Mister Sinister

Mister Sinister (Dr. Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri, 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), and 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).

A villain who usually prefers to act through agents and manipulation, Mr. Sinister was 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. Through clones, Sinister has managed to cheat his death repeatedly and even acquire a mutant gene. Later, the Krakoan Age storyline revealed that the original Mr Sinister was one of several clones of the original Nathaniel Essex, each with a distinctive scientific specialism and playing card theme.

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. The character was exposed to a wider audience with his television debut on X-Men: The Animated Series voiced by Christopher Britton, as well as an appearance in Wolverine and the X-Men voiced by Clancy Brown.