Mind-Wave is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. He is a supervillain who wields
psionic powers that has fought
Daredevil on occasion.
In 2019,
Benjamin Walker portrayed Erik Gelden in the
third season of the TV series ''
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
'' set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
.
Publication history
Mind-Wave first appeared in ''
Daredevil'' #133 (May 1976), and was created by
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...
,
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...
and
Jim Mooney
James Noel Mooney (August 13, 1919 – March 30, 2008) was an Americans, American comics artist best known for his long tenure at DC Comics and as the signature artist of Supergirl, as well as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, both ...
. The character subsequently appears in ''Captain America'' #319 (July 1986), in which he was killed by the
Scourge of the Underworld
The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...
. Mind-Wave's real name of Erik Gelden was revealed in ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Hardcover'' Vol. 10 when he was listed under Scourge of the Underworld's entry.
Fictional character biography
Erik Gelden
Erik Geldon, A.K.A. Mind-Wave, was a megalomaniac criminal possessing mental abilities heightened by his own inventions. He robbed banks in Europe and America until stopped by
Daredevil and Uri Geller. At the time he utilized his 'Think Tank', capable of firing various weapons.
Mind-Wave's mental abilities failed to warn him about the
Scourge of the Underworld
The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...
, who killed him in the "Bar With No Name" massacre.
Mind-Wave was later among the 18 criminals, all murdered by the Scourge, to be resurrected by
Hood
Hood may refer to:
Covering
Apparel
* Hood (headgear), type of head covering
** Article of academic dress
** Bondage hood, sex toy
* Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt
Anatomy
* Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris
* Hood, a flap of ...
using the power of
Dormammu
Dormammu () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (November 1964). He is the extra and inter-dimensional demonic e ...
as part of a squad assembled to eliminate the
Punisher
The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...
. Mirage disguises himself, Mind-Wave, and some of the other criminals as a team of
Avengers
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
trying to kill the Punisher. After the Punisher uncovers the ruse, he captures Mirage, kills Mind-Wave with a grenade, and leaves him with a grenade as a booby trap for the other criminals to find.
Mindwave
A new Mind-Wave appears as a
Superhuman Registration Act
Superhero fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as super ...
violator. He amuses the officers of a Las Vegas, Nevada police precinct by claiming he was there to officially protest the Registration Act, and clarifying that his codename was different from the man who was called "Mind Hyphen Wave." He then used his telekinetic powers to destroy the station and kill the police officers present before calmly surrendering to the
Thunderbolts.
Mindwave is escorted to a cell in Thunderbolts Mountain. When left alone, he begins a telepathic conversation with fellow prisoners Caprice,
Bluestreak
''LawBreakers'' is a discontinued first-person shooter video game developed by Boss Key Productions and published by Nexon. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows on August 8, 2017.
''LawBreakers'' attempted to expand on the traditional ...
, and
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
, during which he suggests that it would be fun to interfere with the surgery scheduled to be performed on
Bullseye
Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to:
Symbols
* ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block
* (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click
Animals and plants
* Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...
. However, Bullseye recovers from his surgery while Mindwave's attention is focused on the other Thunderbolts, and kills Mindwave and his allies in their cells using thrown scalpels.
Powers and abilities
The first Mind-Wave wore a helmet of his own design that boosted his natural mind powers particularly
ESP, with which he could blindside a non-telepathic opponent at will. His helmet also enabled him to communicate mentally with others wearing similar helmets, with his "Think Tank", or with other ESPers. Mind-Wave's "Think Tank" was a large, heavily armed vehicle control by his mental powers which he used to rob banks. It had heat-ray cannons. He also carried hand-held versions of the heat ray.
The second Mind-Wave who has his name spelled "Mindwave" was primarily a very powerful telekinetic, with the ability to destroy structures and halt and redirect hails of bullets in mid-flight. He also had some measure of telepathic ability, which he used to converse with his fellow prisoners and combine his power with theirs, in an attempt to destroy Thunderbolts by driving them insane. He wore a costume composed of dark body armor and a helmet resembling a gas mask.
In other media
Erik Gelden appears in the
third season of ''
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...
'', portrayed by
Benjamin Walker. This version is an ally and love interest of the
titular character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
who possesses empathic powers that allow him the ability of sin detection: to detect evil via his headaches, though he cannot specifically identify crimes. Additionally, he has a prostitute sister named Brianna "Berry" Gelden (portrayed by Jamie Neumann). While using his powers to blackmail people who have secretly performed criminal acts and collecting money to pay off gangsters, he encounters
Gregory Sallinger
''Jessica Jones'' is an American streaming television series created for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the film ...
, who attempts to kill him, only to run afoul of Jones. Erik has Jessica and her allies protect Brianna after Sallinger threatens her. Though Sallinger finds and tortures Erik,
Trish Walker
''Jessica Jones'' is an American streaming television series created for Netflix by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the film ...
rescues the latter to use him to help her find criminals to intimidate and kill. Sensing her intentions, Erik warns Jones, but she rebuffs him. He is later approached by Detective Eddy Costa to use his powers to help the police.
References
{{Daredevil
Characters created by Jim Mooney
Characters created by Marv Wolfman
Characters created by Warren Ellis
Comics characters introduced in 1976
Comics characters introduced in 2007
Marvel Comics psychics
Marvel Comics supervillains
Marvel Comics telekinetics
Marvel Comics telepaths