Mysterio
Mysterio is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964).[4] In his comic book appearances, Mysterio is the alias of Quentin Beck, a former special effects artist, illusionist and actor who turns to crime. He is one of the superhero Spider-Man's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery. He is also a founding member of the supervillain team the Sinister Six, and has fought other heroes, including Daredevil.
For other uses, see Mysterio (disambiguation).Mysterio
The Amazing Spider-Man #13
(June 1964)[1]
Quentin Beck
- Master illusionist
- Expert in special effects and robotics
- Uses suit embedded with advanced technology and gadgetry
The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, including feature films, television series and video games. Jake Gyllenhaal portrayed Mysterio in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).[5]
Publication history[edit]
Mysterio was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964).[6][7] It was later retconned that the aliens seen in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 had been Mysterio and his men in disguise.[8] It was revealed that he had been hired by the Tinkerer to disguise himself as an extraterrestrial and uncover military and industrial secrets.[9] Like the Kingpin, he has crossed over and been a major villain of Daredevil. In the story arc "Guardian Devil", he crossed into Daredevil's territory, almost pushing Daredevil over the edge.[10]
Fictional character biography[edit]
Background and first appearances[edit]
Quentin Beck is a special 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.[11]
Mysterio later joins the Sinister Six in an attempt at revenge on Spider-Man.[12] 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 the X-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 the Sandman.[13]
Other characters named Mysterio
- Daniel Berkhart:
- The Amazing Spider-Man #141 (February 1975)
- Francis Klum:
- Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do #6 (August 2002)
- Mysterion:
- Avenging Spider-Man #22 (June 2013)
- Daniel Berkhart:
- Gerry Conway
- Ross Andru
- Francis Klum:
- Kevin Smith
- Terry Dodson
- Mysterion:
- Christopher Yost
- David Lopez
- Daniel Berkhart
- Francis Klum
- Unknown
- (Klum)
- Human Mutant
- (Berkhart)
- Sinister Six
- (Berkhart)
- J. Jonah Jameson
- (Berkhart)
- Jack O'Lantern
- Mad Jack
- (Unknown)
- Mysterion
Other versions[edit]
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows[edit]
During the "Secret Wars" storyline in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Mysterio appears as a member of Regent's Sinister Six where they are tasked to hunt down Spider-Man.[97]
Marvel 1602[edit]
In Marvel 1602, this dimension's Mysterio, known as Magus, is a member of the Sinister Sextet, the dimension's Sinister Six.[98] The Web Warriors (alternate versions of Spider-Man) visited the 1602 Universe to deal with the Sinister Sextet and apprehended the villain.[98]
Marvel Noir[edit]
In the Marvel Noir universe, Mysterio is a stage magician who operated under the title of "The Magnificent Mysterio". He debuted during the Spider-Verse storyline where he and his assistant Ella collaborated with Wilson Fisk to obtain the blood of The Spider-Man after interrogating The Ox.[99]
Marvel Zombies[edit]
In Marvel Zombies, a Zombie Mysterio appears with five other Spider-Man villains attempting to eat civilians, but all six are repelled by Magneto and Wolverine. It is revealed that he was somehow infected by the Zombie Spider-Man of this reality.[100]
Marvel Zombies Return[edit]
A past version of Mysterio from Spider-Man's college days appears in Marvel Zombies Return, as a member of the Sinister Six and battles the reality hopping Zombie Spider-Man. Like his fellow Sinister Six members, he was horrified by the undead Spider-Man's actions. The Zombie Spider-Man pulls parts of this Mysterio's brain out of his dome and head, which infects Mysterio with the zombie virus, causing him to participate with other zombie members in eating Spider-Man's friends. Angered, the Zombie Spider-Man kills him.[101]
Old Man Logan[edit]
In an alternate future of the Marvel Universe, Mysterio casts an illusion which makes Wolverine believe that the X-Men are various deadly villains of the Marvel Universe while matching their scents. Wolverine slaughters them all, only discovering the trick after he killed the last "villain" (Jubilee, who appeared as Bullseye) and the illusion cleared up. Without the X-Men, the Red Skull's alliance of villains manages to conquer America and kill most of the heroes.[102]
Spider-Man Reign[edit]
In the Spider-Man: Reign alternate reality, an older Mysterio works with the 'Sinner Six' to stop Spider-Man's rebellious assault. Mysterio's fear-inducing powers fail to work, for Spider-Man had already confronted and become bored by his personal demons.[103]