Meet Rasputin IV, Mister Sinister's Powerful Chimera Creation

In SINS OF SINISTER (2023) #1, Mister Sinister took over the world and completely reshaped the future of the X-Men in his own twisted image. However, SINS OF SINISTER is not the first timeline where Sinister doomed mutantkind. In one of the timelines featured in POWERS OF X (2019), Sinister and his genetically engineered Chimera mutants helped destroy a world where Apocalypse led a mutant revolution. 

Now, Sinister has plans to unleash Rasputin IV—one of his most powerful Chimera creations—in IMMORAL X-MEN (2023) #1 by Kieron Gillen, Paco Medina, Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba, Jay David Ramos, Chris Sotomayor, and VC's Clayton Cowles. Before she fully emerges in the SINS OF SINISTER timeline, let’s take a closer look at Rasputin IV and how she changed the course of her future in POWERS OF X.

WHO IS RASPUTIN IV?

Rasputin IV debuted in POWERS OF X (2019) #1 by Jonathan Hickman, R.B. Silva, Adriano Di Benedetto, Marte Gracia, and VC's Clayton Cowles. Where Sinister designed his modern Chimera to have the powers of two mutants, Rasputin possessed five X-genes, which gave her the powers of five mutants. Rasputin has the organic metal skin of Colossus, the telekinesis of Quentin Quire, the force fields of Unus the Untouchable, the intangibility of Kate “Kitty” Pryde, and the healing factor of Laura Kinney’s Wolverine. Rasputin also wields the powerful Soulsword, as well as its mystical armor. 

In Rasputin’s timeline, Moira MacTaggert and Apocalypse built a mutant empire together, thanks to Moira’s mutant power to reincarnate in a new timeline with the memories of her past lives. Having seen mutants wiped out under both Charles Xavier and Magneto’s leadership, Moira believed that uniting mutants behind Apocalypse offered the best chance for the long-term survival of her kind in her ninth life. 

Before Xavier could form the X-Men, Moira awoke a sleeping Apocalypse, and the pair launched a war on humanity with their X-Men. After forcing Sinister into working for them, Apocalypse and Moira’s mutant empire faced an existential threat from the Man-Machine Supremacy and its Sentinels. Accordingly, Sinister developed Chimera mutants with powers that were particularly useful in battle. 

Rasputin was part of the third generation of Sinister’s Chimera, which combined up to five X-genes in one being. These genetically engineered mutants overwhelmed the Man-Machine Supremacy and seemed to cause a turning point in mutants’ war against humans. However, Sinister’s fourth generation Chimera mutants was unstable, and their eventual failure killed many mutants and wiped out mutant settlements on Krakoa and Mars. While most remaining mutants migrated to the Shi’ar Empire, Rasputin and a handful of other mutants stayed with Apocalypse and a wounded Moira on the orbiting space station Asteroid K.

WHAT HAPPENED TO RASPUTIN IV?

After Apocalypse and Moira realized that the activation of the Sentinel leader Nimrod was the turning point that doomed mutants, they planned to steal information about Nimrod’s origin and send it on to Moira’s next life. During the first part of that mission, Rasputin took on an entire squad of Sentinels with her numerous powers and abilities. Although her team located where Nimrod’s records were being held, the battle-hardened Rasputin lost two of her teammates, Percival and Cylobel, in the fight. This left Rasputin, Apocalypse, Wolverine, Xorn, a humanoid Krakoa, and two Chimera named North and Cardinal as the last mutants in the Solar System. Apocalypse personally led the final mission to retrieve the details of Nimrod’s origins, and Rasputin took charge of another squad tasked with creating a distraction.

While Apocalypse's team retrieved information about Nimrod’s activation, Rasputin and her team traveled to Earth and attacked the machine-worshipping Church of the Ascendancy. Rasputin’s group met fierce resistance from the Omega Sentinel and her forces, which killed North and Cardinal and fatally wounded Xorn. Ultimately, Rasputin released the singularity within Xorn and created a small black hole that seemingly killed everyone present. Despite Rasputin's apparent death, the primary mission was successful, and Wolverine sent Moira on to her next life with the specifics of Nimrod’s creation.

Although the details of Nimrod’s origins guided Moira, Xavier, and Magneto in the early days of Krakoa, the X-Men ultimately could not stop the machine’s activation. Nevertheless, after experimenting extensively on himself, Mister Sinister developed mutant Chimera techniques decades before he did in Rasputin’s timeline. 

In SINS OF SINISTER’s future, Sinister has released an army of his Chimera creations and uses them to maintain his grip on the world. Now, Sinister’s Rasputin is set to change the future of mutants once more in IMMORAL X-MEN (2023) #1 by Kieron Gillen, Paco Medina, Walden Wong, Victor Olazaba, Jay David Ramos, Chris Sotomayor, and VC's Clayton Cowles.

Meet Rasputin IV in Kieron Gillen and Paco Medina's IMMORAL X-MEN #1, on sale now!

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