2. Mutant Master: leader

2. Mutant Master: leader Mutant Master is the person directing Factor Three. Mastermind’s name can make the lineup confusing, but the illusionist is one of the operatives. The authority at the top belongs to the figure on the hovering platform. In X-Men #37, Mutant Master explains the organization’s plan to the captured X-Men. An attack on Eastern bloc military leaders and the seizure of an American missile base are meant to provoke nuclear war. His followers believe that mutants will inherit the aftermath. His treatment of Changeling in #38 shows how that authority works. When his deputy questions decisions, Mutant Master asserts his control through the weapons at his disposal. Even the person responsible for carrying out his orders has reason to fear him. The decisive scene comes in #39. Challenged in front of the assembled mutants, Mutant Master orders his androids to attack both the X-Men and his own followers. Banshee’s sonic assault then breaks open the disguise concealing an alien body. The revelation explains why the promised future never quite added up. Mutants were also expendable in his real plan for Earth. The organization’s leader had recruited their grievances without sharing their interests. That makes Mutant Master’s role specific within this team: he supplies its strategy, equipment and false political purpose. Once those deceptions become visible, the alliance he assembled turns against him.