Mr. Sinister

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Like Apocalypse, who made him into the super powered menace he is, Mr. Sinister is obsessed with the Darwinian idea of survival of the fittest - but this genetic manipulator goes to some extremely dark and cruel places to further his beliefs and experiments, sometimes outdoing Apocalypse himself when it comes to truly evil acts.Once upon a time he was a 19th century scientist named Nathaniel Essex... read more

Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Marauders in The Uncanny X-Men #212 (December 1986), later seen in silhouette in The Uncanny X-Men #213, with both issues serving as chapters of the 1986 "Mutant Massacre" crossover. Mr. Sinister then made his first full appearance in The Uncanny X-Men #221 (September 1987). His appearance was designed by artist Marc Silvestri.

A villain who usually prefers to act through agents and manipulation, Mr. Sinister is born Nathaniel Essex in Victorian London. A human scientist, Essex is inspired by the work of his contemporary Charles Darwin and becomes obsessed with engineering humanity into a perfect race of superhumans. As he learns about mutants (superhuman beings born with the X-gene), Essex encounters the mutant villain Apocalypse. The two become allies and Apocalypse uses alien Celestial technology to transform the British scientist into Mr. Sinister, an ageless man with super-powers. Later on, Sinister increases his power through self-experimentation. In the modern-day, Sinister develops a great interest and protective attitude towards the mutant heroes Cyclops and Jean Grey, believing their DNA can create the ultimate mutant. This and other factors lead him to have repeated clashes with the X-Men (a group Cyclops and Jean Grey helped found) and related teams. Sinister's body has been destroyed more than once, but he survives due to regenerative abilities and/or by transferring his mind into new host bodies or clones. Several co-existing Mr. Sinister clones (all sharing the original's memories and basic personality) later formed a community. This community was later destroyed, but one clone that was born with an X-gene (making him a mutant) survived and continues to operate to this day. Mr. Sinister is often associated with the characters Apocalypse, Cable, and Madelyne Pryor, and is leader of the team of trackers and assassins known as the Marauders.

Making frequent appearances in the X-Men comics and related spin-off titles, Mr. Sinister has also featured in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, toys, trading cards, and video games. IGN's list of the "Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time" ranked Sinister as #29. In 1993, Mr. Sinister made his television debut on the animated series X-Men in the first two episodes of season 2, voiced by Christopher Britton, exposing the character to a wider audience. Mister Sinister appears in the 2009 animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, voiced by Clancy Brown.