WEEEE Are The Champions, My Friends...

Time to turn the spotlight on a Marvel team that, due to their short shelf life, doesn't get much mention by the comics community.  Which is fairly unusual, since two of their members were former X-Men, two had Avengers ties, one was a popular Spirit of Vengeance, and the other... well... she was a Soviet superhero.  (I know, not exactly a pedigree that ranks much note for current comics fans, but at ONE point, this was a big deal!)  We're talking about "The Champions", today!

The Champions were unusual for the 70's period of Marvel comics, because they weren't introduced initially in an anthology title.  Nope, they leapt right into the potential pool of success in their very own book, cover-dated October 1975.  I teased the roster of the team, and the illustration DOES give it away, but I'll just drop the membership on your collective knowledge.

• Hercules: Prince of Power and son of Zeus.
• Iceman: Bobby Drake, mutant master of ice and snow... and who once resembled a big poofy snowman.
• Angel: Warren Worthington III, possessor of mutation-spawned wings, rich as bloody hell, and rather stylistically challenged during this period of his superheroing life.  Seriously... did we NEED to see your chest bared that much, Warren?
• Black Widow: Natasha Romanov, former Soviet spy master, at this time still nursing her relationship conclusion with Daredevil... who I wish had Angel's bared-chest costume.  Ahem...
• Ghost Rider: Johnny Blaze, bonded with the spirit of vengeance, Zarathos, becomes a leather-clad, flaming skull-headed force for justice.  Sure, he had a healthy run in the 70's, but it wasn't until the very late 80's and early 90's that the character grew as hot as the furnaces of Hades, itself.
• Darkstar: She didn't show up until later in the run.  Soviet superhero... who I can't remember if she was a mutant or not, but she possessed the ability to project black rays to blind, or cause impact blasts.

The initial event that causes them to cross paths goes a little like this.  Warren and Bobby are attending college.  Don't ask me WHAT specific Californian college; I am not so anal-retentive to really pull that name up.  Hercules is on campus to deliver a speech about mythology to a study group.  Black Widow and her mentor Ivan are on campus as a way to sort out the confusion of the fizzling out of her relationship with Matt Murdock.  Ghost Rider... I think he just arrives on the scene, later.  Pluto, master of Hades, comes up with an interesting scheme to intermarry Hercules to his collaborator... Hippolyta.  (Yeah, go figure, right?  I bet Princess Diana was scratching her head over her mother crossing universes so callously.)  In return, Pluto would get a amnesiac Venus, who also happens to be on campus, to become his bride, and grant him grand powers.  A demonic assault on school grounds gathers most of our heroes in a three-issue arc to squash Pluto's scheme.  (I say most, because Darkstar did not show up until much later into the run.)

Now, initially facing off against demons, gods, and supernaturally-powered regular beings, you'd think the team could only go "up" for threat levels, right?  Well... Er... The next two issues deal with a mad scientist that has created a ray that works as a mind-washer... along with a "Super Soldier" serum, and uses them on homeless people for his person army.  Then the team clashes with Rampage, an unemployed and angry man who gains a power suit, and isn't afraid to us it.  (Geez... I'm in your shoes, Rampage, but even if I DID have access to a suit that grants me impressive physical violence capacities, I DON'T want to use it to go on assaults.)

But one fun thing of note is a villain that people, including myself, fondly remember for his general goofiness first saw life in "The Champions"!  That's right, the being formed of bees, and possessing a killer purple cloak, Swarm, first appeared in "The Champions" book.  Or should I pronounce it as the cartoon version that appeared in "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends? did, ZZZZWWWWAAAARRRRMMMMMM?  And "The Champions" also rated a crossover issue with a story arc in "Super Villain Team-Up", involving two of the biggest villainous guns of the Marvel Universe, Magneto and Doctor Doom!

And for a book that only lasted 17 issues, between a bimonthly schedule, if you end your run going up against the Sentinels, THEN crossing over into an issue of "Spectacular Spider-Man", then I'd say you were somewhat of a success!

So what makes this team so appealing to me, despite the fact that there were a radar blip on the Marvel team landscape?  I think it's a mixture of their original villains, and the haphazard nature of the team members, that bring me to mind of this team also being like the "West Coast Avengers" version of "The Defenders".  Now granted they weren't as confrontational as the team Hulk, Namor, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange built, but the thing I've always loved about the Defenders... who will receive their own write-up in due time... is the team WASN'T as organized as The Avengers.  It felt like you were getting a superhero sundae that you make at a buffet restaurant.  You know, the one where you have your basis of ice cream, and you just PILE ON the toppings to see how they work.  That random basis of elements are what worked for me for the Defenders, and had they rotated the toppings a bit more regularly, it could've worked out better for the Champions.  But for their brief spark in the Marvel Universe, they still showed as bright, bizarre, diamonds in the super team rough.  The best part for people that want to explore the title are most issues can be found on the cheap, AND every single issue... along with their 70's guest appearances... were collected into two trade paperbacks!