Happy Monday, folks!
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. Today's topic is the first issue of Marvel's series called the Champions. The cover of the debut issue featured Hercules leading his teammates Ghost Rider, the Angel, the Black Widow, and the Iceman onward. The tale was titled "The World Still Needs...The Champions!" The issue had a cover date of October 1975.
After the splash page, the story began on the campus of UCLA, where students Warren Worthington III and Bobby Drake were discussing their collegiate life. Neither of them was impressed with where they were in life at the moment, but neither of them wanted to return to the X-Men, either. They were talking about their old colleague Hank McCoy (the Beast) and his success with the Avengers when a portal opened before them.
A quartet of winged women emerged from the portal and began attacking students on campus. Drake was the first to take action against the strangers, using his Iceman abilities to send a blast of ice at one of the attackers. He held down the fort while Worthington changed into his Angel superhero duds. Together, the longtime friends and teammates were able to effectively tackle the intruders.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the college grounds, a woman named Natasha Romanoff was pacing nervously awaiting an interview for a position that she'd hoped would be enough for her and her friend to afford to be able to afford life's necessities. It had been some time since the woman also known as the Black Widow had cut ties with her former partner and lover, Daredevil (aka Matt Murdock).
While Natasha and her friend Ivan waited, a horde of female warriors emerged from another portal and demanded the return of a woman named Venus. Inside her office, humanities professor Dr. Victoria Starr was anticipating interviewing Romanoff when she heard the commotion outside. She opened her door, and the attackers' attention then focused on her.
The Black Widow managed to escape with the professor and assured her that Ivan was safe. At the same time, Johnny Blaze was riding his motorcycle onto the campus when he was warned of the goings-on. He barely had time to duck a mace that missed his head by inches. That near-accident prompted Blaze's change into the Ghost Rider. The hero rode into the fray, only to be confronted by a large warrior who called himself Cerberus.
After being blasted by hellfire that was emitted from the Ghost Rider, Cerberus swiftly transformed into a large purple dog. This form proved more threatening to the hero, who tried to ride away. In yet another part of campus, the god known as Hercules was preparing to give a speech. However, that would have to wait, as the Olympian was accosted by a swarm of mutates.
It didn't take long for that particular melee to crash through the building Hercules was in. The Ghost Rider noticed the commotion and offered Hercules a ride, after assuring him that he was friendly. Before they could drive much further, the duo came across the same winged warriors and female soldiers that the Angel, Iceman, and Black Widow were still fighting.
As the Angel carried the professor in his arms, she changed her guise and disclosed that she was the god Venus whom the strangers had arrived on campus to find. A simple love spell dispelled many of the invaders so that the sextet of heroes had enough time to converse. Hercules and his new allies dug into why his cousin Venus had been attacked when a bolt struck her from behind. He and his companions turned to see Pluto, Hippolyta, and Ares standing before them. Pluto declared that Hercules was to wed Hippolyta and Venus was supposed to marry Ares, or risk the end of the universe if they should refuse such unions.
Much like the Super-Villain Team-Up title, the Champions was an interesting concept that wasn't given much time to really prove that the series could stand out on its own. Part of the reason again, was a rotating cast of writers and artists, like SVTU. Another complaint was that this group didn't really have many established rivals, and only a few were created specifically for this title. The group's demise wasn't even properly chronicled before this title was cancelled (a 2-part wrap-up was later published in the pages of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man). I liked the idea of this group, although I thought it would have been nice to have more guest stars and maybe rotating team members, especially featuring heroes who either had their own short-lived series or were only featured in one-offs or other short story arcs.
Well, that's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll cover the Champions' second issue. We'll see if wedding bells rang in that story and the dangers that this new supergroup faced along the way. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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