"MYSTERIO'S
REVENGE SCHEME"
Instigator: Mysterio (Quentin
Beck)
Purpose: To gain revenge on
Spider-Man
Allies: A. I. M., the
Ani-Men (Ape-Man,
Bird-Man,
Cat-Man,
Frog-Man), Annihilus, Calypso (Calypso Ezili), Doctor Octopus (Otto
Octavius),
Electro (Max Dillon), Gypsy
Moth (Sybil Dvorak), Hela, Impossible Man, Orka,
the
Owl (Leland
Owlsley), Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich), Scorpion (Mac Gargan), Stilt-Man
(Wilbur
Day), Tarantula (Luis Alvarez), Tiger
Shark
(Todd Arliss), Venom (Eddie Brock), Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
Opposition: 3D Man (Chuck
& Hal Chandler),
Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Avengers (Black Widow (Natalia
Romanova),
Iron Man
(Tony Stark), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), She-Hulk (Jen Walters),
Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter), Thor (Thor Odinson), Tigra (Greer
Nelson),
Vision ("Victor Shade"), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Wonder Man (Simon
Williams)),
Balder the Brave, Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Cage (Carl Lucas),
Daredevil
(Matt Murdock), Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Hulk (Bruce Banner),
J. Jonah
Jameson, Mockingbird (Bobbi Barton), Moon Knight (Marc Spector), Namor
the
Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie), New Warriors (Firestar (Angelica
Jones),
Namorita Prentiss, Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor), Nova (Rich Rider),
Speedball
(Robbie Baldwin)), May Parker, the
Pinstripes (baseball team), the
Red Trims (baseball team), Sandman (William Baker), Sif,
Silver Surfer
(Norrin Radd), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Starfox
(Eros), Warriors
Three
(Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim, Volstagg the Voluminous)
Location: Coney Island, the
Daily Bugle, La Chic
Warehouse, Muscle Beach, Radio City Music Hall, Times Square (all New
York, USA)
First
Appearance: Look & Find
the Amazing Spider-Man
(1992)
History:
(Look
&
Find the Amazing Spider-Man) – As part of a
massive revenge scheme against Spider-Man, Mysterio teamed up with
voodoo
priestess Calypso and the mutated Ani-Men to cause chaos in New York.
Seemingly
boosting his illusion skills with Calypso’s magic, Mysterio attacked
the Daily
Bugle building atop a giant ape, his illusions affecting everyone in
his
vicinity. When Spider-Man arrived to stop Mysterio, he was swarmed by
affected
reporters, preventing him from getting to Mysterio. Spider-Man quickly
located
clues to Mysterio’s next attack while heroes such as Luke Cage, Hulk,
the
Avengers, and the Asgardian Warriors Three attempted to halt villains
such as
Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Rhino and Tarantula from taking
advantage of
the chaos. Shortly thereafter, Spider-Man tracked Mysterio to Muscle
Beach,
where the villain had begun affecting some of the heroes present such
as
Daredevil, Mockingbird and Moon Knight. Once again finding clues left
by
Mysterio, Spider-Man ventured to Coney Island, where he attempted to
round up some
of Mysterio’s thugs and gathered clues to Mysterio’s next location. Led
to a
nearby baseball park, Spider-Man continued to gather up clues while
heroes and
villains alike disrupted a baseball game between the Pinstripes and the
Red
Trims.
Soon tracking Mysterio’s clues to Radio City Music Hall, Spider-Man
watched
Mysterio disrupt a chorus line show while gathering the clues that led
him to
the middle of Times Square where Mysterio’s illusions caused panic.
Learning of
Mysterio’s hidden base within the La Chic Warehouse, Spider-Man
defeated more
of Mysterio’s thugs before venturing under the Warehouse, where
Mysterio had
activated a machine that generated energy-based clones of Spider-Man.
The
clones soon erupted into the New York City streets where the previously
illusion-affected super heroes regained their senses. With the help of
the
restored heroes, Spider-Man defeated Mysterio, Calypso and the Ani-Men.
(Look
& Find the Amazing
Spider-Man – BTS) – As part of the New York City cleanup, Spider-Man
returned
to the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker to retrieve some of his lost
Spider-Man gear
while Matt Murdock returned to the ballpark to gather up his own lost
Daredevil
gear. While Scarlet Witch helped clean up Coney Island and Thor aided
in the
Times Square cleanup, Spider-Man ventured back to La Chic Warehouse,
Muscle
Beach, Radio City Music Hall, Mysterio’s underground base and the
streets of
New York to recover gear left behind by the assembled villains.
Comments: Created by Dwight
Zimmerman, Howard
Bender, Rich Yanizeski, Brian Clopper, Alex Morrissey, Brian Buniak,
Don Heck,
Mike Esposito and Marie Severin.
The
Ani-Men featured in the Look
& Find Book could only be the group seen in Code of Honor#3
& Civil
War: War Crimes, given that that group was first active during the
Secret Wars
and the previous 2 incarnations of the Ani-Men were both dead in 1992
when this
book was published. Unfortunately, Code of Honor#3 came out after the
Look
& Find Book despite it showing a flashback with the Ani-Men
active during
Secret Wars. This presents a strange bit of continuity: Either the Code
of
Honor Ani-Men first appeared in this Look & Find Book or the
group seen in
the Look & Find Book was an entirely separate and new team of
Ani-Men (assuming this was Earth-616). Then
again, I’m probably reading way too much into this, as it was a book
aimed at a
child audience ... but for the sake of accuracy, I’m choosing to count
this as
the Code of Honor group’s first appearance and will link to their
Appendix
profile. If it is later proven inaccurate, it can be changed...
Many
of the heroes and villains
in this book seem to be acting out of character but I tend to blame the
Book’s
silly nature on the fact that Mysterio seemed to be boosting his natural
illusion skills with Calypso’s magic, which probably affected all
heroes and
villains present. If not for the fact that the Book specifically states
that
Mysterio teamed with Calypso AND the Ani-Men, I’d be tempted to blame
the
Ani-Men’s appearance in the Book as mere illusions created by
Mysterio...
The
Look & Find the Amazing
Spider-Man Book was published by Publications International but there
is a
“copyright 1992 Marvel Characters, Inc. for Marvel, Spider-Man
& all
related characters & the distinct likenesses thereof” on the
indicia. The
Book was also reprinted in 2006 with new lettering. The images were
taken from
the 2006 reprint.
Profile
by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Mysterio’s Revenge
Scheme has no known connections to
- any other villain’s revenge scheme
The Pinstripes
& the Red Trims
The Pinstripes and
the Red Trims were
rival baseball teams who were scheduled to play a game against one
another at
the baseball stadium that was attacked by Mysterio, Calypso and the
Ani-Men.
Affected by Mysterio’s illusions and Calypso’s magic, members of both
teams
began to act crazy, some using golf clubs, becoming autograph hounds,
and
wearing raccoon skin hats. Barely able to play the game, the two teams
also
became victims of others affected by Mysterio and Calypso such as
Sandman
throwing off the pitcher’s aim by disguising himself as the pitcher’s
mound and
members of the Red Trims becoming victims of itching powder put in
their uniforms
by a minion of Mysterio. Despite all of the chaos, the two teams
attempted to
play their baseball game even though nearly the entire roster of both
teams, as
well as heroes and villains affected by Mysterio's illusions, were on
the field
at the same time.
--Look
& Find the Amazing
Spider-Man
images: (without ads)
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man (2006 reprint), p1-2, splash
page
(Mysterio & company attacking Daily Bugle, main image)
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man (2006 reprint), p17-18,
splash page
(Heroes rounding up the villains & spider-clones)
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man (2006 reprint), p7-8, splash
page
(Pinstripes & Red Trims)
Appearances:
Look & Find the Amazing Spider-Man (1992) – Dwight Zimmerman
(illustration
script development), Howard Bender (layouts, pencils, illustration
coordinator), Rich Yanizeski, Brian Clopper, Alex Morrissey, Brian
Buniak
(pencils), Don Heck, Mike Esposito, Marie Severin (inks)
First Posted: 03/31/2013
Last updated 03/23/2013
Any
Additions/Corrections? please
let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and ©
1941-2099 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!