This article contains spoilers for Sins of Sinister #1.The X-Men's Sins of Sinister event has unleashed an even worse timeline than the classic Age of Apocalypse event. X-Men comics have always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. In large part this is because the concept allows writers to explore the different dreams and visions that run through the franchise; the X-Men fight to change the world, so it's fascinating to explore what kind of world they and their enemies would create. In 1994, a time travel adventure launched the Age of Apocalypse, Marvel's greatest crossover event This revealed a dark vision of the world according to Apocalypse, a monstrous being who believes in the doctrine of survival of the fittest.
Marvel's latest crossover is clearly a riff on this idea, with the X-Men facing a world conquered by Mr. Sinister. The villainous geneticist's technology was key to implementing the Resurrection Protocols, a combination of Cerebro technology and mutant powers that allows dead mutants to be raised to life. He had slipped a secret into the genetic codes he provided for the Resurrection Protocols, though, one that has allowed Mr. Sinister to take control of every mutant who is resurrected. Sins of Sinister #1, by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck, reveals Sinister's plans are even darker than Apocalypse;s.
Apocalypse's Goals Were Nothing Compared To Sinister's Evil
Apocalypse's vision was a horrific one. Utterly committed to the idea of survival of the fittest, he created a brutal and violent regime in which nobody could know peace. The most powerful mutants were at the top, always wary and watchful lest their underlings ascend to overthrow them. Humans - lacking in powers - were cattle to be culled or used for breeding. Apocalypse conquered the United States, and established a regime that dominated the entire world. The Age of Apocalypse began with a scene that said everything about the regime; it showed the time traveler Bishop trapped in this twisted timeline, scrabbling to crawl out of a burial pit filled with the bodies of humans.
Sinister's plans aren't quite so brutal - but there's a sense in which they are far worse. Sins of Sinister has essentially stripped every single person on Earth of their very self-identity - first the mutants, and then the humans, through a dark application of the Resurrection Protocols. Sinister has created a world where everyone is Sinister - but, in his view, they are all just pawns. Sinister has gained awareness of the ultimate fate of the world, of its absorption into a technological hierarchy billions of years in the future, and he aims to evade that. He is seeking to find a way to become a god - and plans to sacrifice the entire world to achieve his goal.
Sinister is the ultimate egotist, interested only in himself. A world in which Sinister triumphs is one in which all other beings lose meaning and identity, becoming nothing more than pawns in his grand game against destiny. This really is the X-Men's most disturbing dystopia.