Mister Sinister (Marvel Comics)

**Dr. Nathaniel Essex**, also known as **Mister Sinister**, was a biologist in 1859 Victorian England. He developed advanced theories on human evolution and was obsessed with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, though he felt Darwin and his contemporaries were shackled by too many moral constraints, and that science was beyond morality. He dreamed of bringing the perfection of the evolution of the human race to the masses. After Mister Sinister's son, Adam, died at the age of four from numerous birth defects, he was driven deeper into his work.

## Powers

**Genetic Enhancement:** Following genetic alteration by Apocalypse, Mister Sinister was transformed from human to superhuman. He has continually improved upon his original transformation over the years, incorporating the genetic material of certain mutants into his DNA to gain their abilities or has performed other self-experiments to alter his genetic capabilities.

* ***Cellular Shapeshifting:*** Mister Sinister possesses the ability to control every molecule of his body, enabled via the implanted X-gene taken from the biomolecular metamorph Courier. This allows him to assume the form of anyone he wishes. He can reduce himself into a semi-liquid state or harden his body like living armor.
	+ ***Regenerative Healing Factor:*** Mister Sinister is able to rapidly regenerate damaged or destroyed tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than an ordinary human. He can fully heal from injuries that result in massive tissue damage or loss, such as multiple gunshot wounds, slashes, puncture wounds, broken bones, and severe burns within a matter of moments. This is apparently an extension of the cellular control he derived from Courier. His healing factor is such that he no longer requires the functionality of his brain or other internal organs to survive. In the past, he has been blasted in half and had holes blown through the center of his head without consequence.
* ***Superhuman Strength:*** Mister Sinister possesses superhuman strength, which may be a product of his shapeshifting ability. He has been categorized as being able to press lift within two to ten tons. Later classification has identified him having an upper limit of possibly 25 tons.
* ***Superhuman Durability:*** Mister Sinister's muscles and bodily tissues are far more durable than those of an ordinary human. This allows him to resist gunshots, physical damage, shocks, and energy blasts. His durability can be enhanced by his regenerative ability, telekinesis, and force fields.
* ***Superhuman Speed:*** He is capable of running at speeds far greater than those of the finest human athlete.
* ***Superhuman Stamina:*** Mister Sinister's muscles produce considerably fewer fatigue toxins than the muscles of ordinary humans. He can exert himself at peak capacity for several days before fatigue begins to affect him.
* ***Superhuman Agility and Reflexes:*** Mister Sinister's reflexes and agility are enhanced to levels that ar ebeyond the human body's natural limits.
* ***Telepathy:*** Mister Sinister can read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others within a radius of 250 miles while on Earth. With extreme effort, he can greatly extend that radius.
	+ ***Telepathic Cloak:*** He can mask his presence from being detected by others and extend these defenses to others around him as well. His abilities can, at times, go undetected or be counteracted by other, more powerful, telepaths depending on their level fo skill in using their own psionic abilities.
	+ ***Telepathic Illusion:*** Mister Sinister has the ability to create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring. He can use his ability to cast illusions to mask himself and other people's presence from those around them. He can telepathically disguise himself, making his appearance to those around him drastically different.
	+ ***Mental Paralysis:*** He has the ability to induce temporary mental or physical paralysis and project pain into the minds of others.
	+ ***Mind Link:*** He has the ability to develop a mental link with any person, which remains as a connection to that individual.
	+ ***Mind Control:*** He has the ability to control the minds and bodily functions of sentient beings, such as other humans.
	+ ***Mind Trap:*** Mister Sinister has the ability to take another person's mind from their body and trap that mind within his own.
	+ ***Mind Possession:*** He has the ability to possess the mind of another and use that being's body as his own.
	+ ***Mind Alteration:*** Mister Sinister can alter the minds of others by force of will.
	+ ***Mental Amnesia:*** He can cause loss of particular memories and amnesia in another person or even in a group of people.
	+ ***Psionic Shields:*** Mister Sinister has the ability to erect a psychic shield for protection of himself and of others' minds.
	+ ***Psionic Blasts:*** He can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause the victim pain or unconsciousness or even death.
	+ ***Astral Projection:*** Mister Sinister has the ability to astral travel and communicate with others astrally through his own will or through contact with the thoughts and memories of others. In the astral plane, he can use his powers to create ectoplasmic objects and manipulate his environment.
	+ ***Mental Detection:*** He can sense the presence of superhuman mutants within an as of yet undefined radius of himself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
	+ ***Telepathic Immunity:*** He is resistant to others' telepathic powers.
* ***Power Dilation:*** Mister Sinister has the ability to mentally paralyze a foe who he's touching and the ability to "turn off" the superpowers of any mutant.
* ***Telekinesis:*** He possesses telekinetic abilities enabling him to levitate and psionically manipulate living beings, inanimate objects, and energy to some extent. He can telekinetically lift as much as 100 tons of weight and possibly even more. He is capable of very fine control over objects, including himself.
	+ ***Flight:*** By levitating himself, he can fly for indefinite amounts of time and at varying speeds.
	+ ***Concussive Blasts:*** He can fire blasts of concussive force from his hands. These blasts are powerful enough to match Cyclops' energy blasts at their full power for a considerable period of time and have a great destructive power.
	+ ***Force Fields:*** Mister Sinister can erect multiple force barriers to repel, reflect, and defend against oncoming onslaughts. They are potent enough to stand against Cyclops' optic blasts wiht ease. He normally uses these on a personal level, but it is assumed that he can increase and decrease the protection level but also enhance the size of the shield to englobe others and entire areas.
* ***Technology Interface:*** He is able to directly interface with various technologies he has at his disposal, mentally activating or summoning them.
	+ ***Teleportation:*** He has exhibited the ability to transport himself and others over large distances. However, Beast believes that this is a function of his headquarters, although this remains to be confirmed.
* ***Immortality:*** Mister Sinister is functionally immortal in the sense that he is immune to aging and disease and he can rapidly regenerate almost any damaged bodily tissue. However, it is possible for him to be killed. This ability originated from his healing factor and from his exposure to Celestial technology from Apocalypse.

## Abilities

**Genius Intelligence:** Mister Sinister is a genius with expertise in various scientific fields, including genetics; human and alien biology; cloning; all levels of physics; mechanical, genetic, and electrical engineering, and more. His intellect has been said to match Reed Richards and Doctor Doom, and he is one of the smartest people on Earth. Having lived for over 150 years, Mister Sinister has acquired vast knowledge over many known fields, being a formidable scientist and a talented inventor.

Considered the most brilliant mind of his time, Mister Sinister was already a genius with a Ph.D. and an M.D. and other honors in biology and genetics. He was a member of the British Royal Society. His intellect later grew to new levels after his time with Apocalypse and the advanced Celestial technology he had access to, mastering not only this and all technology from Earth (allowing him considerable expertise in cybernetics, robotics, and computers) but also new sciences to aid him in his goals to create the perfect mutant.

* ***Genius-Level Geneticist:*** Mister Sinister is a genius geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA. It is quite probable his powers are the result of self-experimentation - his shape-shifting power is due to a procedure he performed on himself with help from a time-traveling Gambit. He can also produce large amounts of clones; he has done so with all his Marauders, and with Jean Grey and he is an expert on the art of cloning and also on mutants, with vast knowledge of powers, genes, and more due to the hundreds of samples of mutant DNA he has access to. He is normally described as the world's greatest geneticist and along with Professor X, is one of the leading authorities on mutants of the entire world.
* ***Master Surgeon:*** He is a master surgeon, having excised a portion of Gambit's brain, only to later restore it (although from Mister Sinister's point of view, he restored a portion of Gambit's brain and later excised it, as Gambit was traveling back in time when the restoration was completed; possibly a predestination paradox). Besides this area, he is also a skilled doctor, one of the best from his time in England with honors in medicine and later in biology
* ***Skilled Mechanical Engineer:*** Having created devices that seem to have been taken from the tales of Jules Verne, his inventions include advanced ships, devices that negate all mutant powers except for his own or transfer them, perform healing and almost resurrection, teleportation, energy blasts and other attacks using mutant powers from many of the X-Men, aircraft, and many more. Although his inventions are not as spectacular as those of Iron Man, he is a very talented inventor and engineer with a skill rivaling that of Iron Man and many others

**Master Manipulator:** He possesses a good deal of knowledge in psychology, and is a skilled manipulator, being able to deceive others with simple words and facial expressions.

**Leadership and Strategics:** Mister Sinister is also a capable leader and a master strategist, capable of creating plans with ease and even outmatching brains like those of Professor X, Cyclops, Apocalypse, Storm and Magneto.

**Trained Combatant:** Mister Sinister trained himself in martial arts and unarmed combat. He is capable of defending himself from stronger opponents and even other trained combatants.

## Equipment

**Bases:** Many of his bases seem to have some quasi-biological properties. They are able to "grow" tentacles from a surface to hold a prisoner at Mister Sinister's mental commands.

**Tissue Samples (*formerly*):** At one time, he possessed tissue samples from thousands of people dating possibly as far back as the 1860s, including several American Presidents.