Champions #3 Review: Saving The World Without A Leader
By Alex Widen
The Champions head overseas to deal with another crisis! But does the lack of a clear leader bog them down, or liberate them?
Champions #3
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
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Marvel Comics have published many teenage superhero team comics before, but this time feels different. There is more of an attempt to make Champions feel timely and relevant from the onset. This means more than having the cast use Twitter or iPhones, it means a general direction. Technological trappings come and go (past topical comics were all about cell phones or skateboards), but a social agenda and a strive for diversity remain eternal.
Image by Marvel Comics
Kamala Khan has continued her growth from her ongoing series by striving to be her own heroine. To this end, she’s led her peers away from established adult teams like the Avengers or X-Men. They’ve gone to a campout to bond, where they met their newest recruit, Cyclops. As with many teen gatherings, there’s been some gossip and a little “experimentation” with kissing and hormones. Much to Amadeus Cho’s chagrin, the android Viv Vision is less than impressed.
Image by Marvel Comics
There’s More to Worry about Than Frenching!
Yet thanks to her omnipresent Internet connection, their next mission becomes apparent. Viv notifies everyone of a current crisis in the fictional South Asian country of Sharzad. An extremist group is gunning down kids in the streets. What Cho lacks in humility he makes up for in hi tech aircraft, so the Champions immediately head off into a war zone across the globe. All the while, they can’t even agree on who the squad commander is. Kamala and Cho butt heads over this.
Image by Marvel Comics
Once in Lasibad, Sharzad, the Champions quickly learn how complicated things can get. It isn’t as simple as zapping bad guys when gender cleansing is going on. Extreme fanatics have come in and are trying to force women into servitude with lethal force. Amal, a local woman and activist, knows that simply punching out the terrorists won’t be enough. Nor will the sight of her and her peers being rescued by American based superheroes. A more delicate strategy has to be figured out.
Image by Marvel Comics
So while Kamala and Miles Morales (Spider-Man) blend in with the crowd, the rest of the Champions wait underground. Amal uses a rally to provoke a showdown with the terrorists, hoping to capture it all on social media. Their gambit is dangerous and doesn’t come without bloodshed. But in the end, it may be exactly what Amal and Sharzad needed. The only remaining questions are whether the Champions can pick a leader and make a safe exit.
Image by Marvel Comics
There Is No “I” in “Team,” Or “Good”!
Mark Waid writes a fast paced yet layered issue with a lot going on in every panel. While some team books are still assembling a roster three issues in, this team has been through three missions and one bonding session. Most of the characters have their own dynamics going on both in general and with each other. Their interactions are practically the main draw, as it should be. They also put in more effort to be understanding to locals than their older mentors lately.
Image by Marvel Comics
Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), as mentioned before, continues her own development. She’s gone from devoted “fangirl” to a rebel against superhero norms. Kamala wants to start a new era of superhero operations where a team listens to concerns from each other and those they protect. She is socially conscious and provides the moral center of the team. Yet she’s not without a sense of humor or adventure. Nor is she beyond learning from her mistakes or evolving on the fly.
Image by Marvel Comics
Amadeus Cho hasn’t done well working with others, which is one subplot from Totally Awesome Hulk lately. Even before he gained super-powers, he often assumed command in any group he was in due to his massive intellect. Now that he’s the Hulk, he’s combined it with tons of raw male hormones. He’s living the ultimate fantasy as the ultimate jock, with brains to match his brawn. He has a big ego and seems to consistently clash with Kamala and the others, at least initially.
Could Viv and Cyclops Be a Ship?
Image by Marvel Comics
If a leader is the one who decides the missions, it could be argued that Viv Vision is the leader. The android daughter of the Vision often serves as the clear voice of logic or reason within the group. While that’s typical of robot characters, she also has moments her father was too square for. Not only does she game online and prioritize her internet feed, she’s also willing to experiment romantically. Out of all of them, she also seems to act as Cyclops’ defender the most.
Image by Marvel Comics
Speaking of Cyclops, the time flung X-Man is closest to the outcast of the group. His older counterpart is dead and the victim of a ridiculous public relations nightmare. Already misunderstood for being a mutant, he has the actions of his future form to live up or down to. Yet he easily has the most tactical experience of anyone on the team, and he seems beyond a lot of “typical” teenage nonsense. He never wastes words or actions, and rallies the squad at one point.
Image by Marvel Comics
Nova (Sam Washington) is more of the “typical” teenage guy on the team. He may have a lot of powers and adventures under his belt, but he’s no genius. He usually seems to be the one who stirs stuff up, like egging Kamala and Cho in their leadership bickering. He’s also not beyond trying to make out with one of the girls. In fact, the only team member with little to do is Miles. His dialogue is often functional and he usually just seems to be there. He’s a good guy, and that’s it.
Image by Marvel Comics
You Can’t Save Countries with Punches Alone!
Image by Marvel Comics
Amal also gets a lot to do here. Nearly all of the Champions are impressed by her leadership chops and imagination. This represents a shift from how superheroes usually handle these sorts of stories. Having superheroes storm into a delicate conflict overseas is nothing new, especially during the Cold War. Usually they just storm in, punch out an immediate threat and leave. Often times they leave a complicated mess. This time there was awareness of how delicate things were.
Image by Marvel Comics
In my first Champions review, I compared them to the New Warriors. They were Marvel’s contemporary teen team of varying power sets from the early 1990s. That team involved themselves in a conflict in a fictional Middle East country (Trans-Sabal) in their 29th issue. At the time, it was a commentary on the first Gulf War. This issue sees the Champions deal with some of the things which have happened in the Middle East since. Kamala Khan specifically mentions this.
Image by Marvel Comics
Humberto Ramos continues on his art tear with this series. The former Amazing Spider-Man artist may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s been amazing on this series. This issue gives him more action to play with, and he doesn’t disappoint. He seems to be having the most fun with Hulk’s sheer size or Ms. Marvel’s elasticity. I also like how Viv Vision changes into a sweater here, since a belly-shirt would be less fashionable in a South Asian country. The colors pop out as well!
Image by Marvel Comics
A Rare Team Book That Delivers!
Mark Waid is a strong writer, but even he’s not perfect. He’s simultaneously writing an Avengers relaunch (#2 shipped this week), which isn’t working well. In that, Waid is bogged down in a confusing Kang drama across time. Superheroes punching first and acting more against their own rogues than general welfare seems to be the opposite of what Ms. Marvel and the Champions are about. The very premise of this book seems to bring out better quality and energy in Waid.
Image by Marvel Comics
Next: Check out the Champions cookout from #2!
To say that Marvel Comics publishes a lot of superhero team books is an understatement. Even when they say they’re scaling back the X-Men books, they currently have three teams of them. Despite all of the Avengers books, or even the imaginative team books of Al Ewing, Champions stands tall. It has a sense of genuinely wanting to be about something different while relying on the fundamentals of strong characterization and writing. It’s Marvel’s best team book out now.