Another appearance from the X-Men franchise on the list (they do have a sh*tload of villains to work with), and this one was a little more obvious - although it still would have escaped the notice of some fans, considering how different this character is from his appearance in the comics. Known as Jason Wyngarde in the source material, Mastermind had the innate mutant ability to cast illusions in people's minds. He was a member of the 19th Century-themed Hellfire Club, a secret cabal of rich and powerful mutants with a penchant for fancy dress, who sought to replace humanity as the dominant species on the planet. Compare this to Jason Stryker (Michael Reid MacKay), the lobotomised, wheelchair-bound son of the evil Colonel William Stryker in X2: X-Men United. Stryker Jr had the exact same ability to cast illusions; and with the same first name and the same powers, its obvious that this is our big screen incarnation of Mastermind. It's just that Singer thought he could sneak it past us. Jason's abilities are put to good use in X2, taking Professor X on a creepy walk through his subconscious in order to trick him into using Cerebro for his father's nefarious purposes; Singer clearly had a great time directing the dream sequence, as it shows on the screen. It was an interesting take on the character, but in my mind it'll never be as good as the prospect of seeing a guy with mutton chops, dressed like a dandy, sparring with the X-Men.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
