| Mastermind | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The X-Men #4 (March 1964)[1] |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Jason Wyngarde |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Secret Empire Brotherhood of Evil Mutants Factor Three Hellfire Club |
| Abilities |
|
Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, commonly as an adversary of theX-Men. The original Mastermind was amutant with the psionic ability to generate complextelepathic illusions at will that cause his victims to see whatever he wishes them to see. He was a founding member of the firstBrotherhood of Evil Mutants and later a probationary member of the Lords Cardinal of theHellfire Club, where he played an important role in "The Dark Phoenix Saga".
After Wyngarde's death from theLegacy Virus, his three daughters appeared: two possessing his illusion-creating abilities,Mastermind (Martinique Jason) andLady Mastermind (Regan Wyngarde), and theX-ManPixie.
Mastermind was created by writerStan Lee and artist/co-writerJack Kirby, and first appeared inThe X-Men #4 (March 1964).
During their time working onX-Men,Chris Claremont andJohn Byrne gave Mastermind the real name of Jason Wyngarde, based on British actorPeter Wyngarde, and redesigned the character to resemble Wyngarde.[2]
Nothing is known of Jason Wyngarde's life before joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, except that he was a carnival mentalist. With Mastermind's help, the Brotherhood takes over Santo Marco, a fictionalSouth American country, with an illusion of thousands of soldiers. However, the X-Men free the country, as Professor X sees through Mastermind's illusions, helping the X-Men when they believe they are trapped by a wall of flame.[3] As a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, he participates in repeated clashes with theX-Men. He attempts to court his teammateScarlet Witch, but his advances seem driven more by an unsatisfied need for love than by any true feelings for her, and she repeatedly spurns him.[4] The Brotherhood attempts to lure theStranger to their cause, but the Stranger temporarily turns Mastermind into solid matter.[5]
After the spell wears off, Mastermind joinsFactor Three, an organization that attempts to conquer the Earth. Factor Three eventually disbands when their leader turns out to be an alien, instead of a mutant. They team with the X-Men to defeat the alienMutant Master.[6] Mastermind is then captured bySentinels, but freed by the X-Men.[7] Former members of Factor Three,Blob andUnus, join with Mastermind to reform the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.[8]
Mastermind attempts to recruitBeast to his group, but fails and winds up battling him instead.[9] Mastermind is briefly held captive by the secondSecret Empire.[10]Magneto returns to the Brotherhood to resume his leadership and createsAlpha the Ultimate Mutant. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants battle theDefenders, but Alpha turns the entire Brotherhood team into infants.[11]
After being restored to adulthood, Mastermind becomes involved with the Hellfire Club, who conspire to capture the X-Men for their own uses. He initially poses as Nikos, and begins a romance withPhoenix.[12] Then, he manipulates her through the use of his own powers and a mind-tap mechanism created byEmma Frost, which he uses to project his illusion directly into her mind, causing her to believe she is living out the life of a Victorian aristocrat who was married to Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind),[13] and was the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. This turns her against the X-Men.Cyclops attempts to free Phoenix on theastral plane, but Mastermind confronts him there and soundly defeats him. Instead of binding Phoenix to him forever, as Mastermind had hoped, the shock of Scott's psychic "death" breaks her free from his control. Enraged at what he did to her, Phoenix reaches into his mind and makes him experience godhood for a moment. This experience leaves him catatonic.[14]
When Mastermind recovers his sanity, he seeks revenge on everyone that caused him pain. He strikes down Emma Frost, leaving her comatose.[15] He unbalancesRogue's shared psyche withCarol Danvers, prompting her to leaveMystique, while using an induced nightmare on Mystique to let her know he is responsible.[16] Next, since Phoenix is dead, he decides to use those closest to her as proxies for his revenge.[17] He disruptsWolverine's wedding by psionically compelling his betrothed,Mariko Yashida, to reject him and open up dealings with the criminal underworld.[18] He manipulates the X-Men into thinking Cyclops's fiancée,Madelyne Pryor, is the reincarnation of Dark Phoenix, hoping to goad them into killing her before he reveals the truth. However, Cyclops recognizes the patterns of Mastermind's power, and the X-Men defeat him in a short battle.[19] Mastermind later seeks to tap into the power of thePhoenix Force, but is defeated byRachel Summers andExcalibur. He is imprisoned with the delusion that he achieved cosmic awareness.[20]
Mastermind later dies of theLegacy Virus. Before he succumbs, he asksJean Grey's forgiveness for what he did to her in an attempt to gain control of the Phoenix Force. She forgives him and he dies peacefully after using his final act to save Jean Grey from dying alongside him.[21]
After his death, Mastermind appeared in a flashback sequence that revealed that he was paid by the supervillain known as "the General" to put one of his illusions into the mind ofSentry, making the Sentry "...so scared to use his powers, [That] he'll think the world will be attacked by the devil if he does." This would make Mastermind responsible for the creation of the Void itself, the evil counterpart of the Sentry, who is the manifestation of the inhibitions that Mastermind implanted in the Sentry to prevent him from using his powers.[22]
He would appear again in a flashback sequence whenLorna Dane discovered that she was the one responsible for the accident that killed her parents. Magneto, who had been drawn to the location of the accident by her magnetic pulse, had Mastermind use his powers to re-write Lorna's memories of that day, since he believed that she was not ready for her abilities or the life he could offer her, leaving her to believe that her parents died in a plane crash.[23]
Years after his death, Mastermind is resurrected bythe Five during theKrakoan Age. During the "Empyre" event, Mastermind is among the psychic mutants who assistMagik in dealing with aCotati seed pod.[24]
Mastermind has themutant ability to cast exceptionally realistic psionic illusions.[25] He can psionically cause other people to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste things that do not actually exist.[26] For example, he can make himself look and sound like a different person, or look and feel like a wall, or even seem invisible. He can use his powers to duplicate himself.[27] The range of Mastermind's powers is wide enough to affect an entire city.[3] He is even capable of affecting telepaths as powerful asProfessor X andJean Grey, although to manipulateDark Phoenix he required an amplifying device called a "mind-tap mechanism" provided by theWhite Queen that enabled him to project illusions directly into the entity's mind, so that the entity "saw" them, and to monitor the entity's thoughts, both over great distances.[28]
Mastermind's name and powers still live on through his daughters:Martinique Jason andRegan Wyngarde. Both appear to be stronger than the original Mastermind; Martinique can create citywide illusions that even hypnotize people to believe they are in a whole new era and Regan's lethal illusions can continue even after she has been rendered unconscious.[volume & issue needed]
In the second issue ofX-Men: Pixie Strikes Back, the mother of X-ManPixie, Mrs. Gwynn, teleports herself to the Wyngarde Mansion, where Regan is fighting with Martinique and reveals Pixie is their half-sister. Teaming up with Mrs. Gwynn who offers the sisters power in exchange for their help, they attempt to track down Pixie after being kidnapped bySaturnine. During the final confrontation with the demon, Pixie teleports both Regan and Martinique away when X-23 attempts to attack them.[29]
In the alternate timeline seen in the 1995–1996Age of Apocalypse storyline, Jason Wyngarde is one of the many victims ofApocalypse's regime. He is a victim of the experiments of a time-travelingSugar Man, which left him mute, though he is rescued by a time-travelingX-Man, as well asForge and Magneto. Years later, he joins Forge's Outcasts, a resistance cell traveling under the cover of a theater troupe. He was ultimately killed by the bounty hunterDomino.[volume & issue needed]
In the alternate timeline seen in the 2005 storylineHouse of M, Mastermind is mentioned to be a business rival ofTony Stark.[34]
In theUltimate Marvel reality, Mastermind a member ofMagneto's Brotherhood, here called the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. In contrast to his appearance in the mainstream Marvel universe, here is a lanky, white-haired, man with sunglasses and a ponytail. He replacesMystique's role posing as Magneto in theS.H.I.E.L.D. prison, though with the company of his girlfriendStacy.[35] In the 2008 miniseriesUltimates 3, he partners withPyro when Magneto and other Brotherhood members clash with theUltimates at Magneto's base in theSavage Land. He attacksValkyrie with an illusion of her greatest fear, but Valkyrie kills him with her sword.[36]
In the alternate universe seen in the 2009 miniseriesX-Men: Noir, Wyngarde appears as a member ofEric Magnus's Brotherhood of Mutant detectives in NY.[volume & issue needed]
Mastermind appears as a playable character inLego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced again by Travis Willingham.[37] This version is a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants that appears as aboss.[40][41]
Jason Wyngarde appears inWolverine: The Lost Trail, voiced byBill Irwin.[42]
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