Overlooked Gems: “Mysterioso”

Today we will be taking a look at Mysterioso by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #618-620 from 2010.

During the classic Stan Lee/Steve Ditko/John Romita Sr. days, Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio was easily one of the wall-crawler’s coolest foes.

First appearing in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #13 from 1963, The Master of Illusion would have some of the most memorable appearances and schemes in a tenure teeming with them. Such schemes included:

 

 

 

Sadly, while later writers like Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Roger Stern and David Michelinie were able to deliver some really solid Spider-Man/Mysterio bouts, they didn’t always live up to the imagination, creativity and surreal nature of the character’s initial appearances. Don’t get me wrong, Mysterio was still one of Spidey’s better villains, but his illusions and plots often weren’t quite as memorable or as original as the Lee-written issues. That is until Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada’s classic Guardian Devil came along in 1999.

Despite not being a Spider-Man story, Guardian Devil contained what is (in my humble opinion) Mysterio’s most elaborate and diabolical scheme to date.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Quentin Beck vows to make a true name for himself by psychologically shattering Daredevil (because Spider-Man was currently…unavailable at this time).

Long story short, Mysterio’s plan leads to Matt Murdock almost murdering an innocent baby and the death of his long-time lover Karen Page.

With this story, it seemed as though Mysterio was going to be revitalized like never before…

…only for Quentin to kill himself at the very end of it.

While thematically appropriate for the story, it was definitely an odd decision to kill off a long-standing Spider-Man villain in another superhero’s title. Imagine being a Spider-Man fan who doesn’t read Daredevil and discovering second hand that one of the web-slinger’s signature B-list rogues died in a completely separate comic. Chances are that those people probably wouldn’t react very well to this particular creative choice—and they didn’t.

Many Spidey fans felt this was a pointless waste of one of his most entertaining adversaries and demanded the Master of Illusion’s return—in one way or another. Thankfully, the story in which old fishbowl head finally makes his return (which just so happens to be our gem of the day) ended up being one of the most creative Spider-Man vs Mysterio tales to be told in a long time.

Our story begins rather grimly with a quite thorough recap of the many hits that have been placed on members of the Maggia crime family.

The only surviving man of the Maggia family is this charmer here:

Unfortunately for Bruno, Mr. Negative’s Inner-Demon gang (along with a newly-recruited Hammerhead) arrive to rectify that little oversight.

But when all hell breaks loose, who has a habit of arriving just in time?

If you were thinking Black Panther, you’ve come to the wrong place.

As Spidey begins mopping up this mess in a really neat splash page…

…the Inner-Demons decide to cut their losses and escape before they’re entangled by the web of justice. In typical New Yorker fashion, no one seems especially grateful for Spidey’s assistance.

Skipping ahead, the Maggia later reconvene at the Karnelli Estate to discuss what exactly they are going to do (or can do) about the Inner-Demons.

However, the Maggia is in for quite a shock when some familiar faces begin to appear…except these particular faces should all presently be six feet under.

But the biggest surprise is still to come.

That’s right, the original Maggia don himself, Silvermane, is alive and well. Or is he?

Plot twist: this is all actually just one of Mysterio’s elaborate illusions so he can take over the Maggia crime family. So what is the mysterious Mr. Beck’s next move? Let’s find out.

“Silvermane” leads the charge against the Inner-Demons…much to Hammerhead’s confusion.

As Hammerhead scurries back under the rock he crawled out from under, everyone’s favorite two-legged arachnid arrives along with the police to diffuse the destruction.

As the battle between the law and the lawless commences, Mysterio assures his comrades that he has the perfect plan for dealing with the accursed arachnid.

Said plan goes ends up going off without a hitch.

Spider-Man is now officially a killer in the eyes of the law! How will our hero get out of this one? How will he be able to clear his name? Furthermore, will he even want to clear his name after believing he has broken his moral code? This time you’ll have to find out for yourself.

Mysterioso marks what is easily one of Mysterio’s most creative schemes against the wall-crawler in a long time. Quentin is effectively portrayed as the genius he is supposed to be as he outwits everyone around him and remains one step ahead of his enemies at all times. I know that I’ve been rather hard on Dan Slott’s writing prowess in past articles of mine, but he really nails Mysterio’s ingenuity and penchant for showmanship here. It becomes clear as the story progresses that Quentin is doing this more for attention, recognition and thrills rather than power and money. In my opinion, that makes him a far more interesting and unique character.

You can track down the individual issues or purchase the Spider-Man: The Gauntlet, Vol. 2 – Rhino & Mysterio trade paper back.

Those looking for a detailed explanation on how Quentin Beck returned from the grave will be disappointed, but those simply looking for a fun Mysterio tale won’t be in the slightest.