The Champions, vol. 3 #1-4: Beat the Devil - Atop the Fourth Wall

[@carlrood4457]

I think the other reason One More Day was so much worse is Peter didn't even really do it to save May. He did it solely to alleviate HIS OWN guilt. He even said that his main motivation is that it was his fault and he'd be fine if she died from natural causes. Heck, we even HAD a storyline where that did happen (but, ya know Clone Saga).

[@DarsiPadilla]

The fault lies most on Marvel's management.

[@DarsiPadilla]

@Naquin Green Spencer sort of fixed Spider-Man, though I suspect Marvel will keep up with their bullshit.

[@benwasserman8223]

Well now May has cancer and Peter's actually doing the selfless thing of being there for her in a moment of need. Good on him!

[@DarsiPadilla]

@@benwasserman8223 that was in Tom Taylor's unneeded run on Friendly Neighbourhood, and then the old corpse recovers from cancer. I fucking hate it.

[@Webshooters1]

Plus the contrived nature of the story didn't help matters. Much like a DM railroading a campaign. Suddenly every scientist and capable person of helping May is now SUDDENLY unable to help. Doctor Strange was a world-famous surgeon and if he couldn't do it with his hands he could just conjurer up a pair or any of the LITANY of magical artifacts he had at his disposal. Doctor Doom? Like Linkara said, he'd make Peter grovel and stroke his ego but he'd save her life in exchange for a favor down the line! Otto Octavius would help not for Peter's sake but because he did have a thing for May back in the day! Then add in all the thinly veiled insults at comic readers and it makes me want to throw every copy of that story into a fire.

[@shadowldrago]

"It's time to see what happens when robots in disguise, meet the crew of the Enterprise." Never in my life have I needed something so much and never known until I received it.

[@DalekTheSupreme]

All I know about that story is "Fortress Tiberius". If you know who Fortress Maximus is, that says it all.

[@rodrolliv]

Picard: mmmm... ¬‿¬

[@taekinuru2]

You just know from the concept the Enterprise will be a transformer

[@jesusmora9379]

i've neven been so confused.

[@johnnygyro2295]

@@jesusmora9379 IDW did a crossover comic between Transformers and Star Trek. From what I heard, it was pretty good.

[@harrisonmissell1716]

"Beat The Devil" sound like a awesome 80's rock song about well beating the devil or the name of Tenacious D song

[@mr_lrb6879]

Or Bob Ross cleaning his paintbrush.

[@harrisonmissell1716]

LOL your right about that one

[@harrisonmissell1716]

Honestly when you say that it makes me think the title was reference to him or the book Originally May have had something to with that fact like a artsy superhero would be introduced

[@fleetadmiralauto6506]

Or Doomguy's career

[@harmonlanager2670]

Not far from “Run with The Devil” by Van Halen

[@aros0018]

These issues are a great example of how to write a devil/demonic character. Miles doesn't trust Mephisto because of what he is but at the same time Mephisto doesn't give any obvious reasons not to buy what he's selling. He's not outright lying to Miles because if devils always lied then why would anyone ever believe anything they say? He makes an incredibly tempting offer with a cost that is not immediately apparent. In fact, technically it wasn't a cost Miles had to pay. Someone else died because of the deal. Mephisto didn't lie to Miles that he didn't have to give up anything. But because of how good a person Miles is, it still felt like he did. Mephisto even approached him as a friend later to stay in his good graces. Mephisto got what he wanted, and the audience knows it was for nefarious purposes, but Miles himself doesn't have a lot of blame he can throw at him. From his point of view, Mephisto did exactly what he agreed to, nothing more, and the girl's death is on Miles' conscious.

[@LordSvzklx]

The cost isn't even anything Mephisto directly did. He technically did everything he said he was going to do: give Miles another chance with no real strings attached. Miles could have still saved Faridah, its just because of the specific action he took that he didn't, Mephisto had nothing to do with it. He just knows Miles is going to tear himself up constantly wondering what he might have done better

[@mostmelon]

Your idea isn't bad, but I gotta disagree. A devil isn't a punisher or a lesson teacher. They're a temptor of the dark side. They should offer and give exactly what their victim wants. People can't be tricked into being evil, they have to just accept their own dark desires. It's like the stories of Belphegor. He's a devil that despises humanity because he believes they are truly horrible. But he does nothing against them. He gives them exactly what they ask for because he's confident that they'll bring about their own corruption and downfall. And he's always right. He doesn't interfere beyond that. He never lies or deceives. Sometimes he'll tell them right to their face, that they're gonna hurt themselves in the end, but they never care.

[@Bezaliel13]

@@mostmelon Isn't temptation sort of a trick?

[@mostmelon]

@@Bezaliel13 In some sense, I guess. But not really. Usually people know what they're getting into.

[@Bezaliel13]

@@mostmelon What about Bearskin? I have no idea if you are knowledgeable of folktales, but still. Oh, that also does not sound like it fits with your description of Belphegor. Sure, he knew the human would screw up, but I doubt the human did.

[@IzzuZiq]

"An entire army of Spider-Men showing up on his front doorstep to punch him" As of now he has pretty much screwed over 4 Spider-Men, the other 2 being Ben Reily and Doc Ock (okay, maybe less "screwed over", but even he made the deal to finally become Doc Ock again and properly did his own "Spider-Man No More" homage at the of the recent Superior Spider-Man run). So part of me is expecting if that ever happens, Doc Ock will also be part of the line of Spider-Men just because.

[@johnnysizemore5797]

I agree. I could see Otto and Peter putting aside their hate for each other(say what you will 'bout Osborne, but at least he didn't pull a Face/Off on Pete) and working together just long enough to permanently deal with Mephisto.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

the most infurating part was that what otto did to defeat spider-norman was just "what peter did to save the day in spider-island but with more brutality", making the deal incredibly pointless, and makes me wish otto hadn't made the deal so fans could unironically call him "the superior spider-man" because sans kaine (who apparently might or might have not made a deal with zarathos), he would have been the first one tell the devil to fuck off. ALSO to keep superior spider man and actually have him meet characters like curt connors (currently just trying to keep his family of hybrid lizards alive and semi traumatized post HUNTED arc in recent spider books) and Black Cat (because i just want black cat to punch him in the face, make him face off his hypocresy but eventually developing a "vitrolic firendship" with each other) ALSO, surprisngly enough NONE of the spider-ladies had made deals with the devil. which is kinda uncalming giving at this point i am just waiting for mephisto do a checklist of "spider-people who i want to mke a deal with"

[@BrenoRanyere]

Mephisto was also showing up in avengers comics for a while wasn't him?

[@Heavenlyhounds96]

That should happen yes but that sounds more like a job for Ghost Rider. Oh wait

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@Heavenlyhounds96 they did it. ywrt the best they could do was to make mephisto a las vegas tourist trap for a while. now it is spinning out of control

[@BullseyeRey]

I also liked that Mephisto made a point of not making a deal with Amadeus, considering that he's a Gamma Mutate and thus has ties to the One Below All.

[@mattsherlock9636]

Plus Amadeus has experience with supernatural beings from his days being Hercules partner. That and being one of the smartest people on the planet, if anyone can find a loophole it's Amadeus cho.

[@athroughzdude]

_There's a knock on Mephisto's door and he gets up to answer, stopping just short._ Mephisto: Wait a minute, I don't have a door. _The door gets kicked in, knocking Mephisto across the room._ Peter Parker Spidey: Hey Mephisto, Pop Quiz! How many Spider-People does it take to enter Hell and kick your butt? The answer is 3, but we realy wanted to prove a point so we brought *ALL OF THEM* and one Doc Ock. Doc Ock: This is quite possibly going to be the greatest day of my life.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

(Deapdool, Master Matrix appear) Deadpool: HELLO! THERE! remember me from when you tried to corrupt my best bud spidey with that Itsy bitsy girl? Matrix: I am also present to help my friend spider-man and his friend deadpool (Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, Johnny Blaze ALSO show up) Doctor Doom: I see you keep showing off your ugly head you peice of scum Johnny: We wouldn't miss a free opportunity to kick you ass you shithead! Doctor Strange: This is for clea (ANOTHER PORTAL opens but now with The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Black Panther, Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Cyclops, The X-Men, and The Champions, The Current 2018 Avengers and Agents Of Wakanda AND THE Avengers 1 million B.C.) Reed Richards: Hello Peter. Need a hand from The family? Ms. Marvel: Sorry for being late Miles. I needed to bring back up Cyclops: You Are not The usual Demon we (X-Men) fight, but i Will be more than happy to lend a hand Black Panther: I see you never learn Demon (claws ready). Maybe this Time i should be more clear Iron Man: When I told them who You were (The Past Avengers), they were more than happy to come You red rat (prepares Repulsor Ray) I Will enjoy this like You have no idea.

[@Plaugue1122]

If this happens I'd be happy.

[@ZoanBlade90]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 Peter Parker Spider Man: "You've been building a lot of karma over the years, Mephisto. The bill always comes due."

[@katherinealvarez9216]

athroughzdude nice.

[@OMartinez91]

So I'm guessing Doc Ock is an honorary Spiderman then

[@MegaManDBZX]

Blackheart: I’m gonna clap for ya with my teeth, Dad. Mephisto: That’s super weird, son. But I appreciate it.

[@briandurio6479]

I see you're a man of culture. Lol

[@Azmodeus87]

two words: Jazz feet.

[@rodimusrider8798]

I see you too are a fan of SAO Abridged

[@Iamafishproductions]

Blackheart: I may not be able to applaud, but let the clap of my dummy thicc demon ass cheeks show my appreciation. Mephisto: Creating you was a mistake.

[@Eyewarp]

"I relish this anguish…the kind perfectly attuned to a soul's best intentions." I just don't see how Mephisto could ever think that way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to replay Nier Automata for the 4th time and rehearse my lines for Othello while binge-reading Berserk with Game of Thrones on in the background.

[@KaiserShounen]

A man of culture i see

[@giloguy101]

the real anguish from all of this is when you get to season 8 of game of thrones and see how much it went of the rails

[@V4Now]

While listening to Alice in Chains music?

[@GatorRay]

Funny. Game Of Thrones and the Ultimate Universe had one thing in common. INCEST!

[@phoenixshadow6633]

Mephisto honestly needs another beatdown from Dr. Strange just cause.

[@dannyfenlon2476]

Mephisto needs a beat down from everyone

[@TevyaSmolka]

indeed

[@brandonlyon730]

”Mephisto, I’ve come to bargain.”

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@dannyfenlon2476 heck recently superior spider-man doc ock made a deal with Mephisto

[@JaelinBezel]

And doesn’t Johnny Blaze sit on Hell’s throne?

[@Rocketboy1313]

The idea of going into hell to fight Mephisto was what I assumed was going to happen after "One More Day". It seemed like the only "logical" way to redeem the story.

[@stevenstice6683]

At least turn Spiderman into a Ghost Rider. A Ghost Spider miniseries would have been awesome.

[@codysonic1]

@@stevenstice6683 HELL WE ALREADY HAD A GHOST RIDER SPIDERMAN IN AN ELSEWORD WE CAN DO IT AGAIN! Albeit Temporary...BUT IT CAN BE DONE!

[@fleetadmiralauto6506]

So Spiderman teams up with Doomguy? Take my fucking money

[@NoahDaArk]

That’s what I’d do. If I was ever given the task to write for Spider-Man, I’d only do it under one condition: I get to undo One More Day. Then I’d have Spidey learn about a “gap” in his memory, and once he learns what it is he just goes to hell and starts hunting and terrorizing Mephisto until he finally gives Peter back his marriage, but at the cost of Aunt May finally passing away. Fortunately May wouldn’t have an issue with finally dying since it is kinda her time, so in the end Peter would get his wife back, Aunt May would finally Rest In Peace, and Mephisto would learn to fear the Spider-Men

[@Smellbringer]

They recently retconned the One More Day thing to at least make SOME sense. Mephisto took Peter's marriage because he'll come so close to conquering the world until Peter's daughter stops him. No marriage, no kid, total victory. It doesn't make the story better, but it does at least follow an actual line of logic.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Still, Linkara won't buy any post-OMD issue until the deal is broken. And with what I heard recently, I really hope so.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

@@ChiefMedicPururu yeah I doubt Lewis will be reading the recent books 🤢

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

@@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677 In fact, the recent books just gave more reason for him to ignore the post-OMD comics.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

I'm fairly certain he curses out Marvel every morning because of it.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

@@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677 Nah, it would be wasting his energy.

[@CasaiAgicap]

Re: the first end note In Kamala's defense, that's kind of a character thing. Yeah, she's normally fairly selfless, but in the end she's still a normal teenager. For the entirety of the original Champions run, the leader was the time-displaced Cyclops (even though I think she kind of expected to be leader, at least deep down, since the team was totally her idea), and she's never been a leader and she doesn't know if she's a very good one or not. I personally have always seen a lot of problems with the Champions books (though more with the actual story lines), but I feel like they always got Kamala as a character. Maybe the artist didn't know how to draw her because I think NO ONE draws her right outside of her solo books, but she's always written properly.

[@JS-hw8ve]

I disagree. Slim took charge once or twice when his training called for it, but he was never the leader. It was always her. Oh, and the Cyclops that was a member of the Champions is my favourite iteration of that character. As for her, I think her wanting to quit because she felt unworthy was out of line, in her own book she had already done an arc dealing with her walking away from being a hero, so this felt like a bad rerun.

[@phoebuscatastrophe6909]

Sooo from what i understand, Mephisto likes to mess with any Spider-Man for no apparent reason. Man now i really want an army of Spider-Men kicking Mephisto ass.

[@codysonic1]

Isn’t he dead? Killed by Johnny Blaze

[@bluestar2059]

@@codysonic1 Oh please, like that'd stop Mephisto. He's... not the devil, but it's really just semantics sometimes. He'll be back.

[@codysonic1]

@@bluestar2059 Oh...though once that happens Spidey: Hey I'm gonna go kill your former boss wanna join? Ghost Rider: Sure

[@thepixelman4776]

Knockes on door. Spidey: “Deals off.” Signals spider army.

[@pbmultiverse2383]

Sounds like the next spider-verse plot

[@SHINOBI-03]

11:23 Hi, someone from Dubai here and allow me to clarify that speaking English is not huge of a deal here. Now it is common to have Arab-speaking families with English-speaking children because they attend private schools based on foreign curriculum instead of the public curriculum. Also it's a country with millions of visitors coming from all over the world with great economical and social powers, and English is spoken by everyone. Just because Arabic is the official language here that doesn't mean it's the only one spoken here. In addition to Arabic and English, we also have Hindi, Persian, Pushtu, Chinese, Russian, Filipino and many others spoken by immigrants, tourists, businessmen and whoever is learning them. In fact, recently it's been decided to include the Chinese language as an extra language to teach at school.

[@misterbubbles6389]

The more you know 🌈✴

[@MrSafior]

It's also a place where slavery is still a thing.

[@SHINOBI-03]

@@MrSafior Don't you mean Qatar?

[@MrSafior]

@@SHINOBI-03 I heard some dubbious aboot Dubai to.

[@SHINOBI-03]

@@MrSafior Well obviously it's no utopia and it's like any place it got its share of issues and crimes, but it's still one of the safest if not the most safest and most humane place in MENA. As for the slaves thing, it doesn't exist here. That's not only one of the worst lies about Dubai, but one of the worst myths fabricated around it to hurt its image. Nobody owns slaves here. What we have are paid labor who come and work legally and with their full rights including payment and healthcare.

[@monstercombo007]

Fun fact: The Locust is loosely inspired by the Mexican character "El Chapulin Colorado"(The Red Grasshopper). Which was played by the Late comedian Roberto " Chespirito" Bolaños. The More you Know 🌈✴

[@RabblesTheBinx]

That explains the goofiness

[@V4Now]

And knowing is half the battle.

[@wikiuser92]

Ah, so that's the thing I saw in the Blue Beetle movie.

[@DavesConceptShow]

Linkara: "Talks in Spanish" Me, a Mexican: What?

[@ChristianNeihart]

Yo rie.

[@pedro.elemental]

Fue raro

[@rodrolliv]

¿Qué dice usted?

[@Kolbjornelenano]

If it wasn't for the subtitles I wouldn't have understood what he was saying, and I'm also mexican

[@CartoonTriper]

Ke Pedo?

[@ScorbunGame]

"Because comic books" is pretty much the most accurate feeling of trying to describe comics to someone who's not into comics.

[@cray-seacoral]

Kaine is going to be the only Spider-Man who has enough sense *not* to make a deal with Mephisto.

[@toqkaizogou1636]

Funnily enough, in the MC2 Universe he did actually *try* to make a deal with a different demonic character, only for it to backfire.

[@cameronlapage7386]

Ben Reilly: Makes a deal with Mephisto in his relaunched series. Miles Morales: Makes a deal with Mephisto in his relaunched (team) series. Doc Ock: Makes a deal with Mephisto in his relaunched series. Jessica Drew: Gets her series relaunched

[@TevyaSmolka]

yup that's right

[@skyslasher2297]

Oh no

[@Ombratrak132]

I choose to believe that Kaine has not gotten any offers because Mephisto is scared of Hummingbird,

[@goodenoughright5433]

5:39 As a native Spanish speaker, Linkara try to speak Spanish nearly killed me

[@Xidphel]

How good/bad was it?

[@goodenoughright5433]

@@Xidphel I've discovered there's an uncanny valley for language

[@davidj.medinag.6524]

@@Xidphel As awfull as is hilarious.

[@BreadHart]

@@Xidphel Not bad pronunciation really, but it sounded like Google's translation, like saying the pronouns out of order. Spanish it's my first language and it was kind of cringe and hilarious to hear him xD

[@Operation_Bagel]

@@BreadHart You know he said it bad on purpose right?

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

Mephisto showing his cunning by playing on another character's personal weakness and making them feel guilty to the point of abandoning their friends to escape the shame. It's amazing the difference it makes when writers are allowed to use characters for the purpose of storytelling and not stupid reboots.

[@ThePatxiao]

This just boils down to intent. One More Day was editorial refusing to let Peter grow and maybe Quesada’s issues with marriage(he broke up THREE Marvel marriage couples. All of them being iconic in some form or another). This is a story meant to expand the team and book

[@skibot9974]

What were the other two

[@tyrongkojy]

I like that Mephisto's admitting to enjoying messing with Spider Men. It's an in universe explanation and reason why Marvel's editors won't let Parker grow up and change from being the awkward failure kid. It's literally the devil doing it to keep them ALL weak. THAT'S why he can never be married, successful, and happy. I've said it before that it almost seems like magic is behind Spider Man's inability to move on and grow and, well, here's the admission.

[@codysonic1]

If thats the case.....wait a minute. THATS THE REAL DEAL OF ONE MORE DAY!!! KEEP PETER COMPLACENT!

[@tyrongkojy]

@@codysonic1 It's all magic, babby.

[@benwasserman8223]

Champions was definitely one of my favorite new comics, mainly because Kamala and Miles were in it. And they’re some of the best new comic characters this past decade

[@Artista_Frustrado]

-I keep forgetting Marvel actually made a Teen Hero version of El Chapulin Colorado (the red locust/cricket) -oof that Spanish, gave me a good laugh -yeah, im 100% ok with how they wrote this deal, Mephisto actually told the truth & held his end of the bargain; but any consequence come up WAY after the deal is done and there's no way Miles could have foreseen that he will forget to save the other kid instead of her partners

[@andremarques4863]

7:25 I think that's their strange way of confirming to new readers "No, this isn't like when we call prisons _The Vault_ or _The Raft_ or whatever, we mean an actual online forum".

[@xlbthedemigod5662]

Mephisto: Lets make a deal *Linkara moves spider man (Miles) out of the way. Linkara: How about, NO. Why don’t you not make deals with any spider man like last time to where fans destroyed you.

[@tjjordan4207]

I don’t know, if the last one almost destroyed him the second one will make sure he never comes back

[@xlbthedemigod5662]

TJ Jordan You know what I mean. The fans hated it to where they killed him off along with Marvel canceling this series.

[@myriadmediamusings]

I love the Champions series so much more than it perhaps deserves. Hard to say why for me, I suppose it could be because as a relatively new comic reader, Champions was the first new full team book I bought and read. I bought it because I'm a Kamala Khan fan, and while she was in All New All Different Avengers along with Miles Morales and Sam Alexander, the three in that Avengers book can be argued as the Champions test-run anyway.

[@SaiyanQuad92]

The new Champions run is coming soon

[@Phantom9252]

If every Spider-Deal with Mephisto was actually leading to a Spider-Event where the Spider-People punch Mephisto that would be great. But it's not. But Marvel actually pre-planning an event? Never. Congratulations Linkara, you are a better writer than everyone at Marvel

[@garrisonmoncher5461]

I've actually been thinking about that concept ever since I saw linkara is review of one more day. Though I did want to add mr. T somewhere in that story but I'm just not sure how =/

[@codysonic1]

@@garrisonmoncher5461 umm Have him be like an Angel who found out about the deal and proceeds to give Spidey a chewing out on it and helps fix it.

[@CrookerComic]

There was actually a comic recently (either Ghost Rider or Dr. Strange I believe I don't recall) that stated Mephisto IS the actual, literal, One True Satan. Funny how these things go.

[@gcell10]

Know what's funny, this comic got retconned in the 2019 Ghost Rider run when Mephisto reveals a bunch of demons have been posing as him while he's been imprisoned in Vegas

[@nessesaryschoolthing]

17:15 "Ahh! After 10,000 years I'm free! Time to conquer Earth!"

[@stevenstice6683]

Recruit five teenagers with attitude!

[@silvertheduelistpilotofata0131]

I've got a headache!

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

24:49 let's add mary jane, deadpool, master matrix, doctor doom, johnny blaze, doctor strange, and kaine's pseudo adoptive younger sister Hummingbird and Wolverine AND the now fully heroic Inheritors raised by Spider Ma'am and that would be a pretty kick ass crossover.

[@achidikisob7759]

"THE" Forum is a specific forum in the comics that they're referring to. Dumb name, I know, but it is what it is.

[@Ombratrak132]

Achidi Kisob while it’s a pretty plain name, it could be worse, there is a DC character simply named “Vigilante.” I assume he gets in ethic arguments with “Superhero” while they team up to fight “Supervillian.”

[@FlancitoConCebolla]

9:03 I wanna add that Locust's catchprase is a reference to an old mexican comedy of a superhero named "El Chapulin Colorado" (which translates to Red Locust). The character is a full on reference to Chapulin.

[@OmegaX9]

18:38 Steven Universe: the children's show about sexuality, identity and (most recently as of this post) heavy PTSD.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

so...steven unvierse has become a seinen anime?

[@teddyfurstman1997]

Poor Steven, he needs help!

[@OmegaX9]

Teddy Furstman On the plus side, he’s 18 years old and has never had to go to the doctor before. Join the crystal Gems and you’ll receive great health coverage...but none of it for mental health.

[@OmegaX9]

Michael Hewitt-Clarke They never talk about sexuality directly (it IS a kid’s show after all) but there’s plenty of subtext given how most if not all of the gem race seem to be feminine (they also use female pronouns when discussing other gems) and we have Garnet as the union of two gems who got married. See also Pearl’s adoration of Rose and her jealousy towards Greg.

[@doggosho3044]

@@OmegaX9 don't forget a gaint monster!

[@Jygerthe2nd]

THANK YOU! I can't tell you how many times I had to explain to people why this story is not the same as One More Day!

[@tayojones9460]

Of course it's not the same. It's actually good.

[@benwasserman8223]

Jeffery Phillips Well yeah, Miles actually remembers what he did and feels guilty about it. Hopefully Peter will too, whenever Nick Spencer reveals that revelation in his Kindred storyline

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@benwasserman8223 thw sad thing is that joe kely had a perfect opportunity to have deadpool not only learn pete's id but also lear fo what peter did during the first spider-man/deadpool run to start that slow realization of what peter did. but didn't. oh well hopefulyl nick's power of "editors actually letting him do what he wants" (like everything involving HYDRA Cap) lets him undo one more day without breaking countinuity (restoring pete's and mj's marriage, BUT just saying mary jane and peter divorced to make stephe's spell work, to not make peter look like an asshole whenever he dated other women. or the same to mj. AND as a excuse to have them have a second wedding)

[@benwasserman8223]

Ian R. Nava Huber Ok 1. Secret Empire was surprisingly good, and it also led to that funny Endgame moment. 2. Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man run has been widely praised- especially the relationship segments- so, unless you’ve read it, you have no right to complain. And 3. They’ve actually referenced OMD as “something Spidey did but regrets, even though he can’t put his finger in it.” And the Kindred character seems to be the key to that- just revived Sin Eater of all characters.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@benwasserman8223 1.- FINALLY i find someone else who liked secret empire sure it could had been better (first improvment being not wanting andrea sorrentino to draw everything when it was impossible and then needing to find any artist that could fill in; ALSO wasted opportunities like peter parker and victor von doom enver meeting hydra cap face to face), But i really enjoyed it. it gave me some very good moments (pymtron's family dinner; scott admitting he ssees hank as his hero due to hank being a screw up yet still trying to do the best: ben grimm standing against hulk giving them hope, the whole stuff of "trying to make a miracle happen (because it reminded me of that twilight zone episode where it cirticizes how we have become so cynic we can't just accept a miracle happening)"; and how hydra cap was defeated) 2.- i am up to date with nick sencer's spider-man (recently i loved how peter and jonah had their debate in the podcast with jonah bringing up good points). surprised nick hasn't tried to make spidey a pizza delivery guy as a) quick way to say say how he is getting money now that he is going bac to college to genuinely earn his degree and b) as film reference. AND i have to respect Nick for somehow still managin to make coherent issues to the main story during that period of time he had many tie-ins in his main book to different events (absolute carnage's tie in (which was excellent and i never saw kindred appearing there coming), and the 2099 tie in) ALSO Amazing Mary Jane is a nice complement to the comic. especially now that firendly neighborhood spider-man is gone. 3.- o still wonder if he will retcon kindred asbeing the one to make the deal instead of mephisto or just say kindred aas caused by one more day. also, still wondering how sin eater is gonna be that threatening (wans't he just a random mook. sure invovled in the stuf that led eddie to become venom but that was it). or if that quick thing involving the lethal legion at the end of the most recent issue is gonna be involved into that.

[@lonewolf6884]

Into the Spider-Verse 2 Plot Confirmed: Spider-Men vs Mephisto/The Devil I would pay $$ to see that

[@grantmoore8228]

"Gee Mephisto! You're telling me I could get a sequel to my first movie?" "That's right Mr. Morales! There's only one little thing you must include...YOU MUST PROMOTE VENOM 2, THE MORBIUS SPINOFF MOVIE AND TONS AND TONS OF SONY PRODUCT PLACEMENT! MWA-HA-HA!!!!!"

[@StygianSkunk]

Oh Good, there are people who can still write for decent devilish beings. Also, Meohisto's reply to Amadeus sounds like something I'd say as a DM.

[@theotherghostgirl337]

Ive been watching Steven universe and I’m starting to realize some kids *really* need therapy. No kidding

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

who in this day and age doesn' need therapy?

[@roguishpaladin]

That boy needs therapy.

[@DavyEddyBenny]

As long as the therapy is something legit and not, let say, an alien AI programed with the best traits of the greatest heroes (non of them a professional therapist). That would be very stupid.

@@roguishpaladin : lie down on the couch

[@bgvo4373]

“Good for Wally.” Indeed.

[@TheNorthlander]

I love that you still got Koobla Kola references around. It's my favorite strange and obscure comic fact, I am so glad I recognize where it's from.

[@goob_goob_gooby_goob]

Spider-Head: For the love of god, stop dealing with the devil!

[@o76923]

I wish that Disney made a Champions series on Disney+. It's been a while since we've had a good new animated Marvel series on there. The format of a huge team up book with multiple squads is also a perfect testbed to try out new or obscure characters before introducing them to the MCU. It really seems like such an obvious call.

[@jazzmazz9214]

I want an animated series dammit.

[@HellNutcase]

So, Peter Parker made a deal with Mephisto, Ben Reilly made a deal with Mephisto, Miles Morales made a deal with Mephisto, Otto Octavius made a deal with Mephisto. I'm sensing some suspicious interest in spider-people from Mephisto... I'm calling the authorities.

[@richardmarshall7338]

it better not have to deal with the spider totem bs Marvel pushes once ever 3-5 years after jms' run on spider man

[@autobotstarscream765]

@@richardmarshall7338 I think it's something much simpler: they want to make Mephisto be specifically a Spider-Man villain.

[@kaffykathy8729]

The Champions huh? Well, when will Linkara be fighting them?

[@krvys7226]

I'm certain they could make some form of contest to allow this.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

I should also add that May appears to be in her seventies or at least late 60s and Kamala is somewhere between her early to mid teens although she could be late teens for all I know. As sad as it is, May has lived out her life and (depending on one's beliefs) may be reunited with Uncle Ben in what passes for Heaven. Kamala is a teenager who has been on Earth for no more than 17 years and is not only a team leader but an admired superhero and figurehead of sorts.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

Also helps that this isn't "The Day The Marvel Universe Decided to Shit On Miles Morales." He had no time to get turned down by any hero so we don't have to ask "why couldn't X help Kamala and Viv?" They were very dead and Mephisto confronted them in the midst of grief. Teenagers go through a lot of crap in thier lives so thier close friendships are usually very strong and it's clear he and Kamala had a close friendship. It's one thing if a dying old woman whose life is now hell because of Civil War, it's another when two teens die unexpectedly because of circumstances likely outside of one's control. With Miles it was "I could have saved these two very close friends and teammates although I actually couldn't because of the circumstances." With Peter, it was "I'm pissed off and an idiot."

[@jazzmazz9214]

@@lorddrayvon1426 This works in this book because these characters have a well built up friendship with some highlights from their stories even alluded to via flashback as Miles makes the deal.

[@Hornetog9vp]

8:55 Her speech would have been better if she said "I'm hero to good. Nightmare to evil.

[@Marcelosahgo]

Ally to good... nightmare to you!

[@Hornetog9vp]

@@Marcelosahgo that wouldn't make sense since she was talking to hero.

[@Ombratrak132]

I never understand why people focus on the OG Champions being completely unrelated to each other. Like, the original Avengers were made up of the reincarnation of a Norse god, a scientist who got hit by his own atomic bomb, a millionaire in a suit of power armor, and a couple who both can shrink and one can command ants. They have no shared origin or theme. If the issue is that the original Champions had no common motivation or goal, the original Avengers only teamed up originally against Loki, and just decided to keep working together. I don’t know, maybe I am just missing something?

[@Avenger85438]

Scenario: This team is on a mission involving the infiltration of Dr Dooms Lab. Ms Marvel attempts to use her stretch powers to avoid or ambush him only for a freeze counter measure to burn her hand. *_"Clever, young one."_* Doom says turning to face her without surprise *_"But your power is a brand, Doom is more then familiar with."_*

[@jazzmazz9214]

Ms Marvels powers work very differently from Reed's. For her, electric shocks are more effective.

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

I always thought the side-story where Aunt May begs Peter to just let her go and accept that he can't save everyone was done in the same vein as the writer who wrote Magneto as only aligning with Red Skull so he could kill him in a Zero Hour side story while the main book had no such justification for a SURVIVOR OF THE HOLOCAUST TO TEAM UP WITH A LITERAL NAZI.

[@93MANIAC]

I just heard the news about what is going to happen in Amazing Spider-Man #26 and yes I do hope that Zeb Wells and Marvel editorial step on some really sharp LEGO bricks

[@jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787]

So Mephisto’s favorite punching bag is any iteration of Spider-Man? That makes so much sense .

[@Dynaman21]

Spider-Verse won an Oscar. Go see it.

[@benwasserman8223]

Dynaman21 It has a talking pig and a noir Spider-Man voiced by Nicolas Cage. Even more reason to see it

[@larrychilders6599]

and actually earned it

[@Nytemare2all]

No!

[@JoeyfilmingTv]

So did Suicide Squad. I love Spider-Verse, but Oscars are not really a selling point.

[@wstine79]

Did Spider-Man make a deal with the devil so he can stay with the MCU and Sony?

[@HellNutcase]

#RespectTheHyphen

[@Silverstar_]

@@HellNutcase Thank you. It's SPIDER-MAN, not Spiderman. He's not Bill Spiderman from Accounting.

[@kalainreinard8421]

That's not funny.

[@tjjordan4207]

Nah, there was no marriage to trade

[@K1ng1995]

I actually liked the premise of The Champions where the teenagers are pissed off with The Avengers because they don’t care about the collateral damage. Also they want to do more than stop the bad guys.

[@benwasserman8223]

Painter Lava Lamp Yeah wait until the new event storyline Outlawed comes out. Some asshole Senator passes a law making it legal to hero under 21, and the millennial heroes aren’t going to take it sitting down.

[@Paxchi]

There's a difference between not caring and recognizing that you don't have the skills and resources to fix that collateral damage. The Falcon makes it clear none of the Avengers present are engineers, they wouldn't know the first thing of what to do. It's better that they focus on stopping threats they can handle and on rescuing people that are in danger, while letting folks like Damage Control handle the repair work.

[@K1ng1995]

Paxchi which therein lies Khamala’s biggest flaw which is that she thinks she can change the world. Least that’s what I think her flaw is but I’m probably wrong

[@Paxchi]

Khamala certainly means well, but like a lot of teenagers she lacks experience to temper those good intentions. She thinks she knows better than everyone else, though this could also be residual guilt over getting her best friend crippled while performing various human rights violations at Carol Danvers request.

[@K1ng1995]

@@Paxchi I also think that Carol's flaw is that whenever she's told "No" she has to go the extra mile to prove she's right even if she makes a mess. She flashes back to when her sexist father was giving her better treatment because they were guys.

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

All Spiders kicking Mefisto’s @$$? I’d read that!!

[@buchiklop110]

Just to note about the pronunciation of "Kamala," her appearances in both the Avengers Assemble and Marvel's Spider-Man cartoons use the more commonplace "Kah-mah-lah" and that's very likely what they'll use whenever the Disney+ finishes being made. I also think that's the pronunciation used in the upcoming Square game.

[@powerist209]

About the half-naked lady, she was from a previous Nova comic who was hired to assassinate Sam Alexander...then proceed to get thrashed and left her on a starship set for a random area with her onboard. Probably went into stasis before it crashlanded. Just a minor character from an event comic.

[@ZekeStaright]

The only thing I had ever known Blackheart in was MvC2 so it's nice to finally see a bit of what he's about.

[@myriadmediamusings]

Really I think Capcom's fighting games with the Marvel licenses are where some of the secondary characters were first discovered by some. I can attest that I learned of the likes of these characters from: X-Men Children of the Atom: Omega Red Marvel Super Heroes: Blackheart, Shuma-Gorath, Thanos Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter: US Agent, Mephisto Marvel VS Capcom 1: War Machine, Onslaught Marvel VS Capcom 2: Cable, Marrow Marvel VS Capcom 3: Dormammu, MODOK, Super-Skrull, Taskmaster, Iron Fist, Nova, Rocket Raccoon

[@chancylvania]

I mean “comics” is just short for “convoluted shenanigans”

[@Bobsheaux]

Blech... Miles doesn't have the experience or the strong moral compass that Peter Parker is supposed to have, making his deal with Mephisto not as objectionable... I can see that. HOWEVER, that just makes Nick Fury's accepting of him as the REAL Spider-Man by the end of his 5th issue all the more facepalm-inducing. Fury was on Peter's case throughout his ENTIRE RUN of Ultimate Spider-Man comics, but 5 issues in, and he's more accepting of this young, less emotionally grounded kid who didn't even have a firm grasp on his (potentially more dangerous) powers at the time? Gimme a break...

[@ttgb2990]

4:50 That hurt me man, because it’s so goddamn true. In a recent issue of Spider-Man, villains were watching and betting on superhero fights in a casino-style settlement and the guy in charge said something along the lines of: ‘we have heroes vs heroes, heroes vs anti-heroes, and the *OCCASIONAL* heroes vs villains.’ Even Marvel knows how little hero work heroes do nowadays...

[@LaurianeG.]

One thing I'll add is that this deal makes more sense from mefisto's perspective. What does he got to get in taking Mary and Peter's marriage, especially if they forget about it? It's simply contrived. Also, since you talked about consequences, I think the idea that while he could save his friends and the day in general, it means he couldn't save others adds some reality to the thing.

[@captainchaos5705]

Honestly I thought the Champions runs were great. It was a fun team of teen heroes that felt like it actually sorta had something to say about making practical change even in a world of gods and monsters. Beyond that I think the cast is a lot of fun and Viv is actually one of my favorite characters in Marvel because of it

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

8:55 Is this a "chapulín colorado" homage or a "Kamen Rider" one? You make the call

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

chapulin colorado. humberto ramos himself declared her as such

[@jamcalx]

She feels like both honestly.

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 That explain her introduction speech, sound like a joke that Gómez Bolaños would said.

[@gonzaloegonzalez8106]

@@jamcalx the suit looks like a lot as a Kamen Rider. Probably a coincidence, Locust and Hoppers are of the same family after all.

[@flmbyz]

Waiting to watch the rest of the episode, but I just have to say: when I’m driving and that Atop the Fourth Wall theme hits, that base line through my car speakers is just SICK!! More kudos to your amazing theme song contest winner, that is probably the best theme out there on the internet!

[@mhollis1989]

We need to see Transformers meet Dr who. If for another reason to see a transformer scan and turn into a TARDIS.

[@bthsr7113]

More like have an error message in their head that constitutes a strong migraine. That or they only see the exterior.

[@autobotstarscream765]

@@bthsr7113 Soundwave (particularly G1 and G1-based versions) could pull it off; he's resilient and cunning, already a master of size shenanigans (his cadre of Minicons living in his chest makes him seem to himself be bigger on the inside), and he even looks like the Doctor's police phone booth TARDIS.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Not to mention Megatron probably transforming into some Dalek superweapon.

[@billygreci9739]

Great episode. Interesting comic. Effective breakdown of how thought and effort can change a story for the better, even one using similar plot points to "One More Day". Also, I would like to personally thank Linkara for giving these characters a chance. Especially Kamala Khan, who I have barely heard anything positive about in a LONG time. Thanks Linkara.

[@DawnOfTheOzz]

Yes! Finally! Star Trek vs. Transformers next week!

[@AtticusTsaiMcCarthy]

Champions was one of my favorite books. Really liked how it made new characters like the Red Locust, and brought other young heroes together, like Nadia and Riri. Had I not moved to Denmark, I'd be at my LCS for the newest launch of the series. Great episode, sir; very funny and illustrates reasons why this series is honestly good.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Avengers Arena exists, so no DC did not corner the market on dead teenagers. No matter how much we might wish that they had.

[@DuelaDent52]

LupineShadowOmega Avengers Arena was actually kind of decent, at least.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

@@DuelaDent52 kinda. But then I'm a fan of Avengers Academy, so screw that story with a pineapple anyway for killing off characters for little to no gain in my opinion.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

13:54 WELL... 3 spider-people. Otto Octavious/Superior Spider-Man made a deal with the devil with mephisto to defeat Spider-Osborn.... in a way that just makes you wonder exactly why otto couldn't do that when peter did the same thing once (especifically, the spider-island trick of controlling millions of octobots. you know, the very same thing that gave otto peter's brainwaves)? ALSO, in the process they rebooted otto back to doctor octopus without remembering who peter is. sure, it isn't like what happened in one more day and that's it.

[@ZoanBlade90]

You especially wonder that, given that Otto has someone that has a device containing *THE POWER COSMIC* . He could have just asked that person for the device.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@ZoanBlade90 RIGHT! sure if i remmeebr correctly they gave some BS reason as to why anna maria drained the whole "power cosmic she got from terrax" so it was unusable to fight spider-norman but is still infurating.

[@yugoxgc]

"Who ever thought Mephisto was an Existantionalist".... Goethe Did... Read Faust thats kinda what he is there

[@tomasavendanozacarias5205]

fun fact did you know morales means morals in spanish so his name is mike morals

[@misterpeterman]

Now I want to see an army of Spider-Men go after Mephisto and Superboy Prime punch him so hard it restores Peter’s marriage.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Fun fact: while several demons in the Marvel universe have used the name "Satan", none of them are the real thing and Satan may not even exist in the Marvel universe.

[@daelen.cclark]

Why does marvel keep wanting spider-man to be involved with Satan!?!?!? Although it’s always nice to see you talking ‘bout it while making jokes in Spanish, and at least this works better here than in one more day. (Hell, ANY story other than one more day could do this plot better.)

[@HellNutcase]

#RESPECTTHEHYPHEN

[@LupineShadowOmega]

I'm going to go with Mephesto's statement in the comic as my head canon now. He just specifically likes screwing with Spider-men and so that's the explanation for "Parker Luck" just Mephesto figuring out how to be a dick to him that particular day.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@LupineShadowOmega at this point i am surprsied mephisto hasn't tried to screw the spider-women (julia carpenter, spider- gwen, jessica drew). they are the only ones who he hans't tried to screw over alognside kaine (who has made deal with cosmic being slike zarathos and the other but surprisingly enough not a devil.)

[@daelen.cclark]

Ian R. Nava Huber That would at least be interesting.

[@roguishpaladin]

@@LupineShadowOmega Tacking onto both this comment and Linkara's mention of the idea of a cross-dimensional team-up of all Spider-beings to take on Mephisto, it would be really interesting to see the end goal of all that being to fix the One Day More deal. If written well, and with an eye toward why it was such a bad deal for Parker to have made, it could end up being the one way to fix that problem effectively.

[@BLasherman]

Now I want you to read New Mutants where Magma goes on a date with Mephisto, and he is a pretty nice guy

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

So Mephisot only has it against spider-people¡

[@autobotstarscream765]

@@ianr.navahuber2195 It feels like they're trying to establish Mephisto as specifically a Spider-Man villain.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

@@autobotstarscream765 yeah. YET for some reason they don't want Spider-Man to actually Face him up or beat him

[@DigiRangerScott]

What’s the social distance rating for this comic?

[@cherry-cj9iq]

Having to stop mid-review because of school, but sent that bit of the Spanish speaking to my Mexican friend. We had a good laugh at that one, high expectations from this comic tbh. I recently started reading up on Miles and he's one of my favorites already; a Blorbo, if you will. The rest of the team seems fine, and their idea for a massive junction of heroes working together across the globe doesn't sound bad at all! I like it I LOVE THIS????? The deal, the character development, everything is so so good! I adore this book, this was amazing! I'm very

[@Valdagast]

I've paid my dues Time after time I've done my sentence But committed no crime And bad mistakes I've made a few I've had my share of sand kicked in my face But I've come through

[@animation1234111]

Why is Amadeus Cho being portrayed like some inexperienced teenager? He's been a supporting character since the mid-2000s and was instrumental in saving the universe during Chaos War. Plus, he should be an adult at this point.

[@jazzmazz9214]

He is 20.

[@jameshowlett5106]

2020, Linkara's still finding new ways to drop truth bombs on how much One More Day sucked. You are a treasure to comic fandom, sir.

[@TevyaSmolka]

LittleWebHead 87 lol indeed

[@SuperWolsey]

And now, the Marvel Comics' Bushworld Universe..... Mephisto: Miles!!! MILES!!! MAKE A DEAL NOwww!!! MAKE IT!!! Miles: Aw, Meph... I was having a sleep. A little Miles sleep

[@DylanScottDavis]

0:48 "The whole you know... being dead thing!"

[@lonewolf6884]

On the subject of OMD, the PS4 Spider-Man game did the whole story around the subject way better and those who know how it ends, know what I'm talking about. That's all I'm going to say because I fear some of you haven't played it or seen the story yet

[@TevyaSmolka]

yup indeed

[@thanatos_razl]

I played it. I know what you're talking about and I liked that Insomniac did it like that.

[@skibot9974]

No Way Home also did something similar thematically

[@lorddrayvon1426]

The thing with narrating superpowers to me is "show don't tell." The Technis Imperative and this work because both were written by long time writer's of the respective series. Devon Grayson and Mark Waid wrote a lot of the series before these events, Waid somewhat rebooting the team into this Marvel Teen Titans thing. It usually just works when one has a lot of experience with these because otherwise you get The Exiles #90 just without the power narration.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

That or it can make the panels s little too busy so you're eyes are darting around. Plus, if it's a crowd scene that starts the book, it'll be hard to tell who's who.

[@carlrood4457]

I couldn't help but think that the opening of the first issue is EXACTLY the sort of thing that caused the first Marvel Civil War, only here it's ACTUAL untrained teenaged superheroes instead of what they tried to pin on the New Warriors.

[@bthsr7113]

The new warriors were stupid for starting that fight, but this is a case of an understandable mistake and reasonable cockiness. They weren't trying to get ratings (god that was cringey and depressing. Not unrealistic anymore)

[@jazzmazz9214]

TBF, the team of champs here are all pretty experienced and trained.

[@Rixec2]

A review featuring many of our great new heroes, like Miles and Kamala, a great mini review of Into the Spider-Verse, and talk about all Spider-Men beating down on Mephisto in one video. This is a good day.

[@Chrisy45054]

0:25 - 0:33 And besides, one of my big rules in media is: If it's won an Oscar, it's at least worth checking out.

[@bacsilva]

By the way, right around the time of this comic, Mephisto also made a deal with Otto Octavius, who was living in a clone body made of Peter's and his own genetic material and calling himself the Superior Spider-Man again.

[@harrisonmissell1716]

Spider Man: Makes a deal with the Devil Linkara: *RIP AND TEAR* Spider Boi: makes deal with Devil Linkara: oh yeah that makes sense

[@sathrielsatanson]

Come on, Linkara, they just wanted to surprise the monster. They knew it would never think they will bring some with vulnerability to electricity :D

[@jamcalx]

Honestly, they need to do more to separate miles from peter. Really lean into his stealth oriented family background as his dad is a former shield agent and his uncle being The Prowler, giving him a natural affinity for things that require it. Also give him a name like Night Spider, as it's quick and flows of the tongue.

[@myriadmediamusings]

One of the previous Champions issues that transported the team to Weirdworld and erased their memories had Miles be called “Shadow Spider”. Would be a great name for him to go by, IMO.

[@ianr.navahuber2195]

Nighst SPider is a better name than wha t bendis wanted to (Spy-D). ALTHOUGH ironically spidey and miles had nive brother like moments whenever they intearct in quick stufflike one shots or free comic book day issues. further ironically enough, pete's spy sister teresa could be a mentor to miles

[@jamcalx]

@@myriadmediamusings it is alliterative, but doesn't have that "ring" to it.

[@skibot9974]

Marvel WAS planning to change his Superhero identity to “Spy-D” but this was scrapped after Into the Spider-Verse was a huge critical and commercial success. However thanks to Animation Lead Time Miles was still given this code name in the Disney XD show Marvel’s Spider-Man

[@SpeedyEric1]

Gamers should also know about Miles Morales, because he appeared as a supporting character in the PS4 Spider-Man game, released 3 months before Into the Spider-Verse. 5:03- But because of the coronavirus, the release has been delayed. 20:04- Oh, like Imhotep from The Mummy (1999). 24:49- I love that idea. TAKE NOTES, MARVEL! I have yet to read the Star Trek/Transformers comic, and I have it on my Amazon wishlist.

[@ZoanBlade90]

I can see it now: A team of Spidermen and women(Otto Octavius included), Deadpool and Master Matrix (Deadpool because of the whole Itsy Bitsy thing, and Matrix because he's helping.).

[@Fastollis]

Yes! I love this book! Some of the characters are returning in a few spinoff teams this spring and I am hyped af

[@chs9999]

Is this the first time linkara has talked about Miss marvel

[@AT4W]

AFAIK, yeah.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

Gonna take a wild guess and assume the reason for the low sales was due to that Comicsgate crap tho I could be wrong