Height: 6'5"
Weight: 285 lbs.
Eyes: Red
Hair: Black

History:

(X-Man I#-1 (fb) - BTS) - During the Victorian era, the immortal mutant Apocalypse encountered the ambitious British geneticist Nathaniel Essex who shared his interest in genetically superior beings. En Sabah Nur secured his services and used his powers to change Essex into the being known as Mister Sinister.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines I#1 - BTS) - After five years of round the clock torture, Christopher Summers managed to escape the Pens. Hank McCoy, now know as Dark Beast, was well aware of the danger Summers posed and informed Sinister.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines I#1) - Sinister summoned his Elite Mutant Force and sent them after Christoper Summers, but he specifically ordered Scott and Alex not to get involved. While the brothers had no idea why, Dark Beast was well aware what was going on. He teased Sinister about the fact his foster children would not be pleased if they ever found out he had been using their real father as a guinea pig right under their noses. In response, Sinister choked McCoy for his insolence, reminding him Hank he was every bit as brilliant as he was expendable.

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines I#1 - BTS) - Scott and Alex eventually got involved when the escapee managed to take out the Elite Mutant Force. It didn't take long for them to realize this mysterious inmate was their dad. The family reunion was cut short when they found themselves under attack by a group of scavengers slowly transforming into monsters (they were infected with Brood eggs by Summers).

(Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines I#1) - Sinister flew a shuttle to come to Scott and Alex's aid, firing blasts that kept the approaching monster horde at bay. He was immediately attacked by Christopher Summers who recognized him from the years of torture he endured. Scott and Alex also had plenty of questions for Sinister, but the mad scientist lucked out: the major began to turn into a Brood, forcing Scott Summers to execute him on the spot. In the aftermath, Sinister claimed he never told the boys anything because he wanted to spare them from seeing their father like this. He even said he was running all those invasive experiments because he was trying to find a cure. Scott and Alex seemed to buy his explanation and Sinister contently watched his foster children burn the body of their sire.

(X-Man I# -1 - BTS) - Mr. Sinister waited until a massive storm front passed over Nebraska before he returned to his lab to check on the clone. Sinister planned to use the storm's electrical energy to proceed to the next phase of the cloning process without alerting the High Lord's North American energy grid managers.

(X-Man I#-1) - Sinister expressed genuine delight and surprise when a 6 year old boy emerged from the chamber who appeared perfectly healthy. After giving the child some sensor-weave garments to wear, he decided to name him Nathan Grey, deeming it a fitting name because, for all intents and purposes, he was the boy's father Seconds later, he was forced to take a video call from Dark Beast who checked in to discuss next month's plague figures. The ever observant McCoy had noticed a 0.0007 millisecond delay in the transmission, which indicated Sinister was not on Apocalypse Island. Sinister refused to indulge McCoy's questions, even when he spotted the nutrient bath behind him.

(X-Man I# -1) - By the time the call ended, young Nathan had slipped away and began exploring the empty orphanage. The experience triggered his psychometry and he relived the experiences of other orphans who lived there.

(X-Man I# -1) - Mr. Sinister was blasting his way through the orphanage, frantically looking for the boy who was not aware he had done anything wrong. Sinister decided to show Nathan the world he was to be living in: Apocalypse's America with the massive Sea Wall nearing completion and the ongoing genetic cullings. He was then amazed that the untrained child had sufficient mental control to manifest a believable psychic representation of the Pens. Sinister was able to appease the boy by replicating a teddy bear he'd spotted on the footage he used to create this psionic illusion. Mr. Sinister then coaxed him back into his maturation chamber, promising him that when next he woke, he'd be ready to meet the world. Sinister was stunned when the boy telepathically told him good night in spite of the psi dampers. Though impressed with the boy's power, he also realized the need to add some extra fail-safes into his genetic make up.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men - Age of Apocalypse 2005 I#1) - After having conquered most of North America, Apocalypse decided he would let his Horsemen lead a quarter of his empire while he retained direct control of the eastern seaboard. To make sure only the worthiest of his underlings were selected, he instigated the Horsemen's War of Succession. For a time, all of Apocalypse's lieutenants fought for dominance, actively killing each other to secure their place among the elite When the dust settled, Apocalypse welcomed his new fearsome foursome: Bastion, Holocaust, Mikhail Rasputin and Mr. Sinister.

(Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen I#1) - Apocalypse thought so highly of Mr. Sinister that he counted him among the chosen: the few he deemed worthy to live in the world he sought to create. En Sabah Nur did mention that he knew Sinister was bound to betray him because he had grown too attached to his 'children': his genetically enhanced subjects who were doomed to find themselves orphaned... if they were to survive in the first place.

(X-Man I#4 (fb) - BTS) - When Nathan Grey emerged from his maturation chamber as a teenager, Mr. Sinister decided to hide him in plain sight by placing him in the Pens. Much to his own frustration, it didn't take long for Nate to be set free by Scott Summers who was using his position as a prelate to secretly help mutants escape the Pens. Intervening meant exposing his son, so Sinister was forced to let it happen. As a result, the newly freed Nate Grey eventually encountered the renegade mutant inventor Forge and his band of traveling outcasts.

(Factor-X I#3 (fb) ) - Fearing that Apocalypse was on the verge of launching an all-out attack against Eurasia, Sinister felt he had to try and prevent a disastrous world war. He reached out to the mutant renegades Weapon X and Jean Grey and arranged a meeting where he provided them with data rods containing Apocalypse's top secret European attack plans. Sinister asked the mutant lovers to deliver the rods to the Eurasian Human High Council in London.

(X-Men Alpha I#1) - Sinister joined his fellow Horsemen when Apocalypse summoned them for a meeting to officially announce his plans for a surprise attack on the humans in Europe. While Abyss and Holocaust rejoiced, Sinister bit his tongue and realized the time had come to act.

(X-Men Alpha I#1 - BTS) - Sinister trashed his inner sanctum inside the Pens, destroying decades worth of research data to make sure no one could deduce what he was planning. He also rigged the self destruct sequence in the hidden lab inside Apocalypse's statue.

(X-Men Alpha I#1) - Mr. Sinister broke up an argument between the brothers Summers and the Dark Beast before asking Scott to accompany him for a walk. Sinister told his 'son' that he had to go away because a madness had seized one of their own, which might very well lead to armageddon. Sinister explained to Summers that he could not allow this to happen: he had spent too many lifetimes creating hell on Earth to not be able to enjoy it. Sinister refused to answer any of Scott's questions, challenging him to seek answers on his own for once.

(Factor-X I#1) - Sinister made sure he remained unavailable to answer any of Scott's queries.

(Factor-X I#1 - BTS) - When Scott and the Bedlam Brothers forced their way into Sinister's sanctum, they discovered the damage. Not too long after that, Sinister's laboratory exploded, destroying the head of Apocalypse's statue.

(X-Men Alpha I#1 - BTS) - Apocalypse was enraged when he realized Mr. Sinister had abandoned his cause. Holocaust assured his father that operatives were already sent out to locate and capture the turncoat.

(X-Man I#1) - Disguised as the mysterious traveler Essex, Mr. Sinister made sure he ran into Forge's theater troupe touring the Mid-West. He offered his services and was accepted into their ranks.

(X-Man I#2 - BTS) - Essex claimed he was a bio-engineer who used to work for Apocalypse and was now trying to make amends. He did his best to form a bond with Nate Grey, subtly challenging him to push his powers to new levels. Forge did not care for any of this, causing tension within the ranks.

(X-Man I#2) - Essex was delighted when he talked Grey into trying to use his telekinesis to fly, even though it caused a severe nosebleed. He later convinced Forge and the others that the target for their next strike should be a nearby factory where the bone marrow from discarded human corpses is extracted to enhance mutant powers. Essex joined a small strike force: Brute, Forge, Toad and Nate. Inevitably, they got into a fight with the Madri and Essex was profoundly disappointed that Nate was beaten with relative ease. The boy rallied and allowed everyone to escape unharmed. Later, at the their hideout, Brute confronted Essex because he remembered who he really was. Mr. Sinister quietly killed him and then greeted Forge who came to tell him the group had decided it'd be best if he left them. Seconds later, Apocalypse's assassin Domino and her underlings Caliban and Grizzly showed up looking for the strong telepath Shadow King had sensed.

(X-Man I#3) - Essex kept to himself while Forge and his forces fought Domino and her troops who were ultimately defeated thanks to Nate's interference. When Forge discovered the body of Brute, Essex claimed Domino had done it but Forge saw through this lie. Unfortunately, he was no match for Essex and died on the spot, causing Nate to get flooded by his dying mentor's memories. Grey furiously unleashed the full measure of his telekinetic fury, only for Sinister to allow his Essex form to give way to his true appearance. He promised to answer all the questions Nate had.

(X-Man I#4) - While Grey initially wanted nothing to do with Sinister, he eventually allowed himself to relive Essex's memories of his creation. He still wasn't interested in fulfilling the purpose for which Sinister had created him: killing Apocalypse. Sinister allowed Nate to think he had fatally injured him, letting the boy fly off to confront Apocalypse after all. Much to his own surprise, he really was bleeding and fell to the floor, seemingly dying on the spot.

(X-Men Age of Apocalypse One Shot I#1 (fb) - BTS) - Sinister recovered in time to make it to Apocalypse Island before the Eurasian Human High Council's nuclear bombs would wipe out the Eastern Seaboard. He secured the dying body of Jean Grey who much to his surprised was somehow suffused with an alien force strong enough to dismantle all the bombs before they hit. Sinister safely squared Jean away in a stasis pod in a subterranean base on Liberty Island, once the location of his lab inside the statue of Apocalypse.

(X-Men Age of Apocalypse One Shot I#1 (fb) - BTS) - The world believed Magneto was responsible for dismantling the bombs and the mutant leader did nothing to disabuse them of that notion. The X-Men were tasked by president Robert Kelly to hunt down everyone who worked for Apocalypse. Sinister was high on that list.

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#5 (fb) ) - Several months into Magneto's tenure as deputy director of mutant affairs, he was visited by Sinister who put on a bomb belt rigged to explode as soon as it detected magnetic energy. Essex bluntly told Lensherr he knew Jean was the one who saved them all that day and that she was now his captive. If Magneto promised to make sure no one would be hunting him down, Sinister agreed to keep the secret. Even though it pained him to leave Jean in the hands of the mad man, Magneto agreed (see comments).

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Sinister made Jean loyal to his cause. Now known as the Phoenix and wielding new, cosmic abilities she joined Sinister's newly formed team of underlings: the Sinister Six.

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#4 - BTS) - Sinister secured the services of Magneto's former student Paige Guthrie, along with her siblings Sam, Elizabeth and Josh Guthrie. They were tasked to kidnap Magneto's son Charles as an added security that he would not come after Sinister. But the Guthries were no match for the X-Men and in her dying moments Paige revealed Magneto's secret.

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#5) - Mr. Sinister and the Sinister Six were ready for Magneto and the X-Men when they came to his lab on Liberty Island to free Jean.

(X-Men: Age of Apocalypse I#6) - Sinister and his Six were holding their own until Weapon X managed to get through to his mind controlled wife. Now free of Sinister's control, Jean joined Magneto in restraining the villain long enough for Weapon X and his daughter Kirika to execute the geneticist with their adamantium claws.

Comments: Created by Chris Claremont & Marc Silvestri;
adapted by Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid, Roger Cruz, Steve Epting, Tim Townsend & Dan Panosian.