Mysterio: Difference between revisions

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox comics character

| character_name = Mysterio

| publisher = [[Marvel Comics]]

| creators = [[Stan Lee]]<br>[[Steve Ditko]]

| alliances = [[Sinister Six]]<br/>[[Maggia (comics)|Maggia]]

| aliases = Dr. Ludwig Rinehart<br/>Cage McKnight<ref>''Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 5) #29</ref><br>Gerdes<br/>Nicholas Macabes<br/>Rudolph Hines<br/>Mysty<ref>''Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 5) #1</ref>

* Expert in special effects and [[robotics]]

* Uses suit embedded with advanced technology and gadgetry

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==Publication history==

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 confronts [[Miss 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.<ref name="FNS-M11"/><ref name="FNS-M12"/><ref name="FNS-M13"/> Neither Berkhart nor Klum have been seen since. Though Berkhart was incarcerated, Klum's status is uncertain. In ''The 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 during ''[[The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt|The 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 leader [[Silvermane]]) to give them a credibility boost in their gang war with [[Mister Negative]]. Beck controls the Silvermane robot himself and plants seeds of rebellion in [[Hammerhead (comics)|Hammerhead]], 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 returned [[George Stacy|Captain George Stacy]], who claims to have always been the gangster known as the [[Big Man (Marvel Comics characters)|Big 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 the [[Chameleon (character)|Chameleon]], who tells him that he has some friends who are "dying" to meet him.<ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #618–620. Marvel Comics.</ref> 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 revive [[Kraven the Hunter]].<ref>''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #635. Marvel Comics.</ref>

 

 

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 time [[Civil War (comics)|Peter's identity was public knowledge]], his adventures in the Spider-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.<ref>''Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 5) #71. Marvel Comics.</ref> 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 Harry).<ref>''Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 5) #74. Marvel Comics.</ref>

 

==Powers and abilities==

Mysterio's suit includes many devices to aid him. His helmet is made of one-way [[Poly(methyl methacrylate)|plexiglass]], meaning he can see out but no one can see in.<ref name="Amazing Spider-Man #13"/> The helmet also includes an air supply to protect him from his own gases, sonar to navigate within his mist cloak and a [[holographic]] 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.<ref name="Amazing Spider-Man #13"/> Mysterio's costume contains nozzles in the boots and wrists that can release a constant stream of smoke that shields his movements.<ref name="Amazing Spider-Man #13"/> 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.<ref name="Amazing Spider-Man #13"/> 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.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

 

* In 2009, ''[[IGN]]'' ranked Mysterio 85th in their "Top 100 Comic Book Villains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 100 Comic Book Villains |url=https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-comic-book-villains/85 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref>

* In 2014, ''[[IGN]]'' ranked Mysterio 13th in their "Top 25 Spider-Man Villains" list.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Schedeen |first1=Jesse |last2=Yehl |first2=Joshua |date=2014-04-16 |title=Top 25 Spider-Man Villains |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/16/top-25-spider-man-villains |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>

Quentin Beck / Mysterio appears in media set in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] (MCU), portrayed by [[Jake Gyllenhaal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/spider-man-far-home-tom-holland-reveals-title-next-movie-1122904|title=Tom Holland Reveals Next 'Spider-Man' Movie Is Called 'Far From Home'|last=Couch|first=Aaron|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=June 23, 2018|access-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624053823/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/spider-man-far-home-tom-holland-reveals-title-next-movie-1122904|archive-date=June 24, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WGTC">{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/15/18128912/spider-man-far-from-home-first-trailer-mysterio|title=First Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer gives Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio a grand entrance|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|last=Radulovic|first=Petrana|date=Jan 15, 2019|access-date=16 January 2019}}</ref>

* Introduced in the film ''[[Spider-Man: Far From Home]]'' (2019), this version is a former [[Stark Industries (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Stark Industries]] scientist who developed holographic technology that [[Tony Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Tony Stark]] showcased in the film ''[[Captain America: Civil War]]'' (2016) and dubbed B.A.R.F. (Binary Augmented Retro-Framing). Angered at Stark for "stealing" his invention, Beck was fired for his unstable nature. As a result, he swore revenge and joined forces with other like-minded ex-Stark Industries employees to take advantage of the power vacuum left in the wake of Stark's death in the film ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'' (2019). To this end, Beck and his team manufactured the [[Elementals (Marvel Comics)|Elementals]] using drones equipped with his technology, and fabricated a backstory for the illusions by claiming the entities and Beck himself were from [[Multiverse (Marvel Comics)|another universe]]. To build up his reputation and legitimize himself as an "[[Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Avengers]]-level" hero, Beck joins forces with an unknowing [[Talos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Talos]] (disguised as [[Nick Fury (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Nick Fury]]) and [[Peter Parker (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Spider-Man]]—whose classmates gave Beck the "Mysterio" moniker—to "defeat" the Elementals around the world while bonding with the latter to gain his trust and acquire a device Talos gave him on Stark's behalf. Once Spider-Man hands said device, [[Features of the Marvel Cinematic Universe#E.D.I.T.H.|E.D.I.T.H.]], over to him, Beck sets about fulfilling his master plan. However, when he learns Spider-Man broke off a holographic projector from one of the drones, he reluctantly decides to kill him along with anyone who could potentially reveal his secret. Using a fight in London between his holographic persona and an Elemental Fusion monster as a distraction, Beck attempts to act on this plan, but is foiled when Spider-Man destroys his drones and retrieves E.D.I.T.H. from him. During the fight, Beck is accidentally shot and killed by one of the drones. Unbeknownst to Spider-Man however, one of his associates downloaded the drones' data and doctored the footage to demonize Spider-Man, reveal his identity, and posthumously make Beck look like a hero before sending said footage to [[J. Jonah Jameson (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|J. Jonah Jameson]] to show the world.

* The full footage of Beck exposing Spider-Man's secret identity reappears in the web series ''[[The Daily Bugle (web series)|The Daily Bugle]]'', with Gyllenhaal reprising his role via archive footage once more.