Open Mike Night - Champions (2016) #1

Champions #1

Written by: Mark Waid
Pencilled by: Humberto Ramos
Inked by: Victor Olazaba
Colored by: Edgar Delgado
Lettered by: VC's Clayton Cowles

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price:  $4.99

Mike Weaver: Dissatisfied with the Avengers’ reluctance to repair damage incurred by supercriminals and/or the fights the Avengers have with said supercriminals, Ms. Marvel quits the Avengers and spends some time eating potato chips and writing fanfic.  Eventually, she comes up with a plan to be a hero more in keeping with her ideals, and contacts Ultimate Spider-Man and Nova to help her out.  They begrudgingly agree, and recruit the Hulk, who in turn recruits the Vision’s daughter, Viv.  Viv is tasked with finding the most urgent threat within 50 miles of them, and so they end up fighting a clown-themed human trafficker in Baltimore.  When one of his victims dies, Hulk nearly kills the clown, only to get talked out of it by Ms. Marvel.  Afterwards, Ms. Marvel gives a speech establishing the ideals of the new Champions, and there’s a lot of favorable response to it after it hits the internet via onlookers livestreaming it.

I thought this initial issue hit all the spots I wanted a #1 issue to hit.  We get a little background to why the Champions would be founded, we get scenes establishing the characters and how they are recruited, we get the team joining together against a threat, and an official proclamation of becoming a team.  Mix in some light interpersonal drama and some foreshadowing of possible future teammates, and you’ve got a solid first issue.

Mike Maillaro: Champions suffers from one of the major issues that Marvel has had the last few years...releasing follow up before you actually finish the events.  The summary page talks about the “aftermath of the second superhero Civil War” which is far from over, which presumingly would have had major impact on some of these characters (Spider-Man was accused of future murdering Captain America in the most recent issue of Civil War, and Amadeus Cho is still dealing with the ramifications of Hulk’s death).   We also see Viv Vision, and last issue of Vision #12 hasn’t come out yet, so I am really curious about her status as well.  

I had this same issue during Secret Wars...we knew Doom survived Secret Wars and had his face healed months before the series actually ended because he showed up in the “follow up” series, Invincible Iron Man.  This just seems like really bad editorial decision making to me...

Weaver: I understand that criticism, but I think the fault more lies with the reliance on these giant year long crossover events and less on the series that are trying to spring out of the back end of it.  After all, if you have Champions in the can, it really feels like something that you can’t sit on.  It feels like it’s something that could be happening right now (assuming we were in a superhero world), and delaying it could weaken it.  Honestly, if anything, it makes me wish for the old days when you didn’t have these massive company wide crossovers.  Secret Wars was the first “real” one, and beyond a few things like black costume Spider-Man, it didn’t really have a huge impact on the main universe.  So things had to get progressively bigger and bigger.

Yet, Champions, despite being a group comic, feels like a really small focus piece, which I like.  I think just handwaving through “everyone distrusts heroes now, the end” at the beginning of it is enough to get it going.

Maillaro: Despite my gripes about the context of the series, I really enjoyed this comic.  It built on some great continuity we’ve seen lately involving the friendship Ms Marvel, Nova, and Spider-Man have built.  I loved that each character got some focus, and we got plenty of action.  And this comic seems to have something to say about how heroes should be actively working to change the world and not just beating up bad guys.  

I also like that they didn’t try to force feed in an adult chaperone.  It may happen at some point, but for now, we see the kids on their own, and it seems like they may make some mistakes, but at least they will be fighting a good fight and not just punching other heroes.  And I loved the tease at the end for potential other characters.  Iron Heart, Moon Girl, Young Cyclops, and the new Wasp and Falcon.  This comic really feels like the culmination of so much that has been going on in Marvel the last few years.  A youth movement, some diversity, and a all new mindset. Hopefully, it will stick.

Weaver: It feels like an effort to recapture the youth market, which I really like as well.  Through the 70’s, 80’s, and up through to today, comics have fought harder and harder to push the envelope, seem more mature, attract an older demographic, and shed the “for kids” label.  And then they release dumbed down versions of their main titles focused on being kid friendly, and it ends up becoming confusing and not selling very well.  I think that heading into an area that brings the kids on board, with relatable characters that aren’t pandering, while still being in the same universe with the same plots that older readers can appreciate...I think that’s a huge step in the right direction.  Now that we’ve proven comics aren’t just for kids, let’s get the kids a seat at the table again with a bunch of heroes that are exciting, have personality, and aren’t morally grey.

Maillaro: No quite sure about the “morally grey” thing.  There was a great scene at the end here where Amadeus really pounds on some modern day slavers, and you can see the team wasn’t quite sure if that was the right or wrong answer.  That was one of my favorite moments in the comic, actually.

Weaver: But they do stop.

Maillaro: Fair point. They are definitely not “take no prisoners.”  

Another thing that surprised me about this comic is that Ramos seems to have toned down his art some. Ramos can be hit or miss for me.  I like him on more fantastical stuff like Impulse, but I really hated his work on Amazing Spider-Man.  Young heroes always seem to bring out the best in him.  I first saw his work way back in X-Nation 2099, which I loved.  And he manages to make it work really well here too.

Just everything about this comic really worked.  A huge shift from Waid’s All-New All-Different Avengers which never seemed to get anywhere.  Champions lays out its thesis and team right in the first issue, and I can’t wait to read more.  

Scores?

Weaver: Give me a 5 for the story.  For the art...well...I hated the cover, and was prepared for the inside art to follow along.  And yet, once I opened it up, everything looked great.  Yet I can’t underestimate how much an ugly first look can hurt.  I’ll give art a 4.

Maillaro: I really thought it was just me with the cover.  I had felt the same way, but decided maybe I was just being too harsh.  I can definitely go a 5 for the writing.  I think I will go a 4.5 for the art.  I agree with you about first impressions, but I am sure this comic had a dozen or so alternate covers, so I can’t even judge the one I saw.  If I had seen the Mike Allred cover, I would have easily given this book a 5...

Either way, this is one of the strongest comics we’ve reviewed in a while, so that is something at least!

Final Scores