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New Champions is an American superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics that follows the team of the same name. It is written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Ivan Fiorelli.

Publication history

Following Spider-Boy's success in headlining his comic series, Marvel Comics tasked its artist with creating more "sidekicks" for a variant cover program. This lineup of covers was announced under "New Champions Variant Covers" on 12 July 2023. In October 2023, these covers were released for their respective titles and teased younger counterparts of superheroes, including the cast of New Champions. In Timeless, vol. 3 #1 (2023), many of these characters had debuted in cameo appearance and were teased to join Earth-616 continuity.

In July 2024, Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski presented promotional art for the comic series during San Diego Comic-Con. New Champions series was officially announced on 17 September 2024, to be written by Steve Foxe and illustrated by Ivan Fiorelli. In December 2024, Steve Foxe revealed that the series will be full of guest and recurring cast but these "core four" characters will remain centrally: Cadet Marvel, Hellrune, Liberty and Moon Squire. Foxe had written these four characters in Spider-Woman, vol. 8 #7. He also stated that New Champions team will not be replacing Champions and teased the latter's appearance in the issue #3.

The publication of New Champions began in January 2025.

Plot

New Champions consisting of Cadet Marvel, Hellrune, Liberty and Moon Squire, showed up at the place where the Brothers Grimm were stealing. They defeated the brothers before Hellrune teleported them to their homes. Hellrune was trying to find any of her biological relatives using magic, leading her to an island in Norway, which turned out to be trap. New Champions were also teleported there after Hellrune summoned them as zombie Vikings started emerging. The team encountered Fantasma and reunited with Hellrune before watching many other superheroes (Amaranth Hawlut, Coal Tiger, Hulkette, Kid Juggernaut, Monte, Nightshade and Spider-Boy) fighting zombie Trolls. New Champions realised that they along with Fantasma were accidentally summoned by Hellrune.

Main characters

• Cadet Marvel (Emilio)
• Hellrune
• Liberty (Miranda Monteiro)
• Moon Squire (Jaren)

Critical reception

David Brooke of AIPT, opined that New Champions #1 succeeded at introducing of a new team while balancing their personal life with the challenges of heroism, and that fans of teenage superheroes or character-driven narratives would enjoy the issue. He also commented that the action and pacing of story could use refinement as "dialogue-heavy sections slowed the pacing and overshadowed character development".

Collected editions

References

1. Watts, Ethan (October 15, 2024). "NEW CHAMPIONS - Full Roster & Powers of Marvel's New Hero Team Explained". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
2. Schlesinger, Alex (December 28, 2023). "It's Official: Marvel's Shocking Team of Avenger Sidekicks Are Actually Joining Its Universe". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
3. Johnston, Rich (September 17, 2024). "Marvel's New Champions by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli for 2025". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
4. Fang, Sam (September 18, 2024). "Marvel Assembles a New Generation of Heroes". CBR. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
5. ^ Watts, Ethan (December 3, 2024). "Marvel Ushers In a New Generation With Help From the "Core Four" Heroes". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
6. Ezekwe, Nnamdi (January 3, 2025). "New Champions Series to Address Naming Controversy". CBR. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
7. ^ Brooke, David (January 8, 2025). "'New Champions' #1 is a good start for fans of teen heroes". AIPT. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
8. Aguilar, Matthew (January 8, 2024). "Comic Book Reviews for This Week: 1/8/2025". Comicbook. Retrieved January 9, 2025.

• Marvel Comics titles
• 2025 comics debuts
• Superhero comics