Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or B.A.R.F. – God, I gotta work on that acronym. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus... to clear traumatic memories.Tony Stark
Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing is a holographic illusion emitting technology created by Quentin Beck for Stark Industries. Tony Stark then gave it the acronym B.A.R.F. before stealing credit for it and firing Beck, having elected to use it solely for his own personal therapeutic purposes. When Stark died, Beck elected to use B.A.R.F. to become a superhero. Creating illusions of elemental beings, Beck and his crew of ex-Stark employees integrated B.A.R.F. into Stark drones and launched attacks around the world so that Beck, using B.A.R.F. to simulate having superpowers, could defeat the Elemental threats as Mysterio and usurp Stark's superheroic legacy.
History
Creation
In 2012,[1] Quentin Beck designed a holographic system that could be innovative while working for Stark Industries. However, Tony Stark decided to use Beck's invention for therapeutic pursuits and renamed it as the Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, or B.A.R.F., much to Beck's chagrin.[2] Beck filed a patent for his B.A.R.F. invention, although it did not go through.[3] Stark then filed a patent for B.A.R.F. himself, although he took out Beck's name and listed himself as the inventor; the patent went through, legally listing Stark as the creator for the technology.[4]
2016 MIT Presentation
A revolutionary breakthrough with limitless applications, which Tony turned into a self-therapy machine and renamed... He renamed my life's work 'B.A.R.F.'Quentin Beck
In 2016, while giving a presentation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stark used B.A.R.F. to revisit the memory of seeing Howard and Maria Stark alive for the last time. Stark later explained to the assembled students that he felt guilty for the lack of respect and compassion he showed his parents in their last conversation.[5]
Mysterio's Masquerade
He's been faking the whole thing with illusion tech."
"Yeah, he's using these, like, hologram projectors.Peter Parker and Michelle Jones
In 2024, Quentin Beck, driven down a dark path due to the lack of recognition for his work, used B.A.R.F. to feign several Elemental crises across the globe, successfully initiating attacks in Mexico and Morocco. Beck continued these attacks in Venice, Prague, and London, but he was defeated by Spider-Man when his fraudulence was uncovered by him during his school trip to Europe.[2]
Capabilities
The integration of my illusion tech, with your weaponized drones, was brilliant. Powerful illusions, real damage, worked like a charm.Mysterio to William Ginter Riva
B.A.R.F. relies on a complex holographic system that connects with the user's hippocampus, allowing it to find a certain traumatic memory and alter it before projecting that memory onto an external infrastructure. Through the altered projection, the user is able to successfully re-experience and hopefully work through overcoming traumatic experiences.[5] While Tony Stark used it to recount a scene from his past, the technology was more daringly used by Beck to create illusions during his campaign to be considered a hero. Beck used B.A.R.F. to create convincing illusions of people and locations, successfully tricking Peter Parker into believing he was talking to Nick Fury. The technology was strong to enough to trick Nick Fury's Crew's technology.
B.A.R.F. can also be weaponized when combined with other technology. Beck combined B.A.R.F. with William Ginter Riva's weaponized drones to create illusions of monsters attacking several cities. The drones were able to cause actual damage while B.A.R.F. presented the illusion of the monsters being responsible. When combined with E.D.I.T.H., the damage able to be done was increased as Beck gained access to Stark Industries resources.[2]
Alternate Versions
| Origin | Status | Creators | Owners | Users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergence Destroyed Earth Universe | Inactive | Quentin Beck † | Quentin Beck † | Quentin Beck † |
Appearances
In chronological order:
Trivia
- A preliminary end credit design idea from Spider-Man: Far From Home lists the device as Bi-neurally Augmented Retro-Framing.
Gallery
