Let’s talk Mysterio. But first, here’s the description of Spider-Man: Far From Home on IMDb’s official site as of today:

“Peter Parker and his friends go on summer vacation to Europe, where Peter finds himself trying to save his friends against a villain known as Mysterio.”

Do I have to point out “against”. How do you save your friends against someone?

All prepositions aside, let’s get down to talking about Spidey and his nemesis, Mysterio! When you consider Mysterio on your first go, you might think something along the lines of, ‘He’s not a big deal. Just some failed stunt man turned special effects artist who is down on his luck with some villain-esque bravado.’

Then you might think, ‘Oh wait, this is the guy who tricked Wolverine into killing all of the X-Men single-handed.’

It’s hard to imagine, but both of those are accurate. He’s a small time guy who started off as nothing more than a bother to the ol’ Web-Head in issue #13 of Amazing Spider-Man when he started out running around in Spider-Man’s get-up to steal a big bag of cash. I googled it. Then I read the issue. Verified facts are cool, kids. Go us!

Though it turned bleak for Spider-Man during his first encounter with the man-who-wears-a-fish-bowl-on-his-head, Mysterio is thwarted and sent to prison. Much to the chagrin of J.J.J.

With this fateful issue, Mysterio does achieve a slot in Spidey’s ever-growing roster of rogues. When you think back, in 1964 this was a pretty short list. Even so, he’s managed to keep his head afloat in the long years since his first appearance by being such a unique and interesting character. But a hero? Don’t be fooled by the trailers, true believers. My bet is that he’s up to his old tricks again. In the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailers we’ve seen so far, Mysterio looks like he’s out to do good, fighting off a big water monster-man, who may or may not be a villain known in some small circles as Hydroman.

So, could he turn out to be a genuine hero? Not a chance. Only J. Jonah Jameson himself would be fool enough to believe that one.

Rather than worry about whether Mysterio will turn out to be a villain after all, I am much more eagerly waiting to see just how Pete’s friends will be saved against Mysterio. Will they be resting their heads on his shoulders when Spider-Man swings in? Maybe it’s a back-to-back kind of set-up, where everyone is facing outward and Mysterio is supporting the group.

I suppose we’ll just have to wait and find out when the movie hits theaters.

Until then, Readers. Thanks for swinging by.