The Wildest Mutations in 'Sins of Sinister'

Change is a constant for the X-Men and the rest of Marvel’s mutants. Once a mutant’s X-gene activates their innate power, they may evolve secondary mutations, endure genetic experimentation, or experience unexpected side effects from their abilities. For instance, these kinds of changes have radically transformed iconic X-Men like Beast, Angel, and Emma Frost since their debuts. But in the twisted timeline of SINS OF SINISTER, those kinds of evolutions have taken our merry mutants down a much darker path. 

Since Mister Sinister and his forces seized control of Krakoa, the world, and then the cosmos, familiar mutants have gone through dark evolutions and twisted transformations that have made them almost unrecognizable. Now, we’re taking a closer look at some of the wildest mutant transformations from SINS OF SINISTER, just in time for NIGHTCRAWLERS (2023) #3 by Si Spurrier, Lorenzo Tammetta, Phillip Sevy, Rain Beredo, and VC's Clayton Cowles.

NIGHTCRAWLER

Just before Mister Sinister kicked off the SINS OF SINISTER timeline by resurrecting several mutant leaders as his agents, Nightcrawler mysteriously sprouted a pair of horns in LEGION OF X (2022) #7 by Si Spurrier, Netho Diaz, and Sean Parsons. As the teleporter devolved into a more and more monstrous form, he and his teammates learned that the transformation was due to a spell cast by Margali Szardos, a powerful sorceress and Nightcrawler’s adoptive mother. 

While Sinister replaced Nightcrawler with a clone lookalike on the Quiet Council, he kept the real Nightcrawler locked away in one of his cloning facilities. The spell cast over Nightcrawler kept Sinister from manipulating his genes, but it also continued to transform him into an animal-like creature with bone protrusions all over his body. 

After a mystically-inclined Sinister clone named Mother Righteous broke the spell over Nightcrawler, Sinister used his genes to create teleporting chimera mutants. Mother Righteous eventually recruited these chimera mutants to her side and dubbed them the Nightkin. After discovering her terrible machinations, one rebelled against her and unleashed the original Nightcrawler, who struggled to speak in his completely bestial state. Despite using his philosophies to control his chimeras, Mother Righteous unceremoniously killed Nightcrawler in front of the Nightkin with her considerable mystical power.

CABLE

While most of mutantkind found a home on Krakoa, Cable stayed on Mars, which the battle-hardened Arakki mutants renamed Arakko. Like most of Mars’ other mutants, Nathan Summers escaped Sinister’s grasp and joined Storm in resisting him as part of her Brotherhood of Mutants. 

After Arakko was destroyed, Cable bonded with Xilo the First Defender, an immortal insect collective that serves as a comprehensive living history of the Arakki civilization. After merging with Xilo, Cable took the name X-Man and replaced his techno-organic components with Xilo’s insectoid worms, as revealed in STORM AND THE BROTHERHOOD (2023) #1 by Al Ewing and Paco Medina.

In addition to his powerful telepathic abilities and strategic expertise, X-Man also wielded Xilo’s unparalleled processing power and immense knowledge database. This array of abilities made him the ultimate psychic soldier on the battlefield, as Destiny noted in her final moments. 

When confronted with Sinister’s chimera creations, X-Man could analyze their mutant components and predict their powers before they attacked. With help from Destiny’s foresight, X-Man was also able to lead a small team of spaceships to victory against the armada of Orbis Stellaris, another Sinister clone. Despite his numerous powers, X-Man was ultimately killed in battle.

EXODUS

As a member of the Quiet Council that governs Krakoa, Exodus is one of the world’s most influential mutants. With an array of Omega-level powers fueled by the belief of others, he’s one of the world’s strongest mutants, too. Despite all of that, Exodus was still murdered by Sinister and resurrected as one of his agents in IMMORTAL X-MEN (2022) #10 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. Under Sinister’s corrupting influence, Exodus helped lead the Quiet Council’s effort to conquer space, frequently working with Hope Summers to mark planets for destruction.

After betraying Hope and killing her, Exodus started channeling mutantkind’s belief in her into himself exclusively. Eventually, Exodus and his numerous clones began fighting, and each one went on to form their own religious subsect. On worlds throughout the galaxy, Exodus clones grew into sleeping giants by absorbing constant praise from their captive clones, as revealed in IMMORAL X-MEN (2023) #3 by Gillen and Alessandro Vitti. The Exodus Prayerworlds maintained a tense peace through ceasefire agreements that kept the Exodus clones on their respective worlds—but virtually guaranteed the death of any who left.

KENJI UDEO

Kenji Udeo was one of the first new mutants to manifest powers after the Scarlet Witch depowered most of mutantkind in HOUSE OF M (2005). Kenji was already a successful working artist in Japan when he debuted in GENERATION HOPE (2010) #1 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Espin, but after his flesh-manipulating abilities activated, Hope Summers had to step in to help him control them.

Following a brief stint on Hope’s X-Men squad with the codename Zero, the troubled mutant turned against Hope and tried to convince his teammates to rebel against her too. Although that attack led to his apparent death, Kenji resurfaced later and unsuccessfully tried to get his revenge on the X-Men by killing Storm.

In the SINS OF SINISTER timeline, Kenji took his flesh-generating abilities to astronomical new heights. Mister Sinister originally created a Kenji serum to serve as a self-replicating food source for the captive Nightcrawler. After Earth was devastated by Sinister’s operations and an alien invasion, the Kenji clone started building a physical bridge to space from somewhere near the Galápagos Islands. Over the next millennium, Kenji grew exponentially, with his mass overtaking and consuming much of the Solar System, including planets like Jupiter and Saturn.

EMMA FROST 

Emma Frost was one of the first mutants killed and corrupted by Sinister, but her power dramatically eclipsed Sinister’s after a millennium in the SINS OF SINISTER timeline. When the Sinister Quiet Council started rebelling against Sinister, Emma was one of the group’s ringleaders. Then, after the Sinister Quiet Council conquered much of space, Emma lorded over her section of the universe as the Empress of the Red Diamond.

In addition to her telepathic powers and her diamond form, Emma enhanced her capabilities by absorbing the power of Cyttorak, the dark god behind the Juggernaut’s unstoppable strength. With her diamond form now ruby red, Emma gave the Juggernaut’s power to her loyal soldiers, making them one of the galaxy’s most formidable forces. 

After finding Sinister and Arakko’s last forces, Emma took on a new form by bonding with the shell of a giant Master Mold Sentinel. Although Emma and her forces destroyed much of Arakko, a resurrected Storm ultimately killed Frost with a nuclear-strength strike of cosmic lightning in STORM AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF MUTANTS (2023) #3 by Al Ewing and Alessandro Vitti.

DOCTOR NEMESIS

With the mutant gift of a self-evolving intellect, Doctor Nemesis is one of the X-Men’s smartest members. After operating as both a hero and a villain in the World War II era, he upgraded his body through numerous means, greatly expanding his lifespan. Then, just as the SINS OF SINISTER timeline started, the doctor was struck by the same spell that transformed Nightcrawler into a monster. As his power went into overdrive, Nemesis’ brain began expanding through mushroom-like fungal matter.

After being held captive with Nightcrawler for a century in the SINS OF SINISTER timeline, Nemesis’ brain expanded well beyond his body and attached him to his prison’s wall. When the Nightkin freed Nightcrawler, they also rescued Nemesis, but they had to cut into his fungal brain matter to free him, which dramatically reduced his intelligence. However, the Doctor eventually recovered, and he evolved into a sentient fungal spaceship loyal to Mother Righteous.

Nemesis also created and fed the Sinister clone’s troops, and he can conduct surveillance on a universal scale thanks to his fungal spores, as revealed in NIGHTCRAWLERS (2023) #3 by Si Spurrier, Lorenzo Tammetta, Phillip Sevy, Rain Beredo, and VC's Clayton Cowles.

Catch the next evolution of mutantkind in NIGHTCRAWLERS #3, on sale now!

Grab these comics and more at your local comic book shop! Or redeem then read your digital copy on the Marvel Unlimited app by using the code found in your print comic. Find and support your local comic book shop at ComicShopLocator.com.

To read your Marvel comics digitally, download the Marvel Unlimited app for iOS and Android devices. Gain an expansive catalog of 30,000+ comics spanning Marvel Comics history, plus access your entire digital library including comics redeemed from print.