With Extraordinary X-Men, by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Humberto Ramos, paving the way for the X-franchise at Marvel, it'll be the book to watch as it shapes the status quo for mutantkind going forward. We've seen the new team lineup -- team leader Storm, young Jean Grey in her Marvel Girl costume, a bearded Colossus, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Magick, and Old Man Logan -- but now it's time to reveal the first big villain the group will face with your first look at the cover to Extraordinary X-Men #4.

Extraordinary X-Men #4 cover by Humberto Ramos

Mister Sinister is genius as far as genetics are concerned. He's used his scientific prowess to enhance his own body so he can shape-shift, heal from fatal wounds, and use telepathy, among a great number of other weird things. He's also obsessed with the Summers family line and their unique genetics, which has led to many experiments and clones that have caused a lot of hardship for the X-Men.He was last seen in the Marvel Universe being thwarted by Spider-Man and some X-students, and then in Secret Wars on Battleworld as Baron Sinister where he all but cheated in a duel against Captain Britain.With a young Jean Grey on the Extraordinary X-Men team, it's not hard to imagine why he's made them his new target. But that's merely guesswork at this point. For some more solid information, we conducted an email interview with series writer Jeff Lemire about the big bad. We've also got three lettered pages from Extraordinary X-Men #1.

Sinister will be only ONE of the threats the X-Men will be facing in the first arc. He was a natural fit for this arc. His fascination with genetics in particular made him a perfect for an X-Men team that is facing extinction and being threatened by Terrigen Mist.In writing this series, I really don’t want to bring back any old villains, or X-Men concepts unless I can add something. So, Sinister will have evolved and changed to a degree when we see him. His motivations and essential character traits will still be intact, but we are taking him to the next level. Humberto is having a lot of fun with his design.Not particularly, though I did love Jonathan’s portrayal of Baron Sinister. We want this to be the Lemire/Ramos version of Sinister, whatever that ends up being. We really want to put our own ideas and spin on things, not just rehash what’s been done.Exhilarating. And also very daunting. These are beloved characters, with one of the most devout and passionate fan bases in all of popular culture. That’s not something I take lightly. But, at the same time, I need to shut that out to a certain degree and be true the ideas I’m most excited about.And, I’m not working in a vacuum. Cullen Bunn, Dennis Hopeless and the editorial team at Marvel have all been a part of the planning. It’s a big corner of the Marvel U and it’s a team effort.I could explain why Jean is with this team and not with the other young X-Men, and why she ends up in the costume, but I’d much rather you read it in the comic. It’s not just a random decision I made, it’s all part of the bigger story I’m telling with these characters. But Jean, to me, became very essential to this team and this series as soon as I started planning.Just the opposite. That baggage and that backstory is what makes Old Man Logan unique. Its what defines him against the others on the team and the Wolverine they knew. So these things were not a hindrance, but rather a gateway to interesting stories that we haven’t seen before with Logan and the X-Men.This Logan has a totally unique relationship to each member of the team. And each of those relationships are fresh and new to him and to them. Having him in the team shakes everything up in a really good way.Well, I can’t reveal too much, but let’s just say that Cyclops is currently unavailable. And Storm was the natural choice to fill the void his absence has left with Mutantkind. She is one of the greatest characters in the Marvel Universe. There is no one else with the life experiences or relationships she has that is more fitting to carry the torch of Xavier’s dream in the face of great conflict. Ororo is a fascinating and incredible woman.Well, The Claremont/Byrne years stand atop everything. The concepts and characterization they created are the template for everything else that has followed.I also have a fondness for the Claremont/Silvestri era, because those are the issues I was buying off the newsstand as a kid. In re-reading everything, the Claremont/Romita years were extremely enjoyable as well.Aside from Claremont, Grant Morrison’s run is my favorite. Like all of Grant’s work, It is just so rich with imagination. He never rehashed anything. Whenever he brought back old X-Men concepts or characters it was always a fresh take on them or the next evolution of these things readers were familiar with.I also loved the Brian Bendis’ run. Particularly the original X-Men and how he handled them. And Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and The X-Men was just so fun.Mutantkind is facing so much when we start the book. They are being threatened from every side. The stakes have never been so high. If they are going to survive it's going to take something extraordinary. It is going to take an X-Men team that is extraordinary in every sense.Well, aside from huge storylines that will effect the future of The X-Men for years and a great blend of drama, heartbreak and humor, I’d say that the art team on the book is extraordinary as well. Humberto Ramos is known for his kinetic action sequences, and rightly so, but he also imbues these characters with so much life and so much emotion. And with Edgar Delgado’s colors and Victor Olazabo’s inks, this is a really beautiful looking comic book. I couldn’t ask for a better team to bring the scripts to life.

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Lady Gaga are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN