Essex, better known as Mister Sinister, is the last fight in Marvel’s Wolverine, closing out Mission 29: No Coming Back. He arrives with copies of himself, a full-size Sentinel, and a stolen collection of mutant powers, so the encounter runs long and punishes sloppy timing. Jean and Shiro are backing you up, but the damage that matters comes from Logan’s claws.
Quick answer: Parry every purple and yellow attack to build Essex’s stagger meter, dodge everything glowing red, and empty your Special Techniques whenever he drops and turns vulnerable. Repeat across all three phases.
The color rule that decides the whole fight
Essex telegraphs almost everything by color. Purple and yellow strikes are meant to be parried, which feeds his stagger meter and opens a window to counter. Anything that glows red is a power attack you cannot parry, so you dodge it or clear the marked area instead.
| Cue | What to do |
|---|---|
| Purple blade, punch, slam | Parry to build stagger, then counter |
| Yellow blade / yellow projectiles | Parry back for a strong hit |
| Red floor / red charge burst | Move clear or keep your distance |
| Red projectiles / red lightning | Dodge only, cannot be parried |
If Essex corners you against the edge of the arena, use Knee Breaker, Rushing Dropkick or Overwhelm to slam him into the boundary for bonus stagger.
Phase one: Essex and his clones on the rooftop
Essex opens by splitting into copies, so you are dodging and parrying several attackers at once. Stay mobile, punish the openings his parries create, and wear his health down while keeping the stagger meter climbing.
- One, Two, Three — the left clone, right clone and real Essex fire red lasers in turn. Dodge to the side repeatedly until the clones vanish.
- Purple Blade — a rapid sword swing you should parry, then counter with a Special Technique.
- Yellow Blade — always follows the purple blade; parry it for a big hit.
- Red floor — the ground in front of Essex glows red and detonates. Stand anywhere outside the marked zone.
- Punch — a purple-fisted swing as he closes in; parry it for stagger.
- Slam — a follow-up ground pound with a small shockwave. Parry it, or interrupt it with a Special Technique when you can.
- Explode — he folds his arms, draws red charge in, then releases it around himself. Back away to stay out of range.
Phase two: the Helix Sentinel joins in
Every phase-one attack comes back faster here, plus a few new ones. After you deal enough damage, Essex climbs onto the giant Sentinel and the two start combining attacks, so you often have more than one threat on screen.
New attacks from Essex
- Blade Slam — clones raise a two-handed purple blade and slam down where you stand. Dodging is safer than parrying, then retaliate.
- Flying Blades — Essex leaps up, surrounds himself with purple blades and dives. Dodge to avoid being speared.
- Trio Kick and Slam — clones fly in and kick one at a time, followed by the real Essex. Parry every kick for stagger, but watch for the heavy ground slam that ends the combo.
Sentinel and Essex combined attacks
- Lasers — the Sentinel fires four beams, one from each hand and each eye, either straight ahead or sweeping across the arena. Keep moving to stay ahead of the sweep.
- Yellow Projectiles — five Essex figures float above the Sentinel and launch homing shots. Parry the yellow ones to send them back and pick off clones one by one.
- Red Projectiles — identical homing shots that cannot be parried. Dodge these.
Once the clones are gone, Essex drops to the floor and turns briefly vulnerable. This is the moment to throw everything you have, including all your Special Techniques, before the cycle resets.
Staggering him also sends Logan climbing onto the Sentinel to tear apart its head and rip open the power core. Scale the armor, cut through the plating, and open the core while dodging the machine’s countermeasures.
A run of interactive cutscenes plays after phase two ends. The fight resumes once you are face to face with Essex again on the street.
Phase three: the final stand on the street
The last phase starts with Logan bloodied and Essex taunting him. Keep pushing forward toward Essex even as you take hits, because you are meant to eat that damage. Once Logan breaks free, the fight opens up again.
There is no Sentinel this time, and Essex recycles his earlier moves alongside one dangerous new attack. The rules do not change: parry the purple and yellow, dodge the red, build stagger, and chip his health.
- Red Lightning — Essex raises a hand and fires lightning into the air. Watch the ground for the red crackle that marks where it lands, then dodge clear in time.
Keep grinding his health down and Logan enters his feral rage, tearing through the remaining clones and impaling Essex against the generator core to finish him.
Confirming the kill
You have won when Logan lands his final series of claw strikes and mortally wounds Nathaniel Essex. The game confirms it by unlocking the A Sinister End trophy as the closing cutscenes begin.
From there the ending plays out on its own. Jean pulls Apocalypse’s influence out of Logan’s mind, the two share a quiet farewell, and the story closes on the CONGRATULATIONS screen with New Game+ and the Final Trial unlocked.
