This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Real name Quentin Beck, Mysterio is a special effects whiz that uses his skills with illusions to commit crimes and be generally annoying. This skillset, coupled with the silly costume, makes him a neat fit for video games. He can be a great comedic foil, he can conjure up new environments, and, on occasion, he can even be a genuinely scary adversary.
Amidst all the Gyllenhaal-assisted movie hype, then, let’s not forget these brilliant Mysterio moments that are dotted throughout Spider-Man’s video game history…
- Maybe the easiest boss battle ever? (Spider-Man 2)
Mysterio was nowhere to be seen in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, but he had a really fun supporting role in the video game adaptation. First, Quentin Beck tries to discredit Spidey, then he pretends to be an alien invader. He eventually lures Spidey into a Funhouse Of Doom, which proves to be a tricky but enjoyable level.
There’s also a great battle at the Statue Of Liberty. And then, providing one of the funniest Mysterio moments ever, Spidey confronts ol’ fishbowl head in a convenience store. Mysterio’s health bar fills up three times, encouraging the player to freak out, but it turns out that one punch is all it takes to defeat this villain.
- Mysterious cosplay at the party (Spider-Man PS4)
Spider-Man PS4 was clearly made by some huge Spidey fans, and one way that the developers at Insomniac proved this was by creating their own Mysterio fake-out moment to rival the one from Spider-Man 2. When web-head is searching through the crowd at a Halloween party, he runs into a doctor that is cosplaying as Mysterio.
Clearly getting caught up in the party vibes, this cameoing character throws down a smoke pellet and lures Spidey into a hall of mirrors, before firing at him with a toy gun. The ‘battle’ doesn’t last long, but it leaves a lasting impression. The real Mysterio would be proud.
- Much ado about a chess set (LEGO Marvel Super Heroes)
Not every comic book character can pull off a stupendous subplot in a LEGO game, but Mysterio is more than madcap enough to stick the landing when it comes to brick-based humor. The cape-wearing baddie proved this in Traveller’s Tales’ first LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game, where he got into a scuffle with Magneto and Mystique.
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In this bonus mission, which you had to complete to unlock Mysterio as a playable character, Magneto returned to the supervillain prison The Raft to reclaim a chess set that Mysterio stole. This results in a short but sweet battle that’s very tongue in cheek.
- Massive thorn in Spidey’s side (Spider-Man PS1)
The Spider-Man game that launched on PC, N64, Dreamcast, and PS1 in the year 2000 was a brilliant entry point to the wall-crawler’s world, and it’s only fitting that Mysterio had a strong presence in it. The villain teams up with Carnage and Doctor Octopus to set symbiotes loose on New York, and he also gets his moment in the spotlight during a massive-Mysterio-versus-normal-sized-Spidey boss battle.
This is one of many instances of gamers going up against an embiggened Mysterio, and it really was a great intro to the character.
- Mega-sized again! (Disney Infinity 2.0)
Speaking of literally-massive Mysterio moments in video games, the sadly-defunct-now Disney Infinity franchise featured another ace example of this trope. An extra large iteration of fishbowl head pops up in the Spider-Man playset, controlling the design of a sweet little level using his powers of illusion. The gameplay mainly involves fighting, jumping and cube-manoeuvring, which is a fun way to spend a few minutes. Again, as with his seamless integration in the LEGO universe, the silliness of Mysterio ensures that the character fits really well into this Toy Box reality.
- Mastermind of mayhem (Spider-Man: Friend Or Foe)
Another fine example of Mysterio-inspired level design can be found in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, the PS2-era game by Next Level Games. These developers got a lot of mileage out of Mysterio’s ability to create tricksy environments, and they also positioned this fan favorite villain as a core player in the narrative: using a combination of meteor fragments and mind-controlling amulets, in this game Mysterio creates a bunch of monsters and also serves as puppetmaster for an impressive roster of villains.
read more: Spider-Man Villains Who Could Join the MCU
This game proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mysterio is capable of being more than just a sideshow.
- Multiverse-spanning menace (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions)
Beenox’s 2010 title, Shattered Dimensions, still stands out at one of the most ambitious Spider-Man games ever made. Years before the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse movie brought madcap multiverse crossovers into the mainstream, Shattered Dimensions brought the classic Peter Parker together with Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099 and a symbiote-enhanced Ultimate Spidey (Spider-Ham even made an appearance!). And right at the center of the story was Mysterio, using a shattered ancient tablet to translate his usual trickery into proper magical powers. Threatening the entire multiverse and reality itself, Mysterio became a massive threat that it took multiple Spider-Men to bring down. The final battle, which spanned four dimensions and featured a bigger-than-ever spin on the massive Mysterio trope, is arguably the greatest Mysterio moment in video game history.
read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming Marvel MCU Movies
What’s your favorite Mysterio moment, gaming or otherwise? Please feel free to let us know in the comments below…
