Spider-Man: Far From Home introduced to Mysterio. A master of altering reality and creating mind-bending illusions, this is a movie you just have to see to believe. With Mysterio being praised for the trippy sequences he took us on, we have to remember he wasn’t the first illusionist in the MCU. Below is my ranking of the top illusionists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
#4) Scarlet Witch
Wanda Maximoff has to be one of the most powerful characters in the MCU. With the ability to manipulate probability, she’s proven to be a valuable asset in a fight. As far as being able to create illusions, we revisit Avengers: Age of Ultron. If it weren’t for Scarlet Witch getting into Tony’s head, we would have never seen the prediction of what happened in Infinity War and Endgame. It was from that dream sequence that Tony saw how he needed to prepare for the end of everything. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of Wanda’s manipulation powers since Age of Ultron, which is why she’s ranked at the bottom of this list. Don’t let that fool you, though; she’s not someone to mess with – just ask Thanos!
#3) Mysterio
SPOILERS
If you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Far From Home, spoilers ahead. Jake Gyllenhaal really solidified himself as one of the best villains in the MCU. The illusion sequences in the second half of the movie were mind-blowing and revival what we saw in Doctor Strange. There were so many moments that you didn’t know what you were seeing was real. Even Spider-Man himself doubted that a certain moment was actually happening because of the mental manipulation he was put through. Because of the severity of the illusions he was bestowing on Spider-Man, he gets a higher spot than Scarlet Witch. But, ultimately he’s in the number three spot because the illusions were the work of technology and not powers that he actually possesses.
#2) Loki
This spot and the number one spot are really tied. Loki was the first illusionist we saw in the MCU. Known as the God of Mischief, we’ve seen the tricks he has up his sleeves. From projecting himself in different locations, to cloaking his appearance, and even making it seem like Thor’s arm had been cut off. We see later that his mother Frigga had taught him the art of sorcery, something Loki has clearly mastered. You never know what is real and what isn’t. After all, he fooled all of Asgard for two years that he was Odin. It’s a shame that Loki’s run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seemingly over. Hopefully, we’ll get more mind tricks in the upcoming Loki series on the streaming service Disney+.
#1) Dr. Strange
I absolutely had to put Dr. Stephen Strange as number one. The mind-bending sequences we experienced in the solo film Doctor Strange were too trippy not to put him on top. Dr. Strange really mastered his craft and took us on one strange illusion-ride throughout his solo film. As well as in the movies to follow, where he not only sent Loki through a portal that left him falling for thirty minutes, but helped set the groundwork for the massive win against Thanos in Endgame. I can say that, in Infinity War; when Strange splits into multiple people was one of the coolest visuals in the movie. For all of this and what’s to come, Dr. Strange gets the honor of being the #1 Illusionist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Who do you think deserves the title?
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
