10 Comic Book Plots That Will Never Be Resolved
6. The Mystery Of F.A.C.A.D.E
Web of Spider-Man #113 set up a new villain with a murder mystery plot. After sneaking into a demonstration of the FACADE (Full Acclimation, Combat And Defense Exoskeleton, an even more tortured acronym than SHIELD) armour, Daily Bugle reporter photographs someone kill the scientist who made it and take the suit. FACADE kills Bannon and takes the photos, but his death puts fellow reporter Betty Brant on the case to solve his identity.
Betty narrows it down to three suspects, J. Jonah Jameson's son John, photographer Cole Cooper and industrialist Archer Bryce. Before Betty can crack the case though, FACADE attacks her at her home. Luckily, Spider-Man swings in to stop him and is able to destroy the armour (with the help of a machine gun wielding Betty because comics are ridiculous). The man inside the FACADE suit is able to escape though, his identity still unknown.
FACADE was clearly set up to be a recurring mystery villain, in the same vein as the Hobgoblin but unfortunately the next story was the start of the Clone Saga, a plot that stretched out years longer than originally intended. Writer Terry Kavanagh left partway through, taking FACADE's identity with him.
FACADE would eventually becoming a bit of a running joke. People would learn his identity, only to be cut off before they could reveal it.