10 Comics Villains Who Secretly Mirrored The Hero
8. Mysterio / Mary Jane
The Amazing Mary Jane sees the titular MJ star in her own solo series, surprisingly for the first time ever! Following her return to the world of acting, Mary Jane lands a starring role in a film directed by Quentin Beck - the villain more commonly known as Mysterio.
The thing is, Mysterio doesn't seem to be acting particularly villainous (at least not at first). After all, the man did begin his criminal career as one of Hollywood's most talented SFX artists.
He's trying to put his past behind him and make a completely legitimate movie that isn't a secret evil conspiracy at all. MJ is just so grateful for a meaty acting gig that she decides to ignore their coloured history and be his star.
This brings up some interesting parallels between MJ and Mysterio. From each of their first appearances, the two have always been struggling artists, trying their best to make names for themselves. And there has always been one major obstacle in their way: Spider-Man.
Whether you're deeply in love with Peter Parker or one of his mortal enemies, getting involved with him will always lead to trouble.
As his on-and-off girlfriend and occasional wife, Mary Jane has always had to put her acting career on the back burner, while she deals with constantly being kidnapped and putting her life in danger to protect Spider-Man's identity. Mysterio, on the other hand, just keeps getting beaten up by the ol' webhead, which similarly doesn't help with advancing a career.