No Time For Losers

Anyone else remember the Young Avengers? No? How about The New Warriors? Okay, other than that time they caused "Civil War". No? Avengers Academy? Sigh. You know despite The Marvel Universe housing the best and brightest of young superheroes, no team of plucky, young crime-fighters could ever reach the notoriety of DC's Teen Titans. Could be the lack of a cartoon. Well, Mark Waid is going to fix that and introduce you to the next generation of heroes. Gen 13? No? Alright, here's "The Champions" on Current Issues!

Writer: Mark Waid

Artists: Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado

While The Avengers and The Defenders have been the gold and silver standard for Marvel superhero teams, there once existed a bronze standard called "The Champions". Put together in 1975 by Tony Isabella and Don Heck with no real structure in mind. Isabella simply like the characters of Iceman, Angel and Black Goliath, but the latter character was unavailable and Don Heck thought the team needed at least five members. So-keeping with the theme of having no theme-the team was comprised of former X-Men Iceman and Angel, Hercules The Greek Demigod, The Russian Spy and former Avenger Black Widow, and The Spirit of Vengeance known as The Ghost Rider. While the team had a three year run and were mentioned in other titles, they were otherwise forgotten by the comic book community. A new team of Champions was going to be introduced in 2007 as part of Marvel's "Initiative" event, but due to a trademark argument with Heroics Publishing, Marvel did not have the right to publish a comic with the name "The Champions". This resulted in a series renamed "The Order". By 2016, the trademark had reverted allowing Marvel to publish the name again, but rather than reviving the old team, Mark Waid expressed an interest in using the Champions name for a new team, a team that meant more for the Marvel superhero community.

Mark Waid's previous works include DC's Comic's "Kingdom Come", "52", and "Superman: Birthright" and Marvel's "Age of Apocalypse", "Avengers vs X-Men" and the most relevant title "All-New, All-Different Avengers". The latter Avengers title featured a team consisting of veteran Avengers Iron Man and The Vision, newly christened heroes Thor/Jane Foster and Captain America/Sam Wilson, and young heroes Miles Morales/Spider-Man, Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, and Sam Alexander/Nova. That title was, well, decent at best. The problem was that that title was caught up in so many Marvel events it didn't have a personality of it's own. Speaking of events,
"Civil War II" was A. a cash-in and B. an event where the superhero community was once again split. Split so badly Iron Man died and the general public feared superheroes once again. Oh, and Captain Marvel was made into kind of a b&$%#. It was after these events that Ms. Marvel, Nova, and Spider-Man left The Avengers, feeling that "the grown-ups" had lost their way. But when Ms. Marvel's superhero itch needed scratching, she and her friends said "screw it" and formed their own superhero team, one that would be different from The Avengers!

So. The team. Like I said Ms. Marvel is the real founder of the team. Which is good because Ms. Marvel is awesome. Not simply because she's a teenaged Muslim superhero, but also because she's like me! No, not a fat, white kid in a basement. She's a fan of Marvel superheroes. She knows the ins-and-outs of what superheroes do. And most importantly she knows what superheroes haven't been doing for the world. Also she has stretching powers. Oh, and she's an Inhuman, but she's not all up in your face about it. Miles Morales is a Spider-Man from another reality brought into ours. He's younger than Peter Parker obviously, but he can also turn invisible and stun people with a venomous touch. He's a voice of levity and realism as any good Spider-Man should be. Nova is pretty hostile, but he's also funny in a gullible way. He can fly, project energy blasts, and use his helmet to talk in any language. He's like a junior space cop. Amadeus Cho-The Totally Awesome Hulk-has been palling around superheroes for years, but has only recently become a Hulk. Luckily, he can control his anger and he's the eighth smartest person on the planet. Sadly, this also means he is stubborn, egotistical, and downright annoying. Nothing like his solo series where he's totally awesome. Viv Vision is the daughter of The Vision and the only living member of The Vision's family left. Won't spoil "The Vision" series for you. She has all of her dad's powers AND projects her own wifi signal. Won't lie, I think she's my favorite. Plus she's a robot-person so when she makes out with a boy (Hulk) for the first time she's like "I did not feel anything I was told I would feel. Perhaps another gender..." and Ms. Marvel's like "uh-uh". And then there's Cyclops. Poor Cyclops. This is of course the version of Scott Summers who was brought from the past to the present with the other original X-Men in 2011. Since his modern day counterpart was killed after doing some seriously bad stuff, our heroes are hesitant to recruit him. But Viv says the obvious, you can't hold someone accountable for something they "might" do. "Civil War II" was fought on that principle. So, the former X-Man is brought on and his natural leadership skills and overall stability as a person really surprises his teammates.

In issue #1 they stop a human trafficking ring, in issue #2 they sit around and talk about their powers which is more fun and interested than it sounds, trust me. In the most recent issue-issue #3- they go to the middle east to help these teenaged women rally against a group of mercenaries who are trying to keep the girls from reading and learning. No joke. This book gets topical. The leader of these women claims the men of the village don't want the women to learn and have been at odds with them. But if these American heroes are seen helping a group of middle eastern women it might send the wrong message. So the heroes help them in secret. And while the dispute isn't fixed in an instant, the heroes help the women at least make a strong step forward. Under the hashtag "#Champions" the team have their name and make an effect across the world. Young people around the planet support and follow what The Champions are doing for young people. The Champions are a voice that has been silenced in the midst of superhero battles and cosmic incursions.

I'm really happy with how this book is turning out. Yes, some characters can be annoying, but they're teenagers and they're all so different and the way Waid writes makes them feel organic. So it's actually good some of them are annoying. And while Ramos' art isn't very appealing on Hulk (he looks like an old man), other characters are colorful and expressive. All and all I think this title is what Marvel has been lacking. Not only is this a teenaged superhero team book, but its a book with a voice. A book where the heroes are saving the world in a different way. Waid really pours his heart into this title and I can't wait to see where it goes. Above any other Avengers title, Champions is the one to follow.
Thanks for reading.