Apocalypse Teased A Sinister Sequel That Never Came

Sinister debuted in 1987’s “Uncanny X-Men” #221; he’d been foreshadowed beforehand as the mastermind behind the “Mutant Massacre” storyline, where the outcast Morlocks were slaughtered by superpowered mercenaries the Marauders.

Famed “X-Men” writer Chris Claremont first conceived of Sinister as a new villain for his heroes; artist Marc Silvestri designed his appearance, best described as “a Dracula-themed David Bowie.” This design tipped its hand to Claremont’s planned origin; Sinister was meant to be the avatar of an evil mutant child. His monstrous appearance was because he was literally born from a childish imagination. This was ultimately unused, though Claremont got to briefly implement it decades later for his alternate timeline story, “X-Men: Forever.”

Sinister’s depicted origin is that he’s an immortal scientist born in Victorian England. A contemporary of Charles Darwin, Nathaniel Essex is obsessed with evolution/the notion of survival of the fittest, and consequently, mutants. He believes that Scott Summers/Cyclops and Jean Grey hold the genetic potential to create the ultimate mutant, and so his plans often revolve around them. Sinister soon leaped from the comics to the screen in 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series. Voiced by Christopher Britton, he was the main antagonist of season 2 (and he’s coming back for the revival, “X-Men ’97”).

More recently, writer Kieron Gillen has had a strong handle on Sinister, writing him in everything from 2011’s “Uncanny X-Men” up to the ongoing “Immortal X-Men.” Gillen’s Sinister is a manipulative narcissist who revels in being evil but never loses his sense of humor. Gillen explained to CBR: 

“The short of it is that Sinister was always campy, and I just turned up the dial and made him more self-aware of it […] It’s all a game to Sinister because he’s a moral abyss with no bottom floor.”

When a villain has a name and outfit as ostentatious as Mister Sinister does, their personality should match.