In the pantheon of X-Men villains, there's no one quite like Mojo. An obese, robot spider-legged monster, Mojo is the ruler of the TV-obsessed dimension of Mojoworld. Ever since learning about Earth and the X-Men, he's been obsessed with enslaving them to be the stars of his TV shows and increase his ratings. He's as absurd as he is horrifying.
Taking one look at Mojo (and there's plenty to see) may paint a simple picture, but there's more to the fat tyrant than it appears. While a relatively recent addition to the X-Men Rogues Gallery, Mojo has already made his large presence known - although he tends to get overshadowed by the likes of Magneto or the Hellfire Club. So without further ado, here are 10 things fans never knew about Mojo - X-Men comics' most underrated villain.
10 Mojo Wasn't Originally An X-Men Villain
Despite his long association with the team, Mojo wasn't meant to be an X-Men foe at first. Writer Ann Nocenti created the character for the Longshot miniseries in the 1980s, which was an attempt to launch a new Marvel hero.
Longshot was Mojo's slave and biggest star, and his attempts to escape Mojoworld made up the mini's plot. Funnily enough, the story actually set Mojo up as a potential Dr. Strange villain. But when Nocenti began writing The New Mutants, Mojo got folded into the mutants' orbit and he's been there ever since.
9 The Medium Is The Message
Mojo's characterization as a mad television executive sets him apart from other villains. Though it's often played for comedy, it comes from a pretty philosophical place. Originally, Ann Nocenti was inspired by media theorist Marshall McLuhan when she created Mojo.
Specifically, McLuhan's ideas about how the proliferation of television was affecting human society and how it could have negative consequences. Nocenti took McLuhan's theory to the most absurd degree with Mojoworld.
8 Mojo Is "A Real Horrorshow"
One of the most distinctive parts of Mojo's design are the wires holding his eyelids open. While they're an effective detail on their own, of course someone obsessed with TV wouldn't want to blink, they have a deeper inspiration.
Artist Art Adams got the idea from an interview with A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell. McDowell described how similar eye clamps, which were used to brainwash his character in the movie, scarred his corneas and Adams thought that was perfect for Mojo.
7 Mojo Is A Walking Wasteland
You know that old adage that TV rots your brain? Well, Mojo is the embodiment of that warning. If he leaves Mojoworld and comes to Earth, he'll exude an anti-life field and everything around him dies. Plants wither, people age into dust, and he'll cause natural disasters just by being there.
Mojo is so toxic everything around him just rots. He doesn't use this power often though, as he usually stays in Mojoworld. But he can control his anti-life field as it isn't shown during recent trips to Earth.
6 Mojo Created the X-Babies
Mojo's obsession with the X-Men is because they net him such great TV ratings. Even when he can't enslave them personally, he often has spies secretly filming them. So when it seemed like the team died (again), Mojo was left without his biggest stars. His solution? Adorable chibi clones.
Yes, Mojo created the X-Babies to fill his programming gap. They rebelled against him of course, but Mojo kept them alive because they gave him his best ratings ever. He later made some Avengers Babies too.
5 Mojo Spiraled Out Of Control
He might be an X-Men foe, but Mojo's personal arch-enemy remains his escaped slave Longshot. As such, the tyrant reserves his greatest enmity for him. It should be noted that the cruelest thing Mojo ever did to Longshot, he actually did to Longshot's friend.
Mojo abducted Ricochet Rita, a human stuntwoman who aided Longshot's escape to Earth, and modified her body with six cybernetic arms. He then brainwashed her into his loyal enforcer, creating fellow X-Men villain Spiral. There was some complicated time-travel involved with this, but it remains one of the worst things Mojo has ever done.
4 Mojo Introduced Psylocke
Probably the most significant impact Mojo has had on the X-Men is giving Psylocke her name. Originally just the mutant sister of Captain Britain, Betsy Braddock was blinded by a villain. Mojo took an interest in her after that, abducting her and restoring her sight with cybernetic eyes.
He then brainwashed her into a slave and redubbed Betsy "Psylocke." The X-Men rescued her, but it was no great loss to Mojo. The eyes he gave were actually cameras, broadcasting the mutant team's adventures back to Mojoworld for some sweet ratings bumps.
3 Mojo II: The Sequel
For a brief period in the 1990s, Mojo was overthrown as ruler of Mojoworld by his own clone. Named Mojo II: The Sequel, he seemed to be the complete opposite of his predecessor - at least on the surface. He appeared fully human except for Mojo's yellow skin and promised to free all Mojoworld's slaves.
Mojo II soon revealed himself to be just as bad as Mojo, though. Longshot, who had been his ally up until then, deposed this new tyrant and the old Mojo soon retook his position as ruler.
2 Mojo Is Responsible For Howard The Duck (1986)
The 1986 Howard the Duck movie is infamously bad, a black mark on a great character's reputation. So naturally, Marvel writers take every opportunity to mock it at every turn. The funniest one relates back to Mojo, who is apparently responsible for this cinematic abomination.
The 2016 Howard series revealed Mojo had used footage of Howard's life as a reality show. To fill in the gaps, he used an alien in a duck costume to act out scenes with actress Lea Thompson in the role of Howard's girlfriend Beverly (who Thompson really played in the '86 movie). Howard was none too pleased about this.
1 Mojo Might Be Turning Good
Mojo is pretty unrepentant about his villainy, but recent stories show he might be turning good. Or at least showing a softer side. The Mojo: Black story sees Mojo coming to New York without any evil scheme. Along the way he strikes up a friendship with mutant Glob Herman and goes on a date with a normal human woman. Yes, really.
His feelings for her even cause him to end an evil scheme to save her life. The same story shows him rescuing a girl from being hit by a car. Maybe there's hope for Mojo yet.