The Smoking Man
For the next 14 years, he is presumed dead. However, he appears again alive, but seriously burned and disfigured at the end of "My Struggle" (2016), the first episode of the "X-Files" miniseries, stating that the X-Files have been reopened. In the season finale, "My Struggle II", the Smoking Man puts into motion the conspiracy he had been working on all these years, releasing chemtrails into the atmosphere which trigger immune system breakdowns throughout the American population, which had been infected by the Spartan virus through mandatory flu vaccinations. Out of fondness for Mulder, he offers him the cure to the disease, but is rebuffed. The United States is thrown into chaos as the Syndicate plan for depopulation gets underway. However, in "My Struggle III", this is shown to be a vision experienced by Scully. It is revealed that the Smoking Man is trying to find Scully's son William in order to fulfill his plans, and that he is in conflict with a group led by two other surviving Syndicate members, who want the Smoking Man dead in order to carry out their own agenda. The Smoking Man approaches Walter Skinner to make him a deal, and offers him a chance to survive the end of humanity in exchange for Skinner helping him find William. The Smoking Man also reveals he was responsible for the creation of William, as he impregnated Scully with the use of alien technology.