An X-Men ’97 villain is brought to the real world in a breathtakingly accurate cosplay that recreates the Marvel series’ animated art style.

An X-Men ’97 villain makes the jump to live-action in the form of an incredibly accurate Marvel cosplay. X-Men ’97 brings back most characters from X-Men: The Animated Series, including minor characters such as Dazzler and the Morlocks and major villains like the reformed Magneto, Mojo, and Mister Sinister. Following X-Men ’97 episode 5’s shocking ending, it’s possible that another villain will arrive to torment all mutantkind. Who exactly is behind X-Men ’97 episode 5’s tragedy is set to be revealed in episode 6, but multiple other antagonists may be preparing their plans against the X-Men simultaneously.

On Instagram, Marvel fan and experienced cosplayer nerd_alert_cosplay shares his Mister Sinister cosplay, crafted with an impressive attention to detail in the style of X-Men ’97. To achieve X-Men ’97‘s animated art style, the cosplayer wears a custom-made mask, complete with solid hair and a full skin-texture neckpiece. Mister Sinister’s extravagant costume is a blend of hard foam and fabric with a custom pattern that mimics the villain’s form-fitting armor. Check out the cosplay below:

Why Mister Sinister Has Never Appeared In A Live-Action X-Men Movie

Mister Sinister Almost Appeared In Fox’s X-Men Movies Multiple Times

Among the X-Men’s large collection of enemies, Mister Sinister is a particularly difficult character to translate to live-action. Not only does Nathaniel Essex sport an outlandish suit and an extravagantly white skin with bright red eyes, but he also has a rather complicated origin story. Mister Sinister is a nineteenth-century geneticist who becomes obsessed with mutants, sides with Apocalypse, and receives artificial mutations that provide him with an extended lifespan, telepathy, and cloning abilities, among other powers he uses to fight the X-Men in the present day.

Mister Sinister is responsible for Madelyne Pryor’s creation using Jean Grey’s DNA, which also makes him directly responsible for Cable’s existence in the present and the future.

The X-Men movies were a key buliding block in the formation of the modern superhero genre, but back in the year 2000, it wasn’t as easy to introduce the wild concepts and characters that abound in Marvel movies nowadays. Even the X-Men’s traditionally colorful suits had to be replaced by black leather outfits to help the early X-Men movies seem grounded. It took a long while for the X-Men franchise to present less grounded antagonists like Apocalypse and the Sentinels. Unfortunately, the wait took far too long for Mister Sinister.

Throughout the years, several X-Men movies teased Mister Sinister’s introduction through subtle references. For instance, X-Men: Apocalypse‘s post-credits scene featured Wolverine’s blood getting stored in an Essex Corp. briefcase and Deadpool 2 featured the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation as a major location. However, none of the X-Men movies’ writers or directors seemed to agree on how to introduce Mister Sinister himself — and when a Beast solo movie finally aimed to include him, the X-Men movie franchise came to an end. Now, it may take a while for the X-Men ’97 villain to make his live-action debut within the MCU.