Marvel Proves Mr. Sinister is The Best Villain Missing From X-Men Movies
Warning: contains spoilers for Immortal X-Men #1!
The Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon incorporate the X-Men, and out of all the many mutant villains, Mr. Sinister should be the first foe of the new era. Marvel has plenty of memorable villains from the line, including Apocalypse, Exodus, Juggernaut, and of course Magneto (arguably the most popular villain, though he's since become an anti-hero in recent years). But Immortal X-Men #1 makes the case for Mr. Sinister as the MCU's new villain, as the story paints him as terrifying and hilarious at the same time.
21st Century Fox's X-Men franchise has used plenty of villains in the 20 year-history of the series, including Stryker, Sabertooth, Sebastian Shaw, and the alien Vuk (who was initially meant to be Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire before Dark Phoenix underwent numerous reshoots). Magneto has overshadowed them all; the Master of Magnetism has appeared in every single X-Men film excluding the Wolverine trilogy and The New Mutants in 2020. With their most popular villain overused to the point of tiring the audience, the MCU must rely on the likes of Mr. Sinister to drive a story, and fortunately, he's more than up to the task.
In Immortal X-Men #1, readers see the events of the story play out from Sinister's perspective. They are privy to his thoughts on every subject and they see his disdain for nearly everyone on the Quiet Council - and he barely tries to hide it. He's quite theatrical, even to the point of absurdity. But he's also diabolical in the extreme when he reveals his plan to gain leverage on everyone in Krakoa: he's used clones of Moira MacTaggart to take advantage of her unique mutant ability. Sinister's future selves upload their memories into Moira; upon her death, she resurrects at the moment of her birth (or creation, in the case of a clone) with all her memories - memories that the present Sinister can then upload into his own mind.
To make matters worse, Sinister destroys an entire timeline whenever a Moira clone is sent back to the present...and he doesn't seem to care one bit. His expertise in cloning could also be used by MCU writers as an easy way to resurrect dead characters whenever they desire. He could even be used to adapt the infamous Spider-Man Clone Saga, a storyline in which Peter Parker actor Tom Holland has expressed interest in the past.
Mr Sinister may not be the best-known villain (appearing in the 80s, long after the prominence of Magneto), but he certainly is the man for the job when it comes to the MCU. His unique skillset combined with his unapologetic comic book villainy could make for a truly entertaining onscreen villain. The X-Men's MCU debut would easily benefit from Mr. Sinister's merciless, Machiavellian machinations.