‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’: The Truth Behind Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio Revealed

Spider-Man Far From Home Mysterio Fishbowl Helmet Jake Gyllenhaal Empire

Warning: this article contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Spider-Man: Far From Home features the silver screen debut of Spider-Man villain Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Originally introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #13, the best-known version of Mysterio is as a special effects wizard named Quentin Beck. The character has been a frequent villain for Spider-Man since. And while he’s usually a villain in the comics, Spider-Man: Far From Home introduces Jake Gyllenhaal’s version of the character as a hero instead, as he teams up with Spider-Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. to defeat the Elementals who have been wreaking havoc across the globe.

While Spider-Man: Far From Home seemingly turns the character of Mysterio on his head, this is rather short-lived as the mid-point of the film features its big twist, revealing the truth behind Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio and cementing him as the true villain of Spider-Man: Far From Home. After Mysterio nearly sacrifices himself to defeat the Molten Man, Peter hands over the glasses Tony Stark left behind and grants Mysterio control of EDITH as he not only trusts the master illusionist, but Peter feels he isn’t ready to step up to the task and be the next Iron Man.

As it turns out, this was Mysterio’s plan all along. While Mysterio may have been introduced as being from another dimension, he’s actually just a disgruntled ex-Stark Industries employee who has an axe to grind. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio is actually the mind behind Tony Stark’s B.A.R.F. system, the augmented reality technology that was featured early on in Captain America: Civil War. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was initially let go by the company for being unstable. Now, with help from other former Stark employees, Mysterio is using the illusion tech to project the images of the Elementals reigning destruction across the globe as an opportunity to make himself look like the hero and even better than Iron Man.

So what did you think? Did you like how the Marvel Cinematic Universe handled Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio? Let us know in the comments below!

Here’s the official synopsis for Spider-Man: Far From Home:

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.

Directed by Jon Watts from a script written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Martin Starr, Numan Acar, J.B. Smoove, Oli Hill, Remy Hii, Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Michael Mistroff

Michael Mistroff

News Editor, Film/TV Reporter at Heroic Hollywood.