Nathaniel Essex (Earth-616)

## Nathaniel Essex

**Parents:**

* Mary Essex (mother)

**Spouses:**

* Rebecca Essex (wife, deceased)

**Children:**

* Adam Essex (son, deceased)

**Mister Sinister** (*Nathaniel Essex*) was a brilliant Victorian era scientist who was obsessed with deterministic interpretations of natural evolution, predicting the emergence of mutants in the near future. His intellect caught the attention of Apocalypse, who genetically mutated Essex, transforming him into his first prelate.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

Following genetic alteration by Apocalypse, Mister Sinister was transformed from human to superhuman. He has continuously improved upon his original transformation over the years, incorporating the genetic material from various mutants into his own DNA to gain their abilities.

**Molecular Manipulation:** 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 deviate his own genetic structure in a slew of incredible ways in a similar (albeit weaker) manner to his former master Apocalypse.

* **Shapeshifting:** Mister Sinister is a powerful metamorph, being able to assume the form of almost anyone or anything he wishes. He can also 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, punctures, broken bones, and severe burns within a matter of moments. Apparently, this ability is an extension of the cellular control he received from Courier, and Sinister no longer requires the functionalityi of his brain or other internal organs to survive. In the past, he has been blasted in half or had holes blown through the center of his head without consequence.

**Superhuman Strength:** Mister Sinister possesses strength ranked at superhuman levels. On one occasion, he displayed his immense strength by detaining Sabretooth using only one hand, easily choking him. Sinister had been categorized at one point as being able to press lift within the two to ten ton range. Later classifications have identified him as having a possible upper limit of 25 tons. This is a power that he received from the mutant gene of Thunderbird.

**Superhuman Durability:** Another power derived from Thunderbird, Sinister's muscles and tissues are far more durable than those of an ordinary human, allowing him to resist gunshots, physical damage, shocks, and energy blasts. His durability can be enhanced by his regeneration ability, telekinesis, and force fields.

**Superhuman Speed:** Sinister is capable of running at speeds far greater than those of the finest human athlete.

**Superhuman Stamina:** 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 Reflexes:** Sinister's reflexes are enhanced to levels that are beyond the human body's natural limits.

**Superhuman Agility:** His agility is similarly enhanced to levels beyond the human body's natural limits.

**Telepathy:** Sinister is one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth. He can read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others with ease, being also able to resist others' telepathic powers.

* **Psychic Shields:** He can mask his presence from being detected by other telepaths. He can extend these defenses to others around him as well.
* **Psychic Link:** He has the ability to develop a mental link with any person, which remains as a connection to that individual. He can use this ability to take another person's mind from their body and effectively trap that mind within his own.
* **Illusion Manipulation:** He can create realistic telepathic illusions and cause people to experience events which are not actually occurring.
* **Psychic Blasts:** Sinister can project psionic force bolts which have no physical effects but which can affect a victim's mind so as to cause pain, unconsciousness, or even death. These blasts may be able to induce temporary mental or physical paralysis.
* **Power Detection:** He can sense the presence of superhuman mutants within an as yet undefined radius of himself by perceiving the distinctive mental radiations emitted by such a being.
* **Mind Control:** He has the ability to control the minds and bodily functions of other sentient beings, including both voluntary and involuntary functions.
* **Mind Possession:** He can possess the mind of another and use that being's body as his own.
* **Memory Erasure:** He can cause loss of particular memories or total amnesia in another person or even a group of people.
* **Astral Projection:** Sinister is able 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.
* **Paralysis Inducement:** He has the ability to mentally paralyze a foe he is touching.
* **Power Negation:** Sinister can psionically "turn off" the powers of any mutant by creating a mental block.

**Telekinesis:** Sinister possesses telekinetic abilities that enable 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 telekinetic control over objects, including himself.

* **Force Field Generation:** He can erect multiple force barriers to repel, reflect, and defend against incoming onslaughts. These shields are potent enough to stand against Cyclops' optic blasts with ease.
* **Flight:** By levitating himself, he can fly for indefinitely amounts of time at varying speeds.

**Technopathy:** Mister Sinister is able to directly interface with various technologies at his disposal, mentally activating or summoning them.

**Teleportation:** Sinister has exhibited the ability to teleport across large distances. Beast believes this may be a function of his headquarters, a fact that remains to be cleared.

**Immortality:** Sinister is functionally immortal in a sense that he is immune to aging and disease, and that he can rapidly regenerate almost any damaged bodily tissue. However, it is possible for him to be killed. This ability originated from his exposure to Celestial technology from Apocalypse.

* **Disease Immunity**

### Abilities

* **Gifted Intellect:** Mister Sinister is a genius with expertise in various fields of science, mainly genetics with years of research at his command, mutations and their powers, human and alien biology, cloning, all levels of physics, engineering (including mechanical, genetic, and electrical) 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, Sinister has acquired vast knowledge over many fields, being a formidable scientist and talented inventor. Considered the most brilliant mind of his time, Sinister is a genius with a Ph.D. and an M.D. with honors in biology and genetics, as well as 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 but also new sciences to aid him in his goals to create the perfect mutant.
	+ **Genetics:** Sinister is a genius geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA. It is quite probable that his powers are the result of self-experimentation - his shapeshifting 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 of his Marauders and with Jean Grey, and he is an expert in the art of cloning and also on mutants, with vast knowledge of powers, genes, and more due to the hundreds of mutant DNA samples he has access to. He is normally described as the world's greatest geneticist and as one of the leading authorities on mutants of the world.
	+ **Surgery:** He is a master surgeon, having excised a portion of Gambit's brain, only to later restore it. Besides this area, he is also a skilled doctor, one of the best from his time in England with honors in medicine and biology.
	+ **Engineering:** 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 or transfer them, perform healing and resurrection, teleportation, project energy blasts, and many more. Although his inventions are not as spectacular as those of Iron Man, he is a talented inventor and engineer with skill rivaling that of Iron Man.
		- **Mechanical Engineering**
		- **Electrical Engineering**
		- **Genetic Engineering**
	+ **Biology**
	+ **Physics**
* **Manipulation:** 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:** Sinister is also a capable leader.
* **Strategy and Tactics:** He is a master strategist, capable of creating plans with ease and even outmatching brains like those of Professor X, Cyclops, Apocalypse, Storm, and Magneto.
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat:** Sinister has trained himself in martial arts and unarmed combat. He is capable of defending himself from stronger opponents and even other trained combatants.