The latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man reveals that one of Peter Parker’s old enemies knows the truth about his newest threat.
Warning: The following contains spoilers from Amazing Spider-Man #60 by Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley, John Dell, Andrew Hennessy, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Spider-Man’s cast of villains has a storied past of teaming up with each other. Mysterio has been a prominent member of the Sinister Six and teamed up with a multitude of villains in the past, but is rarely seen working out of fear. Mysterio and Kindred’s relationship has been nothing more than fear-based and it is shown issue after issue.
Amazing Spider-Man #60 shows yet another example of Mysterio’s fear when it comes to even discussing Kindred. Peter Parker just bled his heart out to Mary Jane in an abandoned theatre where Mysterio watched from the shadows. After Peter left, Mysterio presented himself to MJ, and she questions what he knows about Kindred. Beck is quick to tell MJ that some things are better left unknown, hinting that he does know something about Harry Osborn’s transformation into Kindred but won’t tell. Something made Mysterio so afraid of Kindred that he won’t even discuss him, but Amazing Spider-Man hasn’t revealed what that is yet.
Mysterio and Kindred’s interactions could go back as far as Daredevil #7, by Kevin Smith, Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. This issue depicts Mysterio committing suicide after being thwarted by Daredevil. Mysterio is presumed to be sent to hell where he meets Kindred for the first time. Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Nick Spencer and Humberto Ramos picks up with a resurrected Mysterio fighting with Kindred in a courtroom. It’s revealed that Kindred was responsible for bringing Beck back from the brink of hell. While this interaction seems real to Mysterio, everyone else in the courtroom can not see Kindred, so it looks like Beck is losing his mind. Mysterio is declared insane and is sent to the Ravencroft Institute.
This is picked back up in Amazing Spider-Man #24. Quentin’s doctor tries to break Mysterio’s psychosis, but Beck refuses to even mention the name of his tormenter. His doctor pushes and pushes, and Beck eventually describes the torturer as “another prisoner of hell who had climbed the ranks to become a demon himself.” When the conversation heats up, the room is filled with bugs and Kindred appears, causing the doctor to flee in terror. Kindred reassures Mysterio that he is not going crazy and wants the illusionist to say his name. After Mysterio says his name, Kindred murders him and transmits the vision to Peter Parker’s dreams.
The following issue shows the doctor returning to his office only to be confronted by Kindred. It turns out that the doctor was actually Beck in disguise and this angered Kindred even further. Mysterio fears Kindred, but is also afraid that if he does Kindred’s bidding he will be sent right back to hell. Kindred dismisses the notion and hands Beck a script, which he would use to cast MJ as his leading lady and ultimately laying puzzle pieces to build Kindred’s grand plan.
Through his short time appearing in the Marvel Universe, Kindred has brought fear to many iconic characters. He revived Sin-Eater and has used numerous allies of Spider-Man in his plan to defeat the Wall-crawler. While he does not have much use for these heroes and villains anymore, Mysterio continues to play a vital role in Kindred’s endgame.
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