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Champions #10

Oct 2019
Jim Zubkavich, Steven Cummings

Champions #10 cover

Story Name:

The road ahead


Synopsis

Champions #10 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
Last issue Blackheart, son of Mephisto, stoked the negative emotions of the Champions members and took control of them. Only the original members Brawn (Amadeus Cho), Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Nova (Sam Alexander), Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Viv Vision have successfully resisted and now he's pitched the others (Bombshell, Dust, Falcon (Joaquin Torres), Ironheart, Patriot (Rayshaun Lucas), Pinpoint, Power Man (Victor Alvarez), Red Locust, Snowguard, Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne)) against them outside Viv's house.

In #8 Viv was attacked by a controlled Ironheart. Her consciousness was damaged and Viv 2.0, her previously-evil 'twin', took over. Now Viv 1.0 reawakens and 2.0 brings her up-to-date. 2.0 explains as she fights that she's willing to hand control back to 1.0. Force alone isn't going to allow the 5 to beat the 10. What's needed is 1.0's more passive abilities.

Spider-Man's webbing immediately incapacitates Pinpoint. Ms Marvel has seamlessly fallen back into the team leader role she abandoned in #6. She says the newer Champs aren't used to teamwork and she suggests her side keep swapping opponents to confuse them. Brawn and Nova combine to bring down Power Man. But Ironheart has developed a weapon to disrupt Viv's phasing ability and now has the synthezoid at her mercy. But this is when 1.0 apologises for trying to kiss Riri Williams (in the last issue of the previous series). It was this action that Blackheart had blown up out of proportion, but now Riri throws of his influence and rejoins the side of good.

Ironheart generates a very bright flash of light followed by ultrasonics which stop all the fighting. Blackheart tries to regain control by stoking her hatred again. Spidey tells him to stop but Blackie wants revenge for his previous defeat by the boy (#1-2 of Miles' 2016 Spider-Man series). He manages to latch on to Brawn's anger at SM making a deal with Mephisto (#2) and Ms Marvel's disappointment when Miles quit the team (#4). But Nova and Viv still stand by him against all the others.

The villain keeps playing on their doubts and fears but Miles realises the way to combat that. He removes his mask so they can all see his face. He admits that the deal with Mephisto cost the life of an innocent girl, but he accepts the guilt and will live with it. Kamala wavers but it is Ironheart who strikes at Blackheart. And then suddenly *all* the Champions are free to fight him.

As he lies beaten Mephisto arrives to drag him back to Hell. The devil had begun a long slow campaign to break the Champions' spirits but now his impetuous son has thrown it all away. But before he leaves Mephisto advises them that all their struggles will be in vain and eventually despair will wear them down.

Various people hug and make up. Ms Marvel gives them all a stirring speech about facing the future together. (But that can't disguise the fact that this series is now cancelled.)


 

Review / Commentaries


Champions #10 Review by (October 13, 2019)
This is the last issue but we are promised the team will feature somewhere in 2020, seemingly starting in the upcoming Incoming 1-shot.
I don't know if the choice of who to include in this issue's cover is meant to suggest who will still be on the team next year. The 5 originals are there as are early recruits Ironheart and Snowguard plus Dust, Locust, Patriot and Power Man. Missing are Bombshell, Falcon, Pinpoint and surprisingly Wasp. The team list on the splash page agrees with this except Wasp is in and Patriot is out.

Meanwhile Ms Marvel and Spider-Man continue in their own series. Wasp lost her 2nd series recently, and Ironheart has only 1 issue left to go. Brawn is currently a member of the New Agents Of Atlas but their 2nd mini-series (after their War Of The Realms tie-in mini) will be over soon too. Nova is currently without a series.
No-one else has had their own series or is currently a regular anywhere else, but Power Man *did* co-star in the 2011 PM & Iron Fist series. Bombshell, Dust, Falcon and Patriot had Marvel lives before joining the Champions but Locust, Pinpoint and Snowguard were invented for this team.

Meanwhile again nothing has been done with the subplot that Sparky the synthezoid dog has been taken over by Ultron (who is currently harassing Iron Man).



> Champions comic book info and issue index

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Steven Cummings
Steven Cummings
Marcio Menyz
Kim Jacinto (Cover Penciler)
Kim Jacinto (Cover Inker)
Rain Beredo (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Clayton Cowles.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Falcon
Falcon

(Joaquin Torres)
Ironheart
Ironheart

(Riri Williams)
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel

(Kamala Khan)
Nova
Nova

(Sam Alexander)
Snowguard
Snowguard

(Amka Aliyak)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Miles Morales)
Wasp
Wasp

(Nadia Pym)
Plus: Blackheart (Black King), Bombshell, Brawn (Amadeus Cho), Dust (Sooriya Qadir), Locust (Fernanda Rodriguez), Patriot (Shaun Lucas), Pinpoint, Power Man (Victor Hernan Alvarez).

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