Contains spoilers for "X-Men '97" Season 1, Episode 3 — "Fire Made Flesh"
As comic book fans may have suspected, the mysterious arrival in "X-Men '97" Episode 2 changes everything, with the second Jean Grey (Catherine Disher) who knocks on the mansion's door marking the introduction of Madelyne Pryor (Jennifer Hale), a powerful clone created by Mister Sinister (Chris Britton), aka the terrifying Marvel villain who keeps laughing over the "X-Men '97" intro. And as Beast's (George Buza) concerned reaction to the revelation that he's the one behind the clone plot suggests, the antagonist isn't exactly a lightweight.
While Sinister's kidnapping of Nathan Summers is unnerving, it's just the latest in a long line of attacks he's carried out against the X-Men (though understanding the full scope of his terror requires watching "X-Men: The Animated Series" before "X-Men '97"). A supervillain scientist with an interest in mutant genetics, Sinister's intellect and regeneration powers make him a difficult foe. He tends to focus on Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean but has plenty of history with the rest of the X-Men too, notably Morph (JP Karliak), whom he clearly still has a hold on.
Mister Sinister is even more complicated in the comics
The animated Mister Sinister is already a pretty complex take on the evil scientist archetype, but his comic book version is on a whole other level. In the comics, Mister Sinister is one of three clones of old-timey mastermind Nathaniel Essex, each bearing a different playing card suit on their forehead.
Mister Sinister is reliably selfish, at one point having allied himself with Charles Xavier and Magneto only to further his own goals. Complete that with his increasingly flamboyant personality and tendency to make even more clones of himself, and he's one captivating villain.
Interestingly, Mister Sinister is also arguably the biggest X-Men antagonist who has yet to make a live-action appearance, although there are rumors that after being cut from a Fox "X-Men" movie, the iconic villain may be featured in Marvel's reboot of the superhero mutant team. Fingers crossed.
