Review: Champions #3

You know when you read someone is attached to something and immediately get super excited? I mean childlike enthusiam to the point that you’re tripping over yourself to read it? That’s how I felt about this issue of Marvel’s Champions upon finding out that Jim Zub was the writer behind it. If youÂ don’t know his work from Thunderbolts or Wayward, I highly suggest looking into it.

The art by Marcio Menyz with assistance from Frederico Blee is quite lovely. All our characters that we’ve come to know have grown in their own specific looks and some of the redesigns as well as elaboration on current character work is quite lovely and the letters by VC’s Clayton Cowle are always something I appreciate. I believe I’ve said this before but…he’s one of my favorites within the industry. I really think his work with font and text is so underappreciated.

The team finds itself trying to recover after a major event that has left a rather large mark on previous front runners of the team. It seems that, while most of the focus centers on Sam Alexander struggling to find his place on the team sans his helmet and help from the Hivemind but my real concern here is the deal that Miles Morales has made with Mephisto and how much it seems to be affecting him. Miles has always been something of a voice of reason most times and a rather personable character, so seeing him so utterly different from how he might be normally is a bit discerning.

Couple this with looming tensions in the outside world regarding mutants and confrontation between Dusk and some very bigoted protestors outside of Worthington Industry, and we’re left with a slowly building climb to the apex of the story; one that one of our heroes seems to be completely and utterly missing for. Maybe part of that is due to guilt, or the need to understand what exactly might be going on but it leaves the Champions down a few important players when Sam’s past comes back to haunt him in the flesh.

I’m not sure if the second bit is intentional but I have a feeling it might be. Especially since a big fight seems to be on the horizon for everyone still left behind. I’d assume that this will either bring the newer squad together or further tear them apart. Especially when considering that training earlier that day had been met with a few hiccups. Distractions. Either way, I suggest checking out what the future holds for this 3.5 out of 5 title. Especially since a lot of the writing for favorites here seems to widely differ from how they’d previously been written.

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(W) Jim Zub (A) Steven Cummings (CA) Aaron Kim Jacinto