The Hypno-Hustler was to appear with his band, the Mercy Killers, at the nightclub “Beyond Forever”. Unfortunately on the night of his performance, he was caught stealing from the club’s safe by the manager. Using his specialized goggles and the hypnotic singing of the Mercy Killers, he was able to knock the manager unconscious. When the band got on stage, the Hustler used the same gimmicks to place the audience in a trance. Unfortunately for him, Peter Parker was in the audience along with some of his friends. Peter’s spider-sense had warned him of the Hustler’s tricks and managed to cover his ears in time. He then left the dance floor to change into costume. While in this trance, the Hypno-Hustler had ordered the audience to give him and his band all of their valuables. Arriving on the scene, Spider-Man ordered the Hustler to surrender. A battle followed with the Hustler unleashing all of his tricks on Spider-Man including the release of gas and retractable blades from his boots. The Mercy Killers had gone back on stage and begun singing again to try and hypnotize Spider-Man. Luckily, Spider-Man’s ears were covered with ear plugs and he was unable to hear them. After Spider-Man removed the Hypno-Hustlers ear muffs, the Hustler went into a trance. Spider-Man then webbed the mouths of the Mercy Killers and changed back into Peter Parker. As the audience woke out of their trance, they saw that their valuables were on the stage and the Hypno-Hustler webbed up. They soon called the cops.
Years later, the Hypno-Hustler was an inmate in the Cage, a specialized prison for super-villains. Tombstone was also an inmate, but due to his weakened heart he was unable to protect himself. He had hired the services of the Hustler and few other villains to protect him long enough for him to receive a heart bypass. Hypno-Hustler was last seen with Big Wheel at a Vil-a-Non meeting for reformed villains.
