Mastermind

Mastermind Mastermind helps five mutants look like an occupying army. During the takeover of Santo Marco, his illusions create the appearance of a vast invading force, frightening the population and helping the Brotherhood seize control. His power gives Magneto a way to magnify the group’s presence far beyond its actual numbers. What people believe they are seeing becomes a weapon with consequences across an entire country. He applies the same principle when the X-Men attack. A wall of apparent fire blocks their progress and sends them into retreat. Professor Xavier identifies the deception and wheels through the flames unharmed, demonstrating that the obstacle can be crossed. The sequence makes Mastermind dangerous through the decisions his illusions provoke: an opponent who accepts the false danger has already surrendered useful ground. His behavior at the dinner table gives that power an unpleasant personal context. He tries to win Wanda’s interest, reacts badly to her rejection, and draws Pietro’s intervention. Read together, these scenes connect his battlefield methods with his treatment of a teammate. Mastermind repeatedly tries to make other people respond on his terms, whether through intimidation or a manufactured view of their surroundings. My take: Mastermind, I don't really know what to say. I will say that I am surprised how many times he got away with tricking Jean Grey and some of the other characters. He's like a feeble, stupid character with weird powers. He barely knows how to use them, and he's pretty much been the laughingstock of the X-Men since the beginning. It was funny because every time he does this elaborate thing, he thinks he's going to get away with it, and I think he's the villain that had the most karma attached to what he's done. I think there were at least two different times that he was trapped in his own mind in hellacious torment because of the things that he was doing. It was good seeing. Again, I'm not too big on revenge necessarily, but when somebody does a lot of things and gets away with a lot of things, and then the revenge equals the crime or more, sometimes it's pretty satisfying.