regarding how current Mr. Sinister is written

[Krakoa]

Gillen has talked about this a bit in interviews, but I actually think there's a pretty big difference between Gillen-Uncanny Sinister and Krakoan Sinister (including Gillen-written Krakoan Sinister) if you go back and read. The Krakoa-era take on Sinister (Hickman & Wells, mostly) took what Gillen did on Uncanny and really focused on some aspects of that over others, playing up the campiness and the humor as well as some of the unique weird things Gillen had Sinister do with cloning (though Gillen goes harder on it). Gillen's Uncanny Sinister is a little bit more sadistic and feels super victorian-inspired to a level current Sinister doesn't. Gillen describes it interviews as people really taking what they felt worked from his take and molding that into their take. And of course when Gillen came back to Krakoa, he's now trying to write Sinister that's in line with the take Wells and Hickman had.

[Vishop]

Has Sinister ever really lost anyways ? Maybe in Inferno...

I'll admit I actually can't remember much of Sinister before Gillen. I remember him in Inferno, then in like an appearance in Excalibur, a shadowy one in the Gambit/Morlock origin, one really nice one shot with him and Cyclops in Alaska...
What would you say is the quintessential Sinister story ?
Is this becoming the Appreciation thread ?

This is exactly why he shouldn't be the only big bad of X-Men at all. He should be someone like Lex Luthor who plays his strings through other characters against Justice League.

[DarkKnight85]

Has Sinister ever really lost anyways ? Maybe in Inferno...

I'll admit I actually can't remember much of Sinister before Gillen. I remember him in Inferno, then in like an appearance in Excalibur, a shadowy one in the Gambit/Morlock origin, one really nice one shot with him and Cyclops in Alaska...
What would you say is the quintessential Sinister story ?
Is this becoming the Appreciation thread ?

I think the problem is that Mr. Sinister haven't been overly utilized before 2010ish. I feel like he was only sprinkled in here and there with the exception of the Mutant Masscare and Inferno being his highlights. From I understand Inferno is his claim to fame, which is why I feel shameful I haven't read it yet. I will soon though.

Off the top of my head, I really liked the Messiah Complex Sinister. But again, if Mike Carey had been writing the character consistently like he did in those early issues of Legacy, that to me was the definitive Sinister. As least in terms of what I would like to see.


And yes, I do think it's very quickly becoming a Mr. Sinister appreciation thread lol!

[Wolverine12]

Sinister is great as the over the top flamboyant villain. Just look at the tragically short Hellions book we got last year, he was definitely the highlight of the series. If a writer comes along that tells a story with a more “classic” interpretation of Sinister that is amazing I’ll like that version to. At the end of the day, for me at least, it really boils down to if I enjoyed the story.

[Jack The Tripper]

This is exactly why he shouldn't be the only big bad of X-Men at all. He should be someone like Lex Luthor who plays his strings through other characters against Justice League.

I can’t lie, I think this is even more of a reason he should be THE big bad of this era (outside of Orchis/Moira etc).

Strides were made to make some villains more sympathetic in this era (Apocalypse being the obvious example), and I think Sinister has become such a great , refreshing villain because A) he’s out for himself B) he is completely despicable and C) he’s FABULOUS.

Outside of Inferno, I feel as though there has never been a quintessential Sinister story, and even Inferno is far more about Maddie. I don’t think we’d have gotten this (potentially) great storyline without the current iteration.

This is Sinister at his most manipulative and selfish, and arrogant, and I think it’s going to really fulfill his potential as a villain

Nothing but the best for the villain with the best name

[DarkKnight85]

I can’t lie, I think this is even more of a reason he should be THE big bad of this era (outside of Orchis/Moira etc).

Strides were made to make some villains more sympathetic in this era (Apocalypse being the obvious example), and I think Sinister has become such a great , refreshing villain because A) he’s out for himself B) he is completely despicable and C) he’s FABULOUS.

Outside of Inferno, I feel as though there has never been a quintessential Sinister story, and even Inferno is far more about Maddie. I don’t think we’d have gotten this (potentially) great storyline without the current iteration.

This is Sinister at his most manipulative and selfish, and arrogant, and I think it’s going to really fulfill his potential as a villain

Nothing but the best for the villain with the best name

Well it's not just comics where he was underutilized over the years. Hell there aren't even any real good sideshow or XM studios statues of the guy. His love and appreciation totally gets left in the cold for some reason, yet everyone's always loved the character. It's pretty strange. But yes I agree, it probably is time to let him shine. Been a long time coming. And while I prefer an older characterization, I by no means disapprove of what they are doing with him now. It's a fair interpretation.

[jebsib]

I keep coming back to - why - after 25 years of spotty (but fairly regular appearances) - including a character driven limited series (Further Advs of Cyclops & Phoenix) - did his personality change SO dramatically (in-universe)?

[Krakoa]

I keep coming back to - why - after 25 years of spotty (but fairly regular appearances) - including a character driven limited series (Further Advs of Cyclops & Phoenix) - did his personality change SO dramatically (in-universe)?

In universe it was explained that he literally genetically modifies his personality.

That being said, it's not like he was a consistent character in the 25 years before. Just look at what Claremont was setting up and intending with him vs. what Further Adventures said.

[FluffyCyclopsRLZ]

Put simply, Gillen's current Sinister is by far the worst iteration of Gillen's reinventing of the character back in the early 2010s.

It's weird. Only credible theory I've got pertaining to Gillen's gleeful overwriting/ruining of his own villainous self-insert involves a bet with Jason Aaron and a calculated attempt to write a worse villain than the Hellfire Brats. Otherwise, I've got nothing.

[Krakoa]

Put simply, Gillen's current Sinister is by far the worst iteration of Gillen's reinventing of the character back in the early 2010s.

It's weird. Only credible theory I've got pertaining to Gillen's gleeful overwriting/ruining of his own villainous self-insert involves a bet with Jason Aaron and a calculated attempt to write a worse villain than the Hellfire Brats. Otherwise, I've got nothing.

psa: just because you don't like how a character is written doesn't make them a self insert

[Rift]

I keep coming back to - why - after 25 years of spotty (but fairly regular appearances) - including a character driven limited series (Further Advs of Cyclops & Phoenix) - did his personality change SO dramatically (in-universe)?

He saw Hellion in Spider-Man & the X-Men and really liked him. Sinister tried to emulate his sarcasm and wit, but exaggerated to such a degree that he became very campy. He's becoming more and more camp and foppish as he tries harder and harder to get Hellion's attention.

[Mutant_Lover]

Personally I love it - I know there are a lot of non-Sinister fans but I’ve enjoyed his characterisation journey since Uncanny. Can it get too much at times? Yes. But, for me, no more than other characters can seem too much. I’ve loved his role in Immortal and am super excited for SoS - and hopefully having the other Sinisters can give rough characters that will please others’ tastes!

[jwatson]

Honestly i just hope there is an end in sight. I mean sinister isn't a big issue really enjoyed him in hellions but going on pure logic at this point if everyone in sins of sinister remembers and knows what he does i at least want to see that other side of the tug of war rope. They can't get rid of him not in story based on the DNA he provides, but the waiting room and stuff cut his time down significantly which is why i think he needed to not only turn it into a hell but have someone be it's warden but now everyone should be on some level planning for his removal and he should be moving at the point in top form so the only way it continues to work for me is if it turns into chess rather than a game of plots but a writer really has to dig deep into every character to see how they would honestly move with such information so in that sense Gillien put himself in a tough spot but i hope he can deliver because the plot is so at the surface now with a 1000 years of knowledge this is what is going to show if he is wanking sinister or really writing a fair story.

[jwatson]

And this is just an aside cause my brain running but i think it would have been a cool twist and a good plot shield if the only ones who remember Sins of Sinsister were those that were actually corrupted after being resurrected after hope and the sinister dna factor was what did it because if he kills a moira to go back and remembers his mind must have some level of immunity or he did something so he can retain the memories from his consciousness when he resets everything and then you could have outliers like those touched by Lactua the all knowing or in storm's case if she does reach dominion level or legacy level ala knights of x.

[DarkKnight85]

I think one of the problems you could point out with the current iteration though is that Sinister certainly has his Scooby Doo moments. It's like he turns arounds and runs and has they overly exaggerated body movements and stuff. This iteration can be quite animated at times. Which this just isn't like the old version of sinister, where his presence was more silent in nature. Him just standing there static back in the 90's and so forth was intimidating. You knew this guy was up to no good and would flat out murder and sadistically play with you. He's lost the creepy vibe at least in the scary way.

I'm currently going through Hellfire Gala at the moment/Reign of X. So I can only comment on what I've seen so far. But that's what I get out of it. Some things he does are flat out hilarious though. It's just that it's a different Sinister. Or more like, the character had some of these traits before, but now they are being amplified to the max. Like when you think back to the 90's cartoon, he was always a kind of sassy and playful with his speaking. It appears Gillen just cranked some things to the max.