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Champions (1975 team)

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For the modern team, see Champions (2016 team).

Champions
The Champions debut on the cover of The Champions #1 (October 1975).
Art by Gil Kane and Dan Adkins.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleBimonthly
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication dateOctober 1975 - January 1978
No. of issues17
Main character(s)Angel; Black Widow; Darkstar; Ghost Rider; Hercules; Iceman
Creative team
Created byTony Isabella
Don Heck
Written byChris Claremont, Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo
Penciller(s)John Byrne, Bob Hall, Don Heck, George Tuska
Inker(s)John Byrne, Vince Colletta, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Bob Layton, Bruce Patterson, John Tartaglione

The Champions are a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appears in The Champions #1 (October 1975) and was created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Don Heck.

Publication history

Writer Tony Isabella developed the concept of a new team of superheroes and originally wanted the roster to consist of former X-Men Angel and Iceman, and the newly created Black Goliath.[1] Black Goliath became unavailable when the character debuted in his own title,[2] forcing Isabella to rethink the concept.[1] Editor Len Wein insisted on at least five members, and Isabella added three established heroes: Russian spy Black Widow (team leader), the Greek god Hercules, and the supernatural avenger Ghost Rider.[3][4] Captain Marvel, Power Man, and the Son of Satan were all considered for the final place on the roster before selecting Ghost Rider.[1] Writer and publisher David Anthony Kraft is credited with naming the team,[1] with the title originally intended to be published in Giant-Size format as Giant-Size Champions. Production difficulties, which caused a three-month delay between the first and second issues, prevented this.[1] The title was eventually published as The Champions, and ran for seventeen issues from October 1975 to January 1978.[5] In addition to Don Heck, artists who drew the series include George Tuska, Bob Hall, and John Byrne.[6]

The team battled established Marvel villains such as Pluto;[7] the Griffin;[8] the Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo;[9] Warlord Kaa;[10] the Stranger;[11] Kamo Tharnn;[12] and new foes such as Rampage[13] and Swarm.[14] Russian heroine Darkstar joins the team,[15] and Black Goliath eventually guest stars in the title.[10] The second-to-last issue continued a story involving a power struggle between villains Doctor Doom and Magneto from the title Super-Villain Team-Up.[16][17] The last issue's storyline involving an attack by the Sentinels[18] is referenced in the title Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, which explains in flashback how the team disbanded.[19][20][21]

The Champions guest-starred in several other Marvel titles, including Ghost Rider #18;[22] Iron Man Annual #4;[23] The Avengers #163;[24] and Godzilla #3.[25]

The group briefly reunite in a X-Force/Champions Annual.[26] In a humorous issue of the second volume of The Thing, the character Flatman — a member of the misfit team the Great Lakes Avengers — wins a poker tournament and renames his team the Great Lakes Champions, despite protests from Hercules.[27] An issue of The Incredible Hulk features a flashback to a period when the Champions were still together. The team mistakenly attack the Hulk, with the delay almost killing a gravely ill Jennifer Walters.[28]

A new team also called the Champions is scheduled to debut in October 2016. This team consists of Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Nova, Teen Cyclops, Viv Vision, and the Totally Awesome Hulk.[29]

Trademark dispute

In 1987, Heroic Publishing began using the name "The Champions" for a role-playing game series which has been adapted into comic books. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled that Marvel had abandoned its trademark of the name and could no longer use it, causing a planned 2007 revival of the series to be renamed The Order.[30] This has since been resolved with Marvel announcing a new Champions series set to debut following their Civil War II event.[31]

Collected editions

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Isabella, Tony (w). "Cables of Champions (text article)" The Champions, no. 6 (June 1976).
  2. ^ Isabella, Tony (w), Tuska, George (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Black Goliath" Black Goliath, no. 1 (February 1976).
  3. ^ Markstein, Don (2009). "The Champions". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013. Editor Len Wein...saw them as a two-man group, and mandated that a group must have at least five members. One must be super-strong, one must be female, and at least one must have his own comic. Hence, the addition of Marvel's version of Hercules as the strong guy, The Black Widow (fresh from a relationship with Daredevil) as the female guy and The Ghost Rider as the guy with a title of his own. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 171. ISBN 978-0756641238. Created by writer Tony Isabella and artist Don Heck, the Champions consisted of Angel, Iceman, Hercules, the Black Widow, and Ghost Rider. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ The Champions at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ Walker, Karen (July 2013). "'We'll Keep on Fighting 'Til the End': The Story of the Champions". Back Issue! (65). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 17–23.
  7. ^ Isabella, Tony (w), Heck, Don (p), Esposito, Mike (i). "The World Still Needs...the Champions!" The Champions, no. 1 (October 1975).
  8. ^ Isabella, Tony (w), Tuska, George (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "The Man Who Created the Black Widow" The Champions, no. 7 (August 1976).
  9. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Hall, Bob (p), Layton, Bob (i). "The Battle of Los Angeles!" The Champions, no. 9 (December 1976).
  10. ^ a b Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Layton, Bob (i). "The Shadow from the Stars" The Champions, no. 11 (February 1977).
  11. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Layton, Bob (i). "Did Someone Say...the Stranger?" The Champions, no. 12 (March 1977).
  12. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Layton, Bob (i). "The Doom That Went On Forever!" The Champions, no. 13 (May 1977).
  13. ^ Isabella, Tony (w), Heck, Don (p), Tartaglione, John (i). "The Economy Is So Bad That..." The Champions, no. 5 (April 1976).
  14. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Byrne, John (p), Esposito, Mike (i). "The Creature Called...Swarm!" The Champions, no. 14 (July 1977).
  15. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Hall, Bob (p), Giacoia, Frank (i). "One Man's Son Is Another Man's Poison!" The Champions, no. 10 (January 1977).
  16. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Hall, Bob (p), Perlin, Don; Vohland, Duffy (i). "A World For the Winning!" Super-Villain Team-Up, no. 14 (October 1977).
  17. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Hall, Bob (p), Esposito, Mike (i). "A World Lost!" The Champions, no. 16 (November 1977).
  18. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Tuska, George (p), Byrne, John (i). "The Sentinels Hunt Again!" The Champions, no. 17 (January 1978).
  19. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1970s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 101. ISBN 978-0756692360. Bill Mantlo was the regular scribe of both Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Champions...The Champions had recently been cancelled, and Mantlo decided to tie up a few of the title's loose ends in his other comic. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Hunt, Dave (i). "Whatever Happened To the Iceman?" Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, no. 17 (April 1978).
  21. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Hunt, Dave (i). "My Friend, My Foe!" Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, no. 18 (May 1978).
  22. ^ Isabella, Tony (w), Robbins, Frank (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "The Salvation Run!" Ghost Rider, vol. 2, no. 18 (June 1976).
  23. ^ Mantlo, Bill (w), Tuska, George (p), Perlin, Don (i). "The Doomsday Connection!" Iron Man Annual, no. 4 (August 1977).
  24. ^ Shooter, Jim (w), Tuska, George (p), Marcos, Pablo (i). "The Demi-God Must Die!" The Avengers, no. 163 (September 1977).
  25. ^ Moench, Doug (w), Trimpe, Herb (p), DeZuniga, Tony (i). "A Tale of Two Saviors" Godzilla, no. 3 (October 1977).
  26. ^ Bierbaum, Tom; Bierbaum, Mary (w), Shoemaker, Terry (p), Parsons, Sean; Candelario, Harry (i). "Demon From Within" X-Force / Champions '98, no. 1 (1998).
  27. ^ Slott, Dan (w), Dwyer, Kieron (p), Dwyer, Kieron (i). "Last Hand" The Thing, vol. 2, no. 8 (August 2006).
  28. ^ Pak, Greg (w), Frank, Gary (p), Sibal, Jon (i). "Warbound, Part 1" The Incredible Hulk, vol. 3, no. 106 (July 2007).
  29. ^ Jusino, Teresa (August 23, 2016). "Marvel's Champions Firmly Pushes Its Young, Progressive Characters Into the Spotlight". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Cronin, Brian (January 28, 2010). "Comic Book Legends Revealed #245". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013. Marvel did seek and was granted registration of the trademark it was using for that title. That registration, however, was not granted until several months after the title had ceased publication. In the mid-80s, on the basis of that registration, Marvel contested registration of the mark Hero Games was using at that time for its Champions role-playing game. The trademark board took notice of Marvel's abandonment of their earlier mark, and cancelled that registration. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Griepp, Milton (August 16, 2016). "ICV2 Interview: Marvel's David Gabriel -- Part 3". ICv2. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016. I think I probably said to Tom Brevoort, I think this book should be called The Champions. And he, of course, got a tear in his 40-something year-old eye, and said, 'it'll never happen.' And I said, 'someone told me I would never get a million unit sales of Star Wars, so we're going to make this happen.' I badgered our legal guys and we got everybody who needed to be involved in getting the name back, and we got it back. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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