Ultimate Mysterio Maybe the Best Version of the Spider-Man Villain Yet

In a year of absolute sell outs, Ultimate Spider-Man remains the pinnacle of superhero comics. Every month, another issue of the book drops, and Spider-Man fans are given some new version of a perfect old Spider-Man concept. Ultimate Spider-Man #16 is yet another brilliant issue, giving readers yet another shock to the system. This issue does two things — finally gives readers the story of Gwen Stacy in the Ultimate Universe, and reveals the truth about Ultimate Mysterio. Ultimate Spider-Man has been amazing for ages, but this issue takes that to spectacular new heights, weaving a new web of Spider-Man for fans tired of the same old, same old. This new version of Mysterio may be the greatest version of the character to ever exist.

Spider-Man is a character with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to villains. There is no single hero, not even Batman, who has as many A-list villains as he does. Mysterio has always been one of the less celebrated villains in the Sinister Six, the tippy top of the Spider-Man villain pyramid, but there’s always been more to him than meets the eye, something we’ve seen many times over the years. However, this new version is something special even with all of the great Spider-Man villain variants.

SPOILERS for Ultimate Spider-Man #16 beyond this point.

The Man of Mystery Taken to the Next Level

Quentin Beck was first introduced in the second issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, a master of special effects who worked on a show that Spider-Man was guesting on. Spider-Man’s agent at the time wanted the normal special effects to actually be dangerous, and Beck obliged because it was Silver Age Marvel and OSHA didn’t exist. Spider-Man was able to save the day, but Beck lost his job. This led to him becoming Mysterio. At first, Mysterio was all about the smoke and mirrors, but that would change over the years as Beck got access to better technology. Mysterio is able to fool people with super senses like Wolverine and Daredevil, and his green gas able to cancel Spider-Man’s spider-sense. Mysterio is a founding member of the Sinister Six and worked with Kindred. Mysterio was responsible for Norman Osborn believing he slept with Gwen Stacy in the controversial story “Sins Past”, which led to an entirely too convoluted story that only exists to give Mephisto in “One More Day” a reason to want Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage undone.

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Mysterio is a well-known villain because of the place that he holds in Spider-Man’s pecking order of baddies, but he’s also a character missing an integral story. The newest Ultimate version of the character may give him that. The first bombshell — there are five Mysterios, each one taking turns using the power an amulet of some sort. The next bombshell — George Stacy was one of them when he died, and Gwen Stacy took his place. Ultimate Gwen Stacy is one of five Mysterios, and has been for the entire run of Ultimate Spider-Man. Her husband Harry never knew. The purpose of Mysterio in the Ultimate Universe is very different from the one in the 616 universe. Ultimate Mysterio isn’t just a villain who wants to make money or destroy Spider-man, they want to discover the secret of the Ultimate Universe. They want to find and expose the Maker, which is part of why OsCorp did its best to take control of Stark/Stane and Gwen bankrolled Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson. They have some information, are looking for more, and want a way to release it. The end of the issue also reveals Gwen as Mysterio doing something no one expected — saving Harry, making Peter think he was dead, and then killing Kraven the Hunter. Mysterio has a plan and it’s nothing less than war.

Ultimate Mysterio Is Playing an Entirely Different Game

Ultimate Spider-Man is written by Jonathan Hickman, a writer who is generally considered to be the best working at Marvel. Hickman knows his way around characters, and is great with villains. Part of the fun of the book is seeing the way Hickman uses the basics of Spider-Man to create something unlike any other Spider-Man book ever. His new version of Mysterio is that in a nutshell. Hickman completely changes the idea behind Mysterio — although Quentin Beck is still a member of the group of Mysterios — and automatically makes Mysterio so much better and more interesting than the villain was before.

Mysterio in the Ultimate Universe is something of a… well, mystery, fittingly enough. They’re an unknown property. They are certainly villainous — Gwen is a killer after all — and they are a member of the Kingpin’s Sinister Six. However, their ultimate goal is, at the very least, somewhat altruistic, although what they plan on doing with the world after they release the information about the Maker is anyone’s guest. Add in the teases of Harry and Gwen versus the world, and this new Mysterio seems destined to go down as the best Mysterio of them all.

Ultimate Spider-Man #16 is on sale now.