Writer: Jim Zub
Artists: Emilio Laiso
Cover Artist: Clayton Crain
Variant Cover: Mike Deodato Jr & Rain Beredo
Colors: Andy Troy
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Infinity Countdown: Champions #1 cover by Clayton Crain
Last Issue
Marvel’s premiere teen-superteam launches into space as a young Nova Sam Alexander receives a distress call from his fellow Novas, and he alongside his friends the Champions fly into space to find out what happened to Sam’s fellow Novas…
Summary with limited spoilers
Picking up a short while after the events of the previous Champions arc (issues #19-21) and the end of Spider-Man #240, we find Nova, aka Sam Alexander, tucked in bed trying to sleep when his helmet (and the source of his powers) receives a distress signal from Sam’s fellow Nova corpsmen in space, as they’re under attack by Chitauri warlord – Warbringer!! Feeling personally responsible for Warbringer’s actions (having faced him in both his original solo series & All-New All-Different Avengers), Sam takes off into the night, vowing to find and stop Warbringer’s latest attack. Before departing his home, Sam’s mother recommends he tell his teammates the Champions, and after calling Viv Vision, the group then assembles to aid Sam. After making their way into space, they find the attacked Nova base, and discover it’s been decimated and there seems to be no survivors. Ironheart tracks the energy-trail of Warbringer’s weapon, leading the team to him bringing on a confrontation between Warbringer and Sam and an unexpected presence on Chitauri-Prime below…
Opinions on story and art
Jim Zub is on a roll with this new run on Champions! After a wonderful first arc, he begins a tale tying into the Marvel crossover event “Infinity Countdown” that puts the spotlight on Sam, doing so very effectively! Between the cancellation of his last two solo titles and the previous run of the Champions, Sam hasn’t had a whole lot of attention given to him lately and as a fan of the fifteen-year-old Arizonian, it’s nice to see him getting some focus! Now while I can understand some nervousness around picking this comic up as it is branded as a tie-in to a crossover event, I can say that no prior knowledge of the event is really required to fully understand what’s going on in this comic, something I always appreciate and look for in event tie-ins! My one big issue with this story is the involvement of Warbringer, as he was last seen thrown through time at the end of the first arc of All-New All-Different Avengers. So how he’s somehow back in the present is a question left unanswered here. However this is something introduced in the main event, so I’m not holding this tie-in accountable for that and this writer feels Zub makes better use of Warbringer than Gerry Duggan did in Infinity Countdown itself. The story within this tie-in is very enjoyable, allowing us to see Sam’s strengths (his concern for the Nova corps & unwillingness to put his friends in harm’s way) and weaknesses (his rash thinking and inability to fully accept the Champions’ help fighting Warbringer) as a character quite effectively! This story is a very effective character-piece for a hero recently lacking in that department. The art by Emilio Laiso is equally effective, showing a wide-range of expressive faces & the Champions all look very distinct! Colorist Andy Troy conveys the space-based elements of the story quite well, such as the lumance-quality of Sam’s helmet & powers, and gives the team members distinctive skin tones…something I always appreciate!
Ian Cameron
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