Jason Wyngarde was a carnival mentalist before joining the
Brotherhood of Mutants. With Mastermind's help, the Brotherhood takes over Santo Marco, a fictional
South 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. As a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, he participates in repeated clashes with the X-Men. He attempts to court his teammate
Scarlet 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. to his side. Art by
Jack Kirby. Mastermind later joins
Factor Three, an organization that attempts to conquer the Earth. Factor Three eventually disbands when their leader, the
Mutant Master, is revealed to be an alien. Mastermind, alongside Factor Three members
Blob and
Unus, reform the Brotherhood of Mutants. Mastermind becomes involved with the
Hellfire Club, who conspire to capture the X-Men for their own uses. He manipulates
Jean Grey through the use of his own powers and a mind-tap mechanism created by
Emma Frost, making Grey that believe she is the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club and is married to him. This turns Grey against the X-Men.
Cyclops attempts to free Grey on the
astral plane, but Mastermind confronts him there and soundly defeats him. Cyclops' apparent death causes Grey to break free from Mastermind's control and attack him, leaving him catatonic. Following Grey's death, Mastermind decides to use those closest to her as proxies for his revenge. He disrupts
Wolverine's wedding by psionically compelling his betrothed,
Mariko Yashida, to reject him and open up dealings with the criminal underworld. He manipulates the X-Men into thinking Cyclops's fiancée,
Madelyne Pryor, is Grey's reincarnation, 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. Mastermind later dies of the
Legacy Virus. Before dying, he asks Jean 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 Grey from dying alongside him. Prior to Mastermind's death,
Lorna Dane inadvertently killed her mother and stepfather when her powers first manifested.
Magneto, Lorna's father, had Mastermind use his powers to rewrite Lorna's memories, leaving her to believe that her parents died in a plane crash. Years after his death, Mastermind is resurrected by
the Five during the
Krakoan Age. During the "
Empyre" storyline, Mastermind is among the psychic mutants who assist
Magik in dealing with a
Cotati seed pod. == Characteristics ==