One face that keeps coming up to scare us senseless in Marvel Studios’ brilliant animated series, “X-Men ’97,” is Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mr. Sinister. Making his first full-fledged appearance in “The Uncanny X-Men” #221 in 1987, the bad guy so evil he’s even torn his cape to ribbons has been a recurring presence in the new show and could just as well be a prominent threat when the X-Men make it back to live-action. Of the many major villains who have caused issues for Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Sinister has yet to make a film appearance, and if Cavill was called with the offer, it seems like there’s a good chance he’d relish the opportunity to break bad again.
Having already dabbled with being a duplicitous villain as August Walker in “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” Cavill has shown he can (quite literally) twirl his mustache maniacally if he wants to. As for the possibility of Sinister coming to the big screen, the ending of “X-Men: Apocalypse” limply hinted at the character’s arrival in a tease that amounted to nothing. Since then, reports have suggested that Marvel Studios’ “X-Men” reboot may feature the iconic villain, after a plan to introduce him at the end of “The New Mutants” was also scrapped. Plus, if Cavill’s time as Geralt has shown us anything, it’s that he can look good when he’s angry, pale, and with deathly black eyes. Now that’s Sinister.
