Jessica Jones Season 3: Who is Erik Gelden?

For those not in the know regarding 1970s pseudo-celebrities, Geller was am Israeli-born stage magician and self-proclaimed mentalist who became famous for bending spoons and keys with his mind, correctly guessing strangers’ license plate numbers, and other bits of psychic hokum. He made the talk show circuit with memorable appearance on Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin. It was on Carson that Geller experienced his greatest shame and greatest success. Carson forced Geller to use The Tonight Show’s spoons instead of the illusionist’s tricked out spoons and Geller was unable to perform his magic (we’ve all been there, right guys?). Geller claimed he was feeling mentally weak that day and unable to utilize his vast array of powers.

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Somehow, the public felt sorry for Geller with many believing that a magic trick could be performed any time but true magic was unpredictable (oh ’70s), and Geller’s career actually skyrocketed. The spoon trick became Geller’s staple stage routine and the mentalist even sued Nintendo over the Pokemon Kadabra (you know, the one with the spoons), and this whole thing is really freaking weird. Two more fun facts: Michael Jackson was the best man at Geller’s wedding and my father was actually friends with Geller. The spoon bending humbug was actually in my kitchen (note: he used his own spoons to show me his trick). 

So yeah, Uri Geller, a man who hung out in my kitchen long ago helped Daredevil defeat Mind-Wave. I am now able to play six degrees of separation between myself and Jessica Jones. As for Mind-Wave, Geller helped defeat the villain by entrapping him in mentally bent metal. Wow.

This was (somehow) not Mind-Wave’s last appearance. I guess the powers at be at The Punisher #6, the villain known as the Hood resurrected all of Scourge’s victims to go after Frank Castle. Mind-Wave was once again killed, this time by a Punisher tossed grenade. Poor Mind-Wave defeated by a phony real world psychic, killed by Scourge, killed by Punisher, and all but forgotten.

How did he end up on TV again?

But alas, there was another Mindwave, this time with no bent spoons, no Think Tank, and no hyphen! This Mindwave was created by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. and made his first hyphenless appearance in Thunderbolts #116 (2007). This new Mindwave had advanced telekinesis and telepathy. Mindwave used the latter power to try to drive the Thunderbolts insane. Mindwave II’s appearance took place in the era of the Thunderbolts when the T-Bolts were essentially Marvel’s Suicide Squad. Mindwave allowed himself to be arrested and imprisoned in the same prison where the T-Bolt’s resided. Mindwave tried to drive the villains turned sorta heroes insane until he was killed by Bullseye. Oh, well. At least Mind No Hyphen Wave wasn’t shivved by Uri Geller.

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So there you have it, the really, really strange history of Mind-Wave. Now, the world of Jessica Jones is one of subtle moral ambiguity, but one things’s for sure…at least he won’t be stopped by some spoon bending charlatan who once shared a Dr. Pepper with my dad in my kitchen.

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Life is weird.

Jessica Jones Season 3 is now on Netflix.