| Mysterio | |
|---|---|
 Mysterio as depicted inThe Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (October 1964). Art by Steve Ditko. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964)[1][2] |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Quentin Beck |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six Maggia |
| Notable aliases | Dr. Ludwig Rinehart Cage McKnight[3] Gerdes Nicholas Macabes Rudolph Hines Mysty[4] |
| Abilities |
|
Mysterio is the alias of severalsupervillains appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko, the character first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964).[5] He is one of thesuperheroSpider-Man's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up hisrogues gallery. He is also a founding member of the supervillain team theSinister Six, and has fought other heroes, includingDaredevil. InWolverine: Old Man Logan, an alternate Mysterio serves as the archenemy ofOld Man Logan, an elderly Wolverine tricked by Mysterio into killing the rest of the X-Men, with another alternate Mysterio serving as the villain ofSpider-Man: Fake Red, becomingVenom.
The first and best-known version of the character isQuentin Beck, a formerspecial effects artist,illusionist and actor who turns to crime. The second incarnation of the character,Daniel Berkhart, is astuntman initially hired byJ. Jonah Jameson to pretend to be Mysterio's ghost before assuming the mantle for real. The third incarnation of the character,Francis Klum, is amutant with the ability to teleport who blames Spider-Man for the loss of his leg. The fourth incarnation of the character,Mysterion, is ablack man who buys the Mysterio identity fromRoderick Kingsley, opposingthe Superior Spider-Man andSquirrel Girl.
The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, includingfeature films,television series andvideo games, withMary Kate Wiles voicing an original composite incarnation of Mysterio namedFrances Beck inUltimate Spider-Man in 2016.Jake Gyllenhaal portrayedMysterio in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmSpider-Man: Far From Home (2019).[6]
Mysterio was created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko andfirst appears inThe Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964).[7][8] It was laterretconned that the aliens seen inThe Amazing Spider-Man #2 had been Mysterio and his men in disguise.[9] It was revealed that he had been hired by theTinkerer to disguise himself as an extraterrestrial and uncover military and industrial secrets.[10] Like theKingpin, he has crossed over and been a major villain ofDaredevil. In the story arc "Guardian Devil", he crossed into Daredevil's territory, almost pushing Daredevil over the edge.[11]
Quentin Beck is aspecial effects master and stunt man working for a major Hollywood studio with dreams of making a name for himself in the film industry. However, he came to see his career in special effects as a dead-end job. His attempts to become an actor were poorly received, but he realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective criminal. In his first battle with Spider-Man, after he frames Spider-Man for robbing the Midtown Museum, Mysterio obstructs the hero's spider-sense with gas and dissolves Spider-Man's webbing with a chemical abrasive. However Spider-Man tricks Mysterio into revealing he robbed the museum, then Spider-Man revealed he had captured it on tape. Mysterio was then jailed, blaming Spider-Man for his ruined career.[12]
Mysterio later joins theSinister Six in an attempt at revenge on Spider-Man.[13] In an elaborate scheme,Doctor Octopus gives each member of the Sinister Six a card with the location of the next battle written on it. Each location was carefully selected to best suit that member's particular talents and Spider-Man will have to fight them one after the other. Only once Spider-Man has defeated each opponent, will he be able to obtain the card that will identify the next location. Doctor Octopus believed that with this plan, each of the Sinister Six would weaken Spider-Man a little bit more so that his chances would grow slimmer after each battle. When Spider-Man reaches Mysterio, his third opponent, he is immediately attacked by a group of highly developed robot replicas of theX-Men controlled by Mysterio. After successfully defeating the robots and Mysterio, Spider-Man gets the next card that enables him to go on to battle theSandman.[14]
Mysterio later creates the alias of world-renowned psychiatristDr. Ludwig Rinehart, using technology andhypnosis in an attempt to make Spider-Man lose his mind, and nearly convincing him to unmask himself, though ironically Spider-Man was helped byJ. Jonah Jameson suddenly bursting into the house. Spider-Man then unmasked Mysterio.[15] Mysterio then establishes a brief partnership with theWizard in a plot to kill Spider-Man and theHuman Torch on a Hollywood movie set by pretending to enroll them in a film. However, they were both defeated and arrested.[16] He threatens to destroy the city while on TV, and goes on to convince Spider-Man he is 6 inches (15 cm) tall using a post-hypnotic suggestion and a miniature funfair, but Spider-Man sees through the illusion and captures Mysterio yet again.[17]
While Beck is incarcerated, his cellmate Daniel Berkhart briefly becomes Mysterio on the original's behalf.[18] Out of prison, Beck resumes his Ludwig Rinehart identity to manipulate Spider-Man'sAunt May into revealing the whereabouts of a lost fortune hidden in her house.[19] Beck used bogus alien disguises to frighten May Parker into revealing the location of the fortune, but then learned that the money had long ago been eaten bysilverfish.[20] In his next appearance, Mysterio tricks Spider-Man into believing that he had caused the death of a bystander.[21] Mysterio then attempts to scare the tenants from an apartment complex in a real estate scam thwarted by the preteen superhero teamPower Pack,[22] much to his later humiliation. He is recruited by Doctor Octopus to form the second Sinister Six, and battles Spider-Man.[23] In other encounters, Mysterio has faked the death of Spider-Man's Aunt May,[24] and made deals with demons fromLimbo.[25] Despite this, however, Mysterio was constantly beaten by Spider-Man and usually arrested. He joined Doctor Octopus' Sinister Six on several occasions, but this never gave him the edge against his foe that he desired. Eventually, he began to lose credibility as a supervillain, with his defeat at the hands of Power Pack being a particularly humiliating moment.
After his final imprisonment during the "Guardian Devil" story arc, Mysterio was given an early release, as he had been diagnosed with abrain tumor andlung cancer, both caused by the chemicals and radiation from his equipment. He was given one year to live, but this imminent death caused prison psychiatrists to grant him an early release.[26] Obsessed with exacting his final revenge on Spider-Man, he was disappointed when he deduced from newspaper articles that the current Spider-Man was just aclone and saw no dignity in overpowering a "copy" of the real thing (even though by then, the clone had been killed and the current Spider-Man was indeed the original).[27] Mysterio decided to change his plan and focus onDaredevil, whom he had encountered recently during an insurance scam that the hero had thwarted; Mysterio believed that he had found a 'kindred spirit' in Daredevil, in the sense that both weresecond stringers with little reputation outside their homes.[27]
After theKingpin gave Mysterio all the information he possessed about Daredevil's past, Mysterio developed an elaborate plot to drive Daredevil insane using a special designed drug to influence Daredevil's mood, presenting him with a baby girl and conflicting reports that she was the second coming of Christ or theAntichrist, with the drug rendering Daredevil violent if anyone suggested that the child was innocent.[28] In the course of the scheme,Karen Page was killed byBullseye after Mysterio had convinced her that she was suffering fromHIV due to her time as aporn star,[29] Matt Murdock's partnerFoggy Nelson was framed for murder after cheating on his current lover,[30] and Daredevil nearly lost his mind while tormented by a demonic figure who was in fact Gabriel, an agent of Mysterio.[27]
However, Daredevil's will proved stronger than Mysterio expected, and onceDoctor Strange discovers and magically removed the drug from Daredevil's bloodstream, Daredevil unmasked Mysterio as the mastermind, shattering the villain's helmet in fury and revealing his now-languishing appearance. Beck had thought Daredevil would kill him upon discovery, which in his eyes, was a "grand way to end his final show". Daredevil denied him this and instead dismissed Mysterio's scheme as a basic 'B-movie' plot and calling Mysterio a 'human Xerox', incapable of having an original thought in his life; if nothing else, the Kingpin had already attempted to drive Daredevil insane and he had used the 'supernatural intruding on our world' idea in a previous attack onJ. Jonah Jameson. Broken in every sense of the word, Mysterio, saying he was stealing an idea fromKraven the Hunter, pulled out a gun and shot himself dead. While Mysterio has faked his own death several times in the past, this act was apparently legitimate, as Mysterio literally had nothing left to live for.[27]
Sometime later, Quentin Beck suddenly appears in the Midtown High School auditorium in a dark red version of his costume during the three-way battle between Spider-Man and the two successor Mysterios. He confronts Francis Klum before leaving him for Berkhart to deal with. Quentin Beck then confrontsMiss Arrow, revealing that half his head is missing from the gunshot wound and explains that, having gone to Hell for suicide, his "superiors" in the afterlife sent him back to Earth to maintain a cosmic balance. His superiors want Spider-Man to continue working at the school and Beck knows Miss Arrow has a similar role for the "other side". Berkhart and Klum briefly battle one another before Spider-Man captures Berkhart. While trying to escape, Klum runs into Arrow and tries to take her as a hostage, only to be stabbed by one of her stingers. He then teleports away, badly bleeding.[31][32][33] Neither Berkhart nor Klum have been seen since. Though Berkhart was incarcerated, Klum's status is uncertain. InThe Amazing Spider-Man #581, a flashback shows that, prior to his suicide, Beck had been hired by Norman Osborn to fake his son Harry's death.
Mysterio reappears duringThe Gauntlet story line, which re-introduces several past Spider-Man villains with new twists. This Mysterio claims to be a returned Quentin Beck who had faked his death, though it's unclear how this fits in with his aforementioned appearance. He is under the employ of Maggia crime member Carmine, creating androids of various deceased Maggia (including their dead leaderSilvermane) to give them a credibility boost in their gang war withMister Negative. Beck controls the Silvermane robot himself and plants seeds of rebellion inHammerhead, who had left the Maggia under the belief that Silvermane was deceased. He also tries to drive Spider-Man mad by making him think he's accidentally killed several gang members, while trying to convince him that a returnedCaptain George Stacy, who claims to have always been the gangster known as theBig Man, also faked his death years earlier. This turn makes Spider-Man realize that Mysterio must be behind the recent mysterious return of so many deceased individuals, and he vows to have Mysterio pay for making it personal. Shortly after, Mysterio uses the Silvermane robot to murder Carmine in an attempt to secretly seize control of the Maggia and its fortune. Spider-Man eventually exposes and confronts Mysterio, who flees. He later runs into theChameleon, who tells him that he has some friends who are "dying" to meet him.[34] The "friends" the Chameleon was talking about happens to be the Kravinoffs. He was present at the ritual where Spider-Man is seemingly sacrificed to reviveKraven the Hunter.[35]
During theOrigin of the Species story line, Mysterio is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to join his villains' team where he is promised that he will receive a reward.[36] Mysterio went after Spider-Man forMenace's infant. He manages to trick Spider-Man into giving him the child by projecting an image of Avengers Mansion and uses his illusions to try to frighten Spider-Man. Ultimately, Spider-Man recovers the baby from Mysterio after figuring out the villain's involvement.[37] Mysterio is next seen as part of the new Sinister Six organized by Doctor Octopus. He first works with Chameleon to distract Spider-Man and the Future Foundation, faking an attack in the Caribbean by zombie pirates while the rest of the Six steal something from the Fantastic Four's headquarters.[38] He also participates in an attack by the Six on theAvengers Academy.[39] When the Sinister Six launch an attack on the Intelligencia and their new doomsday weapon, Mysterio is responsible for taking down theRed Ghost and his Super-Apes.[40]
Doctor Octopus and Mysterio later coordinate the Octobots that have infiltrated the Apogee 1 Space Station. When Mysterio notices that some of the Octobots were disabled, Doctor Octopus orders the Octobots to finish their mission and then destroy the space station. Spider-Man, the Human Torch andJohn Jameson later discover that some of the space station's crew members have been taken over by the Octobots, making them Octobot-controlled zombies that obey Doctor Octopus's commands.[41] While in their undersea base, Doctor Octopus and Mysterio discover that their Octobot-controlled zombies have passed out. After Apogee 1 Space Station is destroyed and the crew is evacuated by Spider-Man, the Human Torch and John Jameson, Doctor Octopus tells the rest of the Sinister Six that his master plan is about to begin.[42]
Although Mysterio aids Doctor Octopus in his attack against the Avengers and his plan to "heal" the world during the "Ends of the Earth" story line, he agrees to help Spider-Man,Silver Sable and theBlack Widow defeat Doctor Octopus's plans after Spider-Man convinces him that Doctor Octopus will not honor any deal he has made with the Six, as he will almost certainly scorch Earth if his plan succeeds. Mysterio leads Spider-Man and his allies to a Mayan temple where Doctor Octopus's base is located (claiming that he was responsible for the choice of location due to thesupposed Mayan prophecies of the world ending in 2012), leaving them to face the mind-controlled Avengers.[43] After disabling the Octobots that were controlling the Avengers, Mysterio lends Spider-Man and Silver Sable his vehicle and provides them with the location of Dr. Octopus' base. He then disappears in a cloud of smoke and leaves the heroes to deal with Octavius.[44]
During theSpider-Men story line, it is revealed that Mysterio has crossed over to theUltimate Marvel Universe multiple times. In the first time, he had a police technician set up surveillance equipment to the police department. However, after NYPD's police captain Frank Quaid asked theUltimate version of Spider-Man to aid them to find the crook who was somehow able to stay ahead of his unit. TheUltimate version of Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man's love interest, figured out how the criminal does it after the hero informed her of the situation. After the police arrested hisaccomplice, the villain vowed to get even with Spider-Man and then escapes.[45] Mysterio appears again inUltimate Comics Spider-Man #1, blasting the Ultimate version of theKingpin out the window of a skyscraper following the "Ultimatum".[46] He publicly confesses to Wilson Fisk's murder and threatens the city, stating that he is now in charge. He releases a fear hallucinogen across Manhattan to rob the Federal Bank. Spider-Man stops him and Mysterio's personal hatred for the web slinger increases.[47] Creating an illusion of theHulk to lure Spider-Man to him, Mysterio ambushes and severely wounds the hero. Before Mysterio can unmask and kill Spider-Man, amysterious vigilante rescues him and together they defeat Mysterio, revealing his true face. Mysterio finds Spidey's blood on his broken armor and designs aSpider-Slayer that personally targets Peter. Spider-Man defeats it. Before Mysterio can do anything else, the police rush to his hideout which they found by tracking a piece of Mysterio's tech. Mysterio curses and proceeds to blow up his hideout.[48] He encounters the mainstream Spider-Man after his last travel. In the struggle, Spider-Man is transported to the Ultimate Universe, where Mysterio reveals that his Ultimate counterpart is simply arobotic avatar controlled remotely.[49] Refusing to allow Spider-Man to escape, Mysterio sends a robot avatar after Peter andthe new Spider-Man.[50] Despite using chemical weapons to create the hallucination that both Spider-Men are fighting an army of their greatest foes, Peter's greater experience allows him to focus through Mysterio's illusions and destroy the avatar. Mysterio subsequently departs, reflecting that it is more appropriate to leave Spider-Man trapped in a world where he is dead, leavingIron Man to examine his discarded technology.[51] Mysterio is preparing to cement his victory by destroying the portal and trapping Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe forever. But unable to resist the temptation to see how his enemy is faring, he keeps the portal open long enough for Peter and the Ultimates to capture him. Despite his best efforts to throw them off with their worst fears, Mysterio is quickly defeated. Fury decides to keep him prisoner in the Ultimate universe due to his knowledge of Peter's secret identity.[52] He is later questioned by the Ultimates whenGalactus is accidentally transferred into the Ultimate universe after they determine that Galactus originates from Mysterio's world. Beck reveals that Galactus's past assaults had been defeated by his world'sReed Richards,[53] allowing the Ultimates to sendtheir Reed to Earth-616 to hack his counterpart's files on Galactus.[54]
Eight months after the events ofSecret Wars, Mysterio attacksParker Industries with the intention of using the company's Webware technology to causemass hysteria by beaming imagery directly into the minds of the product's users. The plot is thwarted byDeadpool, who runs Mysterio over with his "Dead-Buggy".[55] While recovering in the hospital, Beck is visited by an unknown figure, who leaves a Mysteriobust on the supervillain's bedside table while declaring that he is "not out of the game yet".[56] After Deadpool is manipulated into killing Spider-Man, Mysterio tortures the hero'sLimbo-bound soul by projecting his own spirit into the realm using power provided by a mysterious benefactor. Deadpool is able to enter Limbo and help Spider-Man overpower Mysterio, who is afterward shown to have disappeared from his hospital bed.[57]
After being beaten by the likes of Deadpool and other superheroes, Quentin Beck left the supervillain business and relocated toLas Vegas.[58] His daughter Misty Beck shows up persuade him to become Mysterio again.[59]Dusk shows some awareness of this, as she warns theScarlet Spider about Mysterio,[60] but when Reilly visits the villain, he accepts Beck's explanation that he has decided to retire.[61] Misty later involves her father in a ritual that would grant her great power if she sacrificed something she truly loved in exchange. But when she attempted to kill Beck, Reilly's intervention distracted her long enough for Beck to accidentally stab her resulting in him gaining the power himself as he places his left hand on the altar while shedding Misty's blood. Now possessing power drawn fromCyttorak, Beck recreates his Mysterio costume and attacks the Scarlet Spider. The Scarlet Spider defeats his foe by cutting off the hand that touched the altar, taking away Beck's power.[62]
Mysterio later created the illusion of an alien invasion that lured every superhero team to fight them. Spider-Man discovered Mysterio's plot and defeated him. Mysterio stated that he wanted to become more than a lesser criminal as Spider-Man webbed him up for the police. When in court,Janice Lincoln appeared as Mysterio's lawyer as the vision of an unidentified entity with centipedes on him appeared in the courthouse, claiming to be the one who revived Mysterio.[63]
In the pages of "Dead Man Logan," Miss Sinister coaxes Quentin Beck into becoming Mysterio again in exchange for keeping him safe fromOld Man Logan. Miss Sinister informed him thathis counterpart tricked Wolverine into killing the X-Men. To take over the world, Miss Sinister and Mysterio side with Neo-HYDRA.[64] Mysterio would later find out that Miss Sinister and Neo-HYDRA would dispose of him once he has served his purpose.[65] This led to Mysterio taking Old Man Logan to Neo-HYDRA's base.[66] During the battle between Old Man Logan and Neo-HYDRA, Mysterio used an illusion to make Old Man Logan think that he killed him. Quentin then makes his way back to Bedford Hills Psychiatric Hospital while tossing out his Mysterio costume.[67]
Mysterio is later shown attending a meeting with psychiatrist Dr. Winhorst, where he affirms his old story that he was sent to Hell after his suicide and was released by somedemonic entity whose name he fears to say. Dr. Winhorst attempts to convince Beck that he actually faked his suicide and his belief in the demon is just his former illness causing him to hallucinate. But when the demon that brought Beck back to life appears in the psychiatrist's office, it affirms that the "demon" is real. When Dr. Winhorst flees, Mysterio begs forgiveness from the entity. Although initially prepared to spare Mysterio, the entity realizes that Peter is somehow witnessing these events in a dream. The entity adopts the temporary alias ofKindred and kills Beck again so that he cannot reveal his identity to Spider-Man before Kindred is ready.[68] However, it is soon established that the "Mysterio" who died was actually Dr. Winhorst, who was brainwashed by Mysterio to believe that he was the supervillain to give Mysterio a chance to escape from Bedford Hills Psychiatric Hospital. Although Kindred is angered that Mysterio shared his real name with Winhorst to increase the reality of the delusion, he notes that Mysterio keeps running from his purpose and gives him a script to stick to.[69]
More recently, Mysterio had begun production on a film withMary Jane Watson on a remote set he used to torment Spider-Man,[70] to make a play for a girl he wronged while under the alias of Cage McKnight.[71] After being discovered by Mary Jane, they cooperated in the project, but the filming was turned tumultuous by theSavage Six when theVulture felt insulted by the "unauthorized use" of his person in the film's plot. Nevertheless, thanks to an authentic recording of their attack, the movie became a rousing success.[72]
In a prelude to the "Sinister War" story line, Mysterio is still in Kindred's servitude as he places Mysterio in Doctor Octopus' latest incarnation of the Sinister Six.[73] Peter and Mary Jane Watson are attending the premiere of MJ's new movie which she worked on with Mysterio under the alias of Cage McKnight. Peter is planning to propose to Mary Jane when the movie is over in front of the press and public, but the Savage Six take the opportunity to attack. Mysterio comes to Mary Jane's rescue, exposing his identity to Peter and the Savage Six. Doctor Octopus then attacks the theater with Electro, Kraven the Hunter, the Lizard, and the Sandman as Doctor Octopus states to the Vulture that they need Mysterio. Mary Jane confesses to a concerned Peter that she knew who Mysterio was all along and vouches for him. Mysterio tries to tell Peter that he and Mary Jane's deal withMephisto is to blame for everything that is presently happening, but Peter is far too distracted by the warring factions. Doctor Octopus offers Mysterio the opportunity to join the Sinister Six as long as he helps them capture Mary Jane. Mysterio complies and teleports away taking MJ with him while promising her that the "devil will get his due".[74]
Mary Jane is transported to Mysterio's old studios where Beck reveals what happened to him after his suicide, transported to hell, and tortured there until Harry Osborn made him a deal. Taking it, Beck was revived around the timePeter's identity was public knowledge, his adventures in theSpider-Men crossover are referenced, and over time Harry stopped communicating with him until recently. Mysterio also reveals to Mary Jane that he was the therapist who helped her come to terms with Harry's death, but Mary Jane barely remembers this. Mary Jane pleas with Beck, reminding him he has changed, but Mysterio remains loyal to the deal he struck and tells Mary Jane that he knows what fate awaits him. Mysterio rejoins the teams of villains while leaving Mary Jane to the mercy of Kindred.[75] It is later revealed that Mysterio used his time as Mary Jane's therapist to implant false memories of Gwen Stacy confessing to a brief affair with Norman Osborn, thus justifying the existence of Gwen's adult children, Gabriel and Sarah (actually clones created by an A.I. Harry, the trio together being Kindred), with A.I. Harry also having faked an affair with Norman (posing as Gwen himself) to back up the deception.[76]
Mysterio was among the villains captured byUltra Living Brain. When Spider-Man defeated the Sinister Six-type Super-Adaptoid, Ultra Living Brain teleported the villains away.[77]
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
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After Quentin Beck, there have been several other characters who became his successors after taking his mantle as Mysterio. The second Mysterio (Daniel Berkhart) was created byGerry Conway andRoss Andru and first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man #141 (February 1975). The third Mysterio (Francis Klum) was created byKevin Smith andTerry Dodson, and he first appeared inSpider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #1 (August 2002), and became Mysterio in the final issue of the miniseries.[78] The fourth Mysterio (an unknown man named "Mysterion") was created byChristopher Yost andDavid Lopez and first appeared inAvenging Spider-Man #22 (June 2013).
After the original Mysterio seemingly dies in prison during an escape attempt,J. Jonah Jameson hires Daniel Berkhart, a stuntman who had previously worked with Beck and Beck's cellmate, to torment Spider-Man while claiming to be Mysterio's ghost.[79] After he is defeated by Spider-Man, Berkhart explains that Beck had bequeathed some of his equipment to him after his "death", and he felt he owed it to Beck to get revenge. The story leaves it ambiguous whether there is any truth to Berkhart's story or if he was simply covering up Jameson's role in the affair. Berkhart is arrested, despite there being no witnesses to his harassing Spider-Man. He tries to force Jameson to get a lawyer for him by threatening to reveal his involvement to the police, a plot thread which is never resolved.[18]
Later, after Beck's suicide, someone claiming to be Mysterio appears with the revisedSinister Six, making references to his "death", stating how after fighting Daredevil he had exited in a "most spectacular fashion". There was some confusion to this Mysterio's identity until the miniseriesSpider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto hinted that it was again Daniel Berkhart. This issue was not addressed again until a Mysterio briefly fought Spider-Man and was captured.[80] Berkhart was later confirmed to be this second Mysterio by Quentin Beck.[32] This Mysterio appeared during stories published between the original's death and subsequent return.
The Jack O'Lantern fought byAgent Venom claims to have killed off all of the surviving previous Jack O'Lanterns, leaving Berkhart's status uncertain.[81]
Francis Klum, a mutant with the ability to teleport, was sexually abused by his older brother Garrison (Mr. Brownstone) and forced to use his powers to assist Garrison's illegal activity as a heroin dealer. When Garrison dosed theBlack Cat with heroin and attempted to rape her, Francis decided to stop his brother's cruelty for good, teleporting within and blowing up Garrison's body.[82]
Eventually learning the details of Francis' abusive relationship with Garrison and his role in his brother's death, Felicia nearly convinced Francis to turn himself into the authorities; butSpider-Man, believing that Francis was trying to throw Black Cat from the bridge on which they were talking, brutally attacked Klum. Believing that Felicia set him up, he fell from the bridge, teleported in mid-fall and sustained severe physical injuries, losing his left leg below the knee.[78]
Hungry for revenge against Spider-Man, he contacted theKingpin and purchased the paraphernalia of the currently-deceased Mysterio (Quentin Beck). He reasoned that by using an old enemy's costume, he could put Spider-Man off-guard; Spider-Man would assume he knew who he was dealing with until Klum demonstrated his powers and it was too late for the wall-crawler to do anything about it.[31]
However, Klum's plans to kill Spider-Man at Midtown High were interrupted when he was stabbed in the chest by school nurseMiss Arrow's stingers after an altercation with the other two Mysterios (Quentin Beck having returned from the dead).[32] Klum teleported to safety, although Arrow (who was later revealed to be Ero, a being composed of hundreds of spiders) would later state that her stingers were fatal to anyone except Spider-Man.[33]
Klum later died from his wounds as revealed in the "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, but was resurrected in a cloned body (with hissoul intact) byBen Reilly alongside other deceased Spider-Man villains.[83] He died again soon after from cell degeneration.[84][85]
An unknown African American individual purchases the suit of Mysterio fromRoderick Kingsley and calls himself Mysterion. He fights theSuperior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus's mind in Spider-Man's body) and thePunisher. While keeping the Punisher from killing Mysterion, the Superior Spider-Man captures Mysterion and places him in containment with the Sandman, Electro and the Chameleon in his hidden underwater lab.[86] He is later forcibly put under mind control by the Superior Spider-Man and forced to join his Superior Six superhero team.[87] Mysterion escapes with the other members after being freed from the Superior Spider-Man's influence.[88]
Mysterion later attacksLiberty Island with an army of robot dinosaurs, which are defeated bySquirrel Girl and other superheroes.[89]
Mysterio does not possess superhuman abilities.[90] He is an expert designer of special effects devices and stage illusions, a masterhypnotist andmagician and an amateur chemist androboticist. He has extensive knowledge of hand-to-hand combat techniques learned as a stuntman, allowing him to engage in combat with Spider-Man despite his foe's superior physical abilities and using his skills at misdirection as a further method of self-defense.[12]
Mysterio's suit includes many devices to aid him. His helmet is made of one-wayplexiglass, meaning he can see out but no one can see in.[12] The helmet also includes an air supply to protect him from his own gases, sonar to navigate within his mist cloak and aholographic projector to create 3D illusions. His boots contain magnetic coil springs which allow him impressive leaps as well as the ability to cling to surfaces.[12] Mysterio's costume contains nozzles in the boots and wrists that can release a constant stream of smoke that shields his movements.[12] He can mix other chemicals into this smokescreen for various effects, including a gas that dulls and inhibits Spider-Man's spider-sense, a gas that causes paralysis for 30 minutes, an abrasive that eats away Spider-Man's webbing, hypnogens that make those around him more susceptible to his will and hallucinogens to cause vivid hallucinations.[12] A combination of the hypnogens and hallucinogens, along with his holographic projectors, are how Mysterio achieves most of his illusions. The costume sometimes also includes offensive weaponry, such as lasers or knockout gas nozzles in the eye emblems on his shoulders, or electric coils within his cape to electrocute those who touch it.[12]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-1811 appears inAmazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows. This version is a member ofRegent's Sinister Six.[91]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-311 appears inMarvel 1602. This version is a member of the Sinister Sextet who is also known asMagus.[92]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-90214 appears inMarvel Noir. This version is a stagemagician also known as "The Magnificent Mysterio".[93]
A zombified alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-2149 appears inMarvel Zombies.[94][95]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-807128 appears inWolverine: Old Man Logan. This version trickedLogan into murdering the X-Men.[96]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-70237 appears inSpider-Man: Reign.[97]
Several alternate universe versions of Mysterio appear inSpider-Verse.
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-1610 appears in theUltimate Marvel universe. This version is later revealed to be a series of roboticavatars created by the Mysterio of Earth-616 that serves as a probe for him.[45][46][47][48][52]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio fromEarth-6160 appears inUltimate Spider-Man. This version is a lieutenant ofWilson Fisk who controlsBrooklyn on his behalf and later joins hisSinister Six to combat theGreen Goblin andSpider-Man.[100][101]
"Mysterio" is later revealed to be a moniker shared by five individuals who derive their powers from a magical amulet, alternate between each other on a weekly basis, and are aware of theMaker tampering with their world. At present,Gwen Stacy, Quentin Beck,Robbie Robertson,James Wesley, andMister Negative's sister Aihan are among the group's ranks while Gwen's fatherGeorge Stacy appears as a previous member.[102]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-65 appears inSpider-Gwen. This version is the founder of thetheme park "The Cursed Carnival of Mysterio". After the park shut down, Mysterio remained in the area and used his illusions to scare outsiders away from the area.[103]
An alternate universe version of Mysterio from Earth-19759 appears inSpider-Man: Fake Red. This version uncovered Peter Parker's secret identity and adapted his illusions to counter him accordingly. However, Peter is possessed by asymbiote while powerlessrock climber Yu Onomae assumes the Spider-Man identity. After being defeated by the latter, Mysterio bonds with the symbiote and becomesVenom, only to be defeated by Peter and Yu.[104]
Quentin Beck / Mysterio appears in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed byJake Gyllenhaal.[122][6]
The Amazing Spider-Man #13 saw [Stan] Lee and [Steve] Ditko return to the creation of new super villains. This issue marked the debut of Mysterio, a former special effects expert named Quentin Beck.
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