Who Is Mindstorm In The Boys? And What Are His Powers And Abilities?

Ever since it was revealed that Soldier Boy was still alive, a good part of season 3 of The Boys has been dedicated to him hunting down the remaining members of Payback so that he could kill them himself for betraying him. Episode 7 was dedicated to him hunting down Mindstorm, the last remaining Payback member other than Black Noir. So, who is Mindstorm in The Boys, and what are his powers and abilities?

Mindstorm used to be a member of Payback and was the team’s resident psychic. His abilities are all psychic in nature, as he is capable of getting inside the head of a person and trapping them in an endless nightmare. Mindstorm could also brainwash people and trick them into becoming their thralls.

While Mindstorm probably doesn’t have any physical abilities that allow him to win fights, he has seen to be strong enough to incapacitate Soldier Boy himself. In that regard, he is similar to Marvel’s Professor X in terms of his abilities. Now, with that said, let’s get to know more about Mindstorm in The Boys.

Who Is Mindstorm In The Boys?

The Boys season 3 introduced us to the original supe group that Vought relied heavily on during the years before The Seven. This group was called Payback, and the one who was put in charge of that squad was Soldier Boy. However, it was revealed in season 3 that Payback betrayed Soldier Boy and allowed the Russians to take him. And when Soldier Boy escaped the Russians, he went on a mission to kill the remaining members of Payback so that he could get his revenge.

After killing Crimson Countess and the TNT Twins, Soldier Boy relied on Butcher and Hughie to find Mindstorm’s location as this supe was pretty tricky to find compared to the TNT Twins. So, who is Mindstorm in The Boys?

Mindstorm was one of the former members of Payback and was there during the events in Nicaragua when Payback betrayed Soldier Boy so that the Russians could capture him. He was always in on the plan to betray Soldier Boy because of the fact that he was also one of his victims of abuse when he was still around leading Payback.

It was revealed that Mindstorm was hiding in a shack far away from urban settlements. The reason why Butcher and Hughie were able to locate him was the fact that they learned from the Legend that he had bipolar disorder. This allowed Hughie to narrow down their search to places where there was a place close by that sold prescription meds for Mindstorm’s bipolar disorder.

However, Mindstorm set up traps that were made to incapacitate Soldier Boy and anyone else who may have wanted to get their hands on him. Soldier Boy stepped on a mine that blew up and left Butcher unguarded. That was when Mindstorm used his powers to trap Butcher in an endless nightmare that was supposed to kill him.

After Soldier Boy and Hughie found Mindstorm, Hughie teleported him away so that he could release Butcher from his nightmare. Hughie promised to teleport him to safety after that. However, before Hughie could do so, Soldier Boy found him and beat him up for information. That was when Mindstorm told Soldier Boy that Vought agreed to allow Payback to betray him because they were going to replace him with Homelander, who was revealed to be Soldier Boy’s son all along.

Soldier Boy, while in disbelief over what he had heard from Mindstorm, killed his former Payback ally by bashing his face with his shield. As such, just like all of the other members of Payback (except for Black Noir), Mindstorm was also killed.

What Are Mindstorm’s Powers And Abilities?

Mindstorm was meant to be Payback’s resident psychic supe because all of his powers are related to his ability to get inside a person’s mind through eye contact. That was why Soldier Boy told Butcher and Hughie to never make eye contact with him because that was how he was able to get inside a person’s head.

Through eye contact, Mindstorm can manipulate a person mentally and force the person to experience an endless nightmare that is rooted deep inside the person’s worst traumas in life. That was what he did to Butcher when he trapped him inside his own nightmare, which happened to be the past life that he lived with his father and younger brother.

Soldier Boy said that this was Mindstorm’s modus operandi. He trapped people inside their own heads as they were forced to live a nightmare forever. The person eventually dies due to dehydration without ever having a chance to wake up. Mindstorm is the only person that could wake the person up from their nightmare.

Mindstorm also has the ability to brainwash people and manipulate them to do his bidding. That was what he did to a priest and nun that Soldier Boy and Hughie met on the road. At first, Hughie didn’t believe that they were being manipulated by Mindstorm, but he eventually realized that it was true when the nun attacked him.

He was also strong enough to be able to fry Soldier Boy’s brain and incapacitate him for a while until Crimson Countess could use the Russian nerve agent on him. There is also the fact that Mindstorm could get inside a person’s head and see his memories in a hurry. In fact, in the brief moment that he made eye contact with Butcher, he was able to see all of his memories and concluded that he was not a good person.

It is possible that, like all of the other supes, Mindstorm’s physical attributes are also enhanced. That’s because he was able to survive a knife to the head from Soldier Boy. He was also durable enough to live through a few of Soldier Boy’s blows before he eventually died when he got his head bashed by his shield. Nevertheless, he doesn’t seem to have the enhanced strength that other supes have.

In many ways, Mindstorm is the Professor X of The Boys because he lacks the physical abilities of all of the other supes but makes up for it with his incredible mental and psychic abilities. However, unlike Professor X, he has to maintain eye contact with the person to use his powers.

Who Plays Mindstorm In The Boys?

Mindstorm is portrayed by veteran actor Ryan Blakely, who has been around since 2004 when he appeared in a short film called 6 Minutes. He has since appeared in more productions and even went on to portray certain parts in productions like Dream House, Awake, and The Expanse, which is also an Amazon series.