Mephisto Vs. (Mephisto Vs.

Mephisto Vs. #1-4

by Al Milgrom, John Buscema (Illustrator)

Collects Mephisto Vs. The Fantastic Four #1, Mephisto Vs. The X-Factor #2, Mephisto Vs. The X-Men #3 And Mephisto Vs. The Avengers #4.

The Fantastic Four! X-Factor! The X-Men! The Avengers! What threat could menace all four major Marvel teams of the 1980s? Can you say...the Devil? Mephisto wants super-hero souls, and he's out to collect them all! With their worst nightmares AND their wildest dreams at his command, he's not getting cast out of THIS fight! How can he lose...when it's HIS series?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, X Men

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Allen L. Milgrom is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciler, and inker on Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West Coast Avengers penciller; and his long stint as the inker of X-Factor.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big thank you to Kat Stark for the amazing banners!!



Hey, it’s “Red” week for the Shallow Readers and because Mephisto is a wannabe Lucifer, the colorist’s use red ink for him. How lucky for me since this was a hold over from "Evil" week.

This volume has Mephisto vs. The Fantastic Four, X-Factor, the X-Men and the Avengers. Sounds pretty awesome doesn’t it. Let’s check the publishing date: 1987.

Oh.

This means it looks like a ‘60’s comic (artwork: John Buscema, not a bad thing) and reads like a ‘60’s comic (ugh).

Before I get into the peaks and valleys of reading this volume, let’s take a look at Mephisto. Marvel hasn’t wanted to name a demonic character Satan (or Mitchell*), so they tagged him with the sophisticated name, Mephisto, short for Mephistopheles. Mephisto rules a version of Hell, can alter reality and likes to collect and bargain for souls, which is what he does here. Mephisto has evolved into a rather powerful (and witty) force in the Marvel universe: obliterating Spider-Man’s marriage, bargaining with Loki and employing Deadpool as a Notary Public, but nothing was as bad as having him spout dialogue written by Kevin Smith. Nothing. Not even this.

Tell-tale signs it was written in the 1980’s:

Every third panel has an * and a footnote box. Examples: * See last ish. *See Happy Hogan #2. *To find out what happens, check out Marvel Rubbage #3. At least it’s helpful, now days you’re on your own.

Sue Richards is in the kitchen wearing a pink apron over her superhero costume. “Hey, Hon, can I have two eggs over medium before you choke me with your force field powers and later can you lose the uniform and just wear the apron.”

The Thing is helping Franklin brush his teeth. “Look out!! It’s clobberin’ time, Gum disease!"

Franklin Richards is a whiny insufferable, little brat who could have used a spanking (or therapy). “Mommy, Daddy I had dreams about the bad, red man.” I hear Psycho-Man is available as a baby sitter.

Scott Summers, Cyclops, still addresses his elders as “Sir” and “Ma’am” as opposed to what he would do in current continuity: giving them a full dose of his optic blast. Emily Post says this is “wrong”.

Psylocke is decked out in matronly duds, as opposed to her hoochie outfit. :(

Storm sports the Mohawk haircut and leather studded outfit. This was never a good look.

Rogue is still a frenemy, so when the gloves come off (literally) everybody gets scared. “Try that again, Bub, and I’ll gut ya.” “But Sugah, I was jes’ reachin for a beer.”

Dr. Druid is (alive and) still a member of the Avengers. Jarvis was more useful. “This one hundred foot wall of flames and horde of monsters seems the result of sorcery.” Thanks, dude, that was very helpful. Why are you standing behind Tigra, with a grin on your face?

Highlights: Beyond the artwork – Mephisto making Wolverine bark like a dog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rThXR...

Buscema was one of the old school Marvel artists who originally created Mephisto’s “look”, so the art has a sharp welcome retro look. Much more has been done with comics and Mephisto since this was written.

* or for that matter, Anne. Java Jeff

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is only enjoyable for the John Buscema art. A four-issue miniseries about Mephisto? Really? At least it ties in to Walt Simonson's Thor run. It kind of explains the whereabouts of the two teams of Avengers from both coasts while Thor was experiencing the the living death of his physical body rendered to a gelatinous mass.

That and of course, the John Buscema art doesn't make this entirely a waste of time.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mephisto takes a tour of Marvel's biggest teams of the 80's (Fantastic Four, X-Factor, X-Men, Avengers) trading up in souls each time. Even though there is some goofy stuff in here like mystic mylar*, this is actually a solid book. I did like that they brought in Mephisto creator, John Buscema, on the art, giving him a classic look.

*Mephisto goes into full on collector mode, storing his souls in mystic mylar to keep them in mint condition.


**Yes, I like to use footnotes just as much as Jim Shooter did at Marvel in the 80s.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by Mephisto as a character, and think he deserves better treatment than he typically gets.

This series is strictly mediocre, at best.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really good. Written by Al Milgrom and drawn by John Buscema. This was Mephisto making his bid to get heroes’ souls. He has a big plan, it has several steps, and it involves the FF, X-Factor, X-Men, and the Avengers. I had a lot of fun with the story.

[Calista · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the worst. Utter crap.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This probably makes more sense if you're reading through Thor, but I tapped into it through an X-Men-centric read and it honestly feels like a bit of a waste to read. Nothing actually happens in the end and the event feels like a moot point. I will give it two stars because the art is really nice overall. It's just such a pointless miniseries at a time when Marvel was honestly doing too many of them.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una mini di 4 con una discreta idea di fondo, che avrebbe dovuto essere il preludio per qualche grande saga o crossover che non si fece mai. Mefisto, l'arcidemone della Marvel, non il nemico di Tex, sta cercando di acquisire anime di valore sempre crescente per una futura guerra infernale. Affronta in sequenza i Fantastici Quattro, gli X-Factor (ossia gli X-Men originali) gli X-Men e infine, per l'anima di Thor, i Vendicatori di entrambe le coste.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completely inconsequential to any of the teams own series but still manages to be a lot of fun to read. The plot is pretty basic, and runs the risk of being very similar in each issue if read in one go, but the art by Buscema is superb, who cannot enjoy seeing his versions of four of the biggest teams in the Marvel Universe

[Jose Colding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining story which gives us an insight into Mephisto’s power and planning, which involves the Fantastic Four, X-Men/X-Factor, and the Avengers/West Coast Avengers. Nothing too deep, but it’s enjoyable. The art is pretty rad, thanks John Buscema.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mephisto Vs. doesn't make any waves in the Marvel Universe and the plot is a bit convoluted, but it's still quite fun to watch Mephisto manipulate his way through the Fantastic Four, X-Factor, X-Men and Avengers.

Perhaps only recommended for big fans of the characters involved.

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mephisto visits the Fantastic Four, X-Factor, the X-Men, and the Avengers, collecting a soul from each as part of a nonsensical plan to do... something. It's never really clear.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this is a typical late 1980s comic crossover miniseries from Marvel, some of the way it is written and executed to tie into the various other titles (Fantastic Four, X-Factor, X-Men, Avengers, West Coast Avengers and particularly Thor) leaves a lot to be desired. Basically the ending, dialogue and characterizations reveal that this is only a crossover mini-series done with the sole intention of marketing and capitalizing on the anticipated increased sales from the crossover.

[Mark Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story following Mephisto's attempt to play swapsys with super hero souls is well researched to not contradict the comics of the time. it was entertaining, but left me with little impact. A nice bit of 80's comics, but not much more.

[♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it is not horrible. The idea is interesting, but it had a lot of boring moments.

I do think it is a good read if you want to get to know Mephisto! It is just that they could have done more with him since he is a very intriguing character.

[El Neo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't really as good as I remember it.