X-Men: Apocalypse had a post credits scene that overjoyed fans and baffled everybody else. And it’s got an impact well beyond just the next possible X-Men sequel. Here’s what it means, and why it’s important. Spoilers ahoy!
What Is Essex Corp.?
For those who didn’t sit through the credits this weekend, the ending scene picks up at the Alkali Lake facility with soldiers cleaning up the gory massacre Wolverine left behind. A group of men in suits marches through the carnage to the Weapon X lab, taking a sample of Wolverine’s blood and a collection of X-rays and other data. At the end, we get a close-up of a briefcase emblazoned with the words “Essex Corp.”
That’s referring to Nathaniel Essex, better known to comics fans as Mister Sinister. Yes, we know that sounds like a hair metal band from 1985, but in Marvel continuity, Sinister is a biologist from the Victorian era who discovers mutation and experiments on himself to prolong his life. And his appearance, even only in name, is bad news for the X-Men.
What’s His Connection To The X-Men?
Sinister is a sidekick of sorts to Apocalypse in the comics. In fact, he’s the one behind the cult that revives Apocalypse in the comics, and is remade by Apocalypse into a pale-skinned, nearly indestructible mad scientist. But he’s also a bad guy in his own right, obsessed with perfection through genetic manipulation.
As part of that, he spends a lot of time messing with Cyclops and Jean Grey, to the point where after Jean died, Sinister cloned her and sent the clone to seduce Scott, resulting in a baby boy, Nathan Summers, who was abducted and sent to the future, where he returned as Cable. You might remember Cable has a big role to play in Deadpool 2, so this hints that the next X-Men movie, which will be set in the early ’90s, may introduce this whole plotline. It’s unlikely the movies will deal with the whole ridiculously complicated saga of Jean, her clones, and the time-traveling and alternate reality offspring that result, just for the sake of clarity, but don’t be surprised if Jean Grey starts the movie with a baby and ends it without one.
And Where Does Deadpool Come In?
If the Cable connection weren’t enough to tie it in, there’s potentially a deeper connection to the first Deadpool movie. It’s never quite clear where, exactly, Ajax gets that serum that brings out latent mutant genetics that he tortures Wade Wilson with, and this is precisely the kind of thing Sinister toys with. If Wade isn’t quite over looking like an avocado that had sex with an older avocado, he might be looking for Sinister for a little plastic surgery. Now the only question is whether or not Sinister will be dressed in his classic blue window blinds or if he’ll switch bodies for, uh, an alternative look.