Mysterio's first appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #13 (1964)

Among Spider-Man's historic enemies, Mysterio holds a place apart. He has no superpowers. His weapon is illusion: smoke, holograms, rigged sets, the whole arsenal of a film craftsman gone over to the wrong side. This concept, far ahead of its time, explains why he came back in force on screen in 2019 and why he remains a recurring figure of today's comics.

This article focuses on his birth issue: what Amazing Spider-Man #13 contains, what sets it apart from its immediate neighbors, its reprints, and how to approach it in a collection.

The issue: Amazing Spider-Man #13

What the episode tells

Witnesses report Spider-Man burglarizing shops at night. Peter Parker comes to wonder whether he is acting without knowing it, in his sleep. At the same time, he needs money to help Aunt May pay her mortgage and clashes with J. Jonah Jameson.

A new costumed character, Mysterio, then presents himself at the Daily Bugle as a vigilante determined to capture Spider-Man, and issues him a public challenge on the Brooklyn Bridge. The press hails him as a hero. Spider-Man plants a tracer on him, follows it back to his hideout, and discovers the truth: Mysterio is a special effects specialist who artificially reproduced his abilities to have him accused of the burglaries. Spider-Man records his confession, and the fake vigilante ends up in prison.

The episode plays on a device Lee and Ditko often use at the time: Spider-Man is suspected by the public, and an adversary takes advantage. But here, the adversary builds the false image himself. It is this idea, crime through staging, that makes Mysterio a lasting character.

The question of the "aliens" of Amazing Spider-Man #2

Collectors sometimes come across the idea that Mysterio appeared before #13. It comes from a revelation published much later. In Amazing Spider-Man #2 (1963), Spider-Man fights supposed extraterrestrials linked to the Tinkerer. Years later, the series Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man establishes, in its #51, that Quentin Beck was one of those fake aliens, in disguise. A more recent issue, Amazing Spider-Man #1.1 of 2014, also develops the circumstances that led him to go after Spider-Man.

These revelations take nothing away from #13's status. In #2, nothing tells the reader it is Mysterio: the character, his name and his costume do not exist yet. The market, the databases and most guides recognize #13 as the first appearance. #2 keeps its own interest, which rests mostly on the first appearance of the Vulture, not on Mysterio.

This kind of debate is common, and it has real effects on prices. Our article on the difference between first appearance, cameo and full appearance explains how the market settles these cases.

What sets #13 apart from its neighbors

#13 sits in the middle of an exceptional run. The first twenty issues of Amazing Spider-Man introduce almost all of the series' great enemies. For a collector, that means #13 is rarely bought alone: it fits into a run many seek to complete.

The other neighbor to remember is annual #1 from 1964, which brings the Sinister Six together for the first time, Mysterio among them. It is his first participation in a team of enemies, a few months after his birth. For a collection centered on Mysterio, it is the natural complement to #13.

For an overview of the series' early days, our list of Spider-Man key issues places #13 among the other first appearances, and the article on the first appearance of Spider-Man goes back to Amazing Fantasy #15.

The reprints

#13 was reprinted very early, which is good news for the reader and a point of attention for the collector.

None of these reprints replaces the original on the first-appearance market. Our article on the difference between first printing and reprint details how the market treats this type of edition.

#13 in a collection

#13 holds an interesting position. It is a first appearance of a top-tier enemy, by Lee and Ditko, in the most sought-after period of the series. But it is overshadowed by #14 which follows it, and by the more famous first appearances of Doctor Octopus or the Vulture. That makes it historically a second-tier key, more accessible than the big ones.

Cinema has changed the character's fame: the 2019 film, where Mysterio is the main adversary, introduced him to an audience that did not know him. Our comparison Far From Home, the film versus the comics shows how much the film respected the central idea of #13: the villain manufactures a false reality.

No figure is given here: on a 1964 issue, the copy's grade moves the price by considerable proportions, and an undated price guide would make no sense. To estimate a specific copy, you have to start from its real condition.

Mysterio after #13

Without going into his biography, a few reference points help place the issues that follow. Mysterio is part of the Sinister Six from annual #1 in 1964. He then becomes a recurring enemy of Spider-Man, and also goes after Daredevil in the 1998-1999 "Guardian Devil" arc, where he plays a decisive role. These issues interest a character collection, but none has the status of #13.

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