| Mysterio | |
|---|---|
Quentin Beck as Mysterio in one of his earlier designs. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (Beck) The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Quentin Beck Daniel Berkhart Francis Klum |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six |
| Notable aliases | (Beck) Ludwig Rinehart |
| Abilities |
(Beck and Berkhart) Teleportation |
Mysterio is the name of three fictional characters, all of which are supervillains and enemies of Spider-Man in the Marvel Comics Universe. The original Mysterio (Quentin Beck) was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #13, although it was later retconned that the aliens seen in Amazing Spider-Man #2 had been Mysterio and his men in disguise; it was revealed that he had been hired by the Tinkerer to disguise himself as an extraterrestrial and uncover military and industrial secrets.[1]
In 2009, Mysterio was ranked as IGN's 85th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.[2]
Contents |
Debuting in Amazing Spider-Man #13, Mysterio is Quentin Beck, a special effects wizard 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, but realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective supervillain.
In his first battle with Spider-Man, after he frames him for robbing the Midtown Museum, Mysterio obstructs the hero's spider-sense with gas and dissolves his webbing with a chemical abrasive. However Spider-Man tricked him into revealing he robbed the museum, then revealed he had captured it on tape. Mysterio was then jailed.[3] He later joins the Sinister Six in an attempt at revenge on Spider-Man, and battles him using robots of the X-Men. After this Spider-Man gets a card that enables him to go on to battle Sandman.[4] Mysterio later creates the alias of world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Ludwig Rinehart, using technology and hypnosis in an attempt to make Spider-Man lose his mind, and nearly convincing him to unmask, though ironically Spider-Man was helped by J. Jonah Jameson suddenly bursting into the house. Spider-Man then unmasked Mysterio.[5] Mysterio then establishes a brief partnership with the Wizard in a plot to kill Spider-Man and the Human Torch on a Hollywood movie set by pretending to enroll them in a film. However they were both defeatd and arrested.[6] He threatens to destroy the city while on TV, and goes on to convince Spider-Man he is 6 inches (150 mm) tall using a post-hypnotic suggestion and a miniature funfair, but Spider-Man sees through the illusion and captures Mysterio.[7]
While Beck is incarcerated, his cellmate Daniel Berkhart briefly becomes Mysterio on the original's behalf.[8] Out of prison, Beck resumes his Ludwig Rinehart identity to manipulate Spider-Man's Aunt May into revealing the whereabouts of a lost fortune hidden in her house.[9] 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 by silverfish.[10] In his next appearance, Mysterio tricks Spider-Man into believing that he had caused the death of a bystander.[11] Mysterio then attempts to scare the tenants from an apartment complex in real estate thwarted by the preteen superhero team, Power Pack,[12] much to his later humiliation. He is recruited by Doctor Octopus to form the second Sinister Six, and battles Spider-Man.[13]
In other encounters, Mysterio has faked the death of Spider-Man's Aunt May, and made deals with demons from Limbo. 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, Mysterio was given an early release, as he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and lung 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 early release. 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 a clone, 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). Mysterio decided to change his plan and focus on Daredevil, who he had encountered recently during an insurance scam that the Man Without Fear had thwarted; he believed that he had found a 'kindred spirit' in Daredevil, in the sense that both were second stringers with little reputation outside their homes.
After the Kingpin 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. Daredevil was nearly manipulated into killing an innocent baby (falsely accused of being the Antichrist), Karen Page was killed by Bullseye after Mysterio had convinced her that she was suffering from HIV due to her time as a porn star, Matt Murdock's partner Foggy Nelson was framed for murder after cheating on his current lover, and Daredevil nearly lost his mind as he appeared to be tormented by the forces of Hell.
However, Daredevil's will proved stronger than Mysterio expected, and once Doctor Strange discovers and magically removed the drug from Daredevil's blood stream, 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 verbally abused Mysterio's plot and very existence, dismissing 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 on J. Jonah Jameson. Broken in every sense of the word, Mysterio, saying he was stealing an idea from Kraven 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 legitimate, as Mysterio had nothing left to live for.[14]
Someone claiming to be Mysterio appeared later with the revised Sinister 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 Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto hinted that it was Daniel Berkhart, an old friend of Beck and a previous Jack-O-Lantern who had taken over the mantle of Mysterio during a period when Beck had previously faked his death, and has reassumed it after Beck's death. This issue was not addressed again until a Mysterio briefly fought Spider-Man and was captured in Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. III) #7. In Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #12, Berkhart was confirmed to be this second Mysterio by Quentin Beck.
In Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11-13, a teleporting mutant named Francis Klum plots to destroy the recently unmasked Spider-Man in revenge for events shown in The Evil That Men Do. Klum purchases the Mysterio costume, and turns the school Peter Parker teaches at into a 'haunted house', filling it with death-traps. Klum's actions bring the attention of Daniel Berkhart, who arrives and prepares to team up with Spider-Man in order to defeat Klum.
Beck appears in the school auditorium in a dark red version of his costume and confronts Klum, before leaving him for Berkhart to deal with. 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.[15] Neither Berkhart nor Klum have been seen since. Though Berkhart was incarcerated, Klum's status is uncertain.
In 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 storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, 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, 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 returning Captain George Stacy, who claims to have always been the gangster known as The 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 Chameleon, who tells him that he has some friends who are "dying" to meet him.[16]
The "friends" Chameleon was talking about happens to be the Kravinoffs. He was present at the ritual where Spider-Man is seemingly sacrificed in order to revive Kraven the Hunter.[17]
During the Origin of the Species storyline, Mysterio is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to join his villains' team where he is promised that he will receive a reward.[18] Mysterio went after Spider-Man for Menace's infant. He tries to use illusion effects to frighten Spider-Man but fails, thus leaving him a reminder.[19]
Quentin Beck does not possess superhuman abilities but he is an expert designer of special effects devices and stage illusions, a master hypnotist and magician, and an amateur chemist and roboticist. He had 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.
Mysterio's suit has personal weaponry which include many devices that aid him in his many agendas. His most striking feature, his helmet, is made of a one way plexiglass material, meaning he can see out but no one can see in. The helmet also includes an air supply to protect him from his own gasses, a Sonar to navigate within his own mist cloak and a holographic projector to aid in 3D illusions that can be used to fool the weak willed. His boots contain magnetic coil springs which allow him impressive leaps as well as the ability to cling to surfaces. His most distinctive and persistant trademark however is his smokescreen cloak. Mysterio's costume contains nozzles in the boots and wrists that can release a constant stream of smoke, that shields his movements as well as enhancing his mystique. He can mix various other chemicals into this smokescreen for various effects. Such chemicals include; a gas that dullens and inhibits Spider-Man's spider-sense, a gas that causes paralysis in those that breath it for 30 minutes, a chemical abrasive that eats away Spider-Man's webbing, hypnogens that make those around him more susceptible to his will and halloucinogens to cause vivid halloucinations in those who experience it. A combination of the hypnogens and halloucinogens 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 eye emblems on his shoulders, or electric coils within his cape to electrocute those who touch it. He also employs many different weapons, such as handheld hypnotic aids or robotic drones, to further his aims in battle.
Daniel Berkhart, a former friend and protégé of Beck's, had some of the same training and skills as Beck.
Francis Klum has the mutant ability to teleport both himself and other objects, and the ability to control other people's body parts, as well as an understanding of the technologies in the Mysterio suit.
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, and Wolverine slaughters them all, only discovering the trick after he killed the last "villain" (such as Jubilee, who appeared as Bullseye), and the illusion cleared up.[20] Without the X-Men, the Red Skull's alliance of villains manages to conquer America and kill most of the heroes. This Mysterio is said to be Francis Klum.
A Zombie Mysterio appears with five other Spider-Man villains attempting to eat civilians, but all six are repelled by Magneto and Wolverine.[21]
A past version of Mysterio from Spider-Man's college days appears 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 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.[22]
In the tyrant-controlled New York of the future, 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.[23]
The Mysterio of the mainstream Earth-616 Marvel Universe appears is as a villain in the fictional Spider-Man movie of the Ultimate universe.[24]
The actual Ultimate version of Mysterio was later introduced in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3. His appearance is drastically changed from his 616 counterpart. He wears all black with a green neck brace that produces blue smoke that envelopes his face. In his first appearance, he had a police technician to set up surveillance equipments to the police department. However, after NYPD's police captain Frank Quaid asked Spider-Man to aid them to find the crook who somehow able to stay ahead of his unit. 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 his accomplice, the villain vowed to get even with Spider-Man and then escapes.[25]
Mysterio appears again in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, blasting Kingpin out the window of a skyscraper.[26] 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 in order to rob the Federal Bank. Spider-Man stops him and Mysterio's personal hatred for the web slinger increases.[27]
Creating an illusion of the Hulk to lure Spider-Man to him, Mysterio ambushes and severely wounds the hero. Before Mysterio can unmask and kill Spider-Man, a mysterious vigilante rescues him and together they defeat Mysterio revealing his true face. Mysterio finds Spidey's blood on his broken armor and designs a Spider-Slayer who personally targets Peter. The mysterious vigilante defeats it and before Mysterio can do anything else the police rush to his hideout, which they found by tracking a piece of the Mysterio's tech. Mysterio curses and then proceeds to blow up his hideout.[28]
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||