The character was created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez, and first appeared in "Swing Shift", a story in Free Comic Book Day: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (May 2007).

Originally a Chinese gangster and human trafficker, whose real name was never revealed,[a] the man who would become Mister Negative was captured by crime boss Silvermane to serve as a test subject, alongside the future Cloak & Dagger, for an experimental procedure involving a synthetic drug created by Simon Marshall.

The experiment gave the character control over both the Darkforce and Lightforce, and led to the creation of two polar opposite personalities: Mister Positive, posing as a benevolent and kind philanthropist named Martin Li, who would go on to found the F.E.A.S.T.

Project as a means to help homeless people; and the ruthless crime lord Mister Negative, who leads the Inner Demons gang in an attempt to take over New York's criminal underworld.

Originally, the character was depicted as suffering from dissociative identity disorder, with one personality not maintaining the other's memories, but both personas were later shown to be fully aware of each other's existence.

This gang member was eventually captured by Silvermane and experimented on with a synthetic drug created by Maggia chemist Simon Marshall.

[6] In the "Brand New Day" storyline, Mister Negative first comes into conflict with Spider-Man when he makes a power play toward taking control of New York's criminal underworld by attempting to wipe out all existing members of the Karnelli and Maggia crime families using a bioweapon called "Devil's Breath".

In exchange for leaving the Maggia families' children alive, he takes a sample of Spider-Man's blood to use in a Devil's Breath formula.

[8] Martin Li endorses Bill Hollister for mayor of New York City, putting him against Randall Crowne, adding him to a list of opponents (many of whom become targets of the villain Menace).

[10] Mister Negative later recruits Hammerhead and offers to put the man's brain in a new robotic adamantium skeleton after having been shot point blank in the head by Underworld.

[12] After the F.E.A.S.T center is torn apart during the fight between the two, Li discovers from a group of sweatshop workers (from a shop owned by Crowne) that they were experimented on with drugs made at Oscorp.

[14] During the 2008–2009 "Dark Reign" storyline, Mister Negative refuses to submit to The Hood’s rule of conquest over New York's criminal underworld.

[1] Spider-Man battles the members of Hood's gang who are attacking the villain's headquarters; Mister Negative then sends the web-slinger to kill Betty Brant who is interviewing the real Martin Li's widow and is coming close to finding out the truth.

A later conversation that Osborn has with his own darker Green Goblin side reveals that he now has an alliance with Mister Negative similar to the one with Hood.

[2] In the X-Men storyline "Serve and Protect", Mister Negative and his Inner Demons are at San Francisco on attempting to murder a widowed woman who still have a child.

Although his plan foiled by Anole's strategy into using a temporary brainwashed Rockslide, Mister Negative releases the rock mutant hero and vow they will meet again on the other side.

[18] During the 2010 "Shadowland" storyline, Mister Negative takes the advantage of the conflict against the Hand in a plot to set up a criminal establishment there, only for him and his Inner Demons to run afoul of Spider-Man and Shang-Chi.

When they, along with Spider-Man, interrupt a heroin-smuggling operation, Wraith uses visual recognition software, linked to every television broadcast in New York, to publicly out Mister Negative as Martin Li.

[28] During the "Sins Rising" arc, a revived Sin-Eater steals the powers of Mister Negative and uses it to corrupt the guards at Ravencroft when he targets Norman Osborn.

Obtaining the Tablet of Life and Destiny from Spider-Man and Boomerang puts Negative in completion with Black Mariah, Crime Master, Diamondback, Hammerhead, Madame Masque, Owl, Silvermane, and Tombstone.

[32] During the "Gang War" storyline, Mister Negative and Lady Yulan are at each other's throats as she claims that the Inner Demons used holy water on her vampire minions.

"[1] The effectiveness of his corruption varies depending on how good the affected person was before their conversion: White Dragon, a villain himself, gained vastly increased stamina and endurance, but was still easily dispatched (his clothes reverted to normal once he was killed).

Conversely, Spider-Man, a hero in every respect, was corrupted into a spiteful and angry villain, despising every value he held dear (even his Uncle Ben's memory) and no more above killing.

[27] Mister Negative's alternate Martin Li persona seems to have the power to cure others: in The Amazing Spider-Man #568, a simple touch from Li completely cures Eddie Brock of his cancer, and combines the remnants of the Venom symbiote in his blood with his white blood cells, creating a new symbiote named Anti-Venom that possesses similar healing powers.

In response to emerging vigilantes Spider-Man and the Green Goblin threatening Fisk's operations, Negative joins his Sinister Six to eliminate them.