The X-Men Universe has many classic Marvel villains as part of its collective rogues gallery; the X-Men Universe will also soon be the source of many big storylines and projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To that end, there have been a lot of eyes on the recent X-Men reboot event “From the Ashes,” which ended the divisive Krakoa Era of X-Men and started a whole new chapter. One of the new books in the X-Men line has brought back one of its more eccentric villains, and given him a terrifying new role.
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That villain was none other than Mojo, the intergalactic slaver who runs gladiatorial games as a twisted form of reality TV. It was revealed in the rebooted comic series NYX that Mojo was behind the facade of new villain “Mr. Friend,” the leader of a gang that has been luring wayward mutants off the NYC streets with the promise of providing aid – only to enslave them.
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Marvel’s NYX #6 picks up with the Mojo plotline, as the Spineless One’s new mutant lieutenant, “Local,” ambushes Laura/X-23/Wolverine and her pals Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Prodigy, Andle and Sophie Cuckoo while they are trying to enjoy a Dazzler concert. Local isn’t there to fight – he’s there to hijack the concert livestream so that Mojo can use it as a Trojan Horse for a signal that will allow the vilain to be fed by the all attention and adoration that is aimed at Dazzler. Of course, the NYX crew intervenes, and they are nearly able to sway Local away from blindly following his monstrous boss. That’s when Mojo decides it’s time to get more hands-on and reveals a new power he’s been hiding…
Mojo’s New Powers Make Him A Perfect MCU X-Men Villain
Mojo has always been a showman, using enslavement and coerced violence to feed viewers’ darkest appetites for “entertainment” and feeding off that infatuation. However, NYX #6 reveals that Mojo can now possess those who are tuned into his broadcasts or feeding him attention – and on a large scale. He takes hold of Local and a large swath of the concertgoers, and unleashes them against the NYX crew. The day gets saved by the timely arrival of Timewalker (Kiden Nixon), Laura’s old friend who has been hanging out int he timestream during the Krakoan Era.
To be honest, Mojo is the type of over-the-top comic book-y villain that absolutely no one was asking to see in the MCU. He already made an appearance in the franchise this year, in the X-Men ’97 Episode “Motendo/Lifedeath – Part 1” – which is one of the lowest-rated episodes of that breakout hit series. However, this new version of Mojo, who is able to enslave those who watch his programming, is a perfect villain, thematically, for a modern MCU X-Men story. In a world where screens and watching without empathy is one of the larger concerns of today, Mojo goes from being a goofy comic book baddie to an grotesque reflection of the times – a devil of the screen, able to literally snatch minds away from those mindlessly consuming content.
NYX is now on sale at Marvel.