Jason Wyngarde, aka the Mastermind, is a Marvel villain and regular antagonist to the X-Men who can create psionic illusions and alter memories. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, he was originally a mutant and founding member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Wyngarde first appeared in X-Men #4 (March 1964) and was instrumental in the Brotherhood’s attempt to take over the fictional country Santo Marco by projecting the illusion that thousands of soldiers were there to invade the country. When the X-Men arrived to fight them, he created another illusion that the team was surrounded by a wall of fire. He was stopped when Professor X broke through the illusion and the team defeated the Brotherhood.

Later he joined the Factor Three team of villains who planned to take over the world. When Mastermind discovered that their leader was an alien, not a mutant, he and other team members sought help from the X-Men to defeat the alien Mutant Master. After they defeated the alien, Mastermind broke his alliance with the X-Men and reformed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Blob and Unus.

The Mastermind joined the Hellfire Club and their goal of capturing the X-Men. He posed as Nikos to romance Jean Grey and manipulated her using his abilities and a machine that Emma Frost had created. He projected an illusion into her mind that convinced Jean that she was actually a Victorian aristocrat married to Wyngarde and was the Hellfire Club’s Black Queen.

The manipulation turned her against the X-Men and when Cyclops tried to reach her on the astral plane, Mastermind defeated him. Witnessing Cyclop’s “death” in the vision was enough to break the hold Mastermind had over Jean. Enraged by what he did, the budding Phoenix reached into his mind and gave him a taste of godhood that left him catatonic.