| Mesmero | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The X-Men #49 (Oct. 1968) |
| Created by | Arnold Drake Don Heck (artist) Werner Roth |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Vincent (last name unrevealed) |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | Weapon X Demi-Men Brotherhood of Mutants |
| Notable aliases | William P. Thorton Junichi |
| Abilities |
|
Mesmero (Vincent) is a mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. [1]
Mesmero first appeared in The X-Men #49 and was created by Arnold Drake, Don Heck, and Werner Roth. [2]
Mesmero was originally a small-time crook who posed as a stage hypnotist at high society parties. He would use his mutant powers to 'mesmerize' guests into giving him their possessions and then making them forget about them. Mesmero drew the attention of Magneto, who wanted him to hypnotize Lorna Dane into believing that she was Magneto's daughter. Mesmero successfully took control of large numbers of latent mutants, and captured Lorna Dane. [3] Mesmero was then revealed to be the aide to Magneto, and battled the X-Men in the city of the Demi-Men. [4] [5] Mesmero's master was later revealed to be a robot in the form of Magneto, and a Sentinel attack resulted in Mesmero being captured by Sentinels. [6] Much later, Mesmero had become a carnival manager and mentally compelled the X-Men to serve as carnival performers. The X-Men freed themselves from his control, and as Mesmero then attacked the X-Men, the real Magneto appeared. The Master of Magnetism overpowered Mesmero and rendered him unconscious. [7] Magneto then stranded him in a South American jungle. [8]
Mesmero later performed in a Broadway stage show in New York City, where he battled Spider-Man. [9] Mesmero later escaped to Canada. There, he contended with Alpha Flight and was captured by Persuasion. [10] Mesmero later posed as a psychoanalyst to powerful clients in London. He took control of Excalibur and used them to battle Fenris. Mesmero was defeated by Lockheed the dragon and students from St. Searle's School for Young Ladies. [11]
Mesmero has encountered the X-Men on a few other occasions as well as teams such as X-Factor, and the Dark Riders. The Dark Riders intended to kill him, as they believe he was weak. Mesmero uses his powers to convince them they had thrown him off a high ledge. [12] With Alpha Flight, Mesmero takes over the minds of the junior members and is eventually stopped by the senior ones. [13]
When Mesmero joined the latest incarnation of the Weapon X program, the Director offered to increase Mesmero's hypnotic powers. Mesmero agreed and gained the ability to control entire crowds with a mere glance, instead of a mere handful of people. [14]
To keep the public unaware of the "Neverland" mutant concentration camp, Mesmero posed as a government liaison. With this identity, he informed news reporters that "Neverland" doesn't exist nor is the government involved in abducting mutants. [15]
While he was a member of Weapon X, Mesmero visited his dying mother. He had doctors help her as much as they could and used his powers to mesmerise his mother into believing she was healthy as ever. His mother knew it was an illusion, though, and she told him that she knew shortly before she died. Subsequently, Mesmero began to lose confidence in himself which caused him to lose his powers. Mesmero was transported to Neverland upon the Director's discovery of his power loss. [16]
Brent Jackson, planning on raising a coup on Weapon X, rescued Mesmero. Mesmero spent several months in seclusion as Jackson helped him get his confidence back, and with it his powers.[ volume & issue needed ]
Mesmero eventually lost his powers for good (along with most of the world's mutants) when the Scarlet Witch altered reality at the climax of the House of M event during Decimation . Devastated and ruined, the once-great supervillain was forced into poverty. [17] Mesmero finally achieved a personal triumph by forming a relationship with a woman who had saved his life, promising to somehow help her in turn. She put her trust in him freely and unconditionally, something he had never managed before without the aid of his powers. At this, Mesmero resolved to put his past behind him and begin living as Vincent. [18]
Mesmero eventually returned to his old life of villainy and became the leader of a newly formed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He also appeared to have gotten his powers back. [19] He first had his Brotherhood attack the United Nations and was thwarted by the X-Men. He then had his Brotherhood kidnap the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio. It was also discovered by the X-Men that Mesmero had used his powers to brainwash the members of his Brotherhood to join the team and force them to carry out those attacks. Once his control was broken, Mesmero's Brotherhood was dissolved, and Mesmero was arrested. The reason for Mesmero's actions was that he was paid by Lydia Nance, director of the anti-mutant Heritage Initiative, to carry out these acts to paint mutants in a bad light. [20]
Vincent is a mutant with superhuman hypnotic powers. He has the psionic ability to mentally influence the minds of others via eye contact, especially telepaths. Through a combination of careful planning and skill, he could manipulate their minds, even if they were much more prone to realizing/breaking his machinations than a non-psychic. Mesmero can hypnotize people into doing whatever he wants them to, alter their brains with false personalities or memories, and make his victims see him as a different person. He had proven unable to control Magneto, which his helmet that negates all telepathic attacks pertain brainwashing [21] and Alysande Stuart, with her capabilities, [22] for unknown reasons.
At one time, Mesmero wore a costume, which allows him to teleport, leaving only an energy blip where he once stood. That feat was only used for escaping an angry Alpha Flight and may have been controlled entirely by the technology of this suit or tied in some way to his mental capabilities. [23]
In Exiles, an alternate reality version of Mesmero, originating from the Earth-653 timeline, was involved with the Weapon X Program before being recruited into Weapon X, the more ruthless counterpart of the Exiles. [24] Early after the formation of the team, Mesmero was killed and his body remained in the Timebreakers' fallen heroes gallery in the crystal palace. After the Exiles took over the place, they sent Mesmero's body back to Earth-653. The corpse was teleported back to the facilities of the Weapon X Program, where it was incinerated. [25]
Another alternate version of Mesmero was revealed to have existed on Earth-127. This Mesmero was part of the Brotherhood of Mutants alongside Magneto, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (all gender-swapped, with Scarlet Witch now being called Scarlet Warlock). They planned to make Magneto (who was female in this reality) even powerful than she already was by removing Wolverine's adamantium skeleton out of his body and transfer it into Magneto's body. However the plan went wrong, and Mesmero and the other Brotherhood members fused into one powerful mutant being known as "Brother Mutant". [26]
In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Mesmero joined with a group of telepaths to create a kind of "psychic pyramid scheme" known as the Overmind which leader Quentin Quire uses to empower himself. [27] Mesmero along with the telepaths that compose the Overmind are later confronted and killed by the Shadow King. [28]
During the Secret Wars storyline as part of the X-Men '92 mini-series (which is based on X-Men: The Animated Series ), Mesmero was seen in a flashback as a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. [29]
Professor X is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1. The character is depicted as the founder and occasional leader of the X-Men.
Genosha is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in the Marvel Universe and a prominent location in the X-Men comics. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South African apartheid before becoming a mutant homeland and subsequently a disaster zone. The island is located off the Southeastern African coast northwest from Seychelles and northeast of Madagascar. Its capital city was Hammer Bay.
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne.
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and editor/co-writer Stan Lee, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of the most recognizable and successful franchises of Marvel Comics. They have appeared in numerous books, television shows, Disney's 20th Century Studios X-Men films, and video games. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise including various solo titles and team books such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.
Sage, also known as Tessa, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has most often been associated with the X-Men and the Hellfire Club, whom she spied upon for Professor Charles Xavier.
Pyro is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Brotherhood of Mutants is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. They are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men.
Xorn is the alias of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in New X-Men Annual 2001, he was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. He is a mutant who has a miniature star residing in his head, that gives him the abilities of gravitational electromagnetism, self-sustenance, and healing. He is most commonly associated with the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants. Initially in the pages of New X-Men, he was revealed to be Magneto in disguise. However, Excalibur established him as a separate character named Kuan-Yin Xorn and his brother Shen Zorn.
Magneto is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1 as an adversary of the X-Men.
Polaris is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Jim Steranko, the character first appeared in The X-Men #49. Lorna Dane belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. She can control magnetism in a manner similar to her father Magneto. The character has been known as Polaris, Malice, and Pestilence at various points in her history. Dane has also been a member of the X-Men and the X-Factor.
Mimic is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was briefly a member of the X-Men in the 1960s, and was the first character to be added to the team after the original line-up and the first X-Man who was not a mutant.
Toad is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The X-Men #4.
Unus the Untouchable is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Unus is a mutant, and is named for his ability to consciously project an invisible force field which protects him from harm.
Weapon X is a fictional government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were conducted by Department K, which turned willing and unwilling beings into living weapons to carry out covert missions like assassination or eliminating potential threats to the government. It was similar to human enhancement experiments in the real world, but it captured mutants and did experiments on them to enhance their abilities such as superpowers, turning them into human weapons. They also mutated baseline humans. The Weapon X Project produced Wolverine, Leech, Deadpool, Sabretooth, and Weapon H.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Captain Britain and the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe in 1976, she first appeared in the Marvel UK series Captain Britain.
Mastermind is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly as an adversary of the X-Men. The original Mastermind was a mutant with the psionic ability to generate complex telepathic illusions at will that cause his victims to see whatever he wishes them to see. He was a founding member of the first Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and later a probationary member of the Lords Cardinal of the Hellfire Club, where he played an important role in "The Dark Phoenix Saga".
The Shadow King is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also figures into the backstory of the X-Man Storm. As originally introduced, Farouk was a human mutant from Egypt who used his vast telepathic abilities for evil, taking the alias Shadow King. Later writers established Farouk as only the modern incarnation of an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity, who became one with Farouk when he grew older.
Persuasion is a fictional Mutant Superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
"The Twelve" is a comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in March 2000. The storyline was continued and concluded with the Ages of Apocalypse crossover.