Rey Mysterio Reveals Marvel Forced WWE To Put An End To His Superhero Cosplays
Rey Mysterio is a real-life superhero in many respects. He’s a professional wrestler, for one thing, but not just any run-of-the-mill one. Mysterio is the standard bearer for Lucha Libre in the mainstream of North American grappling arts.
Moreover, his size and heart in the ring make him an inspiration to millions. It’s no surprise then that he is a big fan of comic books and has incorporated the costume designs of popular characters into his ring attire over the years. This became a signature of his in WWE, but he has been doing it since the beginning of his career.
“When I did the first one, I was in [top Mexican promotion] AAA, and I did a Superman outfit,” Mysterio said in an interview with Adrian Hernandez. “Back in the day, I used to wear tights with trunks over them. And the logo on the trunks had the Superman emblem with a question mark in the colors. I even wore a little red cape! So people got what I was trying to do.”
He carried this habit over to WCW in the 90s where he donned Riddler and Phantom-themed outfits. Then once making it to WWE, Mysterio wore outfits inspired by Marvel characters that were big at the box office such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, and Iron Man. Again, he did this for years as an homage, but Marvel wasn’t flattered.
They decided enough was enough and it was time to shut down his cosplays. “Then came Batman, then Spider-Man – I just carried that with me to WWE until they told me, ‘Hey, maybe you gotta stop a little bit because we’re getting cease and desist letters from them.’” Mysterio revealed (via WrestleZone).
“Actually, WWE had to shut me down for a minute because I was getting too exaggerated. I was like, ‘It’s my logo! I’m just using their colors, you know? And maybe Captain America, maybe a star here, the gloves…’” he explained, “but I don’t change anything with this outfit.”
Bizarrely, WWE went as far as editing Mysterio’s Cap costume to look as odd and ugly as possible in photos on their website by erasing the white stripes and the little wings off the mask. The WrestleMania match against Cody Rhodes he wore it for, however, is still up on YouTube, and the outfit has not been altered anywhere in the footage.
Rey Mysterio was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but he remains active on the roster. If he wants to keep cosplaying he may have to stick with DC. Although, they are very cease-and-desist-happy lately, too, so maybe Image or IDW is a better option.
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