- "I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. I control the truth... Mysterio is the truth!"
- ―Mysterio to Spider-Man[src]
Mysterio's Masquerade was a series of global drone assaults that were disguised as attacks from dangerous creatures, as organized by illusion specialist Quentin Beck and his crew.
Hungry for public recognition after being fired from Stark Industries, Beck feigned these attacks to paint himself as the world's next major superhero after Iron Man's death. Beck falsified a narrative that the disasters were perpetrated by interdimensional entities with element-based powers.
Spider-Man and his classmates Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds eventually discovered Mysterio's true agenda and the true nature of the Elementals, and he exposed Mysterio's drone workforce in the Battle of London before defeating him.
Background[]
Fired from Stark Industries[]
- "Tony Stark is gone. There is a window of opportunity and someone will step up. But these days, you can be the smartest guy in the room, the most qualified, and no one cares. Unless you're flying around with a cape or shooting lasers from your hands, no one will even listen. Well, I've got a cape. And lasers."
- ―Mysterio[src]
Quentin Beck was employed by Stark Industries, where he began working as an engineer, specializing in holographic technologies. Beck had assisted in the invention of the illusion technology prototype during his employment. Tony Stark took an interest on Beck's invention, but opted to use the system for therapeutic pursuits, and codenamed it the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or B.A.R.F., much to Beck's displeasure.[1]
Quentin Beck seeing Tony Stark mocking him
In 2016, Stark went to use B.A.R.F. to revisit his last reunion with his parents before their untimely deaths while giving a presentation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2] Beck attended the presentation from behind, furious at Stark for naming his work in relation to regurgitation, and envious over being discredited of his work. Combined with the callousness he developed out of his need for attention, due to being unrecognized for the inventor he was, Beck was fired from Stark Industries due to his instability.[1]
Masquerade[]
Attack on Ixtenco[]
- "A week ago, a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone. Witnesses say that cyclone had a face."
- ―Talos to Peter Parker[src]
An illusion resembling a Cyclone was created by Quentin Beck and his crew and was sent to attack Ixtenco, Mexico, drawing attention from Nick Fury. Talos and Soren (in disguise as Nick Fury and Maria Hill respectively) investigated under Fury's orders, as Fury was busy in space. There, they met Beck, who seemingly fought and defeated the first of the Elementals, Sandman. Beck explained that there would be three more "attacks" and agreed that he would work with Fury and his team to defeat them.[1]
Morocco Incident[]
Continuing with his scheduled attacks, Quentin Beck led the team in encountering and "defeating" Cyclone, the second of the Elementals in Morocco.[1]
Battle in the Grand Canal[]
- "Una creatura fatta d'acqua emerge dal canal grande e minaccia l'intera citia: L'uomo di misterio ha combutto con la...[3]"
- ―Venetian News Report[src]
Despite avoiding all communication from Nick Fury's team, Spider-Man was directly in the path of the third Elemental attack from Hydro-Man and assisted in damage control while Beck appeared to defeat the third entity as well.[1]
Attack on the Prague Carnival[]
Mysterio attacks Molten Man
- "The Elementals are fake? That doesn't make any sense because we were there, right? There was fire and destruction, and who would do something like that?"
"Mysterio." - ―Spider-Man and Michelle Jones[src]
With Spider-Man's assistance, Mysterio fought the last of the four Elementals, Molten Man. During the battle, a projector was notably dislodged from the system of drones creating the illusion and was picked up by Michelle Jones. Beck gained Spider-Man's trust and manipulated him into giving up control of E.D.I.T.H., a powerful A.I. system that would help Mysterio progress even further with creating and maintaining illusions in order to trick the public into thinking he was the most powerful and dependable hero in the world.[1]
Ambush in Berlin[]
Mysterio operating drones to trick Spider-Man
- "Now all your friends have to die. It's easy to fool people if they are already fooling themselves. But for what it's worth, Peter, I really am sorry."
- ―Mysterio to Spider-Man[src]
When Mysterio had discovered that Spider-Man had become suspicious and started investigating the illusions thanks to assistance from Michelle Jones, Mysterio decided to attack him in Berlin and use an intricate set of illusions to confuse and distract him enough that he would eventually be defeated and assumed dead by Mysterio after being tricked into running into a train. However, Spider-Man survived the attack and, with assistance from Happy Hogan, found a way to return to his friends.[1]
Battle of London[]
Elemental Fusion attacks London
- "How could you do all this?"
"You'll see, Peter. People need to believe... and now in days, they'll believe anything." - ―Spider-Man and Mysterio[src]
Now fully aware that there were people that were able to reveal the truth of his plans, Mysterio planned the biggest attack yet, using a bigger illusion described as a fusion of all the previous Elementals. Mysterio would attempt to dispose of anyone that would be able to reveal his secret while causing major death and destruction in the London area, eventually leading to him being seen by the public as the hero that had stopped the attack. However, now aware of how the attacks were being carried out, Spider-Man was able to interrupt the planned attack and shut down the illusions. Mysterio was fatally injured in the battle after refusing to yield. During the battle, William Ginter Riva was quickly able to download all the footage of the battle and escape.[1]
Aftermath[]
Mysterio reveals Spider-Man's secret identity
- "There you have it, folks. Conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the brutal murder of Mysterio, an interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet and who will go down -- in history as the greatest superhero of all time!"
- ―J. Jonah Jameson[src]
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Despite Mysterio's death, a video was anonymously given to The Daily Bugle, showing altered footage of the Battle of London and implicating Spider-Man as the villain behind it. Additionally, Mysterio revealed that Spider-Man's true identity was Peter Parker, as the video was aired in public, much to Parker and Jones' dismay.[1]