Taking Helm And Helmet With Champions #7
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Ms. Marvel has stepped down as leader of the Champions, and she’s retired from the team for the foreseeable future. This leaves Viv Vision as the only founding Champion left, and she’s having some internal troubles of her own. Meanwhile, Sam Alexander and Kaldera have arrived at the Spirit of Xandar, one of the headquarters for the Nova Corps. Sam and Kaldera are hoping to retrieve Sam’s Black Nova Helmet, but it won’t be easy. The Nova Corps will be protecting it, and Kaldera is still quite unstable, despite Sam’s attempts to make peace.
Champions #7 focuses on Sam Alexander’s quest to once again become a Nova with the help of the violent and unstable Kaldera as well as the continued fracturing of the Champions.
Given that the Nova comic has been canned for a while, it is nice to get a Sam Alexander-focused issue of Champions to help make up for the absence. Sam is a great character, even if Richard Rider will always be my #1 Nova.
Also, fear not, Scott Adsit does show up in this comic. Also, if you’ve been following Amazing Spider-Man since the relaunch, you will probably be able to call the big twist in this issue.
It is a fairly entertaining issue on the whole too, as Kaldera has that alien warrior brand of zero social grace. That makes for some funny dialogue, even if Kaldera gets a bit more violent later on in the issue.
Steve Cummings once again gives the Champions a spectacular art style in this issue. His work his highly detailed and expressive while flowing well from panel to panel. Marcio Menyz’s color art is vibrant and, at times, downright incredible.
Champions #7 is equal parts sad and entertaining as the team reshapes itself and its members try to pick up the pieces after recent disasters. Mix that with some awesome visual work from Cummings and Menyz, and you have a book worth recommending. Feel free to check it out.
Champions #7 comes to us from writer Jim Zub, artist Steven Cummings, color artist Marcio Menyz, letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles, and cover artist Kim Jacinto with Stéphane Paitreau.
Final Score: 7.5/10
