I'm making the Marvel Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 32 Color-Changing Performance

Chapter 32 Color-Changing Performance

"So, the next guy I'm going to face is Mysterio? I'm really 'looking forward to it'."

The brand-new suit fluttered in the New York night wind as Spider-Man's figure swept across the neon-lit skyscrapers. Peter felt little interest in the enemy he was about to face—especially after recalling Quentin Baker's hypocritical demeanor in *Far From Home*. Although this universe's Mysterio was completely different from the MCU's, and their sources of power were also different, Peter still had a preconceived dislike for him.

Moreover, Mysterio's power ceiling is ridiculously high; the way he is in the movies is actually weak. If he were only as strong as he is in the movies, that would be fine. But in some versions, Mysterio's illusions can even interfere with his spider-sense and manipulate other senses besides sight, causing people to completely lose themselves in a false reality.

"Hopefully, this Mysterio in this universe isn't that weird..." Peter muttered. He had upgraded Mysterio's infrared vision function, hoping it would work.

But the problem doesn't end there.

Behind those stolen high-tech gadgets, there clearly lies an even more dangerous figure—a genius capable of integrating cutting-edge technologies like light particle projectors and neural connectors. Doctor Octopus? Norman Osborn?

Peter rubbed his temples. He still knew too little about this world.

In fact, Peter Parker wasn't the only one with similar thoughts. McDonald Gagan, the notorious New York detective who specialized in collecting dirt on various mob bosses and using it to blackmail others, was currently looking up as the brand-new Spider-Man flew overhead, and couldn't help but realize how little he knew about Spider-Man. After confirming that Spider-Man had indeed changed into a new suit, he quickly dialed Kingpin's number.

"Mr. Gagan, what's the matter? Have you discovered Spider-Man's true identity?"

"Not yet, Mr. Wesker."

Gagan glanced around, then turned into an alley and began to whisper, "But has your plan to tarnish Spider-Man's reputation been launched yet? If not, you'd better postpone it!"

"I'm afraid the chameleon has already started its own actions. Has something happened?"

"No, it's nothing." Gagan didn't dare to raise his voice to Kingpin, so he tried his best to suppress his emotions and pretend nothing was wrong: "It's just that Spider-Man has a new suit. If you're planning to continue with the plan, you'll have to consider a new look."

Kingpin hung up the phone, while Gagan had to continue his aimless search for Spider-Man's true identity. As for the plan, just as Kingpin had said, it was too late to stop.

Chameleon was ready. His custom-made suit allowed him to transform into anyone he had ever seen. Essentially, it was a bionic artificial skin modeled after Mystique, the current leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, and was now an absolute one-of-a-kind. He'd heard that S.H.I.E.L.D. had similar mimicry masks, but none were as convenient as his own.

He is communicating with his special effects artist, Quentin Baker, using a miniature headset.

"Are you sure you've got the equipment set up? I've spotted a good target."

Quentin Baker was shoved into a van disguised as a delivery truck, his back pressed against the cold metal of the cargo bed. Two burly men flanked him like gatekeepers, while three monitors in front of him displayed a real-time 3D projection of Hell's Kitchen.

"Anytime is fine, Mr. Dimitri."

The chameleon, pretending to be a passerby on the street, threw out a small round ball. The light began to change, and he disappeared without a trace.

Not far away, two thugs were robbing a passerby; in Hell's Kitchen, such things weren't uncommon. But Quentin was quite curious about the chameleon's choice.

"Mr. Dimitri, why did you choose to start in Hell's Kitchen? If you wanted to tarnish Spider-Man's reputation, shouldn't you have gone to a more well-known place like Times Square?"

"It's a very simple principle: if you want to frame someone, you can't do the exact opposite, or it will arouse suspicion." As he spoke, Chameleon transformed into Spider-Man's old suit and picked up a grappling hook gun. "You have to fit the character and make slight modifications."

"It's like mixing a cocktail, dear Baker. You can't put milk in whiskey, you have to add vodka—strong enough, but not so strong that people can tell it's fake at first bite."

If passersby looked up, they would see Spider-Man swinging on his webs, bypassing buildings and entering the street. Even the sound of him landing was so realistic. The chameleon rolled over, and under Quentin's cover, used light projection to perfectly merge with the projection of Spider-Man striking a pose.

"Guys, I have to say, can't you guys figure out how to make money yourselves?"

Spider-Man stood up and said this to the two men. Upon seeing Spider-Man, the two thugs immediately ran away. Then Spider-Man shot out a web, hooked one of them, pulled him over, and punched him until his mouth was full of blood.

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so easily beaten. Are you alright, friend?"

"Uh... I'm fine, thank you, Spider-Man."

The passerby cautiously approached to thank him, then watched as "Spider-Man" bent down, took out the thug's wallet, emptied all the money inside, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"What's wrong with you...?"

"It's nothing. After all, there's no salary for being a superhero. Do you want some? Maybe it can be your compensation."

Spider-Man smiled slightly, then leaped and swung away. As for the chameleon, he didn't go far.

Kingpin's men looked at each other in bewilderment. "So this is what you've been doing all this time?"

"Don't rush, we still have a lot of things like this to do today. Spider-Man fights crime, but taking money from criminals—is that considered theft? Maybe, but it's not enough to shake Spider-Man's image as a hero."

"People will only talk about his moral flaws, not that he wasn't a hero."

Dimitri laughed. The rest was much simpler: Spider-Man, during his actions, occasionally lost his temper and injured a few people. Then Spider-Man "executed" several villains.

As the controversy surrounding Spider-Man grows, his performances become increasingly extreme, as if public criticism has driven Spider-Man to despair. It doesn't matter if Spider-Man himself comes, since what Spider-Man sees is merely an illusion created by Quentin Tarantino.

He couldn't possibly distinguish between himself and the illusion.

Quentin became extremely excited about this. He could see in the holographic projection that the chameleon not only imitated Spider-Man's motivations and tone of voice, but also perfectly replicated even the slightest movements, such as the faster head shake, as Spider-Man's habits.

"That, that makes so much sense, Mr. Dimitri, you are simply the best actor I have ever seen... Your performance just now was so perfect, just like Spider-Man..."

Although Quentin Baker was just a minor character looked down upon by Kingpin, Dimitri was still very pleased to hear such praise. He could tell that Quentin actually envied his acting, or rather, that he could act.

He's a very talented special effects artist, but he might prefer to be an actor.

Having thought of this, Chameleon began to consider whether he could use this to build a good relationship with Quentin and eventually recruit him to his team. With such a special effects artist, his business of corporate espionage and assassination would undoubtedly reach new heights.

Forget it, let's help Kingpin take care of Spider-Man first.

Thinking of this, Chameleon couldn't help but laugh. Little did he know that Spider-Man had already changed into a new suit.

That same evening, a post titled "Spider-Man Starts a Robbery?" began circulating. A blurry video showed "Spider-Man" stuffing cash into his belt. Kingpin's online trolls then began a massive push to spread the story.

Only the chameleon quietly observed all of this.

Chameleon, who first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), is a former Soviet/Russian spy and the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. He possesses the ability to transform into anyone, and his true identity has never been revealed.

To align with the timeline, this book has been changed to focus on Russian defectors.

(End of this chapter)