The MCU Secretly Set Up Its First X-Men Villain 15 Years Ago

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is wrapping up its current Multiverse Saga, but Marvel is already looking ahead. After Disney bought Fox in 2019, they gained the rights to the X-Men, and have started introducing mutants into the main MCU timeline. This has happened in surprising ways – Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel and Tenoch Huerta’s Namor were both revealed to be mutants, and many fans believe Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Wonder Man will be as well.

Most fans believe the Avengers: Secret Wars movie will reset the Marvel Cinematic Universe, potentially introducing the X-Men. While that remains to be seen, characters like Ms. Marvel and Namor show Marvel has been preparing for a future focused on mutants for some time. Interestingly, the seeds for this “Mutant Saga” were actually planted 15 years ago, with the very first hints appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Captain America: The First Avenger Secretly Set Up A Major X-Men Location With Mr. Sinister Ties

In The First Avenger, the US government originally planned to create many super-soldiers starting with Steve Rogers. However, that plan was quickly derailed when Dr. Erskine – the scientist who created the super-soldier serum and uniquely understood how it worked – was killed by Hydra. Steve Rogers, understandably upset, demanded to be involved in the response, but Colonel Phillips dismissed him, bluntly stating, “You’re an experiment, and you’re being sent to Alamogordo.”

This is a surprisingly obscure detail from X-Men history. Charles Xavier’s father, Brian Xavier, used to work at a nuclear power plant in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Later, in the 1990s, Marvel comics revealed that Alamogordo housed a secret facility focused on genetic experimentation. There were even suggestions that this facility was connected to the Weapon X Project, the program that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton and claws. Over the next ten years, Marvel slowly unveiled the full story of what happened in Alamogordo.

After World War II, a facility was built in Alamogordo to study the origins of mutants. Several mutants were secretly connected to the base, including Destiny, who could see the future, and her partner, Mystique, a shapeshifter who once managed to sneak inside. However, the most significant and dangerous person involved was a scientist known as Dr. Milbury – actually the notorious X-Men villain, Mr. Sinister.

The Seeds for this Major X-Men Villain Were Sown 15 Years Ago

Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mr. Sinister, is a disturbed scientist from the Victorian era. He was given eternal life by Apocalypse and discovered a way to absorb the powers and genetic material of mutants, making himself stronger over time. He also mastered cloning and transferring his mind into new bodies, a process he was developing in Alamogordo alongside another immortal villain known as Black Womb.

As a huge X-Men fan, it always bugged me that Mr. Sinister never showed up in those Fox movies. But thinking about it, it’s kind of wild – they were actually laying the groundwork for him for years, little by little! It’s just… he never actually arrived.

  • X-Men: Apocalypse‘s end-credits scene teased a company called “Essex Corps,” a pretty obvious nod to Mr. Sinister.
  • Essex Corps was name-dropped in Logan, related to the origin of Dafne Keen’s X-23 (an appropriate tie, given the character was Wolverine’s female clone)
  • Deadpool 2 featured the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation, linking to the fact Mr. Sinister once ran an orphanage in the comics, where he secretly experimented on mutants such as Cyclops.
  • New Mutants revealed Alice Braga’s Cecilia Reyes worked for Essex Corps, and her facility was named “Milbury House” – drawing on Mr. Sinister’s common comic book alias. Cecilia wore a red diamond pin akin to Mr. Sinister’s logo.

Fox’s previous plans didn’t pan out, but now the X-Men are officially joining the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. It would be a perfect fit for Marvel to introduce Mr. Sinister, a villain Fox never featured. The best part is, groundwork for his introduction has already been laid, making it simple to incorporate him into the existing MCU story.

Now that the X-Men are joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which characters are you most looking forward to seeing? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-23 20:42