Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t lacking in the interesting hero department, including one with superpowers that are no stranger to the MCU so far. Peter Parker is going to undergo a transformation in his fourth solo movie that will see him unlock organic webs, as well as a few other enhanced abilities. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner is back in the fold and ready to let loose once again, and Frank Castle’s crusade continues on the big screen. However, despite all of that firepower, Spider-Man, Punisher, and Hulk aren’t the talk of the town heading into the summer, especially after the trailer teased a mystery mind-bender.
All eyes are on the MCU debut for Stranger Things star Sadie Sink’s character, who only briefly appears in Brand New Day‘s lone trailer with her face obscured, despite grabbing third billing in the cast. She looks to be making dangerous moves behind the scenes, utilizing mind control powers to stage a Scorpion prison break that will cause big problems for Spidey. For the time being, Marvel Studios is keeping Sink’s character a closely guarded secret, but the Internet may have beaten Marvel Studios to the punch in revealing her identity, because rumors claim that she’s none other than Jean Grey, one of the original X-Men.
While Jean’s telekinesis gets all the love because she can throw a mean fastball, telepathy is her true calling card. She can bend people to her will by controlling their minds, which typically means forcing evildoers to walk a different path. There seems to be some of that going on in Brand New Day‘s trailer, with members of the Department of Damage Control and an elderly lady handing the keys to their brains over to a mysterious figure. The mind-bending mutant is expected to spend much of Brand New Day in Damage Control’s crosshairs. But between being the usually heroic Jean Grey and possibly freeing the villainous Scorpion from prison, it’s tough to tell whether she will be friend or foe to Spider-Man.
If Jean is the one behind everything, as reports have strongly indicated, she’ll join an impressive list of MCU mind-controllers…
MCU Characters Who Can Control Minds
Scarlet Witch
In the comics, Wanda Maximoff is a mutant, just like Jean. The MCU took the character in another direction, using the Mind Stone to unlock dormant powers within her. Wanda wasted no time influencing people, giving Tony Stark nightmares about threats in space and unleashing the Hulk on Johannesburg, South Africa.
Fighting with the Avengers helped Wanda learn that with great mind-control power came great responsibility. Unfortunately, Vision’s death was too much for her to bear, so she went against her better judgment and took control of Westview, New Jersey, and the people who lived there.
Professor X
After leaving Westview behind, Wanda searched throughout the entire multiverse for a reality where her children were alive. She found one in Earth-838, which was protected by the Illuminati, a group of heroes led by Professor Charles Xavier. While the version of the mutant that appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wasn’t the same one from Fox’s franchise, he was every bit as powerful as his variant.
Professor X attempted to enter Scarlet Witch’s mind when she arrived at the Illuminati’s headquarters and started wreaking havoc. The multiverse’s most experienced telepath didn’t last long, as he was overwhelmed by the ferocity of his opponent.
Cassandra Nova
No version of Professor X spent much time talking about his family. He had bigger fish to fry, since the world was always facing world-ending threats. But giving his oldest student, Logan, a heads-up about his deranged sister would’ve done a lot of good.
Logan ran into Xavier’s sibling, Cassandra Nova, who was pruned by the Time Variance Authority early in her life, in the Void while traveling with Wade Wilson in Deadpool & Wolverine. She easily entered the minds of the titular characters and forced many others to do her bidding. And she would have done more damage if she hadn’t died trying to destroy the multiverse.
Mantis
Peter Quill and his friends didn’t get along well with Mantis when they first met her in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. She didn’t understand boundaries, using her powers to unearth people’s emotions and deepest secrets. Drax, especially, thought Mantis was useless, but she proved him wrong before the credits rolled on Vol. 2.
It turned out Mantis couldn’t only read people but also influence them. When the Guardians teamed up with Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange on Titan in Avengers: Infinity War, Mantis put Thanos to sleep, allowing her allies to get ahold of the Infinity Gauntlet for a brief second. Unfortunately, Peter losing his cool turned Mantis’ win into a loss.
Druig
The Celestials created the Eternals for the sole purpose of birthing more Celestials by protecting planets that housed seeds within them. For millennia, the plan went off without a hitch. But humanity changed everything, as the Celestials that called Earth home grew to love the people they were protecting.
Not everyone loved in the same way, though. Druig, who could control minds, decided to brainwash a group of humans and create his own utopia, away from all the war and heartbreak. His fellow Eternals made him see the error of his ways eventually, but he got the most out of his powers.
Ego
Like the Eternals, the Celestials also have their black sheep. Ego spread seedlings all over the galaxy and fathered countless children, including Mantis and Peter. His goal was to use his kids to unlock his seedlings and spread his consciousness across the galaxy.
Ego realized his plan was a tough sell, though, so he used his mind manipulation powers to force Peter to play along. Learning the truth about his mother’s death allowed Peter to break free from the spell and fight back against his dear old dad.
Bonus: Loki With Scepter
Loki didn’t show the ability to control minds when he made his MCU debut in Thor. Well, between appearances, he got an upgrade, courtesy of the Mad Titan, who gifted him a scepter that allowed him to control anyone he touched with it. In the opening moments of The Avengers, the God of Mischief brought Erik Selvig and Clint Barton over to his side.
It took a serious blow to the head for Hawkeye to wake up out of the trance, and Selvig didn’t get away unscathed, either. Avengers: Age of Ultron shed more light on the situation, revealing that Loki had been in possession of the Mind Stone.
Bonus: Kilgrave
Kilgrave’s status in the MCU is up in the air. He tormented Jessica Jones for multiple seasons on Netflix, pushing the hero so far that she was left with no choice but to kill him. However, Jessica hasn’t had a chance to address her past in the MCU proper, meaning the powers that be could still alter events.
If Daredevil: Born Again treats Jessica Jones‘ canon the same way it does Daredevil‘s, then Kilgrave qualifies for this list. His power of persuasion was among the most potent in Marvel history, as he could make characters with very strong wills do whatever he pleased.
Bonus: The Leader
No villain in the MCU had to wait as long for their big moment as Samuel Sterns. In The Incredible Hulk, he was exposed to gamma-radiated blood, and his brain mutated into something unrecognizable. Sterns spent the next two decades helping Thaddeus Ross out. However, he eventually got tired of his arrangement.
Captain America: Brave New World saw Sterns step out of the shadows and unleash technology that allowed him to control minds. Isaiah Bradley ended up on the wrong side of it and nearly killed Ross, the President of the United States.
