration camp Neverland.[46] However, he merely took these mutants to his personal labs to perform horrendous experiments on them.[126] Sabretooth, who at the time worked for Weapon X, recognized Windsor's real identity, but decided to keep the information to himself, blackmailing Sinister with it.[127]

After a series of betrayals, added to the intervention of Cable's Underground strike team against the Weapon X Program, Sinister still managed to continue capturing several mutants to use in his experiments.[128] However, the program eventually became irreparably compromised and was deactivated. As Windsor, Sinister moved to a research and medical care center where he kept doing his macabre work. At the same time, he created a group of superpowered beings called the Children. Sinister's plans were ruined by Sabretooth, who defeated the Children after being hired by John Sublime to locate Sinister, whose work he admired.[129]

Rasputin Bloodline[]

When Sinister discovered that Grigory Rasputin had split his personality among his descendants, he rescued and paired with Mikhail Rasputin to kill off all of his living relatives in order to allow the essence of Grigory Rasputin to be concentrated in one host and reincarnate.[130] As the "Pale Man", Sinister tracked and exterminated most of the Rasputin lineage.[131] The last remaining Rasputin was the resurrected X-Man Colossus, Mikhail's brother, who was investigating the deaths. As the Rasputin brothers could not fight to their deaths, Grigory was not resurrected. The reason why Sinister wanted Grigory in power was to stabilize his own failing abilities. Even weakened, Mister Sinister managed to escape the Rasputins.[132]

Decimation[]

The mutant race was once again on the verge of extinction when the Scarlet Witch drastically reduced its population.[133] The mutant decimation posed a problem to Sinister's life's work and he was in need of an urgent solution. For that purpose, he recruited several mutants from different backgrounds to aid him.[45] Gambit and Sunfire were convinced to join his Marauders, consisting of members old and new, apparently in exchange for helping them overcome their conditioning as Horsemen of Apocalypse.[134] Exodus and his Acolytes also allied themselves with Sinister, seeing him as an opportunity to save the mutant race.[45] Finally, Sinister also made a pact with Raven Darkhölme, the untrustworthy Mystique, who infiltrated the X-Men as a secret member of the Marauders and managed to recruit Lady Mastermind for her mission.[135][136]

Mister Sinister had predicted a mutant birth would occur soon. His plans consisted of keeping all interested parties ignorant of this event, including the X-Men. To do that, the Marauders killed any precogs, time-travellers, or people who had read Irene Adler's prophetic tomes, Destiny's Diaries. They proceeded to make their first strike against Rogue's team of X-Men, capturing her and killing Cable. Mister Sinister personally defeated Iceman and Cannonball to prevent them from collecting Destiny's Diaries, which were destroyed during the fight.[137]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616), Raven Darkhölme (Earth-616), and Rogue (Anna Marie) (Earth-616) from New X-Men Vol 2 46 001

The death of Sinister

When the first mutant child since M-Day was born, Mister Sinister and his Marauders had immense intel advantage over the X-Men. However, likewise, the Purifiers also expected the birth, being informed by the future sentinel Nimrod. This led to a violent confrontation between Sinister's Marauders and the Purifiers in Cooperstown, Alaska. None of the groups succeeded in taking the baby, since Cable had survived Sinister's murder attempt and managed to save the child. In a direct conflict with Sinister and the Marauders, the X-Men were brutally defeated, and Sinister realized Cable did not have their support. The Marauders ultimately tracked Cable and captured the baby. Mister Sinister and the Marauders settled on Muir Island, where Mystique soon revealed her true colors: she only allied herself with Sinister to use the baby to restore Rogue's shattered psyche. As the baby fell into Sinister's possession, Mystique murdered Sinister by having him touch Rogue, whose powers were out of control and more lethal than ever. Mister Sinister died instantly.[138]

Miss Sinister[]

Mister Sinister had long since made arrangements in case of his death. One of his contingency plans activated, which, if successful, would allow him to transfer his consciousness into one of the children he had experimented on in Alamogordo, namely Charles Xavier, Cain Marko, Sebastian Shaw, or Carter Ryking. Since Ryking had lost his mutant powers and Marko was immune to the transfer due to the properties of his Juggernaut's helmet, Xavier and Shaw were the only viable vessels left. Meanwhile, Amanda Müeller attempted to usurp the process in order to gain Sinister's powers. Sinister briefly managed to manifest himself in the body of Xavier to fight Müeller, but was driven out and thought to be destroyed after Shaw and Gambit destroyed the machinery that implemented the process. However, Sinister had an alternate plan; he engineered Claudine Renko as a clone of his who was implanted with his essence, transforming her into Miss Sinister.[78]

Though Renko initially had an existence of her own, Sinister began steadily gaining control of her. In order to escape his possession, she attempted to transfer her own consciousness into X-23.[139] This was revealed to have been Mister Sinister's plan all along, since he wished to possess the body of a mutant with a healing factor. His plot failed however, and X-23 drove him out, with help from Sinister's long time adversary, Gambit. Mister Sinister instead possessed a clone.[140]

Kingdom Sinistrus[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Uncanny X-Men Vol 2 1

Creating a society made of himself

Mister Sinister, mastering his cloning techniques to their apex, resurrected himself in a cloned body. Following the schism between Cyclops' and Wolverine's factions of the X-Men, Sinister's highly predictive intellect made him turn his attention to Cyclops' Extinction Team, based in San Francisco.[32] Through the replicable and hive-minded life-form known as the Phalanx, he engineered several clones of himself.[141] In San Francisco, Sinister hacked the head of the Dreaming Celestial and transformed a section of the city into an all-Sinister zone, inhabited by clones of himself now produced on an industrial scale.[43] Sinister's corruptive actions caught the attention of both the X-Men and the Celestials. Having his clones to work as a system, Mister Sinister confronted the X-Men, transferring his consciousness across several bodies. The X-Men apparently were successful in destroying the Sinister city, restoring the Dreaming Celestial and preventing the remaining Celestials from unleashing their rage upon Earth.[142]

Sinister actually hid underground, deep beneath Anchorage, Alaska, building his own sinister version of London in the Moloid Caverns. Now armed with Celestial technology, he not only created several clones of himself, but also of many mutants, the most important one being Madelyne Pryor.[42] He planned to confront Cyclops' X-Men, who were empowered by the Phoenix, as the Phoenix Five. With aims of capturing the cosmic entity, Sinister lured the X-Men to attack Sinister London.[143] He managed to siphon the Phoenix into his clones of Pryor, effectively overpowering the X-Men.[13] Emma Frost, one of the Phoenix Five, convinced the unpredictable Phoenix to turn against Mister Sinister. The Phoenix then incinerated Sinister, his clones, and his city.[144] However, Sinister managed to survive the Phoenix purge by replacing Cyclops' head of public relations, Kate Kildare with himself, remaining dormant until after the Phoenix had left Earth. Cyclops was imprisoned by the Avengers after losing the Phoenix, and Sinister visited him in jail. Though Mister Sinister had lost his empire, he was free.[10]

Death of Wolverine[]

When Weapon X Project was revamped in Paradise, Wolverine sacrificed himself to save the subjects who were tested there.[145] The experimented subjects had their genetic structure altered so they would perish. They allied themselves with the Wolverines, superhumans who had ties with Wolverine and/or the Weapon X Project, to investigate Paradise in search of a cure. Meanwhile, Mister Sinister had hired the Wrecking Crew to loot Paradise, which led to a confrontation with the Wolverines. Sinister suddenly appeared amidst the fighting, stealing Wolverine's corpse and tearing Daken's left arm and eye out, vanishing soon after.[146] As Sinister tried to examine Wolverine's corpse, the Wolverines infiltrated his base.[147] During the fight, the Weapon X ex-subjects pondered about letting Sinister help them instead of the Wolverines.[148] The subjects ultimately allied themselves with Sinister, betraying the Wolverines. The X-Men then intervened, collecting Wolverine's corpse and destroying Sinister's base.[149] Sinister's next move was to trick the Wolverines into trying to rescue the Weapon X Project subjects.[150] Seeking revenge for having his laboratory destroyed, he actually unleashed an army of clones, created with Daken's genes, upon the Wolverines, being also assisted by the ex-subjects. During the fight, Mister Sinister vanished abandoning his lackeys to fend for themselves.[151] After his goons were all killed, he personally battled Ogun and was apparently killed by his blade.[152]

Wolverine's death also led Spider-Man to become a special class guidance counselor at the Jean Grey School.[153] One of Spider-Man's students, Ernst was revealed to be a mole for Mister Sinister, betraying her friends to get a cloned body for Martha Johansson.[154] Sinister managed to collect a DNA sample for each student enrolled at the Jean Grey School and captured Ernst, Martha, and Spider-Man. As promised, he provided Martha a cloned body of Storm. As Spider-Man's students went to rescue their colleagues, Sinister proceeded to attack them with clones of the X-Men. In a burst of rage, Ernst attacked Sinister and destroyed his hideout.[3]

Inhuman Interests[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from Extraordinary X-Men Vol 1 2 001

Experimenting on the Inhuman DNA

The mutant race, once again, faced an imminent extinction when the Inhuman Terrigen Mist turned out to be toxic to mutants. Preoccupied with the future of the mutant race, Sinister attempted to modify mutant biology to prevent it from succumbing to the terrigenesis, integrating it with Inhuman DNA.[155] To carry on his experiments, he and his Marauders captured the X-Men Nightcrawler,[156] Colossus, and Magik.[40] Their disappearance caught the attention of the rest of the X-Men. As Sinister was confronted by the group of mutants, he deployed his only successful specimen, a clone of the recently deceased Cyclops.[155] Most of the X-Men tried to contain the Inhuman clone as it went to the surface and began to wreak havoc, while Colossus and Magik remained underground fighting Mister Sinister. The clone ultimately exploded due to its instability, and Mister Sinister was subdued by Magik. The X-Men later arranged with S.H.I.E.L.D. the detention of Mister Sinister and his Marauders.[157]

Mister Sinister eventually joined the New Intelligencia, who had a special interest on Kid Kaiju's Inhuman monster summoning powers. They were unsuccessful in blackmailing Kid Kaiju into helping them and were ultimately arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D.[158] Soon after, Sinister was seen free, fighting the Champions alongside the New Intelligencia.[159]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) and Lunella Lafayette (Earth-616) from Secret Warriors Vol 2 11 001

Poisoned by the Terrigen Mist

After the Terrigen Cloud was eliminated, Karnak made a deal with Mister Sinister, offering his own son, Leer, as an experiment subject since the child could not activate his Inhuman powers naturally without the terrigenesis.[160] Sinister then resurrected Dark Beast and secretly placed him in the New Tian Republic after Hydra took control of the United States.[161] They proceeded to kidnap Inhuman children, including Inferno's niece, catching the attention of the Warriors.[162] Magik helped the Warriors localize and rescue dozens of Inhuman children kept in test tubes in Sinister's hideouts. When confronted by the Warriors, he explained to them he wished to settle unresolved issues with Karnak.[163] Mister Sinister then managed to frame Ennilux for Inhuman terrorist explosions all over the country.[164] Inferno, in order to save his niece, offered himself as a subject and a sample of Terrigen Crystals to Sinister so he would recreate the Terrigen Mists. The Warriors went to rescue Inferno and brought an army of Inhumans with them. During the confrontation, Moon Girl poisoned Sinister using the sample of the Terrigen Mists he recreated. Though believed to be dead, Mister Sinister once again escaped leaving no tracks.[165]

X-Men: Disassembled[]

Mister Sinister's life's work was put at risk when the New Avengers reassembled to prevent Wolverine's DNA from falling into the wrong hands. The group attended an auction where genetic codes were for sale. There, Sinister's former ally, Declan Fay, distributed parts of Sinister's archive.[166] Enraged by such a betrayal, Mister Sinister interrupted the auction to reclaim his belongings, but was attacked by the All-New Wolverine.[167] Sinister managed to escape, but was followed by Wolverine and the New Avengers, who in turn discovered his massive genetic database.[37] Though Iron Man was initially tempted to preserve such a rich collection of information, he decided to destroy Sinister's database to honor the former Wolverine's life.[168]

Once again, Mister Sinister had interests on harassing the Morlocks, this time to use them for his experiments. As his new Marauders patrolled the Morlock Tunnels, the X-Men Iceman and Bishop went to investigate, attracting Sinister's attention to Iceman's omega-level abilities.[169] Sinister genetically modified a morlock to attack Iceman,[170] luring the X-Man to confront him alone only to be captured, allowing Sinister to create an army of ice golems.[36] Sinister's plans would turn foul when Iceman revealed that Sinister had actually captured a golem instead of the real artifact. With the assistance of the X-Men and the Morlocks, Iceman defeated Mister Sinister.[171]

Following the disappearance of most of the X-Men in a battle against Nate Grey, Mister Sinister went to Harry's Hideaway to meet the surviving members of the team. As soon as he learned these X-Men had murdered his Marauders, he burned Harry's Hideaway to the ground. After a brief confrontation, Sinister surrendered and let the X-Men imprison him,[172] being handed him to Captain America, who was secretly Mystique in disguise working for Emma Frost's new Hellfire Club.[173] Mister Sinister was then put under O*N*E's custody since their director, Robert Callahan, had been controlling Frost's actions.[174] Frost managed to inform the X-Men of her situation and ask them to help her save mutants from O*N*E. As the X-Men battle O*N*E agents, Mister Sinister assisted Frost in erasing the concept of mutantkind from the minds of all people on the world,[175] though, soon after, he was murdered by Wolverine for his vile actions. As Sinister's lifeless body dissolved, it was revealed that he was actually a cloned body.[176]

Krakoa[]

Nathaniel Essex (Mister Sinister) (Earth-616) from House of X Vol 1 6 001

Joining the Quiet Council of Krakoa

When Professor X, Magneto, and Moira founded the new mutant island nation of Krakoa, Mister Sinister's genetic database proved to be a crucial part for the Resurrection Protocols. For this reason, Mister Sinister was welcomed not only to live on the island,[60] but also to join the Quiet Council, the Krakoan government body, that comprised the interests of all mutantkind, including its zealous, criminal, and morally ambiguous elements.[59]

The young nation would suffer its first crisis when its founder, Professor X, was murdered.[177] This incident led Mister Sinister to form an unexpected alliance with Psylocke, who was in need of his resources to destroy the entity known as Apoth.[178] A following crisis ensued when some Krakoan mutants showed difficulties to adapt their aggressive behavior to the island's pacific lifestyle. Mister Sinister proposed the Quiet Council to channel these mutants' abilities into something useful for the nation's interests. Having Psylocke as the team's watchdog, Mister Sinister was sanctioned to lead his group of mutant pariahs, the Hellions.[20] To ensure Psylocke's loyalty, he had promised to restore her lost daughter to life.[179] The Hellions' first assignment was to destroy Sinister's former cloning factory, his abandoned orphanage, now occupied by Madelyne Pryor and Sinister's former Marauders. The Hellions were successful even with their erratic methods.[180]

Powers of X Vol 1 5 Virgin Variant

When Krakoa was forced into a tournament against Arakko, Mister Sinister regarded this as an opportunity to secure more mutant DNA samples. He convinced the Quiet Council to let him lead the Hellions on a trip through Otherworld to Arakko under the pretext of stealing the Arakkii swords so they had to forfeit the tournament. Instead of risking his life on a mission to Otherworld, he sent a clone in his place. Upon getting DNA samples from Tarn's Locus Vile in Amenth and returning to Krakoa, the real Sinister killed what was left of his own team to keep his activities secret.[181]

In order to secure a clone lab away from the Council's watchful eyes, he partnered with Mastermind on a complex ruse, wherein Mastermind would feign working for Arcade, who would kidnap Sinister and force him to build a clone lab for him in Murderworld.[182] The plan succeeded, and after its completion Mastermind turned on Arcade and tricked the Hellions into believing they had destroyed the facility.[183]

The clone Sinister had sent to Amenth resurfaced in Krakoa, confronting his template. Loyal to Tarn, the clone revealed to the Hellions the truth about the mission in Amenth. Simultaneously, Tarn and his Locus Vile managed to ambush Mister Sinister and the Hellions to retrieve their DNA samples.[184] Failing to talk the Hellions down, Mister Sinister escaped with his clone through a Gateway locked to his DNA only.[185] Arriving in his Murderworld laboratory, the Sinisters were followed by the Hellions, where it was revealed Mister Sinister created a mutant chimera body using his and Tarn's genome. The Hellion Empath, secretly a spy for Emma Frost, caused his teammate Havok to raze not only Sinister's creation, but also Psylocke's daughter's digital consciousness.[186] As the original Sinister survived the devastation, the Quiet Council agreed to cover up the story since they needed Sinister to provide genetic sources for their Resurrection Protocols.[187]

Sins of Sinister[]

After Emma Frost revealed that Moira MacTaggert, long presumed dead, had in fact survived, and been a mutant with the ability to reset the timeline upon her death, Sinister immediately procured a sample of her DNA to exploit her abilities. He created the Moira Engine, a set of Moira-clones. When he activated a clone's X-Gene, it created a "save point" in the timeline. If events ever went against Sinister's wishes, he only needed to upload his knowledge into the clone before killing it, resetting the timeline and allowing him to begin fresh with added knowledge.[34]

Sinister used the Moira engine to launch an ambitious plan. Having attempted to corrupt Krakoa since the start by inserting codes of his own DNA in that of every mutant, he had planned that every resurrected mutant would become a modified clone of himself. However, Hope Summers had subconsciously corrected this flaw. In order to move his schemes to the next level, he realized that he needed to assassinate Hope and several other key council members.[188]

After many attempts, requiring several Moira-resets, he succeeded, beyond his wildest dreams. In the timeline that followed, Sinister's proxies on the Quiet Council would end up conquering the planet, turning everyone into a Sinister. However, they would undo his control imprints, granting them free will. With his Moira Engine stolen, Sinister was unable to reset the timeline, causing it to proceed for 1000 years, as the entire galaxy devolved into a den of horrors. This timeline's Mr. Sinister managed to regain access to his lab after 1000 years, allowing him to sacrifice every mutant in the galaxy and ascend to Dominionhood. However, he found that his way was barred. Another of his sibling-clones had already ascended into Dominionhood in a previous timeline and now blocked his way.[19]

As the timeline was reset, Sinister began the information download, only for Moira to interfere. Having been with him in the now-destroyed timeline at the end, she had used the Reliquary Perilous to warn Mother Righteous of what had transpired, and also destroyed the Moira Engine before cloning Rasputin IV, a servant of Sinister whom he had betrayed in the previous timeline.[19]

Rasputin captured Sinister and he was brought before the Quiet Council, who sentenced him to exile in the Pit. As he was being snatched into the Pit, a despondent Sinister begged the Council not to exile him, telling them that he was nothing, that one of the other Sinisters had already succeeded in creating a Dominion and had thus already won. He begged Destiny to find a way to stop them before he was snatched away.[19]

Fall of X[]

While Sinister was trapped within the Pit, the genetic code he had implanted into the assassinated council members was nullified by Forge, with one key exception; Professor X, whom Sinister had experimented on as a child. As Krakoa was destroyed by Orchis, with mutantkind scattering, the part of Sinister within Xavier began looking for ways to overcome its host, and began piloting his body while he slept, simultaneously working on a way to fight the Sinister Dominion.[189]

After Xavier discovered the truth, Sinister revealed himself to him. He opened his mind to Xavier and managed to convince him not to kill himself and to work together with Sinister to stop the Dominion.[189] The pair discovered that both Orbis Stellaris and Doctor Stasis had both reached out for dominionhood in previous timelines, only to be consumed, with the timeline subsequently reset by Sinister without him retaining any memory of doing so.[190]

Sinister and Xavier hatched a plan to destroy the Dominion; using a No-Place hidden outside of time, and working together with Rasputin IV and Rachel Summers. To hide his identity from the rest of the team, Sinister downloaded his consciousness into a modified clone of Cypher. The group first attempted to undo the rise of Enigma by undoing the attempts of the four clones to reach dominionhood. When this failed, they instead hatched a new plan; for Xavier to travel backwards in time to before Moira MacTaggert's powers manifest and kill her, ensuring Sinister could not use her genes to create the Moira Engine, thus hopefully averting Enigma's existence.[191]

The group was pursued by Enigma's minions. In order to save himself and the mission, Sinister was forced to reveal his identity to Rasputin IV. After learning of Sinister's involvement, Rasputin stopped Xavier from killing Moira, with Rachel managing to convince him not to undo Krakoa and pursue another way. Upon their return to the No-Place, Rasputin convinced Xavier to let her kill Sinister.[35]

Personality

A calculating master manipulator, Sinister is ruthless when it comes to his work, and attaining his goals. After Apocalypse's alterations to him, Sinister lacks normal human empathy which he found to impede him in his pursuit of knowledge.[192] Amoral, Sinister only cares about himself and his work, but will align himself with others if it suits his agenda, or if they can be exploited for his own ends.

Over the years, Sinister has consciously re-programmed his own personality, adopting a strong comical overtone, sardonicism, dramatics and extreme vanity.[43] Instead of operating from the shadows, he has enjoyed being the center of attention, but still prefers to have henchmen do all the dirty work. Underneath these veneers, Sinister's true personality is flat and empty, a far cry from the complexity of a regular person's.[189]

Attributes

Powers

Genetic Enhancements Using Mutant DNA: Following genetic alteration by Apocalypse, Nathaniel Essex was transformed from human into superhuman. He has continually improved upon his original transformation over the years, incorporating the genetic material of certain mutants into his DNA to gain their abilities, or performed other self-experiments to alter his genetic capabilities.[193][63][32][51]

  • Endopathy: Mister Sinister possesses the ability to control every molecule of his body, enabled via the implanted X-gene taken from the bio-molecular meta-morph Courier.[63] This allows him to deviate his own genetic structure in a slew of incredible ways in a similar (albeit weaker) manner to his former master Apocalypse.
    • Cellular Shape-Shifting: Mister Sinister is a powerful metamorph, being able to assume the form of most anyone or near anything he wishes and to reduce himself into a semi-liquid state, or harden his body like living armor.[63][14][194]
    • Regenerative Healing Factor: Mister Sinister is able to rapidly regenerate damaged or destroyed tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. Sinister can fully heal from injuries that result in massive tissue damage or loss such as multiple gunshot wounds, slashes, puncture wounds, broken bones, and severe burns within a matter of moments. Apparently, an extension of the cellular control he derived from Courier, Sinister's healing factor is such that he no longer requires the functionality of his brain or other internal organs to survive. In the past, he has been blasted in half or had holes blown through the center of his head without consequence.[195][194]
  • Superhuman Physical Condition: Mister Sinister has incorporated into his own genome the mutant gene of Thunderbird.[51] Thunderbird's powers comprised a set of physical attributes significantly greater than those of an ordinary human being.
    • Superhuman Strength: Mister Sinister possesses superhuman strength ranked at superhuman levels.[21][54] In one occasion, he displayed his immense strength by detaining Sabretooth using only hand, easily choking him.[21] Sinister had been categorized as able to press lift within 2 to 10 ton range.[196] Later classifications have identified him as having a possible upper limit of 25 tons.[197]
    • Superhuman Durability: Mister Sinister's muscles and tissues are far more durable than those of an ordinary man, allowing him to resist gunshots, physical damage, shocks, and energy blasts.[54][53][5] His durability can be enhanced by his regeneration ability, telekinesis, and force fields.[197]
    • Superhuman Reflexes: Sinister's reflexes and agility are enhanced to levels that are beyond the human body's natural limits.[21][196]
    • Superhuman Stamina: Mister Sinister's muscles produce considerably fewer fatigue toxins than the muscles of ordinary humans. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several days before fatigue begins to affect him.[53][194][196]
    • Superhuman Speed: Mister Sinister is capable of running at speeds far greater than those of the finest human athlete.[194][197]
  • Telepathy: Mister Sinister is one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth.[198] He can read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others with ease, being also able to resist to others' telepathic powers.[199][200]
    • Telepathic Cloak: Can mask his presence from being detected by other telepaths, being also able of extending these defenses to others around him as well.[79]
    • Mind Link: Ability to develop a mental link with any person, which remains as a connection to that individual.[201] He can use this ability to take another person's mind from their body and effectively trapping that mind within his own.[199]
    • Telepathic Illusion: Ability to create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring.[54]
    • Telepathic Blasts: Can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind, so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness and can even kill an adversary. These blasts might even induce temporary mental or physical paralysis.[53]
    • Telepathic Detection: Can sense the presence of another superhuman mutant within an as yet undefined radius of himself, by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being. This ability is highly enhanced by using amplifying mechanisms such as Cerebro.[198]
    • Telepathic Shield: Ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of himself and of others minds. Stryfe has proven very difficult to psychically assail, as he is very well skilled in shielding his own mind from mental-attacks (such as attempts to read, control or harm his own mind), and has been sufficient to protect himself from other psychics.[200]
    • Mind Control: Ability to control the minds and even voluntary and involuntary bodily functions of sentient beings (such as other humans).
    • Mind Possession: Ability to possess the mind of another, and use that being's body as his own.[202]
    • Mind Alteration: Ability to alter the minds of others by force of will.[203][201]
    • Mental Amnesia: Ability to cause loss of particular memories and amnesia in another person or even in a group of people.[53]
    • Astral Projection: Ability to astral travel and communicate with others astrally through his own will or through contact with the thoughts and memories of others. In the Astral Plane, he can use his powers to create "ectoplasmic" objects.[199][202]
    • Dilate Power: He has the ability to mentally paralyze a foe he's touching and the ability to psionically "turn off" the superpowers of any mutant, creating a mental block. He can also create mental links with others and even to objects and locations like the bases he has used over the years.[95]
  • Telekinesis: He possesses telekinetic abilities enabling him to levitate and psionically manipulate living beings, inanimate objects, and to some extent energy.[47][32] He can “lift” as much as 100 tons of weight and possibly even more and can achieve other effects. Capable of very fine control over objects, including himself.[197]
    • Concussive Blasts: Mister Sinister can fire blasts of concussive force from his hands. These blasts are powerful enough to match Cyclops's energy blasts at their full power for a considerable period of time and have a great destructive power.[53][167]
    • Force Fields: Mister Sinister can erect multiple force barriers to repel, reflect, and defend against incoming onslaughts. They are potent enough to stand against Cyclops' optic blasts with ease.[53]
    • Telekinetic Flight: By levitating himself, he can “fly” for indefinite amounts of time and at varying speeds.[204]
  • Technology Interface: Mister Sinister is able to directly interface with various technologies he has at his disposal, mentally activating or summoning them.[55][205]
  • Teleportation: Mister Sinister has exhibited the ability to teleport across large distances.[206][15][167] Beast believes this might be a function of his headquarters, a fact that remains to be cleared.[109]
  • Immortality: Mister Sinister is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to aging and disease and he can rapidly regenerate almost any damaged bodily tissue.[69] However, it was possible for him to be killed.[31] This ability originated from his exposure to Celestial technology from Apocalypse.[207][197]

Abilities

Genius Intelligence: Mister Sinister is a genius with expertise in various fields of science, mainly genetics with years of his research at his command, mutations and their powers, human and alien biology, cloning, all levels of physics, engineering (including mechanical, genetic and electrical engineering) and more. His intellect has been said to match Reed Richards and Doctor Doom and he is one of the smartest people on Earth. Sinister, having lived for over 150 years has acquired vast knowledge over many known fields, being a formidable scientist and a talented inventor. Considered the most brilliant mind of his time, Dr. Essex was already a genius with a PhD and an M.D and other honors in biology and genetics and was a member of the British Royal Society. His intellect later grew to new levels after his time with Apocalypse and the advanced Celestial technology he had access to, mastering not only this and all technology from Earth (allowing him considerable expertise in cybernetics, robotics and computers) but also new sciences to aid him in his goals to create the perfect mutant.[197]

Genius-Level Geneticist: Mister Sinister is a genius and a geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA. It is quite probable his powers are the result of self-experimentation - his shape-shifting power is due to a procedure he performed on himself with help from a time-traveling Gambit. He can also produce large amounts of clones; he has done so with all his Marauders, and with Jean Grey and he is an expert on the art of cloning and also on mutants, with vast knowledge of powers, genes and more due to the hundreds of samples of mutant DNA he has access to. He is normally described as the world's greatest geneticist and along with Professor X, is one of the leading authorities on mutants of the entire world.

Master Surgeon: He is a master surgeon, having excised a portion of Gambit's brain, only to later restore it (although from Sinister's point of view, he restored a portion of Gambit's brain and later excised it, as Gambit was traveling back in time when the restoration was completed; possibly a predestination paradox). Besides this area he is also a skilled doctor, one of the best from his time in England with honors in medicine and later in biology.[197]

Skilled Mechanical Engineer: having created devices that seem to have been taken from the tales of Jules Verne, his inventions include advance ships, devices that negate all mutant powers except for his own or transfer them, perform healing and almost resurrection, teleportation, genetics, project energy blasts and other attacks using mutant powers from many of the X-Men, aircraft and many more. Although his inventions are not as spectacular as those of Iron Man, he is a very talented inventor and engineer with a skill rivaling that of Iron Man among many others.[197]

Master Manipulator: He possesses a good deal of knowledge in psychology, and is a skilled manipulator, being able to conceive others with simple words and facial expressions. Mister Sinister is also a capable leader and a master strategist, capable of creating plans with ease and even outmatch brains like those of Professor X, Cyclops, Apocalypse, Storm and Magneto, being several steps ahead of his opponent.[197]

Trained Combatant: Mister Sinister trained himself in martial arts and unharmed combat, capable of defending himself from stronger opponents and even other trained combatants.[197]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

  • He at one time possessed tissue samples of thousands of people, dating possibly as far back as the 1860s, including several American Presidents.[197]
  • Many of his bases seem to have some quasi-biological properties, able to "grow" tentacles from a surface to hold a prisoner at Sinister's mental commands.[197]
  • Sinister augments much of his technology with clones of mutants, primarily from the X-Men and Marauders, such as a device harnessing Dazzler's ability to turn sound into light in order to render people mute, or a gun firing the cloned eyeballs of Cyclops as explosives.[208]
  • Genetic Collection Drones: Insect-like drones used by Mister Sinister to collect the DNA of mutants more easily.[209]

Weapons

He has been shown to use a gun a few times in recent comics

Transportation

He was believed to possess the power of teleportation, but it was revealed this was not an innate ability, but a function of his tesseract headquarters.

Notes

  • Due to his involvement in mutant affairs, his use of mutant henchmen and his powers, it is often believed that Sinister is himself a mutant, and he is even listed as an Alpha-Level Mutant.[210] Although technically Sinister was altered by Apocalypse and was not born a mutant he should be classified as a mutate.[211]
  • In a flashback scene in Powers of X #4, Professor X and Magneto met with Essex on Bar Sinister to discuss cataloging the mutants who were already born and those who would be. The de facto leader of Sinister's clones denied their request, while another Sinister killed him and took his place. This Sinister agreed, and explained that he had implanted himself with Thunderbird's X-Gene, effectively becoming a mutant himself due to his own genetic manipulation.[18]

Trivia

  • Magneto compared the image of the apparently benevolent Nosferatu to Oskar Schindler.[8]
  • The meaning of the term "sinister" in modern English is largely as a synonym for the terms "inauspicious", "ominous", "unlucky", "illegitimate" (As folk etymology, Bar Sinister Walter Scott links it to the terms "bend sinister" and "bar sinister" which are associated with illegitimate children and lines of descent and bastards), "evil", or seemingly evil, dangerous or harmful. However, the term is a loanword from Latin (and its derivative languages), where "sinister" is a masculine adjective and means "left". The feminine form is "sinistra" and the neuter form is "sinistrum". For some reason, the left side of the visual spectrum (and the left hand) came to be associated with perversity, badness, adversity, and hostility.
    • Due to "sinister" meaning "left", its Latin antonym is "dexter" which means "right". Just as "sinister" came to be associated with negative qualities, "dexter" came to be associated with positive ones. The secondary meanings of "dexter" include the terms "skillful", "fortunate", "favorable", "proper", and "fitting".
  • Sinister seems to enjoy drinking as he is seen drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages on multiple occasions.

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1
  2. 2.0 2.1 X-Factor #84
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Spider-Man and the X-Men #6
  4. X-Factor #35
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 X-Factor #75
  6. 6.0 6.1 Classic X-Men #42
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Classic X-Men #41
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Excalibur (Vol. 3) #7
  9. X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #2
  10. 10.0 10.1 Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #20
  11. X-Men: Smoke and Mirrors
  12. 12.0 12.1 X-Factor #74
  13. 13.0 13.1 Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #16
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 X-Men (Vol. 2) #22
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 X-Men (Vol. 2) #27
  16. Gambit (Vol. 3) #12
  17. 17.0 17.1 Weapon X (Vol. 2) #26
  18. 18.0 18.1 Powers of X #6
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Sins of Sinister: Dominion #1
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Hellions #1
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Uncanny X-Men #221
  22. Monsters Unleashed (Vol. 3) #1
  23. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #28
  24. 24.0 24.1 Wolverine (Vol. 2) #173
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Uncanny X-Men #380
  26. 26.0 26.1 X-Men Forever #2
  27. 27.0 27.1 Weapon X (Vol. 2) #14
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 Ruins of Ravencroft: Sabretooth #1
  29. Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #2
  30. 30.0 30.1 Powers of X #4
  31. 31.0 31.1 New X-Men (Vol. 2) #46
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Uncanny X-Men #544
  33. X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #19
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Immortal X-Men #1
  35. 35.0 35.1 Rise of the Powers of X #3
  36. 36.0 36.1 Iceman (Vol. 4) #4
  37. 37.0 37.1 Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #3
  38. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #2
  39. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #7
  40. 40.0 40.1 Extraordinary X-Men #2
  41. Wolverines #2
  42. 42.0 42.1 Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #14
  43. 43.0 43.1 43.2 Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #1
  44. X-Factor (Vol. 3) #27
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 X-Men Annual (Vol. 3) #1
  46. 46.0 46.1 Weapon X (Vol. 2) #5
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 Uncanny X-Men #239
  48. 48.0 48.1 X-Men: Legacy #212
  49. 49.0 49.1 49.2 Immortal X-Men #8
  50. 50.0 50.1 X-Men (Vol. 6) #23
  51. 51.0 51.1 51.2 Powers of X #5
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 Cable Annual #1999
  53. 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 53.4 53.5 53.6 53.7 53.8 X-Factor #39
  54. 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 54.5 54.6 Uncanny X-Men #241
  55. 55.0 55.1 55.2 X-Men (Vol. 2) #45
  56. 56.0 56.1 X-Factor #-1
  57. 57.0 57.1 Uncanny X-Men #201
  58. 58.0 58.1 Mutant Massacre
  59. 59.0 59.1 House of X #6
  60. 60.0 60.1 House of X #5
  61. Immortal X-Men #4
  62. Sins of Sinister #1
  63. 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.3 63.4 Gambit (Vol. 3) #14
  64. Origin II #1
  65. Origin II #2
  66. Origin II #34
  67. Origin II #5
  68. X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #23
  69. 69.0 69.1 X-Men: Hellfire Club #3
  70. Immortal X-Men #2
  71. X-Factor Annual #3
  72. Punisher Annual #1
  73. Iron Man/Thor #3
  74. Silver Surfer #1
  75. X-Men '95 #1
  76. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #27
  77. X-Men Forever #4
  78. 78.0 78.1 X-Men: Legacy #211214
  79. 79.0 79.1 Uncanny X-Men #389
  80. Excalibur (Vol. 3) #14
  81. House of X #2
  82. Classic X-Men #4142
  83. X-Men #39
  84. Uncanny Origins #1
  85. 85.0 85.1 Uncanny X-Men #376
  86. X-Men: Legacy #215
  87. X-Men / Spider-Man
  88. X-Men / Spider-Man #2
  89. 89.0 89.1 X-Factor #38
  90. Uncanny X-Men #168
  91. Uncanny X-Men #175
  92. Gambit (Vol. 3) #24
  93. X-Men Origins: Gambit #1
  94. X-Men Prime #1
  95. 95.0 95.1 95.2 X-Man #18
  96. Uncanny X-Men #350
  97. 97.0 97.1 Uncanny X-Men #215
  98. Uncanny X-Men #219
  99. X-Factor #1
  100. Uncanny X-Men #206
  101. Uncanny X-Men #221222
  102. 102.0 102.1 Inferno (Event)
  103. X-Factor #7374
  104. 104.0 104.1 X-Cutioner's Song
  105. X-Men (Vol. 2) #2223
  106. X-Factor #68
  107. Cable #6
  108. Excalibur #7274
  109. 109.0 109.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #34
  110. X-Factor #104105
  111. Uncanny X-Men #325
  112. Cable #2628
  113. X-Man #1213
  114. X-Men (Vol. 2) #5152
  115. X-Force #57
  116. X-Man #19
  117. Apocalypse: The Twelve
  118. X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #14
  119. X-Men (Vol. 2) #99
  120. Uncanny X-Men #379
  121. X-Men (Vol. 2) #102
  122. Uncanny X-Men #390
  123. X-Men Unlimited #30
  124. Wolverine (Vol. 2) #173175
  125. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #4
  126. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #8
  127. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #9
  128. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #1314
  129. Weapon X (Vol. 2) #2628
  130. X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #4
  131. X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #13
  132. X-Men: Colossus Bloodline #5
  133. Decimation: House of M - The Day After #1
  134. X-Men (Vol. 2) #187
  135. X-Men (Vol. 2) #189
  136. X-Men (Vol. 2) #200
  137. X-Men (Vol. 2) #200204
  138. X-Men: Messiah Complex
  139. X-23 (Vol. 3) #45
  140. X-23 (Vol. 3) #6
  141. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #4
  142. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #23
  143. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #15
  144. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #17
  145. Death of Wolverine #4
  146. Wolverines #1
  147. Wolverines #4
  148. Wolverines #5
  149. Wolverines #6
  150. Wolverines #16
  151. Wolverines #1718
  152. Wolverines #19
  153. Spider-Man and the X-Men #1
  154. Spider-Man and the X-Men #5
  155. 155.0 155.1 Extraordinary X-Men #4
  156. Extraordinary X-Men #1
  157. Extraordinary X-Men #5
  158. Monsters Unleashed (Vol. 3) #15
  159. Invincible Iron Man #593
  160. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #5
  161. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #3
  162. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #6
  163. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #89
  164. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #10
  165. Secret Warriors (Vol. 2) #11
  166. Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #1
  167. 167.0 167.1 167.2 Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #2
  168. Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda #4
  169. Iceman (Vol. 4) #1
  170. Iceman (Vol. 4) #23
  171. Iceman (Vol. 4) #5
  172. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) #18
  173. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) #19
  174. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) #20
  175. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) #21
  176. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 5) #22
  177. X-Force (Vol. 6) #1
  178. Fallen Angels (Vol. 2) #16
  179. Hellions #7
  180. Hellions #24
  181. Hellions #56
  182. Hellions #910
  183. Hellions #11
  184. Hellions #13
  185. Hellions #14
  186. Hellions #15
  187. Hellions #16
  188. Immortal X-Men #9
  189. 189.0 189.1 189.2 Immortal X-Men #17
  190. Immortal X-Men #18
  191. Rise of the Powers of X #2
  192. Immoral X-Men #3
  193. Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #34
  194. 194.0 194.1 194.2 194.3 X-Men (Vol. 2) #23
  195. X-Force #16
  196. 196.0 196.1 196.2 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #6
  197. 197.00 197.01 197.02 197.03 197.04 197.05 197.06 197.07 197.08 197.09 197.10 197.11 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #7
  198. 198.0 198.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #202
  199. 199.0 199.1 199.2 Uncanny X-Men #243
  200. 200.0 200.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #205
  201. 201.0 201.1 X-Men (Vol. 2) #204
  202. 202.0 202.1 X-Men: Legacy #213
  203. X-Men (Vol. 2) #203
  204. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #2
  205. X-Men (Vol. 2) #52
  206. X-Men (Vol. 2) #14
  207. Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #4
  208. A + X #6
  209. Hellions #6
  210. X-Men (Vol. 2) #94
  211. Uncanny X-Men #332
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