Champions, Vol. 3: Champion for a Day

Champions (2016) (Collected Editions)

by Mark Waid, Humberto Ramos (Illustrator), Jeremy Whitley (Text)

Following the staggering loss suffered in their adventure with the Avengers, the Champions decide to double down on their mission to make the world a better place — and that means it's time for a membership drive! Some of the best and brightest young superhumans in the Marvel Universe — including Red Locust — turn up to be Champions for a day! But who will make the grade as the new order changeth? And how long will they last when — following a series of tragic setbacks and shakeups — the disillusioned Champions begin to consider giving up the fight after all? Plus: As monsters are unleashed on Earth, a peaceful protest in an endangered habitat leads the team into a showdown with the Freelancers — not to mention giant Leviathons falling from the sky!

COLLETING: CHAMPIONS 16-18 and 1.MU

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult, Comic Book

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2018

About the author

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amidst the backdrop of a membership drive, the two Vivs hash things out. The membership drive is honestly just a waste of space in these 3 issues, The Vivs story and the moments with Cyclops and Ms. Marvel are where the book shines.

This is a bit of a cash grab as it's only 3 issues plus a Monsters Unleashed tie in that could already be found in Monsters Unleashed! Battleground.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]

Disclaimer: I’m not really sure what issues are in this. The solicitation claims #16-21, which would be weird because that’d be half one creative team and half another, and the solicitation for volume 4 covers #19-24, so this is kind of a review of #16-18, at least until I’m sure exactly what’s in it.

After their team-up with the Avengers and the battle against the High Evolutionary, the Champions are holding a recruitment drive to flesh out their ranks after losing a valuable team member. But is the world ready for the All-New All-Different Champions? And then, Viv Vision’s having an identity crisis – there’s literally two of her! But when both her clone and her father, Vision, begin acting strangely, can the Champions get there in time before the world loses yet another member of the Vision family (curse you, Tom King!)?

On the one hand, I’m glad to see all of the characters that attempt to join the Champions in their first arc here. On the other, the fact that none of them are regularly in any other Marvel book is a little depressing. The likes of Patriot, Red Locust (?), the Unstoppable Wasp, Spider-Gwen, and Ironheart are all welcome additions to the team for a few issues, but things do get a little crowded on an already crowded team. Having the main characters teaming up with kids their age after the Avengers last time around is a welcome change though.

The Vision story is the highlight of this volume, easily. Putting the spotlight on Viv and what remains of her family is a nice way to humanize her (no pun intended) and she’s definitely the character that’s progressed the most under Waid’s pen. The story does conclude a little quickly with some hand-wavey Wasp science, but it’s got a lot of heart (again, no pun intended) and it’s very transformative for Viv (okay, that one was intentional). Vision’s relationship with the Champions always reminds me of Red Tornado with Young Justice, and not just because he’s a robot, so it’s great to have a story that brings him to the fore, especially since he doesn’t have a solo series or a role in any of the Avengers series right now.

Humberto Ramos finishes his run on Champions alongside Mark Waid, and an unbroken run of 21 issues in this modern age of double shipping and rotating art teams is nothing to sniff at. Ramos’s art hasn’t changed in years, so he’s firmly in the ‘if you like him, you’ll like anything he does, but if you don’t, you won’t’ camp of artists.

Mark Waid’s Champions run has been a bit up and down, and it’s taken this past year to really hit its stride, so of course it’s now coming to an end. These final issues dig deeper into certain characters, while a parade of guest stars highlight why the original team work so well together. The art’s as good (or bad, depending on your point of view) as always, and it’s almost a shame that this is the final arc. I say almost, because Jim Zub’s current run is infinitely better already, but we’ll get to that.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heart of Waid's Champions finale is a membership drive. And, there's pretty much nothing there. Oh, it's great to see a gathering of the youngest generation of young Marvel-ites, but there's no depth to the Champions flying up to a young hero, asking them to join, and the young hero saying yes. Again and again. I'm not even sure who all's in the team at the end.

Fortunately, that's a backdrop to the story of the two Vivs, and that's much stronger as she/they figure out what to do about the state of their lives at the end of the evolutionary storyline. (I've always loved Viv, and I think Waid did well to put her so much at the center of his final storylines.)

Is this all a good story? I'm not sure. It's kind of shallow, but it was also enjoyable, so good, I guess.

(There's also a "Monsters Unleashed" story that ends this volume, and is not by Waid, and is pretty awful. It's fighting and then other pointless fighting and then a non-conclusion.)

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the crossovers are over, we finally get back to the Champions only to say goodbye...
This is yet another series ruined by the never ending need to tie everything together in spite of what the story was about.
Long time ago I read that Mark Waid grew really upset by the constant bothering of company events. I get exactly what he meant. The focus of the book got lost for so long that it got a moment when it was impossible to regain an audience that simply lost the flavor of the book.
All in all, I think Mark got the chance to tell Viv's story, which was something that was building since the very inception of the title. It was beautiful. And he also got the chance to explore Scott outside of the X-Men which was such a delight.
Humberto Ramos did also a magnificent job. He and Waid are a match made in heaven, that's all I can say.
While the series does continue, I already checked the first issue of the "new direction" and it became a generic book right away.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was a really short volume with only 4 issues. The first 3 deal with Viv which carries over from the previous volume. This was a great idea for a story that I thought could have easily filled a 5-6 issue volume but they wrap it up super fast in just 3 issues. Feel like it was a wasted opportunity. The final issue was a tie in with Monsters Unleashed which I haven’t read. Man, this Champions run has been abused to hell by tie ins. Gee wilikers Batman. Basic issue having the team go to stop the Freelancers but end up having to team up to stop some monsters.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CHAMPIONS is one of those series that I really enjoy but I also always have caveats about. Ms. Marvel's team should have been named the New Warriors for example and they're really always a very "blink and miss it" story with only a few decompressed arcs. Here is one of the few stories that has room to breathe with Viv Vision having been turned into a human being and then her father building another android child. This is destined to be reversed but I actually really liked how horrified Viv was to be turned into a human. We also get Red Locust who reminds me a bit of the Grasshopper, except they're not randomly killing her.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivvvvvvvvvvvv

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Champions Vol. 3 as single issues through the Marvel Unlimited app.

Before I get started on this review, I just wanted to say that I’m missing a few things between this volume and the last one, and I know it. I’m assuming everything I missed happened in Secret Empire or one of those event plots; I just wasn’t in the mood to try and track it down at the moment. So yeah, spoilers ahead for me. I know, and I’m okay with that.
What I do know for certain is that the Champions teamed up with the Avengers again. That usually doesn’t bode well, especially for the younger members in any team. There’s always some sort of cost to these team-ups. And it looks like this one was no exception.
The Champions team as it stands at the start of this volume (since it seems to always be changing): Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Kid Nova, The Totally Awesome Hulk, Viv Vision, and Cyclops (the kid version).



There is a lot of stuff crammed into this one volume. Though admittedly a lot of it is focused on Viv and what has happened to her. It’s an interesting read from start to finish though, so I’d suggest giving it a try.
First I just want to say that Vision is cold blooded. I mean, seriously? Replacing his (supposedly) dead daughter like that? And then being unhappy about ‘getting stuck’ with two of them instead of just the one? Yeah, that’s brutal. No wonder Viv is having so much trouble here.
Well, actually there’s more than one reason Viv is having trouble, but I don’t want to spoil it all for you. I will say that it was an incredibly interesting plot. I wouldn’t have minded reading more about it actually, truth be told. It almost made me wish she’d have her own series.
Because of all the changes going on though, the team decided that they needed to add a few new members. This had me raising my eyebrows, because I’m pretty sure they don’t have the funding or the space for more people, but hey, what do I know?
I will say that I’m happy with the people they pulled into the team, so I can’t complain about that. They picked Ironheart (totally saw that coming), Falcon (the young one, not Sam Wilson), Red Locust (I knew they were going to add her to the team! Or that she’d add herself…), Patriot (more muscle), and finally Wasp (I think she might have been an honorary member before this. It sort of feels like it anyway).
They also lose a member of the team, but thankfully not to fatality. I won’t say who it is, other than to note that I’ll be curious to see the impact of it in later plots. I think it’ll be okay, since they’re not one of the original four…but you never know. Regardless I’m looking forward to reading the next volume. Though I should probably go and track down what I missed before that…


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only a couple of issues actually collected here. Plus, I guess I missed a whole bunch between Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 (used to be you could just request volumes in numerical order from the library), like a Champions/Avengers crossover? Speaking of crossovers, it seems like this book never really found its footing as its story was constantly interrupted by Marvel-wide company crossovers, and that's a shame, because I think it was going for something a bit different that never really materialized. Still strong art from Humberto Ramos (less so for the art team behind #1.MU).

[Abigail Pankau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viv is trying to deal with being human now, and the Champions are recruiting others into the group. Very short storyline, but fun. And then there is a single-issue against the Freelancers from the “Monsters Unleashed” series.

It’s really fun to watch the group dynamics. They finally feel like a team. I think I liked this one the most so far in the series.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It's nice that this got back to what made the first volume so enjoyable - smaller, more personal stories. Unfortunately, this also ends the run of the original creative team.

[nati · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Membership drive.

Good color artwork. Going up against the free lancers quite often. Visions family life is a disaster. One team member quits.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole flesh/android Viv saga was pretty interesting. The rest was a little hit-and-miss. I always love Ramos's art, though!

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains a good arc but I always feel like I'm missing a chapter, like there's a whole other novel between chapters.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a major chronology screw-up in this volume--M.U. #1 comes before issue #6, which explains why Cyclops is back after he leaves to rejoin the X-Men in his own time period (The X-Men #1, owing to the floating timeline, "really" occurred closer to 1993 than 1963 when it was published) which explains why the Champions don't recognize the Freelancers, whom they encountered back in issue #6. The issue feels almost like dead weight after the three issues that precede it, the entire creative team's finale on the run, and Marvel was courteous enough to include their sign-offs. Unless you buy their $150 hardcover omnibuses, which are pretty unwieldy if you can't put them on a lectern like an unabridged dictionary, you don't get what is usually the letters page. This makes Whitley seem inadequate to Waid, but it's probably not his fault, given that the reader is going to be automatically disoriented under the circumstances.

After Worlds Collide, we were left with two Vivians--one made human by the High Evolutionary, the other a duplicate created by the Vision in order to be a sort of replacement for the daughter he lost, which turns out to be a major failure. As I mentioned, Cyclops returns to his own timeline (not really a spoiler, since we knew it would have to happen eventually). Kids who previously encountered the team return as part of a membership drive with Viv depowered.

The Visions seemed to spend a lot of time at home barefoot in Tom King's series, but with Vision taking the girls out and Viv getting hurt so easily, it seems a bit strange that she was so ill-prepared for the possibility of fleeing from the house under the circumstances. But maybe only a podophobe like me would notice such a detail.

While the sibling situation ends almost as soon as it begins, Viv deals with it in an honorable way Vision has an inability to handle (for a detailed summary I wrote, see here: https://www.goodreads.com/characters/...).

Some of the humor is a bit cheap, like Nadia's laughing at Vision because a computer virus causes him to sneeze, but a story like this definitely needed comic relief because it's pretty intense. There's no comedy at all in Viv's story, so Waid needed to fill it in other places, such as scenes of Vision and Nadia, and of the Champions coping with the loss of Viv as their teammate, even though, as Cyclops and Ms. Marvel realize in the coda, the Champions as a team wasn't supposed to be focused on fighting supervillains, although that's what they ended up primarily doing as of late.

Overall, Waid had a fine run on the series, but the run is so short, that the whole thing in one volume with MU in the right place would have been better, but I guess Marvel wants to get trade editions out to people who don't like single issues faster than the year and a half it would take to wait it out. I'm not sure if the creative team knew that they would be leaving the book that early, as it is.

I've read a lot of complaints online about Marvel having gone right-wing--not in this series or in Ms. Marvel, I can say that much.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief Volume really only deals with two topics: New Members and the Two Vivs.
NM: With Viv Vision being downgraded to human from synthezoid (and the fact that Cyclops has to leave to go back and finish his adventures with the X-Men before heading back to the past), the Champions decide they need new members. Vision built a Viv 2.0 when he thought Viv was killed, but she's not ready to join the team. Helping other heroes with what they have going on, they are able to recruit Falcon (not Sam Wilson, who has reclaimed that title since Steve Rogers has returned as Captain America, but Joaquin Torres, who has a bird mutation), Patriot, Red Locust, and Ironheart. The new members should change the dynamic of the book a bit, and allow for some new kinds of stories, and probably very diverse.
2V: With both a human Viv and a Viv 2.0, Vision is divided as a father. Seeking out Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne) for advice, he tries to allow both girls to exist, hoping they become like sisters. Unfortunately, Viv 2.0 has picked up a virus and turns on Viv, wanting to kill her. Using her knowledge from being a synthezoid her whole life until recently, Viv is able to predict her movements and she fatally injures 2.0. Viv 2.0 is pronounced "brain dead" and her body has repaired quickly. When Viv is able to see how Vision was trying to keep "his daughter" alive, she makes a sacrifice and implants her consciousness into the 2.0 body. She rejoins the team, basically having almost nothing happen overall. (Really wish they would have left her human for a while. Could have explored a sort of Barbara Gordon/Oracle type story, doing info and tech recon for the Champions.)
A short Volume but with a lot of heart and a lot of changes. I will definitely continue reading this title. Recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again... this comic series isn't nearly as much fun as I'd hoped when I picked it up. However... that doesn't mean it isn't good. It's thought-provoking, and the characters still feel fun, even if the stories they're in are quite serious. I enjoyed getting to know Viv Vision a little more (though that subplot with her "twin" was kind of weird....), and I'm kind of bummed that Young Cyclops is seemingly going to leave the group. He was my favorite part (reminding me of Damian Wayne in some aspects, my second-favorite Robin). Still, I also enjoyed the whole "recruitment" side of this graphic novel, getting a chance to meet some of Marvel's other young heroes. I don't have the investment here as I do with DC, but that doesn't mean these new ideas (characters) aren't also interesting and entertaining. One thing I've noticed with this series, however, is that a lot of the stories tend to tie into much larger events. There's nothing wrong with that; in fact, that's part of the magic of comics. But it does make it harder to enjoy just one series for what it is, especially if you have little interest in venturing too far out in the larger universe. Still, a solid and quick read, and one that definitely has something to offer any comic fan.

[MatiBracchitta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con este volumen se termina la época de Waid y Ramos en Champions. El final fue bueno y pertinente, con una historia que parece cerrar el arco de Ciclope con el grupo y resuelve los problemas planteados con Viv Vision.
Sin embargo, tengo que decir que esperaba muchísimo más de esta dupla de creadores que parecía una apuesta muy fuerte e interesante a este título. La incorporación de los nuevos miembros promete una bocanada de aire fresco, pero que por ahora no parecía ser necesaria sino todo lo contrario.
A mi entender, este periodo careció de una profundización en el grupo en sí. Cuando parecía que se iba a trabajar sobre eso, los eventos (Sobre todo el de Secret Empire) movieron el foco hacía la relación con los Avengers, un tema que tampoco terminó siendo correctamente desarrollado.
No conozco a Jim Zub y Sean Izaakse, quienes se harán cargo de la serie a partir del próximo número, pero espero que continúen con lo hecho por Waid en los primeros números y se enfoquen en los temas sociales y la dinámica grupal, en vez de desviarse e ir a historias genéricas más similares a esta última etapa.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book deals with a Viv story that would not be at all out of place in Tom King's phenomenal work of android suburbia The Vision. It is a creepy, beautifully done exploration of identity. After that, the book lightens up into more of what readers are used to from the Champions. Ms. Marvel gets to fight a giant lizard monster and make Gorn jokes. Cyclops cuts loose a bit.

This is a great team book from a wonderful writer. I highly recommend it.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird end to Waid's run.

The Viv Vision story turns into a pretty standard horror story and wraps itself up too soon. Then the Champions go on a recruiting tour and add some characters that are not especially well established.

I feel like that "I'm assembling a team" bit is usually left to the next writer. And that the "Champions" theme is kind of all-start teen heroes: guys who get their own solo books. A good writer can make the newish characters strong, but it doesn't fill me with a lot of excitement.

At the end, he says he loves Cyclops, which makes him . . . unique. But, yeah, now you can see it!

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

End of an arc...or end of ideas?

All the possible teammates are here. Got to send off this creative team with a bang, I guess. Viv got an upgrade to humanity in a separate issue, so a little explanation is given. Nice to see the end of the young Cyclops storyline. Such a tightly wound character admitting that this is the only team he's able to relax around...super cute.

The other candidates for Champions have always seemed forced, but it could just be me. It felt like this was an extended trial run for several concepts and characters.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Viv story is just weird and feels really pointless since it gets wrapped up really quickly. The idea of adding new members is good and I do like that they added Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur but I am not sure about doubling the teams size as when the team gets to large it can be hard to make sure all characters gets equal amount of screen time. Also I do like that they are fighting the Free lancers again granted it does get interrupted by the giant monsters for their tie in with the Monsters Unleashed event.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of the low rating is that I already read all this in Worlds Collide. The other part is that this as a whole doesn't have much going on except for the Viv stuff. There are little moments with Marvel and Cyclops, but they come out of nowhere, and we don't get enough from Slim to make them work all THAT well.

The Monsters Unleashed thing is a fun bit of action in a book that's otherwise devoid of it, and sees the Champions doing their thing after a bunch of introspection. It's superfluous, but fun fluff.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of Mark Waid's Champions run. Following up on Worlds Collide, there are two Viv Visions; the human one and the newly rebuilt synthezoid one. And there may not be enough room for them both. And the Champions go on a recruitment drive, which doesn't actually amount to anything in this volume.

Also included is the Champions Monsters Unleashed crossover. A perfectly good supervillain fight gets interrupted by giant monsters from space.

The characterization is good. The art is good. Minus one star for only having three regular series issues.

[Charlie Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love all these characters, I wish I could read a team up comic like Avengers or Champions without feeling like I have no idea going on because I haven't read all the backstory. This did feel more connected than their last volume, though, and I did enjoy Viv's storyline even if I had no idea how she got there.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waid's Champions run ends on a higher note, but unfortunately is collected with a mediocre Monsters Unleashed one-shot - which REALLY should've been collected with Vol. 2 of Champions, because that's where it lands chronologically. As a result, the Freelancers pop up out of nowhere in Vol. 2 (and everyone knows them), but make their debut only in Vol. 3. Eye roll.

[Allysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another solid volume of this series. I wish there was more of the Viv storyline because I found it so interesting. I liked the membership drive but also wish there was more about each new member. I’m interested in seeing how the loss of an original member will affect the rest of the team. Monsters unleashed was a nice intro.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still enjoying the Champions. Indeed, I like it more than a lot of other currently running Marvel series.. with the exception of Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel - both of which are on the Champions team, so that should tell you something.

[Matthew Ledrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this group in premise but really dislike Mark Waid's writing on it. It's a "young people group" as written by someone nearing 60 and it just... it doesn't work. It feels pandering and buzz-wordy.