Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto #1
Jack’s Back
Peter Parker is woken up from a dream about his wife, Mary Jane, by his roommate Randy Robertson who asks if he wants to have breakfast together. Peter declines the offer since he did not get any good photos the night before and needs to get back to hustling.[1] Going up to the roof, Peter changes into Spider-Man and begins swinging across the city trying to get the thought of Mary Jane out of his mind. At that same moment, Matt Murdock has successfully pleaded for a reduced sentence for his client. Once the court has adjourned, Matt goes up to the roof and changes into Daredevil. He too goes on patrol to get his mind off of a loved on he recently lost, Karen Page.[2] When Spider-Man and Daredevil almost collide into each other, the web-slinger is spoiling for a fight and decides to attack Daredevil. Daredevil manages to clip the web-slinger with his billy club causing him to fall to a rooftop below. However, when Daredevil arrives at the spot where Spider-Man landed he finds no trace of the wall-crawler anywhere, which is impossible given Daredevil’s enhanced senses leaving him to believe that there is something more going on here and knows who to call on for help.
That evening, at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson tells the evening staff that they had better find something newsworthy to report on for the morning addition, a speech he gives every night, before leaving. When the elevator opens, Jameson is shocked to see the massive flaming pumpkin head. He thinks this is Jack O’Lantern, but the villain corrects him saying that they call themselves Mad Jack, before swallowing Jonah whole.[3] Jameson ends up falling onto a small island surrounded by water surrounded by reptilian monsters. When Jonah asks what this is all about, Mad Jack says that they need Jameson to correct a wrong committed against a mutual friend, Quentin Beck, the original Mysterio.[4] When Jameson points out that Quentin Beck is dead, Mad Jack points out that Mysterio was a master of illusion and could easily have fooled everyone. That’s when the creatures in the water begin swarming Jameson.[5] By this point, Daredevil has met up with the real Spider-Man and tells him of his earlier encounter with his impostor. Spider-Man figures that this is the work of Mysterio, but Daredevil reminds him that Mysterio is dead. Spider-Man is well aware of this, having photographed his funeral as Peter Parker.[6] However, he recounts a few past encounters with someone claiming that he was the original Mysterio.[7] Given his past experience with people cheating death, the web-slinger isn’t ready to rule out that Quentin Beck somehow managed to do so himself.[8] That’s when Spider-Man remembers that Beck had an old girlfriend named Betsy Schneider who wrote a tell-all book about their relationship and suggests checking up on her to see if Mysterio has been in contact with her.
At that point, Mad Jack is holding a conference with Mysterio, who stands silently before them. Jack figures that Daredevil would have gone to the real Spider-Man by now and with Jameson dealt with wonders what’s next on the agenda. Looking at Mysterio, Mad Jack remembers that their next target is Betsy Schneider. At that moment, Betsy is showing her latest idea to cash in on Mysterio, a line of action figures with each Mysterio representing a different superhero. When her boyfriend, Joe Smith, questions the legality of doing this she points out that none of the heroes will sue her because it would mean revealing their identity, likewise, the Beck’s only surviving family member is a cousin who refused to answer her letters.[9] Suddenly, the action figures come to life and start attacking the couple while accusing them of cashing in on Quentin Beck’s legacy. That’s when one of the figures, patterned after the Human Torch, blinds Betsy and Joe with a sudden flash of light.
At that same moment, Spider-Man and Daredevil are on their way to Betsy Schneider’s home. That’s when Spider-Man’s spider-sense warns him that something is abnormal about a flock of pigeons that are flying by. Daredevil can hear the sound of mechanical parts inside the birds as they suddenly transform into bats and start attacking them. Daredevil points out that one of them is loaded with nitro and Spider-Man uses his webbing to fling the explosive bat into the others, destroying them all. Monitoring this from their hideout, Mad Jack and Mysterio watch as the next part of this elaborate illusion is about happen. From the smoke a massive bat emerges and swallows Spider-Man and Daredevil. Suddenly, Peter Parker wakes up thinking this was all a dream. He is shocked to discover that he is not in the apartment that he shares with Randy Robertson, but the penthouse he lived in with Mary Jane.[10] Unable to believe this, Peter rushes out into the kitchen where he is shocked to discover Mary Jane making breakfast. She tells him that Aunt May and the baby are sleeping, meaning he’s just hit the jackpot.[11]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Daredevil, Mad Jack, Mysterio, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Randy Robertson, Joe Smith, Betsy Schneider
Continuity Notes
There are some facts about Mary Jane in this story that require further explanation:
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the new timeline, Peter and Mary Jane are not married but engaged and should be referred to as such here.
At the time of this story, everyone believes Mary Jane died in a plane crash in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13. However, she is still alive as she is currently being held captive by a deranged stalker until Peter rescues her in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #29/Peter Parker: Spider-Man #29.
At the time of this story, Karen Page had just recently been murdered by Bullseye, as seen in Daredevil (vol. 2) #5
Mad Jack states here that they are not Jack O’Lantern, saying that those who wore the Jack O’Lantern costume were different people. At the time of this story, there have been two people in the Jack O’Lantern costume. They were:
Jason Macendale, the original Jack, wore the costume from Machine Man #19 until he abandoned the identity to become the second Hobgoblin in Amazing Spider-Man #289.
The second Jack O’Lantern terrorized the Jameson family from Spectacular Spider-Man #241-258. This Jack is later revealed to be Daniel Berkhart in the third issue of this limited series.
Mad Jack, on the other hand, is revealed to be Maguire Beck, Quentin’s cousin also revealed in issue #3 of this series.
Jameson doesn’t recognize this illusion as one that was used on him previously by the original Mysterio in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1-3. That story is referenced a lot in this series, particularly since that is when Joe Smith and Becky Schneider hooked up. Schneider was an old childhood friend of Quentin Beck and later wrote a tell-all book about Beck.
Jameson points out that Quentin Beck is dead. Beck committed suicide in Daredevil (vol. 2) #7. Although Mad Jack tries to obfuscate this issue, Beck is for sure dead at the time of this story. However, death won’t keep the original Mysterio down, he’ll pop up again in X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #1-5 and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11-13. He will get resurrected as explained in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #1, resurfacing in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3.
Spider-Man openly talks about his alter-ego here because he and Daredevil have known each other’s secret identities since Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110.
Spider-Man recounts his recent encounters with a man wearing Mysterio’s costume and claiming to be Quentin Beck. These encounters happened in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #7-8 and Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #12/Peter Parker: Spider-Man #12. This is actually Daniel Burkhard, also explained in issue #3 of this series.
Spider-Man is specifically referring to his Norman Osborn and Aunt May, wto people in Peter Parker’s life that appeared to die only to turn up alive again sometime later. The facts:
Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, seemingly perished on the business end of his own Goblin Glider in Amazing Spider-Man #122. As explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, Norman survived thanks to the healing properties of his Goblin Formula and went into hiding for a number of years. He later resurfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #412. Spider-Man only learned the truth in Spider-Man #75.
Aunt May became a victim of Norman Osborn’s behind the scenes plots while he was still in hiding. He replaced her with an impostor around Amazing Spider-Man #392. That impostor later died due to complications from a stroke in Amazing Spider-Man #400, leaving Peter to think his beloved Aunt was dead. He discovered she was alive after he rescued her from the clutches of the Green Goblin during the Final Chapter story arc (Amazing Spider-Man #441/Spectacular Spider-Man #263/Spider-Man #97-98)
Mention is made about how Joe Smith once fight Spider-Man to a standstill during a brief period where he had superpowers. That happened back in Amazing Spider-Man #38.
Peter and Mary Jane had moved into a condo with Aunt May following Mary Jane’s return to modeling circa Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #1. However, after Mary Jane’s alleged death, Peter discovered that her accountant embezzled all her money. With the mortgage on the condo having gone unpaid for months, Peter and Aunt May were forced to move out in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #16. Peter ended up moving in with Randy Robertson in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #18. Needless to say, this whole scene is an illusion.
Mary Jane mentions a baby. In “real life”, Mary Jane was pregnant from Spectacular Spider-Man #221 until Amazing Spider-Man #418 when she tragically had a miscarriage. Mary Jane telling Peter that he just won the jackpot is a callback to the first thing she said to Peter when they met in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
