WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #73 and Sinister War, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
One of the most unexpected developments in recent Spider-Man history is the friendship that formed between Mary Jane Watson and Quentin Beck, Mysterio. After taking part in a very eventful film production together, the accomplished actress and special effects artist turned supervillain somehow managed to maintain a surprisingly respectful working relationship with each other, despite Beck's alter-ego's messy history with Spider-Man.
Unfortunately, it appears that this was simply another one of the supposedly reformed supervillain's infamous illusions all along. While it's been known for quite some time that Quentin is and always has been a pawn of the Kindred, Harry Osborn. Sinister War has just revealed Mysterio's starring role in Harry's most heinous plot yet, as Mysterio implanted warped memories of her best friend, Gwen Stacy, and destroyed any hope of the two ever reforming their friendship.
MJ's acquaintance with Quentin technically begins in The Amazing Spider-Man #25 by Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, Ken Walker, Nathan Fairbairn, Edgar Delgado, Dave Steward, Laura Martin, and Joe Caramagna. After publically rescuing an old acting rival from Electro, MJ is approached by an up-and-coming director named Cage McKnight, who wishes to cast her in the starring role of his debut film. Unbeknownst to MJ, McKnight is actually a false identity created by Mysterio, who casts MJ on Kindred's orders.
The filming plays out in The Amazing Mary Jane, by Leah Willaims, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Lopez, and Joe Caramagna, with Mysterio revealing himself in private. Over the course of the production -- which is repeatedly sabotaged by Vulture and his Savage Six -- MJ and Quentin begin bonding over their shared dedication to the art of filmmaking. Mary-Jane sympathizes with Quentin's desire to redeem himself and make meaningful art, and Quentin gradually develops a deep respect for Mary-Jane, who is eventually promoted to Quentin's unofficial co-director. Although readers are aware that Kindred is only using Quentin to keep an eye on MJ, the friendship Beck forms with her is genuine.
Quentin would maintain his positive relationship with MJ after Amazing Mary Jane, as a disguised Mysterio warmly welcomed Mary-Jane and Peter at the premiere of the film as McKnight in Sinister War #1 by Nick Spencer, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessey, John Dell, Andy Owens, and Joe Caramagna. When the Savage Six attack the event, Quentin appears to fully commit to his redemption by revealing himself in public and whisking MJ away to the safety of his very first lair on an abandoned film set. Unfortunately, Quentin quickly reveals that he's not protecting MJ at all and that he has actually brought her there to deliver her to Kindred, confessing a terrible truth to her as they await Harry's arrival.
After confirming that he did actually die and was revived by Kindred, Harry puts Mysterio's skill with illusion to work by having Quentin disguise himself as Ludwig Reinhart, the therapist who MJ started seeing after Harry's death in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200 by J.M DeMatteis, Sal Buscema, Bob Sharen, & Joe Rosen. During their sessions, Mysterio implanted false memories of a fake affair between Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn into MJ's subconscious, leading directly to the events of J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato's controversial "Sins Past" storyline where MJ reveals the alleged affair to Peter years after Gwen supposedly confessed about it to her.
Mysterio's reveal paints his friendship with Mary-Jane in a sinister new light. Because of Quentin, MJ was tricked into believing that Gwen cheated on Peter with his archnemesis, which tainted her memory of her deceased friend for many years. While Quentin does appear to be genuinely remorseful about manipulating MJ's memory, his fear of Kindred drives him to continue serving him even as MJ tries to convince Beck that he's a redeemed man. But with Mysterio crawling back to the Sinister Six, his friendship with MJ appears to be beyond any hope of repair.
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