Dr. K's Waiting Room

Quick Facts:
Though he technically first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #2, disgruntled special effects wizard Quentin Beck/Mysterio made his first traditional appearance in this story before cementing himself as one of Spidey’s most dangerous foes when he joined the Sinister Six. Surprisingly formidable and ruthless despite his outrageous design, Mysterio often appears as a boss or enemy in Spidey’s cartoons and videogames and Jake Gyllenhaal received much praise for this portrayal of the character in Spider-Man: Far From Home (Watts, 2019).

The Review:
Our story begins with a shocking sight: Spider-Man robbing a bank and fleeing the scene before a gaggle of stunned onlookers, easily clambering up a neighbouring wall, tangling up some guards, swinging from the skyscrapers, and then drifting to safety on a makeshift web parachute with his haul. Naturally, the tabloids have a field day with this and the notoriously fickle and easily misled New Yorkers immediately condemn the wall-crawler. Bad-tempered publisher J. Jonah Jameson orders all his anti-Spider-Man editorials to be reprinted and Peter’s friends and colleagues are left stunned, though noted Spidey fan Eugene “Flash” Thompson remains hopeful that the whole thing is a misunderstanding. Even Peter is shellshocked by the report, believing so completely that nobody could copy his powers and costume that he briefly worries that he’s developed a malicious split personality. Peter’s so rattled by anxiety that he breaks some crockery in his absent-mindedness and worries his doting Aunt May, who inadvertently adds to Peter’s woes by reminding him of their dire financial situation. Afraid to sleep lest he commit another crime in his sleep, Peter eventually drifts off, only to awaken to find his worst fears have come true. Terrified of what he might do next, Spider-Man swings over to a psychiatrist, only to chicken out at the last second over fears that he may give away his secret identity. Peter’s troubles weigh so heavily on him that he snaps at Betty Brant when she shows concern and even gives Jameson some lip with the editor refuses to supplement his income with a small loan, forcing Peter to don his costume to get some extra cash for his pictures of Spider-Man, only to be immediately set upon by the public and chased away.

While Peter wrestles with his issues, a mysterious, cloaked figure appears in Jameson’s office and offers to end Spider-Man’s threat. Though mocked for his corny get-up and bizarre fishbowl helmet, “Mysterio” states that he hides his identity to protect his family and promises to make good on his threat. Before disappearing in a puff of smoke, Mysterio instructs Jameson to print a message luring the web-slinger to the Brooklyn Bridge, which Spidey immediately answers since he’s at his wit’s end. Realising it’s a trap, Spidey dives, swings, and pounces at his peculiar new foe, only for Mysterio to deftly somersault behind him, eerily dodge his blows by sticking to the bridge, and nimbly hop to safety. Spidey’s doubly shocked when Mysterio stops his webs with a gesture and dissolves them in mid-air before engulfing himself in a smokescreen. Though confident that his uncanny spider-sense gives him the edge, Spidey’s shocked when his senses are somehow dulled by the smoke, leaving him helpless as the unseen Mysterio repeatedly pummels him. Spider-Man’s thus forced to take a literal dive off the bridge before he’s beaten to death, leaving Mysterio victorious and forcing the bruised teen to swim to safety. Mysterio’s victory is celebrated across the grateful city, and he agrees to offer Jameson the exclusive on his true identity once Spider-Man is finished (alongside a payoff, of course). While meeting Mysterio and promising to capture his final victory on film, Peter slips a spider-themed tracking device onto the strange magician’s cape and quickly rushes out to track down his new foe, surprising Mysterio outside a television studio building. Once again, Mysterio surrounds himself with his choking smoke and puts a beating on Spider-Man but halts his attack to brag about how he managed to fool everyone into thinking Spider-Man had gone crooked.

Mysterio reveals that he was once a movie stunt man with a talent for special and practical effects. One day, he decided to imitate Spider-Man and artificially recreated his powers, using special suction cups to cling to walls and a nylon cord fired from a gun to recreate Spidey’s webs, all to frame Spidey for crimes. He then invented Mysterio to take down the “evil” Spider-Man and be hailed as a hero, using a two-way helmet, acidic spray, smoke ejectors, and magnetic spring plates in his boots to appear superhuman. Mysterio also reveals that he uses a sonar device to see through his fog and jam Spider-Man’s senses but gets so caught up in his boasting that he misses that Spidey was recording him. Angered, Mysterio resorts to his smoke once again, but this time Spidey stays outside the fog and swings into it, eventually sending Mysterio flying onto a sci-fi movie set. Spider-Man presses his attack, distracting Mysterio with a web net so he can leap in for another punch and force Mysterio to spring to the overhead props. Panicked and raving, Mysterio relies on his training as a stunt man to take Spidey’s punches and fling the wall-crawler off-balance, only for Spidey-Man to easily recover and use his fantastic agility to tackle Mysterio. When Mysterio uses his smoke again, the aggravated web-slinger smashes the sonar device on his chest and finally knocks out the devious stunt man. Retrieving his automatic camera, and his unconscious foe, Spider-Man drops Mysterio off at the police station alongside his taped confession. Jameson is livid when he finds out the truth but quickly tries to recoup his losses with Peter’s photos of the fight between Spider-Man and Mysterio. Jameson’s mood immediately sours again, though, when Spidey drops by to berate him for jumping to conclusions and humiliate him, before heading back into the city, where the public have forgiven him…for now.

Final Thoughts: 
This one was pretty fun, despite the fact that I typically don’t like stories where the hero is impersonated by another. I give this one a pass because, as goofy as Mysterio is, I quite like his aesthetic and his backstory. This story really highlights just how fickle and easily led the Marvel public are as they immediately peg Spider-Man as a thief and condemn his actions, despite all the good he’s done. To be fair, the evidence is pretty damning and it’s important to remember that this story was published when Spider-Man was truly unique and few could emulate his powers. Plus, newspapers and circumstantial evidence had worked against Spider-Man for a time, so I don’t begrudge the public for turning on the web-spinner after witnesses saw him fleeing with the loot. However, I do question Peter immediately thinking he’s gone crackers and is out committing crimes in his sleep, all because he doesn’t remember doing what he’s accused of. Again, it kinda makes sense as he can’t imagine anyone having his powers, but he descends into anxiety-ridden paranoia pretty quickly rather than trying to investigate what really happened. Paradoxically, however, I quite like this story beat. Peter’s a kid who has the weight of the world on his shoulders and is constantly worrying about his aunt, his studies, money, his relationships, and whatever villains are causing trouble. He takes everything to heart and puts himself under a lot of pressure, so it makes senses that he’d be worried he’d snapped or gone bananas from stress. Once Mysterio shows up, though, this plot thread is dropped and Peter gets his shit together to track Mysterio down, only to constantly underestimate his foe and be forced to think with his head rather than his fists.

Although we never learn Mysterio’s true name, he’s instantly memorable in his bizarre green armour, flowing purple cape, and ridiculous fishbowl helmet. His whole getup and the way he presents himself screams “supervillain” but he sells himself as a powerful hero, easily duping the bigoted Jameson with promises of Spider-Man’s defeat and being heralded a hero after besting the wall-crawler. I really liked that Mysterio was depicted as such a threat, from disappearing into smoke, nimbly avoiding Spider-Man’s famous agility, and even dulling his spider-sense to beat him half to death with relative ease. Though he boasts no true superpowers, Mysterio’s stunt training means he can take a punch and knows how to fall to lessen the damage he takes, and his gadgets make him more than a match for Spider-Man. Unfortunately, Mysterio’s motivation is quite weak. It seems he just decided to frame Spider-Man and pose as a hero to take him down on a whim and for the personal glory and the cash, which is quite bland when you think about it. Mysterio isn’t looking to get revenge against the movie industry, hasn’t been slighted by Spider-Man in the past, and doesn’t appear to have been shunned or ridiculed by his peers. He’s just doing it for a lark, it seems, and to prove his superiority over others. Indeed, when Spider-Man starts fighting smarter rather than harder, disabling Mysterio’s tech and strategically working around his near-literal smoke and mirrors, Mysterio’s enraged at being outsmarted. This only aids the furious web-spinner as Mysterio makes mistakes in his panic and rage, leaving him a beaten and humiliated wreck when he’s delivered to the cops. There were a lot of fun visuals and unique aspects to this story, especially in Mysterio’s abilities and his fights with Spider-Man. The drama didn’t land with me much and Mysterio’s motivations were quite weak but, overall, this was a strong debut for perhaps Spider-Man’s most bizarre enemy that painted him as a scheming and capable threat right from the start.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy Mysterio’s debut story? Are you a fan of the villain and, if so, what are some of your favourite Mysterio moments and stories? Would you have also liked to see Peter’s anxiety about his “crimes” explored in more detail? What did you think to Mysterio’s motivations and the way he copied Spidey’s powers? Where does Mysterio rank in your tier list of Spidey villains? Share your opinions on Mysterio in the comments, support me on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Spider-Man content.