Appearing in "The Man's Name Appears To Be...Mysterio!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- ⏴ Mysterio (Dan Berkhart) ⏵ (First appearance)
- Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Vulture (Adrian Toomes) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Jackal (Miles Warren) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Morbius (Michael Morbius) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Hammerhead (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Lizard (Curt Connors) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Grizzly (Maxwell Markham) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Molten Man (Mark Raxton) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Tarantula (Anton Rodriquez) (Illusion or holographic simulation)
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Professor Warren ⏵
- NYPD
- Cartwright (First appearance)
- Norton (First appearance)
- Gwen Stacy (Vision or hallucination)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Living Vampires (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Human-Reptile Hybrids (Illusion or holographic simulation)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Man's Name Appears To Be...Mysterio!"
While out joyriding in his Spider-Mobile, Spider-Man attracts the attention of the police and soon finds himself in a chase. When he drives through a mysterious fog, Spider-Man tries to lose the police only to drive his Spider-Mobile into the river. Realizing what Spider-Man had done, the police figure he's either escaped or died and end their chase. Spider-Man survives the crash, however, finds his web-shooters are waterlogged and is forced to hike back to his apartment. As a result, Parker is unable to stay awake during his classes and is once again scolded by his professor, Miles Warren, about his flagging grades.
After class, Peter is greeted by Mary Jane who is out of the hospital following her injuries when they were attacked by the Green Goblin. As the two walk together, Peter thinks about Gwen and his feelings towards his late lover, and his newly emerging feelings for Mary Jane. While elsewhere, J. Jonah Jameson is told that his latest scheme against Spider-Man has just begun.
Later, web-slinging across the city pondering how to recover the Spider-Mobile, he stops for a dinner break after web-slinging up some poor saps McDonald's. As he tries to eat, the wall-crawler is suddenly enveloped with a gas, which causes him to fall off the building he's on. Grasping for a fire escape ladder, Spider-Man saves himself from a nasty fall but sprains his arm. in the process. He's then attacked by who he thinks is his old foe, Mysterio. Mysterio uses a series of illusions including a truck driving up a wall, and illusions of all his foes to cause Spider-Man to think he's in peril. He realizes this too late after he notices that instead of punching his enemies he's really been smashing a brick wall -- and wrecking his web-shooters and cutting up his hands in the process. Mysterio appears once more and tells Spider-Man that this is only the beginning before vanishing into thin air.
Changing back to Peter Parker, Spidey pays a visit to the Bugle where he tells Ned and Betty what had happened, except telling them that he got caught in a fight between Spider-Man and Mysterio. Ned tells him that's not possible because apparently, Mysterio had died in prison a year before.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- Spider-Man is hunting for the Jackal who has been harassing him since Amazing Spider-Man #129.
- The original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center can be seen in the New York City skyline in the story. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. The towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. As of 2016, the Timescale has moved forward to the point where the modern age takes place after the year 2001 and will continue to move further away from that year.
- Mary Jane Watson mentions how she was recently injured in a bomb blast. That was set off by Harry Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man #136.
- Peter thinks about his late girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, who died in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
- Spider-Man recounts how he was hired to build the Spider-Mobile for Corona Motors. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #126.
- Spider-Man mentions how Mysterio died in prison following his last captured by Spider-Man. This story states Amazing Spider-Man #67. However, there is one more encounter that happened chronologically after that story in Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #3. However, that story was published years after this story, hence the omission here. This is not Quentin Beck, but his successor as revealed next issue. However, Beck faked his death, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #198.
- At first Spider-Man thinks the Green Goblin has returned. As far as Spider-Man knows the original Green Goblin -- Norman Osborn -- died in Amazing Spider-Man #122. However, Osborn survived this encountered as revealed in Osborn Journals #1 and will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #412.