Transformers Universe MUX
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The name or term Mindbender refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Mindbender (disambiguation).
Dr. Mindbender
Doctor Mindbender
Personal information
Real Name

Brian Binder

Birthplace

Springfield, Il

D.O.B.

Unknown

Alias(s)

Dr. Brainwave; The Dentist; Dr. Brian Binder; Dr. Gedankenbeuger; Doctor Interrogator; Red Mindbender; Dr. Rahul Singh

Military information
Service branch

Cobra Command

Primary MOS

Mind Control & Genetic Engineering

Secondary MOS

Dentistry, Experimental Systems

Rank

8 - High Command

Weapon(s)

Brainwave Scanner; BATs; stun probe; German pistols

Organizational information
Factions

Cobra

Subteams

Cobra R&D

All these people running around willy-nilly, having their own opinions, and making up their own minds! It’s hideously chaotic and unacceptable!

Dr. Mindbender was at one time an excellent orthodontist and an exceedingly kind and honest man. Tinkering with electric brainwave stimulation as a means of relieving dental pain, the good doctor made the tragic mistake of experimenting on himself. He underwent a complete personality change and became hateful, deceitful, and vain. Dr. Mindbender abandoned his practice and devoted all his time to perfecting his digital brain-scrambling into a hand-portable weapon system capable of reducing the most strong-willed individual into a cowering wimp. Dr. Mindbender doesn't think he's deluded -- he feels he used to be. Now that he has seen the light, or the dark, if you will, he feels it is his personal mission to bring the miracle of thought control to every one of you.

History[]

Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:[]

Mindbender's Indian-German family emigrated from Germany to America, settling in Illinois, shortly after the end of World War II. They quietly shortened their name from Fassbinder to Binder in the process.

There are many rumors about Dr. Mindbender's past, but the most persistent one is that he was once a kind and honest orthodontist experimenting with electric brainwave stimulation as a means of relieving dental pain. Using himself as his own test subject, the doctor performed an experiment that went awry and transformed him into the cruel, vain, and amoral Dr. Mindbender. Now free from any sense of right and wrong, Mindbender continued to experiment with mind control and other projects that no reputable or ethical scientist would ever conceive of.

BATs

BATs

Mindbender began to build quite a reputation in the underworld and caught the attention of Cobra. Using his "creeper bombs" -- incredibly fast-growing vines that grew pods that could burst open and release sleeping gas -- and his incredibly advanced Battle Android Troopers, Mindbender demonstrated his abilities to Destro and the Baroness by attacking a group of newly recruited Joes being trained by Lady Jaye. (At the time, the Doctor had no idea that some of his BATs' components were supplied by Destro's weapons manufacturing company.) The Joes defeated the Doctor's creations, but Destro and the Baroness recognized his genius. Even so, Destro was still disgusted by Mindbender's extreme arrogance, sometimes mocking the Doctor by calling him "Dr. Brainwave". Cobra Commander shared Destro's distaste for the scientist, noting upon their first meeting: "Hrmph! This Dr. Mindbender thinks more highly of himself than Major Bludd does!"

Ripcord

Ripcord

When he first arrived on Cobra Island, Mindbender used his jet ski-like torpedo transports (Hydro-sleds) against the Joes when they attempted to rescue Ripcord, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow. During the battle, the Baroness gunned down and seemingly killed an unarmed Storm Shadow. Keeping his reasons to himself, Mindbender ordered that the ninja's body be kept and stored.

Shortly after joining Cobra, Dr. Mindbender proposed an incredibly ambitious project to Cobra Commander. To assure Cobra's success, the organization needed a great warrior to lead it into battle. But, instead of trying to find such a man, why not create him? He postulated that by using cloning technology to combine the DNA of several ideal candidates, a new, perfect soldier could be created. But instead of using genetic materials of the living, Mindbender would combine the genes of history's greatest warriors.

Cobra Commander was willing to let the Doctor attempt it and authorized the use of Cobra's resources to that end. With the help of Destro and the Baroness, Mindbender broke into tombs, museums, and mausoleums to find the remains of history's most famed soldiers. Once that was complete, Mindbender set up a laboratory in the Museum of Antiquities in the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Highly advanced computers and medical equipment combined the dead men's DNA into a single pattern.

Mindbender created a dozen separate clone bodies and used each one as a test for his final creation. When he had mastered the process, Mindbender finally encoded the DNA pattern into a single clone body. That would give the warrior the best mental and physical potential of all the great soldiers. After accelerating its growth to artificially age his new creation, to give the new being memories, Mindbender simply entered data into the brain as one would a computer -- with the help of the late Dr. Venom's Brain-wave Scanner -- and historical fact became several lifetimes of memories.

In addition, Mindbender connected himself to the scanner to instill loyalty to Cobra in his creation. He also used the apparently lifeless body of Storm Shadow as "fresh meat" for his project, which may have helped wake Storm Shadow from the near-death ninja trance that helped him survive being shot. During the final stage of the project, the G.I. Joe team staged an invasion of Springfield. As the battle raged outside, the new being came to life.

Mindbender dubbed him "Serpentor" because it had "a snake-like ring to it". Serpentor seemed to know every move the Joes were making and he convinced Destro to allow him to lead the Cobra troops in a holding action against the Joes to let Cobra evacuate the town. In the fighting that followed, Serpentor led the attack personally, displaying not only his tactical skills but his charismatic leadership. Upon arrival at Cobra Island, the Commander ordered Mindbender to destroy his other young clones, fearing they would fall into the wrong hands.

The Doctor transferred the clones, still floating inside giant vats, to a hidden laboratory on the island of which even Cobra Commander was unaware. Mindbender remained at Serpentor's side, enamored with his own creation. Serpentor's successes boosted Mindbender's already high opinion of himself. He took Serpentor's side when he and Cobra Commander were at odds after the Battle of Springfield. After an attack on G.I. Joe headquarters, Cobra Commander and Destro were presumed dead, allowing Serpentor to take control of Cobra.

As Serpentor expanded Cobra's weapon sales business, Mindbender took charge of the Terror-Drome project. Cobra sold their Terror-Drome launch bases to any nation that could pay for them, and in doing so played a part in further destabilizing already-chaotic regions of the world. Mindbender and the Baroness were stationed at the Terror-Drome in Sierra Gordo during the counter-revolution. When Snake-Eyes was sent in on a recon mission, the commando was captured and subjected to Mindbender's upgraded version of the late Dr. Venom's Brain-wave Scanner. Mindbender also had a new lab set up in the Cobra Consulate in New York City, where he continued to refine the Scanner.

The Terror-Drome project finally came to fruition many months later when the launch base's secret was revealed in Frusenland. The bases' paranoia-inducing low frequency sound wave transmitters were activated, helping to spark civil unrest in the country. The Joes arrived just in time and revealed Cobra's treachery to the country's prime minister, ruining the Terror-Drome operation. Shortly after the debacle in Frusenland, Mindbender and Serpentor discovered that Cobra Commander was in fact an imposter: the Crimson Guardsman Fred VII. They kept the information to themselves, hoping to find the best way to use the information to their advantage.

Mindbender's next creation was the surgically enhanced Cobra pilot known as the Star-Viper. He was intended to pilot Cobra's new Stiletto rocket plane, but Mindbender wanted to prove the Star-Viper's usefulness in other areas. With Serpentor's approval, the Star-Viper was sent to investigate the Utah Army base where some G.I. Joe activity had been detected. The enhanced Viper infiltrated Joe headquarters and stole a top secret electronic "black box" from the space shuttle Defiant. The device was extremely valuable to the Pentagon, but when the Star-Viper returned to Cobra Island with his prize, a fist fight broke out between Serpentor and the Cobra Commander imposter, Fred VII. The fight quickly led to a civil war on the island, and though most had forgotten the black box, Mindbender snatched it up for safe keeping.

Mindbender was Serpentor's closest advisor during the war, and when the war was favoring Fred VII, the scientist suggested using the black box to make a deal with the United States. Mindbender himself flew to Washington and a deal was struck for the G.I. Joe team to enter the war on Serpentor's side. With the Joes' help the tide of the war turned, but in the middle of a battle, Zartan fired an arrow that struck and killed Serpentor. Fearing for himself, Mindbender ran towards enemy lines and quickly made a deal with Fred's forces. The Joes were forced to leave the island, in disgrace.

Afterwards, the Doctor told Fred VII that he knew his identity and allied himself with the fake Cobra Commander. Hoping to stay in Fred's good graces, Mindbender then staged an assault on the Pit in Utah, based on the information provided by the Star-Viper. The Joes learned of the invasion and moved the base's surface buildings to hide their true underground headquarters. Cobra forces destroyed the Joes' buildings and discovered solid earth underneath. Mindbender was enraged and humiliated.

Months after his failure in Utah, Dr. Mindbender was approached by Raptor, who offered to tell him where the body of the original Cobra Commander was buried. They both considered using the Commander's DNA and the technology that created Serpentor to create a new leader. After they arrived at the Commander's gravesite, they discovered Cobra Commander was alive and well, having been rescued years before by his loyal Crimson Guard.

The Commander decided it was time to return to Cobra and rounded up many of his enemies, including Mindbender. Along with several others, Mindbender was imprisoned inside Cobra Island's landlocked freighter, which the Commander buried under the rubble of a collapsed volcano. Nearly all those inside apparently died from spoiled rations -- the only food inside the ship. Cobra Vipers discovered Mindbender's lifeless body months later.

That should have been the end of the story of Dr. Mindbender, but for a man who learned to create life, death was only a challenge to overcome. Before his death, Mindbender had stored the data that made up his memories in the same computer system he had used to construct Serpentor's brain. With this and samples of his own DNA, the evil genius left behind a blueprint for his own resurrection. His equipment remained untouched in his lab on Cobra Island for years until Cobra Commander abandoned the island and took back control of the Silent Castle in Trans-Carpathia. There, the Commander set up Mindbender's lab equipment, which now included a lifeless body floating in the same cloning tank that Serpentor had emerged from years before.

It was in the Silent Castle that the body began to show signs of life. A brief time later, Cobra Commander traveled to the Cobra-controlled town of Millville. While Vipers were off-loading the cloning tank from a helicopter, a resident of the town began to resist Cobra's brainwashing and knocked the tank to the ground. The tank shattered and the man smashed a portable Brain-wave Scanner near it, sending bolts of electricity into the liquid surrounding the barely alive body. The jolt of energy suddenly brought life to the body, and Dr. Mindbender had returned.

The scientist soon returned to his evil ways, now fully supporting Cobra Commander. With Mindbender's help, the Commander used mind control to bend Destro, the Baroness, Zartan, and Billy to his will, giving Cobra a new high command. The Doctor also created holographic illusions to confuse any who entered the Silent Castle, and designed a new suit of battle armor for Cobra Commander that could be hidden beneath his normal uniform. Just as Cobra gained territory in Eastern Europe, an allied military force attacked and defeated the terrorist organization. In the wake of that conflict, most of Cobra's high command scattered and went into hiding.

Dr. Mindbender went underground for years (though he did spend some time working for Destro's weapons company) until 1997, when Cobra Commander called together his former lieutenants. Mindbender was one of the many who answered the call, ready to serve a new, revitalized Cobra.

MUX History:[]

Creator of Serpentor, Dr. Mindbender created many other clones trying to recapture lightning in a bottle, including Hannibal and Serpentra. Confronted by Cobra Commander over his activities, Mindbender claimed he was merely creating a contingency plan should Cobra Commander fall - not an attempt to coup during the Commander's current reign.

In 1997, Dr. Mindbender discovered a way to reverse the aging process of humans, and experimented with captured G.I. Joes. The plan backfired, however, when the Joes escaped, taking a large sample of the de-aging formula with them.

In 2012, Dr. Mindbender officially left Cobra to join the Red Shadows as Red Mindbender. However, he continues to conduct dark experiments on Cobra Island.

Red Mindbender

Red Mindbender

In 2014 Red Mindbender was contacted by agents of Concurrence, and secretly joined the group, offering technical advice and gathering information for Cobra.

I'll bring the miracle of thought control to each and every one of you!

In 2015 Terror Dromes were deployed around Sierra Gordo to create an area-wide communications blackout field, and one was used as a temporary base, from which Dr. Mindbender captured Grunt and President Velez (among others) and held them as bait to lure the Joes away from the Pit to leave it defenseless for a Cobra attack. In 2017, Cobra Commander put Dr. Mindbender in charge of Cobra's day-to-day activities. Later, the Commander gave those tasks to Baroness so Mindbender could focus on his research.

Dr-mindbender-deluxe-2022

Dr. Mindbender in 2022

In 2023, Mindbender was demoted and was forced to take part once again in field operations.

OOC Notes[]

Logs[]

1999[]

Techno-Viper Classified 2024

Techno-Vipers

2008[]

Baroness2008

Baroness in 2008

2009[]

2010[]

2012[]

Interrogator2010

Interrogator

2013[]

2015[]

Cobra Island

Cobra Island

2017[]

X

X

2021[]

Cobra Commander 2020 Classified

Cobra Commander

2022[]

Funland - Broca Beach

Funland in Broca Beach

2023[]

  • March 5 - "Imbeciles!" - Mindbender calls out who is stupid, and who is less stupid.
  • March 5 - "Cybertronians" - Mindbender replies impatiently to Interrogator.
  • March 11 - "In Incomplete Control" - Mindbender calls Interrogator to a meeting to talk shop and show off his latest experiment.
Omen

Omen

Players[]

Gallery[]

What If? Universes[]

Cobra World[]

In 1982, Dr. Mindbender discovered an alien craft buried in a dormant volcano in Oregon. Finding an amazing species of giant robot inside, Mindbender removed and repaired them, removing their cores for study and installing controls to pilot them directly or remotely as drones. With powerful mecha at their disposal, Cobra's army seems unstoppable.

References[]

Shattered Glass[]

Think Ken Kesey.

Is this all there is?!!

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