Spider-Man: 10 Things About Mysterio Only Comic Fans Know

Mysterio was the primary villain of Spider-Man: Far From Home and could be a potential member of the MCU Sinister Six if it appears on the big screen. Comic book fans know there are many other places for the classic supervillain to go in the movies, thanks to his long and unique history in Marvel Comics.

Mysterio has been a threat to Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe in general since its earliest days, bringing a visual flair comic fans might have once thought wouldn’t translate well to the big screen. Now that he’s a major part of MCU lore, it remains to be seen what else from his comic past could play a role in the movies.

10 Retconned Into An Alien (In A Way)

Mysterio first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 in June 1964, making him one of Spider-Man’s earliest foes. In a way, he appeared earlier and as an alien. In a retcon that occurred many years later, Mysterio is revealed to have been the mysterious alien being from The Amazing Spider-Man #2 in disguise.

This retcon happens in 1981, in The Spectacular Spider-Man #51, retroactively placing Mysterio in Spider-Man’s life much sooner. His talent for makeup and special effects would become a major part of his career as a villain.

9 Special Effects Artist

In the MCU, Quentin Beck is an employee of Stark Industries. In the comics, Beck is a special effects artist and a stuntman who uses his knowledge of practical effects to trick people as Mysterio.

Like with the supervillain Electro, Mysterio first encounters Spider-Man during a robbery. Mysterio frames Spider-Man for the job and uses his special effects gear to confuse Peter Parker momentarily. But Spider-Man eventually tricks Mysterio, and the truth is revealed. It wouldn’t be the last time they cross paths.

8 Member Of The Sinister Six

Not too long after, Mysterio would reappear in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 as a founding member of the Sinister Six. This 1964 classic brought together a half dozen of Spider-Man’s most dangerous foes to date.

Mysterio proves himself to be one of the most powerful members of the Sinister Six by using his advanced skills to terrifying effect. He constructs and uses robot replicas of the original roster of the X-Men, sending them into battle against a confused and overwhelmed Spider-Man.

7 Part Of The Maggia Syndicate

The Sinister Six isn’t the only criminal enterprise that Mysterio is part of. Mysterio would later be revealed to be part of the Maggia criminal syndicate, an international organization that first appeared in the pages of The Avengers #13 in February 1965.

Mysterio would attempt to take control of the entire organization after internecine warfare left most of the leadership dead. Using his patented robot replicas, Mysterio created duplicates of the dead leaders and tried to impersonate them to seize power.

6 Enemy Of Daredevil

Though Mysterio is primarily known as a Spider-Man villain, he also has a long and nasty history with one of Spider-Man’s most important allies, Daredevil. Mysterio became obsessed with Daredevil after losing interest in Spider-Man in the mid-’90s (part of this was due to thinking he was a clone, a consequence of The Clone Saga, a comic book crossover the MCU should probably avoid).

Working with the Kingpin, Mysterio decided to try and drive Daredevil out of his mind. The insidious plan would have drastic consequences for both men.

5 Guardian Devil

In the Guardian Devil storyline from the mid-90s, Mysterio’s plan bears bitter fruit, and he drugs Matt Murdock. He also manipulates the villain Bullseye into killing Murdock’s longtime friend Karne Page.

This is probably another storyline best avoided in the MCU, especially given its tragic end. Daredevil overcomes the drug, and Mysterio appears to die. But as always with Mysterio, it’s a trick.

4 The Gauntlet

Many years later, in The Gauntlet storyline that began in The Amazing Spider-Man #618, Mysterio reappears. Quentin Beck claims to have faked his death and takes part in a massive assault on Spider-Man from all of his villains at once.

As part of the story, Mysterio cooperates with the other villains to use Spider-Man’s blood to resurrect one of his greatest villains, Kraven The Hunter. The effort is successful and for the first time since his death in Kraven’s Last Hunt, the original Kraven The Hunter returned to the Marvel Universe.

3 Ultimate Marvel Android

The Ultimate Comics imprint was introduced in the early 2000s as a separate universe from the main Marvel one of Earth-616. The two universes were distinct, but in Mysterio, the two worlds had one of the first major connections. It’s revealed the Ultimate Mysterio, an android, was actually controlled by the 616 Quentin Beck.

This reveal comes in Spider-Men #4, a 2012 series that brings together for the first time the 616 Peter Parker Spider-Man and his Ultimate Comics Earth-1610 counterpart, Miles Morales.

2 Spider-Verse

Just as there are many versions of Spider-Man throughout the multiverse in the comics, there are other versions of Mysterio as well. The Ultimate Mysterio android is just one. In the Spider-Gwen universe of Earth-65, he’s the owner and operator of a theme park.

In the dark, dystopian future of Old Man Logan, Mysterio achieves perhaps his cruelest and most successful illusion. He creates an illusion that makes Logan think the X-Men are actually some of their greatest villains, and Logan ends up killing them all. In their absence, supervillains conquer the world.

1 Mysterion

There are other versions of Mysterio in the primary Marvel universe as well. One of the most significant is Mysterion, who debuts in Avenging Spider-Man #22 during the reign of the Superior Spider-Man.

This anonymous individual was captured by Spider-Man, who at the time was really longtime Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus in Peter Parker’s body, and forced into becoming a member of his Superior Six. Other Mysterios also existed in Earth-610, including Daniel Berkhart and Francis Klum.

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