History Main / MasterOfIllusion

* Archimago in ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene''.

** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': She hasn't used it much, but Rarity has this is one of her magical abilities, as shown in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E14SuitedForSuccess Suited For Success]]" when she used it to provide special effects for her second fashion show. Pretty much everypony's entrance involved completely changing the stage into some fantastic location, all done by Rarity's magic. Zecora also uses illusions to spice up her telling of the story of Nightmare Night.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "What Are Friends For?", Jeff Mattingly's NotSoImaginaryFriend Mike is able to conjure up images of horses and race cars for them to play with. Jeff wonders how this is possible but Mike tells him that he can't tell anyone about it or they won't be able to play together anymore.

* Cynthia Reynolds from ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League Detroit]]'' has the power to cast illusions which she can use in a large variety of ways focusing on invisibility and camouflage. She can camouflage both herself and someone standing in close proximity to her.

* Princess Projectra from ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' is a heroic version of this; her illusions can fool anyone even when they know that she's using her powers on them.

* Phobia, an old ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' villain, has powers like the "fear" version of [[ComicBook/NewMutants Danielle Moonstar]]'s below. Starting with ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', Phobia has been turned into an incredibly squicky version of this trope, with her abducting heroes and villains to become her playthings.

** Mysterio falls into this trope, though his illusions are all based from his previous employment in the special effects industry. He even titles himself "The Master of Illusion". It's also done on occasion by [[MasterOfDisguise the Chameleon]]. The original Mysterio [[spoiler:committed suicide in ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', and in [[DeathIsCheap his subsequent appearances]] may or may not have CameBackWrong, with actual illusion-casting powers]]. In the ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' storyline, Mysterio [[spoiler:makes illusions so real that it tricks Wolverine into killing '''all''' of the other X-Men and breaking him when he dismisses the illusion]].

* ''Literature/TheObsidianChronicles'': Azirethian mages are very skilled at illusion spells. Their magic is far better at that than directly affecting things, to the point they can create massive, terrifying false monsters. Another common us is making {{glamour}}s, which Arlian uses to great effect.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[SublimeRhyme Prepare for what is not there]].]]

* ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' has Illusion Spells in a few books, such as ''Literature/CitadelOfChaos'' and the ''Literature/{{Sorcery}}'' series, which allows the spellcaster to fool opponents into seeing things or trick them that they're being attacked. It's mostly reliable against most ''non''-magic using enemies, unless the spellcaster take actions to ruin the spell himself (like turning into a snake or mouse, and then suddenly attacking his opponent with a sword).

Such powers are usually {{psychic|Powers}} in origin, although they can also be technological as well, creating {{Hologram}}s which can be especially dangerous when they can make them [[HardLight solid]] (holograms also carry the bonus of being able to fool electronic surveillance). Despite lacking obvious means of attack like with [[PlayingWithFire Pyrokinesis]] and [[MindOverMatter Telekinesis]], they can use a FauxFlame to burn, though [[ImNotAfraidOfYou resolute heroes may resist]], or making a [[ThisIsNotAFloor gaping hole seem like an even floor]]. A common variant is for the Master of Illusion to trap the hero in a virtual reality simulation over which the villain has complete control. Of course, [[YourMindMakesItReal death or injury in the simulation will usually mean death or injury in real life]], so any hero thus ensnared will have to be careful. Most Masters of Illusion aren't content to just let their VR deathtrap program play out by itself - what would be [[ForTheEvulz the fun]] in ''that'' after all? So they'll frequently appear in the simulation, usually as a cackling, monstrous tormentor who plays cat and mouse games with the hero and who mocks their every step. If the Master of Illusion traps a hero in a LotusEaterMachine,--or in a simulation of their ordinary, everyday life--they'll frequently appear as an [[LieToTheBeholder ally of the hero]], using this form to distract the hero from discovering their true whereabouts, or as part of a ruse to trick the hero into revealing some important confidential information.

In more insidious cases, the Master of Illusion will [[DeliriousMisidentification appear to the hero as a romantic interest]], either one the hero knows, or one that's been created whole cloth out of the hero's own memories and desires. This gives the Master of Illusion the chance to screw with the hero's mind (and body, depending on how far the writers let things go.)

Masters of Illusion really needn't bother with such elaborate setups. It would be easy enough, after all, to [[PsychicAssistedSuicide trick an enemy into killing himself]]: use some variant of the "ThisIsNotAFloor" trick; destroy a spaceship by having its crewmembers press the wrong buttons and steer it into the nearest star; kill the heroes by [[DeliriousMisidentification having them confuse each other for enemies]] and fatally attack each other.. But again, what would be the fun in doing something as simple as that? Masters of Illusion, having [[TheTrickster Trickster]] personalities by the very nature of their powers, will usually not be able to resist playing with their prey. Of course, this could--and usually ''does'' - give the heroes the time and/or chance to think up a way to counter the Master of Illusion's powers, or leave clues that they are in an illusion in the first place, such as a BlankBook. Once the villain is destroyed, the world they create usually dissolves into nothingness - provided the defeat or death of the Master of Illusion wasn't part of the illusion ''itself...''

(Cue an echoing "[[EvilLaugh Mwahahahahaha.]]")

Interestingly, the Master of Illusion will very rarely turn out to be the BigBad - this is because they're far less interested in ruling people than they are in just screwing with them. For some reason, the BigBad who employs a Master of Illusion never worries that ''he himself'' might be enthralled or under their control. (Although if he were, would the Master of Illusion allow him to experience any doubts?) Also, while the Master of Illusion is ''usually'' villainous, heroic examples are hardly unknown. If the Master of Illusion is the BigBad, their power over illusions may become borderline {{Reality Warp|er}}ing. Indeed, it might actually be their goal to "upgrade" from faking control of reality to actual control.

On that note, sometimes even a "mundane" MasterOfIllusion will be able to make their projections "solid" or "real" in some sense, which as noted effectively makes them the budget version of the RealityWarper. These abilities will usually come with limitations however, most often NoOntologicalInertia for the created constructs, a greater fragility than the constructs realistically would have (to physical force or especially [[ImNotAfraidOfYou disbelief]]), and/or some limits on what can be made real ([[YourMindMakesItReal Belief]] might make a sword wound or a FauxFlame {{Fireball|s}} as deadly as they seem, but unless you're in a [[ToonPhysics cartoon world]], forget about an illusory bridge [[GravityIsAHarshMistress fooling gravity]] or a tunnel overcoming the [[https://www.askamathematician.com/2011/02/my-bad-if-atoms-are-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space-why-do-things-feel-solid/ Pauli Exclusion Principle]])

Note: This trope doesn't apply to villains who occasionally employ illusory tricks to ensnare enemies. The Master of Illusion is a specialist in generating manipulative hallucinations, and will usually possess no other powers apart from that. (Although when you have the ability to trick the MightyGlacier into thinking that his 6-foot long claymore is a flyswatter and that a poisonous mosquito has just landed on the back of his buddy's neck, who ''needs'' other powers?)

See also LotusEaterMachine, {{Masquerade}}, TheTreacheryOfImages, IKnowWhatYouFear, ColdFlames and ShapeshiftingSeducer. Compare {{Glamour}}. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse's games, or the [[Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterofIllusions thirteenth]] ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterofIllusions movie]], even if the main Pokémon is herself an example of this trope.

* Phobia, an old ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' villain, has powers like the "fear" version of Danielle Moonstar's. Starting with ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', Phobia has been turned into an incredibly squicky version of this trope, with her abducting heroes and villains to become her playthings.

** [[Characters/XMenBrotherhoodOfMutants Jason "Mastermind" Wyngarde]]. Two of his three daughters are even better at it, being able to reinforce their illusions via telepathy (the third has different powers, which include inducing hallucinations but decidedly do not qualify for this trope since the hallucinations are completely random).

* The B-movie ''Film/DarkHaul'' features a version of TheJerseyDevil that can project illusions into its victims' minds. One of its pursuers, taking a breather from hunting it, pops the top off a can of soda in the truck full of weapons he and his associates brought to kill the creature ... only to discover (too late) that he's trying to drink from an armed ''grenade''.

* ''Literature/MarsIsHeaven'', the classic sci-fi short by Creator/RayBradbury. An expedition to Mars is surprised to find an Earth village populated by all their deceased relatives, only to realize too late [[LotusEaterMachine it's a trap]] designed to lure them outside their rocketship so they can be easily murdered.

* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' has the Ravnos clan and their specific Discipline, Chimerstry. Its general levels range from affecting one sense alone to creating illusions so tangible they do damage. When you get into the elder levels, reality gets... strange.

** Her illusion skills are so powerful that she if she creates an illusion of rain, the rain will start to create puddles and you'll see raindrops hitting the puddles. She once wiped out part of an invading army by projecting an illusion of flat, peaceful terrain reaching beyond the edge of a cliff...and many of the soldiers fell into the abyss when they reached the cliff and just kept walking.

* The B-movie ''Dark Haul'' features a version of TheJerseyDevil that can project illusions into its victims' minds. One of its pursuers, taking a breather from hunting it, pops the top off a can of soda in the truck full of weapons he and his associates brought to kill the creature ... only to discover (too late) that he's trying to drink from an armed ''grenade''.

* ''VideoGame/AliceInWonderland'': The Hatter's special ability.