Mesmer

## Fate

―Mesmer's catchphrase.[src]

**Charles**, also known as **Mesmer**, is a minor antagonist in Season 1 of the Amazon series *The Boys*. Originally a child star, Mesmer is a telepathic supe who assisted the vigilante group, the Boys, by helping them understand the background of Kimiko Miyashiro. He attempted to regain his fame by betraying the Boys to Homelander. As a consequence of his betrayal, Billy Butcher hunted him down and killed him.

## *The Boys* Series

### Background

#### The Mesmerizer

Charles' telepathic superpowers launched him to stardom at a young age allowing him to become a celebrity for Vought International under the name Mesmer. In the 1990s, Mesmer starred in the hit television series *The Mesmerizer*, where he portrayed a psychic detective. During a period of his fame as a teenager, he was a member of the Teenage Kix. He and A-Train were colleagues during their time together on the team and continued to stay in touch. Mesmer also released an album of his own solo music aptly called *Feeling Your Feelings*.

#### Fall from Grace

Unfortunately, Mesmer's journey took a dark turn as he succumbed to the temptations of his powers. Engaging in illicit activities, he misused his telepathic abilities for insider trading, resulting in his termination from Vought International and subsequent conviction. This drastic downfall marked the end of his popularity and brought him face-to-face with the consequences of his actions. Throughout his troubled past, Mesmer had a daughter named Cleo; however, his criminal record and substance abuse led to the loss of custody in 2016. While part of him yearned for a reunion with Cleo, his primary focus shifted towards reclaiming his former fame. Consequently, Mesmer resorted to sustaining himself by attending conventions, where he would sign DVD copies of *The Mesmerizer*, a stark reminder of his faded stardom.

### Season One

#### Assisting the Boys

In 2019, Mesmer attended the annual "Heroes and Headliners" autograph show. While signing autographs and meeting fans, he was approached by Mother's Milk at the convention. In exchange for visitation time with his daughter, Cleo, Mesmer agreed to a "reading session" with Kimiko Miyashiro. After some initial trials with her, which included getting both of his wrists broken, Mesmer was able to identify the Kimiko as a forced member of a terrorist organization, the Shining Light Liberation Army. She was captured, brought to America, and injected with Compound V. This allowed the Boys to realize that Vought was creating super terrorists to give themselves supervillains to fight and to give the military a reason to put Supes in the military.

#### Betrayal

Mesmer contacted A-Train to arrange a meeting with Homelander on a rooftop. While climbing up the stairs to the meeting, Mesmer goes back on his deal he made with the Boys by calling Tina Mitchell and letting her know that he doesn't have to see Cleo, and only asks that his daughter will be cared for. Mesmer betrayed the Boys by giving information about them to Homelander, allowing the Seven and Vought to identify the members and target them and their families, in the hopes that his influence will get Mesmer back into the public eye. Mesmer then proceeded to demand a job at Vought, however Homelander left without promising any guarantees.

#### Ambushed by Butcher

―Mesmer pleading to Billy Butcher[src]

This betrayal was eventually his downfall when Billy Butcher followed Mesmer's attempted escape at a subway station. Butcher cornered Mesmer in a bathroom, revealed he planted a tracker on Mesmer even before his betrayal just in case he ever did turn on them and proceeded to beat him. With each blow, Mesmer saw into Butcher's memories. Seeing Butcher's final moments with his wife Becca, discovering her disappearance, and his eventual recruitment by Grace Mallory. Mesmer uses this information to try and convince Butcher to let him live, suggesting that he can help Butcher find his missing wife. Butcher grabs his head, and Mesmer is horrified, seeing Butcher's desire to kill him. Mesmer pleads profusely for Butcher not to kill him, letting him know that he has a daughter. Despite his pleas, Butcher grabbed Mesmer and bashed his face into a sink six times until he died.

## Personality

Mesmer, like most supes, is self-serving and seemingly uninterested in using his abilities to help others, unless there is something to be gained by it. He has used his powers to gain celebrity and financial rewards, including illicit activities, such as insider trading, which resulted in his dismissal from Vought and a criminal conviction.

Despite his checkered past, including substance abuse, there is at least one person he cares about: his daughter Cleo. He was willing to assist the Boys in exchange for visitation with his daughter. But ever the opportunist, he approached A-Train for a meeting with Homelander, where he shared the information he had about the Boys, hoping that Homelander would show his appreciation by helping him regain a position at Vought.

An abject coward, Mesmer was reduced to pitifully begging for his life when confronted by Billy Butcher for the betrayal.

## Powers

* **Telepathy**: Charles possesses telepathic abilities. Allowing him to sense the target's mind, utilize in combat, and creating a strong psychic shield that will protect him against other beings.
	+ **Mind Reading**: When at a convention he is able to "guess" what people are thinking. He was shown to be able to read their current thoughts through physical contact, like what number they're thinking of or what they want to do.
	+ **Memory Reading/Memory Manipulation**: Mesmer's main demonstration of his power was being able to read people's memories through physical contact. In his show The Mesmerizer, he is able to determine who committed a crime based on their memories. The Boys use Mesmer to identify and "read" Kimiko Miyashiro. He was able to see her memories about becoming a forced member of a terrorist organization, and her relationship with her brother. When Butcher confronts Mesmer in a bathroom, he first beats Mesmer. As Butcher is punching Mesmer several times in the face and grabs him by his head, Mesmer is able to see Butcher's memories of Becca and Butcher's thoughts on wanting to kill him.
* **Superhuman Hearing**: Mesmer, being a supe, has better hearing beyond that of ordinary humans, capable of hearing certain frequencies.

## Weaknesses

* **Physical Contact Required**: Unlike conventional telepaths, such as Mindstorm, Mesmer must have physical contact in order to read the thoughts of others. Obviously, this would preclude him reading minds over a distance.
* **Human Physiology**: Unlike most supes, Mesmer does not appear to have secondary enhancements, such as increased strength, resilience or recuperative abilities. He was easily overpowered and killed by Billy Butcher. And while most supes seem to have accelerated healing, Mesmer still was recovering from a broken wrist he suffered several days earlier.
* **No Combat Abilities**: Mesmer is in poor physical condition. He is overweight, with less than average human strength and has no combat skills. He was unable to defend himself when attacked by Billy Butcher, who easily overpowered and killed him.

## Relationships

Allies* Teenage Kix - Former Teammates
	+ A-Train - Friend
* Vought International - Former Employer
* Homelander
	+ Billy Butcher - Killer
	+ Frenchie
	+ Mother's Milk
	+ Kimiko Miyashiro
	+ Hughie Campbell

## Trivia

* Mesmer is a composite parody of the trope of telepathic superheroes with little to no combat skills. In particular Professor X, since both him and Mesmer are named Charles.
* Mesmer is also a meta parody of the career of actor Haley Joel Osment, who came to stardom as a child playing a psychic in the film *The Sixth Sense*.
* The narration that plays over the opening credits of *The Mesmerizer* says, "There is only one person who can see inside their hearts," which is a possible reference to Osment's long-standing voice role as Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series.

1. ↑ Bob in *First Day*: *"Did you know Supes have a wider range of hearing than us? Like dogs."*