The X-Men villain Mastermind, one of the chief architects behind the Dark Phoenix Saga, just returned to remind Marvel’s mutants how strong he is.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #9 by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, David Curiel & VC’s Ariana Maher, on sale now
There are plenty of powerful mutants out there, but the psychic population of Krakoa may be among the most powerful groups in the Marvel Universe. Even relatively obscure and forgotten figures can be strong enough with their abilities to take down entire teams all on their own, like one classic X-Men villain who just made his comeback in a very big way.
In Hellions #9, Mastermind just reminded the X-Men how dangerous he really is, casually bringing down the entire Hellions roster all on his own.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1964’s X-Men #4, Jason Wyngarde was one of the original members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, serving under the command of Magneto whole he was still a full-throated enemy of humanity. His ability to create perfectly life-like illusions made him a decently deadly foe for the early X-Men. What he lacked in physical prowess, he made up for in creative cruelty. Mastermind’s greatest feat came when he was invited to join the Hellfire Club, a band of powerful and wealthy mutants. Mastermind was recruited to help control a sliver of the Phoenix Force that believed it was Jean Grey, who’d increasingly become the most powerful of the X-Men thanks to her interactions with the Phoenix during the monumental “Dark Phoenix Saga” by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Tom Orzechowski, and Glynis Wein.
Using his abilities, Mastermind was briefly able to control Jean and trick her into joining the Hellfire Club as the Black Queen, unaware he was actually messing with the cosmic Phoenix Force in the guise of Jean Grey. When the Phoenix broke free of his influence, she used her psionic abilities to open up his mind to the full scope of the universe, leaving him in a catatonic state. Although Mastermind would awaken to fight the X-Men once again, he made amends shortly before dying from the Legacy Virus. Mastermind was one of the mutants quietly revived by the Five, even briefly appearing during Empyre. But Mastermind seems to have turned his services against Krakoa and taken a job with Arcade: namely, to capture the Hellions and their commander, Mister Sinister.
After the news comes in that Sinister has been captured, the Hellions enter the field after him. But the entire team quickly finds themselves trapped within Mastermind’s illusions. Initially posing as their New York contact after deceiving Sage into sending them, Mastermind uses his abilities to completely mess with the perceptions of the Hellions. Shifting their location from a car to a boat to a plane, Mastermind even seems to directly target and throw off the mutants before they can use their powers, turning Psylocke to stone and Havok’s plasma blasts into harmless birds. While it may all be an illusion, it’s real enough to throw the team for a momentary loop, which is all Mastermind needs to show off his most impressive creation: an illusion that the Hellions have been dropped out of a plane.
The entire team — from their point of view — fall to their deaths. In reality, this act shocked their brains enough to render them unconscious, all at once. It’s clearly a strenuous effort for Mastermind — especially considering the telepathic skill of Psylocke in particular — but he still proves capable of bringing down an entire mutant team in one move.
Mastermind’s takedown of Mister Sinister is even more impressive, which didn’t even seem to come about thanks to his powers. Instead, Mastermind was able to earn an audience with Sinister and split a cup of tea with him. After lulling Sinister into a false sense of security with nothing more than charm and words, Mastermind was effectively able to maintain a straight-face until Sinister had consumed enough of the spiked tea to collapse to the ground in pain.
Sinister is one of the most devious members of the Quiet Council, but even he wasn’t expecting Mastermind to be so tricky. Mastermind just brought down an entire team of Krakoan mutants all on his own, and he even brought down one member of the Quiet Council without using his powers. Mastermind is dangerous enough to endanger forces as powerful as the Phoenix, and it seems like he’s gotten even more confident in his powers since then. Coupled with his apparent lack of loyalty to Krakoa over working with someone like Arcade, it seems like Mastermind might quietly be a far more dangerous mutant than anyone expected.
