Mister Sinister’s plan comes to fruition in Sins of Sinister #1, by writer Kieron Gillen, artists Lucas Werneck, Geoff Shaw, Marco Checchetto, Juan Jose Ryp, David Baldeón, Travel Foreman, Carlos Gómez, Federico Vicentini, David López, Joshua Cassara, and Stefano Caselli, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue kicks off the next big X-Men event with a bang.

The book picks up right where Immortal X-Men #10 left off, with Sinister Xavier. Emma comes in and reveals she’s been taken over, then Hope and Exodus show up with red diamonds as well. The four of them begin to do Sinister’s bidding, opening with expanding resurrection to humanity. That’s the first step in Sinister’s plan to completely recast in his image, one that sees him use the X-Men and Krakoa to make mutants into the greatest heroes on the planet, martyr Krakoa itself to take even more power in the human world, and destroy every threat to himself, both from Marvel’s villains and heroes. He cements his power over the world, but pockets of resistance still exist, like Storm, Mystique, and Destiny. As the years go by, he grows complacent, stops looking for the other Essex clones, and pays for his hubris as his Moira Engine is stolen from him.

Sins of Sinister #1 is like Timeless for the X-Men, but phenomenal instead of merely good. This story has been brewing for a long time. There are rumors that this is still part of Hickman’s original plan, with Sinister’s machinations being a big part of Krakoan destiny. While it would be nice to see Hickman actually get to tell this story, this is still a stellar comic. Gillen has been knocking it out of the park since he returned to Marvel.

This is an excellent and entertaining comic. Gillen writes Sinister like no one else, capturing his malicious glee. On top of that, it’s wildly imaginative, as readers learn just what having Sinister in charge of an integral part of mutant resurrection cost them. It’s such a fun read throughout, watching Sinister pull everyone’s strings; this is easily the character’s biggest story, and after this breathtaking dose of manipulation, it will be hard to see him as anything but an A-list villain from now on. This comic’s ups and downs are amazing; if the rest of this story is anything like this, readers are in for a treat.

Werneck is the main artist and does a tremendous job, but that’s again to be expected. Each guest artist gets a page or two to show off their representation of Sinister’s new world, really bringing the story to life. It’s a great start. Art in the Krakoa era has been wonderful, and this issue is no different.

Sins of Sinister #1 is everything anyone can want from a kickoff for an event. It’s well-written, full of killer art, and best of all, exciting and fun to read. The X-Men books can seem pretty event heavy at the best of times, but this issue shows that sometimes, that’s a good thing.

Grade: A