Warning: this article contains spoilers for Hellions #12!
An added layer of depravity may just have been revealed concerning the inner life of one of the X-Men's classic villains, Mister Sinister. Sinister’s prominence in the X-line has increased since the formation of the island nation of Krakoa. Now with a seat on the island’s ruling Quiet Council and a band of misfit mutants, the Hellions, under his control, the island's psychics are gossiping about this classic villain's love life.
The Hellfire Gala, an event running through twelve different X-comics throughout the month of June, all telling the story of one huge party, sees most of the troubled Hellions banned from the ball, with only Mister Sinister, Havok, and Psylocke attending the festivities. But when the rest of the team decide to crash the event, it creates a scene that gets tongues wagging in regard to the personal life of the "reformed" supervillain, who possesses a marked talent for genetic manipulation.
Hellions #12 - from writer Zeb Wells and artist Stephen Segovia - chronicles the events of the Hellfire Gala from the perspective of Krakoa’s outcasts. Amid drunken brawls between Wild Child and Daken and an artificially drunk Orphan Maker causing a scene, the Hellions make a distinct impact on Krakoa’s biggest night. A data page toward the end of the issue shows the telepathic hivemind the Stepford Cuckoos psychically discussing all the drama and gossip involved with the Hellions’ appearance, including Nanny’s violent confrontation with Sinister. It's here that Sophie Cuckoo volunteers that she's heard Mister Sinister is his own "type," elaborating, "What do you think all the cloning is about?"
Sinister's supreme narcissism, as well as his obsession with cloning not only himself but any mutant heroes he can get his hands on, has long been a key aspect of his character. In fact, during Kieron Gillen's 2011 Uncanny X-Men run, Sinister was established as a mad genius geneticist who built an entire society of clones crafted from his DNA, declaring them an entirely new species, with even the horses being members of homo sinister. Sinister enjoys a strict hierarchy with his clones, with one Sinister Prime commanding the others until being killed and replaced by a new version whenever a potential improvement is detected.
Sinister has also possessed other people, acting as an invasive consciousness that could turn them into new versions of himself. In short, Mister Sinister controls the life and death of his clones, many of which aren't even human, and isn't afraid to toy with their genetic structure. The current incarnation of Sinister appearing in Hellions is a mutated clone of the original Sinister containing the DNA of the long-deceased X-Man, Thunderbird, and recently established his own secret cloning facility in contravention of Krakoa's laws.
Considering the rampant murder and disturbing experimentation that has occurred in the Sinister clone society, Sophie's theory about Mister Sinister's love life goes beyond sci-fi narcissism and into something darker. Charles Xavier, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggert know Mister Sinister is destined to betray the mutant race, while the Vile Mutants kidnapped a prior version of the villain, and seem to be using him to spy on Krakoa. Mister Sinister can't be trusted at the best of times, but if he's forming romantic relationships with clones over whose life and death (and very DNA) he presides, the X-Men villain just became creepier than ever.