by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief

SPOILERS ABOUND!
Mister Sinister was first mentioned as the shadowy figure who hired the Marauders to kill the Morlocks back in 1986’s “Mutant Massacre” event that crossed over the then-extant X-books with Thor and Power Pack. Eventually Mister Sinister ♦ (né Nathaniel Essex) was revealed as the red-diamond-foreheaded strippy-caped big bad that would plague the X-characters in many storylines across comics, animation, and games for decades, Mister Sinister cemented his iconic villain reputation when he played a starring role in the now classic original “Inferno” storyline from 1989 where he teamed up with some Limbo demons and Jean Grey’s evil clone, who Sinister created, of course. 

Speaking of clones, in recent Krakoan years, we’ve seen X-writers finally pluck the low-hanging fruit and show us that Señor Diamond-head is but one suit out of four, with Doctor Stasis ♣ (you know that mutant hating lead scientist of Orchis, the organization devoted to wiping out mutants for fear that non-mutant humanity will be supplanted by mutants?) being revealed as a black-club-foreheaded Essex clone, Mother Righteous ♥ being revealed as a heart-foreheaded clone, and dude, some suspiciously Jeff Bridges looking Essex clone called Orbis Stellaris ♠ was riding around in what is arguably a bowling ball with a spade that really brings his forehead together. 

So in these recent Krakoan years we’ve seen Sinister become a bungling punchline, and yet somehow simultaneously becoming a quiet council member and running a crazy power stunt scheme that ruined the entire Marvel universe for a thousand years. Luckily that timeline got rolled back by the end of the “Sins of Sinister” storyline, but in the end, the Mother Righteous of that terminated future was able to send herself back a load of data. What was it? What are the origins of the Sinister Four? This entry into the X-Men: Before The Fall storyline will answer some of these questions, but can we expect a character created by Chris Claremont to tie up all the loose plot threads? C’mon, son.

Official Description:
Since the foundation of Krakoa, tolerating the evil of Mister Sinister has been the biggest and most dangerous compromise made in order to assure mutantkind’s place on the planet. The good news is that Sinister’s machinations have finally come to light and the villain has rightly been stripped of power and imprisoned. The bad news is… it turns out there are three more version of him out there. Doctor Stasis, a brilliant but mad scientist working to destroy the X-Men as of late, was revealed to have a black club on his forehead and is under the belief that it is he who is the original Nathaniel Essex. In the reaches of space, a sickly old man with a spade on his head is kept alive inside a spherical armor, engaging in galactic warmongering under the name Orbis Stellaris. And finally, with a heart on her forehead, the mysterious Mother Righteous has been making her own moves through the use of magic. Stasis and Righteous have only recently met in person…and he was quite shocked to learn that she was somehow a version of Nathaniel Essex’s long deceased wife, Rebecca.

Creators:
Kieron Gillen/Writer
Paco Medina/Artist
Fer Sifuentes-Sujo/Color Artist
VC’s Clayton Cowles/Letterer
Tom Muller w/ Jay Bowen/Design
Lucas Werneck/Cover Artists
Martín Cóccolo & Jesus Aburtov [Stormbreakers]; Michele Bandini & Mattia Iacono [Hellfire Gala]; Rafael De Latore & Java Tartaglia/Variant Cover Artists

X-Men: Before the Fall – The Sinister Four gives us a look back at the relationship between the original Nathaniel Essex and his Rebecca, and shows us why Doctor Stasis is how he is and how he and Mother Righteous feel about each other now after multiple lifetimes since their original selves were together. How will that shake out? And what of the dude in the ball? Is he the greatest Essex clone or is that just my opinion, man? 

Once again: Dear Marvel, please don’t fail us by ending the Krakoan Age of Marvel mutants. I want to keep buying the stories of the characters we love. 

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives X-Men: Before the Fall – The Sinister Four #1 5 out of 5 Essex Clones

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