Mesmero (X-Men: Evolution)

The Mesmero of X-Men: Evolution is a pawn of Apocalypse. Throughout the first and second seasons of the show, he uses his mind-controlling powers to unlock the gates that have sealed Apocalypse away and engineer his return. In his first appearance, he is a part of a carnival that visits Bayville, called the Circus of Mystery. He uses first Jean, then Nightcrawler, Spyke and Shadowcat to steal three Tibetan rings from the early Han dynasty. He successfully obtains the rings and unlocks the first of three gateways.

In his next appearance, Mesmero uses Gambit, one of Magneto's Acolytes, to steal half of a spider stone from the home of Angel. Furious, Magneto chases Mesmero to London, hoping to prevent him from acquiring the other half of the stone, but nevertheless the two halves are combined and the stone transforms into a giant green spider. Magneto destroys the spider, only to learn too late that the spider was a guardian, and that by destroying it Magneto had done just what Mesmero had wanted: opened the second gate to free Apocalypse.

To open the third and final gate, Mesmero enlisted the help of Mystique (over whom his powers had no control) and dominated her daughter Rogue, forcing her to absorb the powers of all of her fellow X-Men, as well as members of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes. Mesmero deceived Mystique into opening the third gate, then forced Rogue to awaken Apocalypse by "feeding" him the powers she had stolen earlier. However, once Apocalypse was reawakened, he lost interest in his former loyal servant, and the X-Men found Mesmero some time later, back in his tent at the carnival. Xavier was able to learn Apocalypse's plan by scanning Mesmero's mind. Mesmero's final fate is unknown.