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Champions #7: Review

May 2021
Danny Lore, Luciano Vecchio

Story Name:

Killer app part 2

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Champions #7 Review by (May 22, 2021)
#5 ended with Miles and Sam being welcomed by Miriam Blakemoore as Roxxon's 2 new interns. So it seems that *was* a flashforward, but I'm not sure we've got to a place yet where it *exactly* fits.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Champions #7 Synopsis by Rob Johnson
The Champions have got Kamala's Law temporarily paused, but they are still officially illegal. Roxxon is no longer running the brainwashing Camps for super-teens but our gang are convinced they are up to *something* fishy with their new Roxx On app aimed at teens.

Ironheart, Ms. Marvel, Nova, Spider-Man and Viv Vision have got together to play Monster Island Attack on their phones/tablets. Their avatars (with very different powers from their own) are currently facing Fin Fang Foom. But Snowguard turns up in no mood to play. She attacks Nova because Sam Alexander posted about applying to become a Roxxon intern, after what she went through in the Camp and now Roxxon's hate campaign against her because she's been speaking out about them. Spidey says *he*'s going for an internship too, and Ms Marvel steps in to explain what are doing - which we see as a flashback.

Some days ago (possibly continuing directly from the end of last issue) MsM explains her cunning plan to infiltrate Roxxon. Riri Williams is skeptical (partly because she still hasn't forgiven MsM and the others for thinking she was a traitor). Kamala Khan thinks having secret ids would make them natural secret agents. Viv has discovered that Roxxon are looking for social media interns and she thinks she can design their applications to be the winners. Teens aren't given the level of security screening that adults are. And she's reluctantly let Kamala persuade her to 'doctor' other people's CVs. Riri points out it can't be her because she's publicly known as Ironheart. She suggests that Kamala is the obvious choice - Roxxon would love to get the girl that Kamala's Law is named after. But she can't take it - Roxxon already gets too much publicity from *her*. It obviously can't be synthezoid Viv. So that leaves Miles Morales and Sam.

Later (presumably after the opening Snowguard scene) at Roxxon Miriam Blakemoore reveals to her assistant Paige Graeme that Kamala Khan *is* the person she'd really like to front Roxx On, but all her attempts at contact have been rebuffed. And the batch of intern applicants they've seen have been mostly pathetic and strangely at odds with the demographics of the users of their app (I'm not sure how Viv wangled all that). There are only 2 selected for a 2nd round of interviews (guess who?). But before we get that confirmed Miriam has a private word with André Sims who's doing something with the demographics extracted from the app - something to do with a predictive algorithm. (And I don't know what it's got to do with the giant robot he unveiled last issue.)

The 2 candidates who've been asked to wait *are* Miles and Sam. Miles is dressed casually but Sam's mom made him dress up for the interview. Both have got earpieces so Kamala can keep in touch with them. Miles gets called in to see Miriam ...

... and the next thing we know Miles is in and Sam is out. Then Nova overhears Miriam telling Paige he came across as boring and not cool like Miles. Kamala tries to reassure Sam but she's distracted when her mother enters her bedroom, and then Sam's not answering. So she checks in with Riri and Viv in Viv's bedroom where Vision keeps popping in to see if they want anything. They've been investigating the large security holes in Roxx On. It turns out they basically allow Roxxon to extract *all* the info from their users' accounts, but the duo can't tell where it's going yet.

After Kamala's gone they return to investigating a large number of bots infesting the app. But they take time out for Riri to tell Viv to stop apologising for everything, especially about having been the real traitor in the team (she thought it was for their own good). Riri still hasn't forgiven her but it will take time. (But it doesn't stop her from patting Viv's synthezoid dog Sparky.) Viv analysed what topics the bots were heavily promoting and found it didn't match up with the public list of most popular hashtags. So they ask Kamala to ask Miles to get hold of the real leaderboard.

Miles is being given a guided tour by Paige and he just happens to be walking past such a list which he snaps with his phone. (It does look to be different, with links to other things.) He also sees Miriam with an agent of CRADLE (the enforcement arm of Kamala's Law which has supposedly been stood down). Tour over, Spider-Man uses his Spider-Camouflage to overhear them discussing a protest meeting where a few CRADLE Agents will be seen to be valiantly trying to keep the mob in order. And Kamala tells him that Viv has traced the bots as stirring up the protest. And Snowguard and some of their other friends are there.

SG and Falcon (Joaquin Torres) have invited Bombshell to speak to the crowd. Lana Baumgartner talks about how she's still undergoing therapy to recover from what Roxxon put her through in the Camp. Then the active Champs arrive to warn them that Roxxon and CRADLE are about to attack and they should evacuate. But then some hooded figures start throwing bricks and Molotov Cocktails. CRADLE Agents break cover for 'crowd control'. Ms Marvel stretches to form a shield for the crowd. CRADLE shoot at her but Spidey stops the bullets with a web while Ironheart blasts open a fire hydrant to drench them. Viv controls local CCTV to show the peaceful crowd being menaced.

The CRADLE leader calls in more troops. Falcon airlifts Bombshell away. Nova tells Snowguard that Roxxon bots created this protest meeting, and then he tackles 1 of the hoodies to reveal Fizzle from #6. He also rescues a trapped girl Kenya Wilson and gives her a pep talk. The Champs round up the CRADLE Agents and disperse the crowd before the extra CRADLE troops get there.

Later Sam Alexander doorsteps Miriam Blakemoore. He's again in contact with Kamala in a coffeeshop. He tries to impress Ms Blakemoore enough to get him back in the internship program (where he can watch Miles' back). Miriam says the only way he's in is if he can get Roxxon a celebrity endorsement. On the spur of the moment Sam says he can get Kamala Khan. And Kamala chokes on her coffee.



Luciano Vecchio
Luciano Vecchio
Federico Blee
Toni Infante (Cover Penciler)
Toni Infante (Cover Inker)
Toni Infante (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Clayton Cowles.
Editor: Alanna Smith. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Falcon
Falcon

(Joaquin Torres)
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel

(Kamala Khan)
Nova
Nova

(Sam Alexander)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)

Plus: André Sims, Bombshell, Champions, Fizzle, Ironheart (Riri Williams), Miriam Blakemoore, Snowguard (Amka Aliyak).

> Champions: Book info and issue index

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