Spoilers for Way of X #1 ahead!
Doctor Nemesis might be the smartest member of the X-Men, but he has one serious weakness. In Way of X #1, Marvel's most intelligent mutant reveals that his greatest weakness is none other than law and ethics.
The character has an interesting publication history, first appearing in 1941's Lighting Comics #6 for Ace Magazines. The publisher later went out of business, and the character lapsed into the public domain; Marvel then created a new version of the character and inserted him into the Marvel Universe, retconning him to be a mutant. Doctor Nemesis’ mutant power is his intellect, which he describes as “self-evolved.” A polymath, Doctor Nemesis is adept at a variety of scientific disciplines, including genetics and chemistry, among others. In Way of X #1, readers learn that Doctor Nemesis is seeking to head up a research and development lab on Krakoa—and it highlights one of his few weaknesses.
In the issue, written by Si Spurrier, with art by Bob Quinn and colors by Java Tartaglia, Nightcrawler is having a serious crisis of faith, and as he wanders Krakoa searching for answers, he stumbles upon Doctor Nemesis, who is now growing conscious-altering drugs on his head; he tells Nightcrawler he helped cultivate the plants on the island. Readers also learn that Nemesis is designing new medicines that Krakoa is using as leverage against the rest of the world. Yet the most surprising revelation is that Doctor Nemesis is seeking to establish a new lab on Krakoa, and readers see his petition to the Quiet Council. In his petition, he is in charge of every single research division. These divisions are diverse, including the fields of time travel, medicines, psychology, math, and ethics—the kicker is the ethics/law branch is the only one he has no interest in heading. He recognizes this as a weakness and has left that position vacant.
Admitting there is a problem is the first step in addressing it, and that is what Nemesis is doing here. It is a good thing Doctor Nemesis acknowledges this and leaves it open for someone else because his research and technology with no ethical oversight is a horrifying idea. The psychedelics he is developing in this issue could potentially be weaponized by less than scrupulous individuals. The issue also implies Doctor Nemesis was behind some of Krakoan technology, including the Resurrection Protocols, and that technology could also cause a lot of destruction in the wrong hands.
Doctor Nemesis is one of Marvel’s smartest mutants. His wide-reaching knowledge of the sciences has made him a valuable asset to the X-Men and Krakoa in general, but now in Way of X #1 readers finally know that even Marvel's smartest mutant has his blind spots.