Mindbender (X-Men: Evolution episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Mindbender” | |
|---|---|
| 'X-Men: Evolution' episode | |
 Jean Grey under the control of Mesmero. |
|
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 25 |
| Written by | Bob Forward |
| Directed by | Steven E. Gordon |
| Production no. | 25 |
| Original airdate | January 26, 2002 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Operation: Rebirth" | "Shadow Dance" |
| List of X-Men: Evolution episodes | |
Mindbender is episode 25 of the animated series X-Men: Evolution. It originally aired on January 26, 2002.
[edit] Plot
Jean Grey has a nightmare in which she wanders through a dark and rainy carnival. A giant, grinning clown stalks her, and Jean flees, only to run into another frightening clown. One lunges at her. She wakes with a start, levitating above her bed. Jean falls back down and hugs her knees to her chest, a storm raging outside her window. On her nightstand rests a jack-in-the-box, and its crank begins turning on its own. It stops, and Jean picks it up; a tattooed face with an evil grin bursts out. She screams.
The next day all the students of the Institute are searching the grounds to Jean, but no sign of her. Scott and Professor X examine her room, and take notice of the strange jack-in-the-box Jean won at a circus. Hank enters and confirms their fears; Jean has completely disappeared. Later in the control center Hank scans the computer for news, and asks Xavier if he’s made any progress with Cerebro. He hasn’t; Jean must use her powers to be detected, and Hank hopes that when she does use them next, it won’t be because she’s in danger.
Scott drives through town continuing the search, calling Taryn and Duncan on his cell phone but discovering no new information. Evan scouts out the police station, Rogue looks through teen hangouts, and Kurt ‘ports around the Bayville High athletic fields. Kitty asks the Brotherhood if they've seen Jean, and Lance gets mad at the insinuation, causing a tremor as she leaves.
Back at the Institute, Iceman, Berzerker, Jubilee, and Cannonball get ready for a Danger Room exercise. Jubilee wonders aloud if they should be helping in the search for Jean, but last Berzerker heard they were supposed to be having class, and Iceman adds that not having an instructor’s never stopped them before. Multiple runs after them, and slips as he turns a corner, creating several dupes. The other new recruits had obviously tried to ditch him, and they tell him to buzz off since he can’t handle the DR. They close the door on him and he stomps off.
Logan is showing Jean’s picture around, and discovers that she was recently at a train station and bought a ticket to Boston. Cerebro detects her power there, and Jean is using them steal a small ring from a museum display case. The police arrive, and she sends the cars flying with a wave of her hand. She is acting as if possessed. Cyclops gets ready to go after her, but the Professor tells him she’s on the move, and they’ll have to wait until she acts again to find her.
Meanwhile in the Danger Room, the new recruits are having difficulties against the giant metal tentacles that have them in their grasps. Iceman rallies his teammates to focus their powers and work together, and they free themselves. The boys think it was a piece of cake, but a “totally chafed” Jubilee stalks off. The doors won’t open for her, however. The Danger Room reactivates, with a laughing Multiple at the controls. After a while the doors open and the weary new recruits hobble out. A cocky Multiple asks if they still think it was “cake” and Berzerker replies, “Let’s get him!” Multiple scuttles off, but the tired teens decide to go after him tomorrow.
That night, Jean returns to the Institute. Scott lays awake in bed, and sees her walk past his open door. He follows her and calls her name, but she strikes him down with a psychic blow. She then enters Kurt’s room, and he sits up in bed. Kurt is possessed by the same unseen force.
That morning Scott pounds on the Professor’s door, saying that Jean came back, and took Kurt with her. Hank and Kitty are working at the computers to find them, and Kitty finds that the pair was spotted on airport surveillance cameras. They’re headed for New York City, and Wolverine and Cyclops go off in hot pursuit.
Nightcrawler and Jean arrive at a bank in New York City, and Nightcrawler teleports them inside while Jean levitates them above the security cameras. They teleport into a vault and break into a safety deposit box, snatching another ring. Cyclops blasts through the wall, but Jean telekinetically hurls both him and Wolverine out of the building. They stand, and see that the X-Jet is taking off, the possessed Nightcrawler in the pilot’s seat. They’re stranded.
Hank discovers that there are three rings in all, and they’re ancient Tibetan artifacts. Xavier tells him to find the location of the third key, unaware that the X-Jet has just landed in the front lawn. Jean “possesses” Evan and Kitty, and the Professor senses her presence. He tries to make contact with her, but another interferes, with Xavier getting a mental image of the same face from Jean’s jack-in-the-box. Hank beats on the control room doors so they can stop them, but the controls have been shorted out, leaving them trapped inside. The X-Jet takes off with four teens in tow.
The following day Xavier uses Cerebro to take down the image of the face he saw, and Rogue exclaims that she knows who he is; the Mindbending Mesmero, who was at the “Circus of Mystery” the young X-Men visited a few weeks earlier. She cranks Jean’s jack-in-the-box, and Xavier sees for himself. Hank alerts them that the final ring is in Washington DC.
At the museum in DC, security guards try to intercept the young intruders, but Spyke pins them to the wall. Nightcrawler teleports in Jean and Spyke, and Shadowcat phases in, shorting out the security cams with a touch. As guards start to close in on them, Shadowcat phases through a control panel, tripping the security system and closing off the area. Jean mentally slams another door shut, and Spyke wedges them closed with spikes. Shadowcat phases through a display case and picks up the third and final ring. They all hold onto Nightcrawler as he 'ports them out and the X-Jet takes off once more.
In New York City, Beast and Xavier pick up Wolverine and Cyclops. They’re off to the Circus of Mystery, but the X-Jet gets there first. Luckily the X-Men stop their possessed teammates before they can enter their master’s tent, and Xavier tells his team to keep them busy while he handles Mesmero. Rogue doesn’t like the idea of fighting her friends, but Wolverine tells her they just have to subdue them, not hurt them.
Beast and Nightcrawler fight, with Nightcrawler teleporting them all over the circus. Rogue uses her martial arts to dodge Spyke’s spikes, and is saved by Cyclops at the last minute. He blasts Spyke away, but Jean arrives to send him flying. Wolverine senses someone after him, but it’s Shadowcat. Wolverine retracts his claws, saying he could never hurt “Half-Pint,” but her response is a kick in the shins.
Professor X tries to stop Jean from handing over the rings, and as she attacks him Rogue sneaks up behind her and takes her out with a touch. Jean manages to throw the bag containing the rings into the tent, and Mesmero emerges. Xavier challenges him to a psychic duel and is on the verge of winning when another mental presence enters the fray, telling the Professor that he has no idea what he’s messing with. Xavier is defeated and Mesmero returns to his tent, just as all the captive X-Men regain their wits. Rogue uses Jean’s TK to tear apart Mesmero’s tent, but he’s vanished.
Beast helps Xavier, and asks if he’s all right. He responds that it wasn’t Mesmero who they were facing; a puppet like poor Jean, he was being controlled by someone else the whole time, someone with a mind that of which Xavier has never seen before. Wolverine asks why the rings were so important, but Xavier doesn’t know.
The scene shifts to Tibet, where Mesmero is sneaking into an ancient, hidden temple. He puts the three rings together to form a golden key, and uses it to open a large stone door. Light fills the place as the key is turned, and a second great door is revealed behind the first. Mesmero tells his master that he has done as was commanded, and pauses as he hears more instructions in his mind. He then says that soon the world will tremble before the might of Apocalypse.
