- January 25, 2023
The Sins of Sinister #1 Review
Written by: Kieron Gillen
Art by: Lucas Werneck
Coloring by: Bryan Valenza
Lettering by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editing by: Lauren Amaro, Jordan D. White
The X-Men are known for their alternate futures, each about how the world can end and where mutants will be during the end. First, was Days of Future’s Past, where the robots rose to usurp and destroy mutant-dom and humanity. Then there was the Age of Apocalypse when it was truly about the survival of the fittest. There’s also the Age of X-Man, which I admittedly have no idea about. Let’s not even talk about House of M. If there were another one asides from those four, it wasn’t that big a deal to me, hence why I don’t remember them. Now though, we have the Sins of Sinister, and it’s what happens when the world is influenced by Mister Sinister. Specifically influenced, but not ruled.
The Secret Behind the Sins of Sinister
The most terrifying thing about the Sins of Sinister is that after all the heroes are beaten and destroyed, the regular people in the Marvel Universe are still… familiar. It doesn’t feel that different, or special. People still want to conform, sell out their fellow man, and live in a world that doesn’t look much different from what it was before. It’s kind of terrifying how normal a world supposedly ruled by Sinister really is. It’s a subtle thing that was driving me crazy that I didn’t understand for the longest time.
This has to be intentional. At first, I wasn’t sure, but you see it come together towards the end. You realize that even when under Mister Sinister’s influence, many characters still operate off their same base interests, the same ones they always have. The Sins of Sinister reveals with one page that this alternate future isn’t one where Mister Sinister is in charge. It’s one where Mister Sinister gave everyone that little push over the moral line and everyone found out that they wouldn’t behave that differently.
Except for Storm, but to go in-depth on that would be spoilers.
A Weak Middle to Make a Strong Start
This is a strong start to an event that sets up the themes and struggles to come. It quickly circumvents expectations and sets up a more interesting story than some ragtag group of heroes taking on Mister Sinister. Its reliance on exposition -that have many full-page spreads with a few textboxes to showcase the quick passage of time- was more than a bit repetitive. I’m not sure how else the creative team could have shown this passage through time, but it was worth it. Just be ready to fly through the middle of the issue at a fast pace that makes it feel short. This is only the first issue, and I expect the rest of the Sins of Sinister to keep us invested for the long hall.
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