[5] In his comic book appearances, Mysterio is the alias of Quentin Beck, a former special effects artist, illusionist and actor who turns to crime.

[11] Quentin Beck is a special effects master and stunt man working for a major Hollywood studio with dreams of making a name for himself in the film industry.

[15] Mysterio then establishes a brief partnership with the Wizard in a plot to kill Spider-Man and the Human Torch on a Hollywood movie set by pretending to enroll them in a film.

[18] Out of prison, Beck resumes his Ludwig Rinehart identity to manipulate Spider-Man's Aunt May into revealing the whereabouts of a lost fortune hidden in her house.

[19] Beck used bogus alien disguises to frighten May Parker into revealing the location of the fortune, but then learned that the money had long ago been eaten by silverfish.

[21] Mysterio then attempts to scare the tenants from an apartment complex in a real estate scam thwarted by the preteen superhero team Power Pack,[22] much to his later humiliation.

After his final imprisonment during the "Guardian Devil" story arc, Mysterio was given an early release, as he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and lung cancer, both caused by the chemicals and radiation from his equipment.

[28] In the course of the scheme, Karen Page was killed by Bullseye after Mysterio had convinced her that she was suffering from HIV due to her time as a porn star,[29] Matt Murdock's partner Foggy Nelson was framed for murder after cheating on his current lover,[30] and Daredevil nearly lost his mind as he appeared to be tormented by the forces of Hell.

[27] Sometime later, Quentin Beck suddenly appears in the Midtown High School auditorium in a dark red version of his costume during the three-way battle between Spider-Man and the two successor Mysterios.

In The Amazing Spider-Man #581, a flashback shows that, prior to his suicide, Beck had been hired by Norman Osborn to fake his son Harry's death.

He also tries to drive Spider-Man mad by making him think he's accidentally killed several gang members, while trying to convince him that a returned Captain George Stacy, who claims to have always been the gangster known as the Big Man, also faked his death years earlier.

[35] During the Origin of the Species story line, Mysterio is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to join his villains' team where he is promised that he will receive a reward.

He first works with Chameleon to distract Spider-Man and the Future Foundation, faking an attack in the Caribbean by zombie pirates while the rest of the Six steal something from the Fantastic Four's headquarters.

Spider-Man, the Human Torch and John Jameson later discover that some of the space station's crew members have been taken over by the Octobots, making them Octobot-controlled zombies that obey Doctor Octopus's commands.

After Apogee 1 Space Station is destroyed and the crew is evacuated by Spider-Man, the Human Torch and John Jameson, Doctor Octopus tells the rest of the Sinister Six that his master plan is about to begin.

[43] After disabling the Octobots that were controlling the Avengers, Mysterio lends Spider-Man and Silver Sable his vehicle and provides them with the location of Dr. Octopus' base.

However, after NYPD's police captain Frank Quaid asked the Ultimate version of Spider-Man to aid them to find the crook who was somehow able to stay ahead of his unit.

[50] Despite using chemical weapons to create the hallucination that both Spider-Men are fighting an army of their greatest foes, Peter's greater experience allows him to focus through Mysterio's illusions and destroy the avatar.

[54] Eight months after the events of Secret Wars, Mysterio attacks Parker Industries with the intention of using the company's Webware technology to cause mass hysteria by beaming imagery directly into the minds of the product's users.

[55] While recovering in the hospital, Beck is visited by an unknown figure, who leaves a Mysterio bust on the supervillain's bedside table while declaring that he is "not out of the game yet".

[56] After Deadpool is manipulated into killing Spider-Man, Mysterio tortures the hero's Limbo-bound soul by projecting his own spirit into the realm using power provided by a mysterious benefactor.

[59] Dusk shows some awareness of this, as she warns the Scarlet Spider about Mysterio,[60] but when Reilly visits the villain, he accepts Beck's explanation that he has decided to retire.

[67] Mysterio is later shown attending a meeting with psychiatrist Dr. Winhorst, where he affirms his old story that he was sent to Hell after his suicide and was released by some demonic entity whose name he fears to say.

[69] More recently, Mysterio had begun production on a film with Mary Jane Watson on a remote set he used to torment Spider-Man,[70] to make a play for a girl he wronged while under the alias of Cage McKnight.

[12] The helmet also includes an air supply to protect him from his own gases, sonar to navigate within his mist cloak and a holographic projector to create 3D illusions.

The costume sometimes also includes offensive weaponry, such as lasers or knockout gas nozzles in the eye emblems on his shoulders, or electric coils within his cape to electrocute those who touch it.

[87] The fourth Mysterio (an unknown man named "Mysterion") was created by Christopher Yost and David Lopez and first appeared in Avenging Spider-Man #22 (June 2013).

[18] Later, after Beck's suicide, someone claiming to be Mysterio appears with the revised Sinister Six, making references to his "death", stating how after fighting Daredevil he had exited in a "most spectacular fashion".

Believing that Felicia set him up, he fell from the bridge, teleported in mid-fall and sustained severe physical injuries, losing his left leg below the knee.

[31] However, Klum's plans to kill Spider-Man at Midtown High were interrupted when he was stabbed in the chest by school nurse Miss Arrow's stingers after an altercation with the other two Mysterios (Quentin Beck having returned from the dead).