Sinister Secrets: Let's Speculate *spoilers*

[BroHomo]

Be cool if #9 referred to The Hellfire Club via Emma Frost and The Hellions

[Devaishwarya]

Rumours and gossip being mostly made up of half-truths, misinformation and innuendo...suggests that these secrets aren't to be taken word-for-word seriously. Some may even be outright lies and misdirection.

[PrezValentine]

I'd rather it refer to Jubilee and X23. But who knows seems the main suspects (Logan, Laura, Jubilee, Chamber) are in separate books.

I wouldn't discard the possibility because Storm is in Marauders but will be featured in X-Men #1 alongside Polaris and Magneto. Most of the X-Men characters will end up being written by Hickman at any given point, so if the secrets are not used in the book each character is featured, they'll be in X-Men.

[GodfatherIV]

1. Could it be Scarlet Witch?? She wears or wore red shoes and was mentioned as the 2nd on that list of mutant extinction events. Or maybe Claudine Renko is the one who's truly Sinister.

2. Cant understand why they'd be bringing Jumbo Carnation back. But the trend of using kick and what it set off could be a thing. A drug boosting powers could be a problem but could be a clue as to what the Krakoa flowers really do for mutants and/or humans I think Kick had to do with Sublime and it affected Quire who will be in the books but it also affected Beast, Emma, Xorn, The Cuckoos etc. Remeber the Beast in HCT who had massed produced the Crawlers (which seems a very similar reference to the Chimera mutants)

3. Of course I think this is Madelyne Pryor. No telling what was left behind but maybe its something to do with the Goblin queen stuff or a Phoenix sliver (please god no). Could be another kid or perhaps there was more to her deal with the devil. Since Moira reincarnates maybe Maddy does too or was magically granted that ability. What if Hope Summers is a reincarnated Maddy? Or maybe Maddy left her consciousness behind and thats who Louise Spalding really was?

4. I automatically thought about Namor on this. Then I thought about Psylocke since I think she was found washed ashore. But this explaination of Captain Marvel especially since Hickman has been still referencing his Secret Wars stuff makes a lot of sense. Im not very familiar with it but as I understand she was under his influenece and she does have a history with the Xmen and Rogue in particular.

5. 1st thought is Jean, Wolverine, Scott, and Emma. But like was mentioned Jean doesnt have a kid really. Maybe its Maddie who was married to Scott. Or maybe not. Xavier was married to Lilandra i think so maybe thats something. Hope its not that Xavier Mystique mess from Bendis. But speaking of that dark period of time maybe its Wolverine and Storm since Storm was i guess still married to Black Panther. Cant count out Sue Storm either but would Hickman do that to her and Reed?

6. I've heard speculation that this is Stryfe and the legacy virus. But progerian makes me think of Ernst though im not familiar with the Spiderman and the Xmen garbage.

7. Summers family of course. Scott, Alex and Gabriel. Maybe Adam X (hoped to never see him again) and Gambit which I would definitely be down for.

8. Apocalypse 1st horsemen and Arrako and a Twilight sword and whatever they were fighting against. Seems to be building to a big story. Maybe why Apocalypse is on the Excalibur team. Perhaps its to harnass some type of magic to release his original horsemen.

9. I do think this is Moira and Xavier or it could be Moira and Apocalypse. Could also be Jean and Scott but not really betting on this one. Maybe its Scott and Emma.

10. Not sure about the wording on this one but it seems that it may be that Sinister isnt exactly mindwiped and while Xavier thinks he's controlling him in reality he's not. I will say this though....it seems that Huckman has been doing a deep dive into Xmen lore. Tbis may be way iff but then again who expected him to use Moira, the Phalanx or remember and reference the Monet-Penance thing or even bring back Mondo (soon). So that said remeber a long long time ago a group called the Neo? So there was speculation that Katherine Pryde had been replaced by another baby who would grow up as Kitty Pryde. I think it was in Operation Zero tolerance which i believe is also where we get Omega Sentinel from. I also think the Neo had something to do with Sinister also and if they were endangered it makes sense that they'd send the last of their clan so to speak to live among the Xmen and mutants, taking it further if Sinister had some influence unbeknownst to Kitty it may have gone unnoticed by Xavier and others. Its a real shot in the dark but like I said Hickman is really deep diving with some stuff and that plotline seemed to be unresolved for years

[ARkadelphia]

SINISTER SECRET #1 He’s trying to pretend that no one noticed he was wearing red shoes, but this truly sinister Sinister isn’t fooling anyone.

SINISTER SECRET #2 And speaking of fashion, the whisper network has turned into a roar regarding the return of this trendsetting mutant who was cut down in his prime. Will someone please tell all these mutants to stop wearing human clothes and join the stampede across their island full of flowers to the flower that’s the fullest?

SINISTER SECRET #3 Years ago, a deceased redheaded pretender made a pact with the devil. When she passed on, most believed that any secrets she had went with her to the grave. Won’t everyone be surprised when they find out not only is this not true, but she left behind a whole lot more than secrets.

SINISTER SECRET #4 While every Sinister has been busy wondering how they might be affected by current events, almost no one noticed what washed ashore. A word of advice to all things sinister: Don’t embrace the revelry, or there won’t be anything for you to celebrate.

SINISTER SECRET #5 He’s the best there is at what he does. She’s married with a kid. The husband knows exactly what’s going on, but who is he to point the finger? He’s up to much the same, and more. Maybe this is just the new normal on the mutant island.

SINISTER SECRET #6 Everyone believed that the plan of this progerian mutant with secret sinister ties was foiled, but little did the gifted ones know that the destroyed samples were switched out beforehand.

SINISTER SECRET #7 Two brothers jumped out of a plane, and for the longest time, until he was discovered, many wondered if there was a third. If we told you there were more, would you believe me? Probably not.

SINISTER SECRET #8 For years, this fittest-of-all mutant has routinely surrounded himself with a particular-numbered entourage. These hangers-on stick around for a while until they are eventually replaced with newer, more exciting members. What most people don’t know is that if the original members returned, these pretenders would be dropped so fast their heads would spin.

SINISTER SECRET #9 They say the kids are all right, but all is not right in paradise. This non-couple couple has been apart so long, friends are expecting that when they see each other again fireworks are going to ensue. Is the universe ready? Judging by how unprepared everyone was for what’s happened so far, we kind of doubt it.

SINISTER SECRET #10 Which brainwashed mutant Sinister was replaced long before a certain bald somebody knew and has been in on the game for almost as long as the game was being played? Shhhhhhhh!=

Quoting all of the secrets because I think the exact language is likely key in a lot of these. I think we are to pay attention to every word/letter/character. As an example, people on this thread have pointed out that it says “lies” at the bottom of the page. But I look at the zeroes in front of the word and think “zero lies”. In other words, they’re all true. But perhaps not in the way that’s most obvious.

I’m hardly an X-Men expert so I’m not sure I’ll add anything to the guesswork, but here are a few thoughts that are different from what I’ve read in this thread...

Secret number 5... I think that people are trying too hard to connect this one to past events. “Best at what he does” has to be Wolverine in my mind otherwise the clue is disingenuous. I believe the only likely candidate or married with a kid” is Meghan. People are eliminating this combination because nothing has happened between them in the past. But so what? That doesn’t mean that this isn’t a new relationship that is going to be explored in the near future. It’s a secret after all.

Actually, that’s all I got... for now.

[gambitxremy]

If anyone can make Adam x cool again Hickman can

[TOTALITY]

Quoting all of the secrets because I think the exact language is likely key in a lot of these. I think we are to pay attention to every word/letter/character. As an example, people on this thread have pointed out that it says “lies” at the bottom of the page. But I look at the zeroes in front of the word and think “zero lies”. In other words, they’re all true. But perhaps not in the way that’s most obvious.

I’m hardly an X-Men expert so I’m not sure I’ll add anything to the guesswork, but here are a few thoughts that are different from what I’ve read in this thread...

Secret number 5... I think that people are trying too hard to connect this one to past events. “Best at what he does” has to be Wolverine in my mind otherwise the clue is disingenuous. I believe the only likely candidate or married with a kid” is Meghan. People are eliminating this combination because nothing has happened between them in the past. But so what? That doesn’t mean that this isn’t a new relationship that is going to be explored in the near future. It’s a secret after all.

Actually, that’s all I got... for now.

I totally agree that the wording is important; i.e. there’s no point in guessing anyone for #2 if it requires all the stuff about fashion and “human clothes” to be filler with no purpose. (#2 is 99.99999% about Jumbo Carnation.)

Similarly, gendered pronouns shouldn’t be ignored, and if something sounds like it’s happening now, there’s probably no point in thinking of other things that have washed on to some shore in the past, for one example. (#4 probably isn’t guessable currently — I assume sometime soon they’ll just introduce some new threat that’s washed ashore.)

And that deliberateness of wording is why I also agree that “he’s the best there is at what he does” has to refer to Wolverine. Hickman is in command of language and by extension so is Sinister. I’ve seen people suggest that the phrasing is just a meta reference to misdirect the readers, seemingly predicated on the notion that that would only be a nickname for Wolverine to us and not the characters, and..no. Hickman’s Sinister wouldn’t waste that many words just praising any random person for being the best at something if that’s all those words meant to him. Plus we’ve already seen Moira reference the catchphrase in the last POX issue, so it’s not as if Hickman is treating it as something that only exists outside the comic. I can see arguing that maybe the intention is that Sinister is trying to misdirect readers, but even then I don’t see this specific part being a misdirection, because thats literally the only thing to grab on to in that clue; if it’s about any random person who’s the best at something and any married couple with a kid then it’s basically meaningless.

And that’s also the only reason I put any stock in theories that #9 could involve Jubilee (the fireworks mention.) I still think it’s most likely Moira and Xavier though.

There may be lies as the bottom of the page might suggest, but I tend to think every clue has a solution that’s compatible with every word used, even if that solution is ultimately a lie. If there are any lies or fake outs, I think it’s probably the Summers brothers one and/or Madelyne, since those seem like the first place someone would go if they wanted to send people on a wild x-continuity goose chase.

The others I think are either too specific and random to be lies, or too general and open-ended for there to be any point in lying.

[Alex.]

I don't get why people here think Maddie is dead. She's pretty much alive, as far as I remember.

I'm going to leave this here, because we're more than halfway through HOX/POX and there's still a lot of characters that have yet to be seen.



Wasn't Dazzler pregnant at some point? I believe her child is Shatterstar, but maybe secret 5 is about her.

[TOTALITY]

Okay realizing that Bill the Lobster is on this thing is what’s pushed me towards “maybe all of these things aren’t going to show up in the miniseries” for the first time. Still think a big all-retcon issue showing Moira’s background maneuvering through the eras could thread the needle through a lot of this stuff.... but maybe disco Dazzler and Bill the Lobster and X-Baby Havok were just artistic license from Brooks. Though if all three of those things end up being crucial plot elements, it’s pretty much the best X-Men story by default. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Veitha]

Okay realizing that Bill the Lobster is on this thing is what’s pushed me towards “maybe all of these things aren’t going to show up in the miniseries” for the first time. Still think a big all-retcon issue showing Moira’s background maneuvering through the eras could thread the needle through a lot of this stuff.... but maybe disco Dazzler and Bill the Lobster and X-Baby Havok were just artistic license from Brooks. Though if all three of those things end up being crucial plot elements, it’s pretty much the best X-Men story by default. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think Bill the Lobster was a teaser for Fallen Angels. Maybe some of the Easter Eggs/hidden clues were about Dawn of X.

[H-E-D]

Dazzler did indeed give birth to Shatterstar, so I presume there isn't another pregnancy unaccounted for.

I'm assuming some of those characters were more for showing the generation aspect and that Hickman isn't going to be bringing AOA Iceman back to life.

[PhoenixLives]

Not sure if anyone else thought this: My thoughts on the washed ashore secret is that it is referring to the chimeras, that the black hole shunted them to another life of Moira's, washing them ashore in this timeline and, logically, they would seek out their "father" Apocalypse or "mother" Moira. She would have memory of them, so maybe she is hiding them in the black spot in Krakoa.

[davetvs]

They never erased her. She remained the Christ figure of the X-Men honored in countless stories including several Phoenix minis and with duplicate characters (Hope, Jeen). She remained prominent in merch, games and films. She has always been central to the mythos. She was just not starring in the books for a long time. Frankly she needed the break AFAIC and I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did. I get that people are happy to have her back and I don't think that's invalid. But acting like they were ignoring Jean or her legacy is not true. She's always loomed very large.

All of this. Jean is my favorite X-Man and I definitely missed her presence in the books but for all the time she was gone, she was never forgotten. The school was named after her, there were stories teasing her return (Endsong, AvX), they attached her iconography to Hope to remind people of her, etc. I'm probably in the minority of Jean fans though because I also love Emma and loved the Scemma years.

[Npresh24]

So I just realized that Adam-X is meant to be the son of Katherine Summers , which technically would't make him a Summers brother but a Summers relative. So if there's more Summers brothers they would have to be from Corsair. But If were just looking at relatives then if in fact Adam X is there half brother that would also make The Summers related to Xandra , Deathbird , Lifegaurd , Slipstream , White Noise and Black Light through proxy if intended origin of the all the characters remain the same. I just hope they leave Gambit , I don't want him to be a clone , a hybrid or related to The Summers tbh .

[phoenixzero23]

I just don't see what another Summers brother could bring to the X-men.