Champions No. 4 review: Miles and Kamala bare their souls
By Alex Widen
The team is in crisis! Can founders Miles and Kamala work things out in Champions No. 4?
Champions No. 4
Writer: Jim Zub
Artist: Steven Cummings
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
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Just how does someone tell another that they saved their lives with a deal from the devil? It’s the sort of situation where there’s no one who can offer much advice, even in as wild and wacky a world as the Marvel Universe. As a consequence of expanding the Champions, and then stretching the team thin with three missions at once, both Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan and Viv Vision died fighting the monster Zzzax in Dubai. When Mephisto offered Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Brawn/Amadeus Cho a way out, the former conceded it.
Image by Marvel Comics
Contrary to belief, Mephisto — the same demon who once “bargained” away Peter Parker’s marriage to save his aunt — didn’t take Miles’ soul for it. He didn’t have to. The decision has been eating Miles alive ever since, especially after he proved unable to save a bystander doing the “cosmic do-over” that he and Cho used to save Kamala and Viv. Miles and Cho have done their best to keep a secret, but Kamala’s noticed her best superhero friend’s behavior, and knows secrets hurt.
Image by Marvel Comics
Talk about a Rough Flight!
Another member of the Champions with a secret is Sam Alexander. The former Nova has avoided going to his friends for help regaining his powers and/or increasing his odds in battle over pride and embarrassment. He also has more than one enemy in space from his days with the Corps, and one has literally crashed into their aircraft in the middle of a crisis! The minion of Proxima Midnight — a member of the Black Order, themselves Thanos’ lackeys — Kaldera insists on avenging her prior loss!
Image by Marvel Comics
Suddenly, an already tense situation trying to break up an anti-mutant riot in front of Warren Worthington III’s company alongside former X-Men member Dust has gotten more dangerous! The rest of the Champions present (Brawn, Falcon, Viv, and Amke/Snowguard) have to immediately drop what they’re doing and prevent their massive aircraft slash headquarters doesn’t crash and take out an entire neighborhood! Shouldn’t they have learned by how often the SHIELD Helicarrier crashes out of the sky?
Image by Marvel Comics
Kaldera isn’t listening to reason, and is all about combat. She lost her warrior’s honor losing to Nova back in his own title, and only defeating him in battle will restore it. Unfortunately, that’s no longer an option even if Sam were willing! As if to prove the point, Viv’s robot dog Sparky literally proves to be more useful in a fight than Sam does! The best that Sam can do is be rescued by Amka and do his best to stay out of the way while his friends try taking on Kaldera without him!
Image by Marvel Comics
How Bad Is It to Be Beaten by a Lackey of a Lackey?
As Viv and Sparky to their best to prevent their base from crashing onto civilians, the rest of the team do their best against Kaldera. Sadly, even the minions of Thanos’ minions are quite tough; Brawn punches her with gamma-strength, and doesn’t even interrupt her sentence! Not even falling dozens of stories and making a crater in the pavement gets Kaldera to slow down her bragging about cannibalizing anyone who loses to her! And soon only Dust is left standing!
Image by Marvel Comics
However, Dust has her own secrets. She’s not only survived Afghanistan, she’s survived over 16 years within the X-Men franchise without being named “Wolverine.” As a result, not only is Sooraya Qadir not phased by a space alien girl screaming about eating people, she quickly proves to be the uninvited MVP of the Champions’ entire mission! Not even nigh-invulnerable space women can endure a literal sandstorm in their faces from point blank range for very long!
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Kaldera may not be a demon like Mephisto, but she does have a forked tail. And in dealing with her, Sam winds up making a devil’s bargain of his own. While she is eager to regain her honor by killing Sam in ritual combat, Kaldera cannot regain it so long as he lacks Nova power. Upon hearing that the Nova Corps reclaimed Sam’s helmet (which he wasn’t supposed to have in the first place), Kaldera vows to help restore his powers — only so he can die in “fair” combat against her!
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Tears in the Sun!
None of Sam’s team believe this is a good idea, and rightly so. Even Dust can see that Kaldera is a lunatic. Yet he sees it as killing two birds with one stone. It allows Sam to regain his old powers without the “embarrassment” of asking his pals like Riri or Nova Prime for help. In addition, it keeps Kaldera away from New York in general (and Earth overall), therefore protecting his home from her wrath. Yet is it a quest Sam can survive? And how will Kamala feel about losing another ally?
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And yes, those last two words were not hyperbole. Kamala asks Miles to come clean in Dubai about what’s eating at him, and he doesn’t hold back. Miles reveals that she and Viv had “died” fighting Zzzax; they were unprepared and undermanned for a fight against a monster that’s challenged the Hulk. When offered a choice between burying his two pals — especially so soon after losing a classmate to random gun violence — or accepting a “do-over” from Mephisto, Miles took it!
Image by Marvel Comics
As bad enough as it was to accept a deal from a devil, the aftermath has been even worse. Without intending too, Miles trades Kamala’s life for Faridah in this do-over. He even met her mother last issue, and has been mourning at her street-side shrine. Mephisto didn’t claim his soul as a price, which means Miles is stuck with guilt and remorse which is all his own. This nearly breaks Kamala’s heart, so the most he can do is encourage her to continue the Champions so this sacrifice won’t be in vain, as he swings off into the night. But wait…how is he swinging home from Dubai!?
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“The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions.”
In the land down under (which isn’t Australia), Mephisto is engaging in his favorite father/son activity. He is watching Miles’ torment while his son Blackheart is bound to a pillar in torment. As Mephisto explains, this was more of an investment than a standard soul-swap. As part of his game of tormenting Spider-Men, he has planted the seeds of doubt and corruption in Miles’ young heart. Now Mephisto can relish Miles tormenting himself with his own guilt, and still attempt to claim his soul later on. Even worse, it seems like Blackheart will be next to step up!
Image by Marvel Comics
Quite where Zeb Wells is going is still a mystery, and that’s not a bad thing. In most of his arcs at the end of the previous volume, he was caught up in some acceptable yet predictable superhero adventures. This time around, he is focusing on some deeper themes like morality, sacrifice, and unintended consequences. It also is showcasing Mephisto as a being capable of playing a long game, rather than endlessly losing to Ghost Rider or even Iron Fist.
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Ms. Marvel had the best of intentions with expanding the team, yet it was in part due to that which led to the tragedy in Dubai. The entire team may have had a better chance against Zzzax, not a third of them. And Miles did what Johnny Blaze or even Peter Parker did; made a bad deal for the right reasons. Mephisto wasn’t even responsible for Faridah’s death; Miles’ own overcompensation to make sure Kamala and Viv didn’t die (again) caused him to neglect saving her.
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At Least Nobody Bit the Dust!
Drastically expanding the cast from the “core” 6-8 members may still be a mistake, but it is easier to see Wells moving some of those pieces around now. It appears like both Miles and Sam will be going on sabbaticals, away from the main action at least briefly. And it also looks like Dust, one of many spare X-Men floating around between reboots and crossovers, may have found a place to stay. Not only is she replacing either Sam or Miles, but she’s also replacing “teen Cyclops” from Waid’s run. If so, it would be great to see some other younger X-Men branch out and not be canon fodder.
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There are a few blemishes on the issue, although none are quite deal breakers. Brawn and the rest of the Champions seem to allow Kaldera to go free and escape with a powerless Sam almost too easily; Brawn literally releases her from custody! As melodramatic as Miles quitting the team was, it does bare the question of how he’s getting home without Portal. And learning that one of her best friends accidentally traded an innocent life for hers via a deal with the devil is the sort of trauma which really should be followed up upon in Magnificent Ms. Marvel too, but likely won’t. The whole anti-mutant rally plot is also dropped like a hot potato, never to return again.
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There Is a Direction…But to Where?
Steven Cummings gets to do a little bit of everything in this issue. There’s a lot of action with Kaldera taking on the Champions, and some emotional gut-wrenching stuff between Kamala and Miles. There are even some scenes in the underworld between Mephisto and Blackheart (whose design is way stranger than in the 1990s). He juggles all of the costumes of the cast well, making them look recognizable without bogging things down with details. He even gets to draw a robot dog!
Image by Marvel Comics
Next. The Heartbreak Begins in No. 3!. dark
While Cummings’ sketch of Sam as Nova in the editorial page may be a “tell” as to where the plot is going, Wells has mixed in some decent ideas with his relaunch. He’s arguably invested the most in Sam, trying to do more with him than have him be an awkward jerk or “the every man of the team” like Waid did. And the depth of Miles’ moral dilemma will bring out a lot of him. This isn’t a run about a struggle against villains so far, but a struggle within to make the right choices in impossible situations, and endure the ramifications. While it isn’t Marvel’s best team book, it at least has some sort of direction.