Mandrake is a very unique comic book superhero in that he encourages us to contemplate the splendour and dangers of perception-play and perception-manipulation.

There are a handful of characters in comic book universe that signify a human recognition of the complexities of perception and the magnanimity of perception distortion:

Vertigo (Marvel Comics) --- an evil mutant woman who can alter thought control

Scarecrow (DC Comics) --- a masked maniac who wields a deadly hallucinogen

Morph (Marvel Comics) --- a mutant anti-hero who can change shape like a chameleon

Mandrake helps us understand the power of perceptions and illusions and exactly why we use art or drawings or even films to characterize the recognition or 'form' of evil or ugliness or vertigo.

Isn't it a peculiar truth that heroes always help humanity celebrate the happiness of everyday life, while villains distort and contort reality to scare humanity about the frailty of perception itself (almost as if the purpose of villainy itself is to alter reality)?

If perception is delicate balance between light and shadow, then Mandrake the Magician is arguably the supreme defender of physics.

That's why we should have discussions/collections of Mandrake stories that can be used as society totems of specific "perception-play."

For example, what stories reference Mandrake utilizing cameras or lights?

Army of Darkness (Film)

Perception/Illusion: Vertigo & Victory

Why are rainbows perfect semi-circles? Why does white light separate into multiple bands of colors? Are colors real or simply phenomena of 'bent energy'?

Mandrake the Magician motivates us to think about the strange wonders of perception and the thrilling analysis of perception.

When we look at illusory contours (e.g., when silhouettes of shapes created by confluences of real shapes/objects with proportionate indentations seem like real shapes), we feel that we see *something* that really isn't there. That's sort of what illusions are all about, surely suggesting that Mandrake is a prophet of illusion control. After all, Mandrake uses magic to outwit diabolical villains and the *shadow* of evil.

If we pit Mandrake against, say, Vertigo (Marvel Comics), an evil mutant superwoman who can distort people's sense of mental control, we might get a nice *portrait* of illusion/perception fitness.

Illusory Contours (Wikipedia)