The first issue of a new title which featured several issue story-arcs by different creators began with a three-issue long tale featuring Mysterio and the Man under the fishbowl, Quentin Beck. The story takes places just after Amazing Spider-Man #38 which had the debut of "Just A Guy Named" Joe Smith who plays a part in this story arc as well. Chronologically, Mysterio was last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #24 portraying a doctor and was sent to prison for some time. In this story, he just gets out of prison and re-visits his childhood home in Manhattan where he has to pay the occupant $50 to get in the apartment. He then regresses back to his childhood where we learn that he was abused and made fun of by his father Elmore Beck concerning his son's passion for films, film making, and special effects. Back to reality, Beck leaves and meets a childhood friend of his Betsy Schneider, but soon leaves her presence due to a lack of confidence in himself.

In another scene we see Peter Parker at home with his over protective Aunt May where we also learn he has a passion for movies, albeit much less than Beck's. One of the strangest meetings takes place in a Movie Theatre showing the old King Kong movie where Peter and Beck sit just a seat away from each other without either one of them knowing who the other one is. After the movie, Quentin walks home in the rain and sees an old newspaper in the rain with an editorial concerning Spider-Man by J. Jonah Jameson featured on it. Beck, down and out, brainstorms another one of his imaginative schemes similar to the one in Amazing Spider-Man #13 where he impersonated Spider-Man while committing crimes. This scheme went a little further though and it worked like a charm, at least at first! Beck staged  the death of J. Jonah Jameson on video and made it appear it was Spider-Man that took his life by means of making Jameson crash his car. We next see Jameson in what appears to be heaven but we all know better and it soon turns into Hades with demons around him and voices in the air mocking him, but this Mysterio and we all know it is the Master of Illusion that is behind this one huge illusion. Spider-Man on the other hand, knows exactly what is happening and just who is behind it, but we will have to wait until next issue to find out.

Excellent Mysterio/ Beck childhood story with reasons as to why he became Mysterio. Chronologically, this is Mysterio's first and fifth appearance. We see the after effects of the fight between Joe Smith and Spider-Man in this issue as well and Joe will play a larger role in the remainder of the story. Peter Parker narrates the entire story arc in the third person and the first part of the story was just a tad longer than the next 2 installments due to this being a "1st Spectacular Issue!"

Sunburst Cover	Wizard Authentic Cover

II - "The Kiss" - 10 Pages

Writer - J.M. Dematteis
Artist - John Romita
Inker - John Romita
Letterer - Bill Oakley
Colorist - Christie Scheele
Editor - Ralph Macchio
Editor In Chief - Bob Harras

A beautiful story that concerns the last date that Peter spent with Gwen Stacy the night before she died and the kiss they shared before that fateful day. The reminiscing begins with Peter looking through a photo album and wondering what might have happened if Gwen was still alive and ends with Peter in the arms of Mary Jane realizing that the greatest gift that Gwen gave him was the courage to love. The legendary John Romita SR. handles the art chores on this very important backup story.