MISTER SINISTER READING ORDER: Master of Marauders (1987-1996)

The MUTANT MASSACRE was one of the most impactful X-Men storylines of the 1980s, but the man who masterminded the slaughter of the Morlocks at the hands of the Marauders only received a mention in that story. It would be almost a year before Mister Sinister's arrival on the page and nine more years before we'd learn his origin. Although Chris Claremont had a very different origin in mind, wanting to make Sinister a near-immortal mutant genius who was stuck in a child's body. Instead, Nathaniel Essex was granted his immortality in the mid-1800s by Apocalypse and spent the following years trying to escape his new master's control.

Surviving in the present as Mister Sinister, the geneticist would grant himself additional powers and come to use advanced cloning techniques to replace the fallen members of his Marauders. He'd create Madelyne Pryor - a clone of Jean Grey - who would marry Scott Summers (the X-Men's Cyclops) and give birth to the mutant Nathan Christopher Summers who would grow up to become the time-travelling warrior Cable who was destined to destroy Apocalypse.

In the first of two reading order guides to Mister Sinister, we see how the villain finally rears his head in the late '80s X-Men event INFERNO, becomes obsessed with the third Summers Brother (in a plot that ends up going in a very different direction years later) and hints at a shared history with Gambit.

MCG Notes:

• Issue listings in blue & black: The must-read Mister Sinister stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
• Issue listings in grey: Part of Sinister's chronology, cameo appearances or stories of note that are non-essential or no longer considered 'required reading'.
• Chronology: Every appearance of Mister Sinister from this period is included in chronological order, mapping out their timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
• Spoilers: The issue/story overviews may include spoilers, so be warned!

MCG Note: Mister Sinister's origins would be explored later, plus we'd get some 'untold tales' that would reveal some of his earlier dealings within the Marvel Universe. If you're going to read his history chronologically, I'd say start with his first appearances and dip into these past stories later. But the decision is yours!

Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4 (1996)

In England in 1859, Scientist Dr Nathaniel Essex becomes obsessed with Charles Darwin's theories after the loss of his son; he develops his own theories about humanity's ability to evolve more quickly than as a species due to their 'Essex Factors' and he sends his group of kidnappers, the Marauders, to bring misshapen people to him so that he can experiment on them; this attracts the attention of the immortal mutant En Sabah Nur; Cyclops and Phoenix are transported to the 19th Century by Sanctity of Clan Askani to ensure Essex becomes Sinister whose actions will lead to the birth of the Askani warrior Cable in the present; En Sabah Nur grants Essex powers, though Cyclops and Phoenix stop Nur and Sinister from creating a plague to kill the weak across the planet before returning to their own time.

Gambit #13-14 (2000)

First appearance of Black Womb/Amanda Mueller; by 1891, Mister Sinister has moved to New York and made an agreement with early mutant Amanda Mueller to give birth to children and give them to him for experimentation; travelling back to this era using Doctor Doom's Time Platform, Gambit and the Courier encounter Sinister who copies Courier's abilities, allowing him to shapeshift; Sinister locks Ozymandias' secret texts in Gambit's subconscious.

Origin II #2-3, 5 (2014)

First appearance of Clara Creed & Saul Creed; in Canada in 1907, Dr Nathaniel Essex and his Marauders capture the wild mutant Logan for experimentation in an attempt to turn him into his mindless weapon; Logan escapes but is tricked by Saul Creed into attacking Essex again. 

Iron Man #10 (2013)

Mister Sinister cameo; Howard Stark turns to Nathaniel Essex to help his pregnant wife to come to term, but Essex is unable to assist during MARVEL NOW!

Uncanny Origins #1(pp.6-10) (1996)

Young Scott Summers is sent to the Sunset Home for Foundlings where he meets a fellow orphan called Nate who quickly realises Scott is a mutant.

Classic X-Men #41[2/2]-42[2/2] (1989-1990)

Young Scott Summers' relationship with Nate is tested when he regularly becomes the victim of a bully at the orphanage; Mister Sinister convinces the bully to commit suicide; Sinister manipulates the staff at the orphanage in the hope of forcing Scott to stay.

Uncanny Origins #1(p.11) (1996)

Mister Sinister murders the couple who were planning on adopting Scott Summers, causing him to run away from the orphanage.

X-Factor #-1 (1997)

Mister Sinister tracks down Scott Summers' younger brother Alex Summers, setting events in motion that trigger his mutant powers; Sinister decides Alex lacks control and erases his memories of his interactions with him during FLASHBACK. 

X-Men and Spider-Man #1 (2009)

Mister Sinister employs Kraven the Hunter to steal samples of DNA from all five members of the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men #193 (1985)

Mister Sinister operates behind the scenes; the children of the Morlock called Annalee are murdered; it's later revealed that the murders were committed by Sinister.

X-Men Origins: Gambit #1(pp.11-17) (2009)

The mutant Gambit turns to geneticist Mister Sinister to ask him to restore his control over his powers; in return, Gambit assembles a new team of Marauders for Sinister and leads them to the entrance to the Morlock tunnels, only to learn of the intention to slaughter the Morlocks.

Uncanny X-Men #210, 212 (1986)

First shadowed appearance of the Marauders; first mention of Mister Sinister; Sinister operates behind the scenes; the Marauders begin the slaughter of the Morlocks; Sabretooth reveals that the Marauders are employed by Mister Sinister during MUTANT MASSACRE.

Uncanny X-Men #219 (1987)

Mister Sinister operates behind the scenes; under Sinister's orders, Malice possesses Polaris.

X-Men and Spider-Man #2 (2009)

Having just witnessed Kraven the Hunter's suicide, Spider-Man discovers files that reveal his theft of the X-Men's DNA on behalf of Mister Sinister; Spider-Man takes the information to the X-Men who have only just learned of Sinister's name as the man behind the murder of the Morlocks; the X-Men and Spider-Man battle the Marauders in one of Sinister's secret labs and discover failed clones of the original X-Men; Mister Sinister visits Kraven's grave.

Uncanny X-Men #221 (1987)

First appearance of Mister Sinister; the Marauders are berated for failing to kill Madelyne Pryor-Summers and ordered to prove themselves by murdering her before the X-Men or X-Factor can get to her; the Marauders fail when the X-Men come to her rescue.

Uncanny X-Men #239-241, 243 (1988-1989)

X-Factor #39 (1989)

First appearance of Madelyne Pryor-Summers as Goblin Queen; the demon N'Astirh spies on Mister Sinister who holds the infant Nathan Christopher Summers in stasis; Sinister confront Maddie Pryor and reveals that he created her using DNA from Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) and she woke when the Phoenix died on the moon; N'Astirh frees baby Nathan and returns him to Maddie; following the death of the Goblin Queen, Marvel Girl retains memories from Madelyne Pryor and the Phoenix which Sinister attempts to erase on the astral plane; Sinister destroys the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters with the X-Men and X-Factor still inside; Cyclops realises Sinister is immune to this optic blasts until he unleashes his full power, obliterating Mister Sinister during INFERNO. 

X-23 #3 (2005)
Mister Sinister cameo; the Facility offer X-23's services as an assassin to the reconstituted Mister Sinister and other major villains.

X-Factor #74-75 (1992)

First appearance of the Nasty Boys (Gorgeous George/George Blair, Hairbag/Michael Suggs, Ramrod/Patrick Mahoney, Ruckus/Clement Wilson & Slab/Christopher Anderson); Mister Sinister poses as polygraph expert Edmond Atkinson, Valerie Cooper's ex-husband; a rogue Jamie Madrox dupe is revealed to be working for Mister Sinister; disguised as Senator Steven Shaffron, Sinister murders the real Shaffron and uses his Nasty Boys in a failed attempt to discredit the newly-formed government-sponsored X-Factor squad during MUTANT GENESIS.

X-Factor #78 (1992)

Mister Sinister cameo; Stryfe returns the members of the Nasty Boys that were recently freed by the Mutant Liberation Front to Mister Sinister; Havok warns Cyclops and Professor X that Sinister is alive.

X-Factor #84 (1992)

X-Men #14 (1992)

X-Force #16, 18 (1992-1993)

First appearance of the Legacy Virus (unnamed); Mister Sinister is revealed to have sent the Horsemen of Apocalypse to kidnap Cyclops and Jean Grey by disguising himself as Apocalypse; Sinister exchanges Cyclops & Jean with Stryfe in exchange for 'Summers family genetic material'; Sinister opens the canister only to discover it's empty, not realising he's unleashed the Legacy Virus on the mutant population during X-CUTIONER'S SONG.

X-Men #22-23 (1993)

Cyclops visits his grandparents in Alaska and discovers their neighbour 'Mike Milbury' is actually Mister Sinister; Sinister reveals the existence of the Legacy Virus to Cyclops and hints at him having a third brother; the Dark Riders attack them both, but Sinister teleports away after proving he could defeat them easily.

X-Force #29-30 (1993-1994)

Mister Sinister operates behind the scenes; X-Treme (Adam-X) learns a man named 'Milbury' hired Arcade to kill him; Adam-X survives the encounter.

Cable #6 (1993)

First appearance of Mother Askani/Rachel Summers of Earth-811 (diverged); Mister Sinister unlocks Stryfe's persona that's trapped in Cable's mind.

X-Men #27 (1993)

First full appearance of Threnody; Mister Sinister tries to convince the mutant Threnody to help him find a way to cure the Legacy Virus; the X-Men leave Threnody with Sinister, regretfully realising that he has a better chance of helping her.

Excalibur #72 (1993)

Mister Sinister cameo (obscured); first appearance of Rory Campbell; Sinister challenges the Gamesmaster and his Upstarts to obtain Proteus' genetic material from Muir Island.

Excalibur #74 (1994)

Mister Sinister is enraged with Siena Blaze for failing to obtain Proteus' DNA, but he manages to extract Rachel Summers' DNA from under Blaze's fingernails.

X-Men #34 (1994)

Mister Sinister operates behind the scenes; while Sinister heads to Hawaii, the X-Men discover one of his secret labs in Nebraska and search it for information on the Legacy Virus; they find Threnody who agrees to help the X-Men in secret; Threnody destroys the cloning chamber Sinister uses to recreate the Marauders. 

X-Factor #104-105 (1994)

In Hawaii, Malice possesses Havok and tries to kill Polaris as she suspects Mister Sinister plans to order Malice to merge with her once again; Mister Sinister arrives and orders the Nasty Boys to beat Malice out of Havok; Malice is destroyed when she's pulled apart by Havok and Polaris' force of will.

X-Men #39 (1994)

Mister Sinister cameo; Sinister watches Erik the Red who's spying on Cyclops & Phoenix during LEGION QUEST.

X-Men' 95[1/2] (1995)

Faye Livingston was a mutant who allowed Mister Sinister to experiment on her in the 1930s until he let her go without warning; Genesis and his Dark Riders kidnap the dying Faye and use the power of the captured Phoenix to make Sinister relive his moments with her from decades earlier in the hope of weakening his resolve; Faye Livingston is rescued by the X-Men, but has one last dance with Sinister telepathically before she dies.

Uncanny X-Men #325 (1995)

X-Men #45 (1995)

Threnody alerts Mister Sinister that Gambit is arriving in Seattle while he worries that his decades of planning is coming to nothing; Sinister approaches Gambit, acknowledging a past association between the two and warning him that Gambit is no more an X-Man than he is himself during A NATION RISING.

Cable #26 (1995)

Mister Sinister is revealed to be funding Jenny Ransome and Phillip Moreau's rebellion on Genosha.

X-Men and Spider-Man #3 (2009)

The X-Men ask approach Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) to warn him that they've discovered reference to a Spidey clone in Sinister's notes; Spider-Man explains that the Spider-Man they knew is a clone, while he's the real deal; Mister Sinister obtains a genetic sample from Carnage and pits the psychotic villain against Spider-Man and the X-Men.

X-Man #12 (1996)

Mister Sinister calls upon Threnody to obtain information about Nate Grey; Threnody believes Nate will help free her from Sinister during THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH.

Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4 (1996)

No modern Mister Sinister appearance; Cyclops and Phoenix of the X-Men are sent back in time to ensure the transformation of Nathaniel Essex into Mister Sinister.

X-Men #51-52 (1996)

Gambit, Bishop and 'Beast' (the disguised Dark Beast of the Age of Apocalypse) discover a plague created by Mister Sinister that's mutating humans on a moving train; Sinister takes the three X-Men prisoner and probes Bishop's mind, learning of his arrival from the future, his mission to stop a traitor to the X-Men and his time spent in a dark alternate timeline; Gambit breaks free, destroys all of Sinister's genetic samples of other mutants and frees his fellow X-Men; Sinister teleports to safety; 'Beast' notices Gambit knows an awful lot about Sinister's operations during THE ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT.

Mister Sinister's reading order continues:

• Kingdom Sinistrus (1996-2012)

Notable variations of Mister Sinister from around the multiverse:

EARTH-21993

What If #46-47 (1993)

Professor X is assassinated by Cable; Wolverine's X-Men kill Cable and begin killing off other X-foes; Wolverine kills Mister Sinister by slicing him to pieces.

EARTH-566

X-Men Adventures #15 (1994)

X-Men Adventures #1-2, 9, 12-13 (1994-1995)

Adventures of the X-Men #3 (1996)

Adventures of Spider-Man #3 (1996)

Set in a universe that's very similar to the various '90s Marvel animated series (Earth-92131), Mister Sinister repeatedly clashes with the X-Men; at once stage, Sinister manipulates both the X-Men and Spider-Man (during SINISTER INTENTIONS).

EARTH-295

Tales From The Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines #1 (1997)
X-Man #-1 (1997)

X-Men Alpha #1 (1995)

Factor X #1 (1995)

X-Man #1-4 (1995)

Age of Apocalypse One-Shot #1[4/4] (2005)
Age of Apocalypse #2, 5-6 (2005)

Sinister/Nathaniel Essex of the Age of Apocalypse acts as one of the Four Horsemen - agents of Apocalypse who each control a quarter of America on his behalf; Sinister makes his lieutenants Cyclops & Havok hunt down their own father; Sinister creates a clone from the DNA of Cyclops and Jean Grey (during FLASHBACK); Sinister ultimately rebels against Apocalypse and chases down the clone Nate Grey in the hope of using him as a weapon to kill his master, only to be killed by Grey instead (during THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE); Sinister proves to be just as hard to kill in this reality and returns from the dead to make a deal with Magneto (during THE NEW AGE OF APOCALYPSE).

EARTH-956

What If #74 (1995)

Mister Sinister forms his own X-Men with Cyclops, Havok, Sabretooth, Malice/Madelyne Pryor and Sauron as his line-up; Sinister's X-Men clash with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Professor X's X-Men.

Notable collected editions featuring Mister Sinister:

X-Men: Inferno

X-Men: Inferno Omnibus

X-Men Milestones: Inferno

Include...

Uncanny X-Men #239-241, 243
X-Factor #39

X-Men: The Road to Onslaught vol.1

Includes...

Uncanny X-Men #326

X-Men #45

X-Men '95