Mysterio
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Mysterio is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and an enemy of Spider-Man. Mysterio was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. His first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man #13, although it was later retconned that the aliens seen in Amazing Spider-Man #2 were actually Mysterio and his men in disguise.
Biography
Mysterio's true identity was Quentin Beck, a special-effects wizard who worked for a major studio and had dreams to make a name for himself in the film industry. However, he lacked the looks and talent to be a star and the patience to be a director, and saw his career in special-effects to be a dead-end job. When a friend jokingly suggested that the quickest way to become famous is to take out a costumed hero, Beck realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective supervillain. Choosing Spider-Man, a relatively weak and inexperienced target, Beck prepared his resources for a few months before attempting to eliminate the wall-crawler. Mysterio, his chosen identity, became one of Spider-Man's most elusive and persistent foes.Mysterio showed his full range of talents in his first battle with Spider-Man, fogging the hero's Spider-Sense with a special gas and dissolving his webbing with a chemical abrasive. In other encounters, Mysterio has faked the death of Spider-Man's Aunt May, impersonated a world-renowned psychiatrist to convince Spider-Man that he was losing his mind, 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 creditibilty as a supervillain with his defeat at the hands of the preteen superhero team, 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. Obsessed with enacting his final revenge on Spider-Man, 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. 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, instead.
After the Kingpin gave Mysterio all the information he possessed about Daredevil's past, Mysterio developed an elaborate plot to drive Daredevil insane. 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, Matt Murdock's partner Foggy Nelson was framed for murder, 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 he 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. Broken in every sense of the word, Mysterio, saying he was stealing an idea from Kraven the Hunter, pulled out a gun and committed suicide. While Mysterio has faked his own death several times in the past, it is likely that this death was the real thing.
Powers and abilities
Quentin Beck was an expert designer of special effects devices and stage illusions, a master hypnotist and prestidigitator, and an amateur chemist and roboticist. He had extensive knowledge of hand-to-hand combat techniques learned as a stuntman but didn't otherwise possess superhuman abilities. His personal weaponry included a one-way plexiglass helmet with holographic projector and gloves and boots armed with nozzles which emit hallucinogenic gas. He did have some more advanced technology (not of his own design) at his disposal.Second Mysterio
Another Mysterio appeared later with the revised Sinister Six. There was some confusion as to who it was 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 before and has reassumed it after Beck's death. This issue has not been addressed since, although a Mysterio briefly fought Spider-Man and was captured in Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. III) #7.Third Mysterio
More recently, a teleporting mutant named Francis Klum was seen purchasing Mysterio's costume from The Kingpin, swearing revenge on Spider-Man for the events in . This would make him the third Mysterio, and the first Mysterio to have actual powers instead of using tricks.Ultimate Mysterio
No counterpart for Mysterio has thus far been written into the Ultimate Marvel universe. However, the character was alluded to in the "Hollywood" arc of Ultimate Spider-Man (which poked fun at the Spider-Man movies) as a villain in a movie about Spider-Man.Mysterio in other media
Mysterio was a villain in the 1960s Spider-Man animated series in two of the better received episodes, voiced by Chris Wiggins. There was also a later appearance of the villain even though he looks completely different. Wiggins' portrayal of the character has since inspired later actors to also give Mysterio a somewhat camp British accent.Mysterio is the first boss of The Amazing Spider-Man, a Game Boy game, but appears as the final boss of Spider-Man 2, the sequel.
Mysterio was the primary villain in the video game Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace and in the old PC game "The Amazing Spider Man". Also, he was a henchmen for Dr. Octopus in the video games, Spider-Man: The Return of the Sinister Six and the 2000 Spider-Man game.
Mysterio plays a significant and important role in the 2000 Spider-Man game. He framed Spider-Man by guising as him and stole Dr. Otto Octavius' new machine just after he was reformed. However, Mysterio secretly worked for Ock, who only pretended to reform. Later on in the game, Spider-Man and Mysterio confronted each other in The Daily Bugle's basement. The Master of Illusion increased his size to fifty feet to finally crush and kill Spider-Man. But this failed when Spider-Man destroyed all of his power, decreased the villain back to his regular height and forced the villain to answer about a symbiote invasion that would corrupt the world. The Master of Illusion told Spider-Man that the symbiotes were coming from Warehouse 65, the place in which Spider-Man foils the symbiote plan, blows up Doc Ock's lair and escaped with him. Mysterio was later seen in jail with Ock, Rhino and Scorpion, arguing with Scorpion on even though they all teamed up, they still couldn't take down Spider-Man. Mysterio said that it wasn't his fault and Ock's plan was horrible - everyone knows you can't control the symbiotes (Spider-Man told him that when the Master of Illusion was defeated).
Mysterio was also Spider-Man's secondary rival (After Doctor Octopus) in the game based on Spider-Man 2 (voiced by James Arnold Taylor). In this confrontation, he initially attempted to 'prove' that Spider-Man was a fraud by competing against him in both a contest to catch criminals and put them in pits, and an obstacle course where he tried to shoot at Spider-Man with an electric cannon. When these both failed, he subsequently tried to use his equipment to convince Spider-Man that he was an alien invader , but after an elaborate attack on the Statue of Liberty was thwarted, he was captured while attempting to rob a shop. It is worthwhile noting that while the Mysterio in the comics was a very capable fighter, when the final confrontation between Spider-Man and Mysterio takes place here, it only requires one punch from Spider-Man for the fight to be over. Curiously, in this latter appearance, Mysterio's face is clearly visible through his helmet, a look completely antithetical to the established character.
Mysterio made an appearance in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, in the episode "Spidey Goes Hollywood". He blackmails a director to persuade Spider-Man to star in a movie, rigged with devices he created. The plot is similar to The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4 (where Mysterio and The Wizard summoned Spidey and The Human Torch).
In , Mysterio, voiced by Gregg Berger, was a supervillain who blames Spider-Man for ruining his reputation. In his first appearance, Mysterio began framing Spider-Man for doing crimes. Later, he became a member of the Insidious Six. Later, Mysterio created a studio. Then, he began kidnapping Mary Jane. In the end of his final appearance, Mysterio died in the explosion of his own studio, which in Six Forgotten Warriors, Vulture was replaced as a member of the Insidious Six.
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