Champions Appreciation 2021

[Digifiend]

Which means she clearly joined the team off panel between volumes. Though Starling wasn't captured with Wasp and Bombshell in issue 1. Her capture happened off panel, between issues 1 and 2, and presumably after her appearance in Miles Morales Spider-Man #22 (which means King in Black was probably between Outlawed #1 and Champions #1, since that Miles issue leads directly into the event). The roster change between Zub's Champions #10 and Ewing's Champions #1 appears to be that Starling has joined the team, and that Silk, Honey Badger and Prodigy are no longer on the Reinforcement Roster (they were no-shows - though Silk is unaffected by Kamala's Law as she is in fact in her late 20s, and being a member of the Agents of Atlas may mean she was already out. Presumably Gabby, now renamed Scout, and Prodigy, are on Krakoa). Squirrel Girl, Moon Girl and Cloud 9 were on the Reinforcement Roster, so them showing up makes sense. Red Dagger was also a Reinforcement Roster member, but his absence can be explained as him being back in Pakistan - he never appeared in Saladin Ahmed's Ms. Marvel run, having been introduced in G Willow Wilson's run, so he could've been gone for a while. While Jack and Katie Power were also at the meeting, that's a continuity error, as Power Pack reunited on the very day Kamala's Law came into force (which is after Empyre). Either all four Power Pack members should've been at the meeting, or none of them.

The Champions were pretty much forcibly disbanded after that meeting - they scattered. Some will have just lain low, such as Cloud 9 who only became a superhero in the first place because of the Superhuman Registration Act (she just wanted to fly for fun but was forced to go to Camp Hammond for training). Amadeus was probably with the Agents of Atlas. We know Dust went to Krakoa, because she obviously told Cyclops what was going on, prompting them and Pixie to stage their rescue of the team in issues 3 and 4.

It remains to be seen who will rejoin after issue #5 - the cover only shows our core three, Ironheart and Viv. Maybe Lore and Vecchio's back-up in #5 will tell us, as it'll be setting up their run that starts properly in the following issue.

There is a loose end that needs dealing with - when Snowguard and Locust were captured at the end of the Outlawed one-shot, so was the Champions Mobile Bunker. Was it destroyed? If not (perhaps because the New Warriors were using it? It was Speedball who captured it), they need to retrieve it. If it has, it needs to be replaced (doing this would explain Amadeus's and Nadia's absences if they're not involved in the next arc, as it was those two and Riri who built the bunker). Once CRADLE is out of the way, the team will need a HQ again. And if Pinpoint is no longer around, transportation too.

[Huntsman Spider]

Which means she clearly joined the team off panel between volumes. Though Starling wasn't captured with Wasp and Bombshell in issue 1. Her capture happened off panel, between issues 1 and 2, and presumably after her appearance in Miles Morales Spider-Man #22 (which means King in Black was probably between Outlawed #1 and Champions #1, since that Miles issue leads directly into the event). The roster change between Zub's Champions #10 and Ewing's Champions #1 appears to be that Starling has joined the team, and that Silk, Honey Badger and Prodigy are no longer on the Reinforcement Roster (they were no-shows - though Silk is unaffected by Kamala's Law as she is in fact in her late 20s, and being a member of the Agents of Atlas may mean she was already out. Presumably Gabby, now renamed Scout, and Prodigy, are on Krakoa). Squirrel Girl, Moon Girl and Cloud 9 were on the Reinforcement Roster, so them showing up makes sense. Red Dagger was also a Reinforcement Roster member, but his absence can be explained as him being back in Pakistan - he never appeared in Saladin Ahmed's Ms. Marvel run, having been introduced in G Willow Wilson's run, so he could've been gone for a while. While Jack and Katie Power were also at the meeting, that's a continuity error, as Power Pack reunited on the very day Kamala's Law came into force (which is after Empyre). Either all four Power Pack members should've been at the meeting, or none of them.

The Champions were pretty much forcibly disbanded after that meeting - they scattered. Some will have just lain low, such as Cloud 9 who only became a superhero in the first place because of the Superhuman Registration Act (she just wanted to fly for fun but was forced to go to Camp Hammond for training). Amadeus was probably with the Agents of Atlas. We know Dust went to Krakoa, because she obviously told Cyclops what was going on, prompting them and Pixie to stage their rescue of the team in issues 3 and 4.

It remains to be seen who will rejoin after issue #5 - the cover only shows our core three, Ironheart and Viv. Maybe Lore and Vecchio's back-up in #5 will tell us, as it'll be setting up their run that starts properly in the following issue.

There is a loose end that needs dealing with - when Snowguard and Locust were captured at the end of the Outlawed one-shot, so was the Champions Mobile Bunker. Was it destroyed? If not (perhaps because the New Warriors were using it? It was Speedball who captured it), they need to retrieve it. If it has, it needs to be replaced (doing this would explain Amadeus's and Nadia's absences if they're not involved in the next arc, as it was those two and Riri who built the bunker). Once CRADLE is out of the way, the team will need a HQ again. And if Pinpoint is no longer around, transportation too.

Good points there.

[Will Evans]

Looks like we have another Champions member joining the MCU

spoilers:

Danny Ramirez will play Joaquin Torres, (who comics fans know become the second Falcon) in Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Let it be known he’s playing the character as a 20 year old pilot and not a teen

end of spoilers

[Huntsman Spider]

Looks like we have another Champions member joining the MCU

spoilers:

Danny Ramirez will play Joaquin Torres, (who comics fans know become the second Falcon) in Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Let it be known he’s playing the character as a 20 year old pilot and not a teen

end of spoilers

That's pretty cool.

[CrimsonEchidna]

So it's weird, the resolution felt rushed but according to the editor in the afterword, the series was planned to be a 5-issue mini-series like we were suspecting all along. I guess through the pandemic, it must have been performing better than Marvel anticipated so they extended it.

That at least explains why there's going to be a creative change going forward.

[Digifiend]

So the 1 (of 5) in the October solicitations wasn't a mistake after all then. Pre-orders must've been so good that by the time issue 2 was solicited, they'd already decided to make it an ongoing.

[Will Evans]

Was the new issue released today?

[skyvolt2000]

So it's weird, the resolution felt rushed but according to the editor in the afterword, the series was planned to be a 5-issue mini-series like we were suspecting all along. I guess through the pandemic, it must have been performing better than Marvel anticipated so they extended it.

That at least explains why there's going to be a creative change going forward.

So why was the subscription department selling a 12 issue run then?

If it was suppose to be a mini like New Warriors and the others that are listed as such-why was it not from the start?

They can't say it was a mistake because that site updates.

So the 1 (of 5) in the October solicitations wasn't a mistake after all then. Pre-orders must've been so good that by the time issue 2 was solicited, they'd already decided to make it an ongoing.

I suspect the lack of actual books called Teen Titans (not TT Academy) and Young Justice and Ms Marvel might have helped more.

[Digifiend]

What do you mean? Those books were all still running when issues 1 and 2 were released.

Also, if the site updates, then I think that would be why it's listing it as 12 issues? That's an annual sub. It shouldn't have been calling it a mini once issue 2 was solicited.

Was the new issue released today?

Yes it was.

[Frontier]

spoilers:

So the real villains were corporations the whole time. I wonder if Xavier is ever going to get any love from Riri. He seems to be trying so hard to get her attention, almost to not!Boyfriend levels. Now it looks like the Champions will be fighting...plastic millennials?

end of spoilers

[CosmiComic]

I'm wondering, what is the target demographic for this book? Is it only aimed at younger audiences or can older audiences like it too?

[Digifiend]

Well, it was originally a spin-off from Avengers, so I certainly wouldn't say it's only for kids.

[CosmiComic]

Well, it was originally a spin-off from Avengers, so I certainly wouldn't say it's only for kids.

Ok. Because I read Avengers and Spider-Man mainly, but I was wondering if I'd read this at some point, especially since some of the characters will be in the MCU

[jackolover]

I had been waiting for Kampala’s reaction to C.R.A.D.L.E. from the beginning of the Kamala Law, so the resolution of this pathetic Law was satisfying. Kamala struggled with the fact her name was put to a law that she didn’t agree with and adults used their power to torment her, because as a teen she was powerless to confront the hypocracy. That it was a deliberate ruse by Roxxon at eliminating teen superheroes in the most simplest way, was their downfall when the truth came out.

On my interest in what Kamala can say in all this experience, she had the opinion adults contradicted themselves and she disagreed with the Adult Avengers’s approach to everything, then she was humiliated when the Champions were implicated in the accident of Coles academy disaster. All Kampala’s conviction was put to the test that teens heroes were smarter and better than the Avengers, and she was dogged by the possibility she would have to accept adults were right.

So here’s the rub. After Roxxon was found to have manipulated the easy target of the teen Champions, how does her opinion on the Avengers stand today? It is my view, having been exonerated by the facts in this issue, that Kamala is still strident in her conviction the Champions are right and the Avengers are wrong. I think for the editors at least, they like that the teen Champions stuck to their convictions, (with a reservation that the Coles incident had taught them they need to take responsibility), and did not have their idealism compromised. This is what I thought was going to happen to Kamala, but, I was wrong, and they have their honour in tact going forward, and can still consider themselves a better moral upstanding group than their adult counterparts.

Only time will tell if a lot of the lessons of Outlawed will compound on the Champions as they become adults and get the pressures that entails.

My own interest in this series of Outlawed books has been from a resolution to the Civil War SHRA issue impacting the Kamala Law. The mention of Cloud 9 was relevant in that this character became a victim originally of the SHRA as a young person, and has some scars from that experience. The kids in that re-education centre may also have scars after they were broken out. But it just shows how quickly everybody so readily accepted to put kids in holding as a response to a single incident. Much like what happened in CW in 2006.

I am intrigued by the backup story about Miles and Nova infiltrating Roxxon as a story of teens solving a future problem like Roxxon. This is such a drift away from both Spider-Man and Nova’s own books, and is a major step in their development as adults and part of a clandestine approach by the Champions. Congratulations all involved in this concept!

[jwatson]

I think anyone can read it. I mainly got it for cyclops when he was a teen but i have stuck with their reboots since then. It's weird it's not like i'm super attached to any one person on the team but i all carnations so far they really feel like a family and are written well. I did buy issue5 i just haven't had a chance to read it but so far oulaw is being done better than i thought, at least in champions. it's the only main line book i get right now besides immortal hulk.

Did browse though. That last page moles looks 10 years old.