EARTH HEROES
vs.
ALIEN CHAMP

Instigator: Champion (Tryco Slatterus)

Purpose: Seeking a worthy opponent in battle

Participants: Champion, Colossus (Peter Rasputin), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski), Thing (Ben Grimm), Thor Odinson, Wonder Man (Simon Williams);
    Doc Samson (Leonard Samson) and Namor the Sub-Mariner was summoned to participate but eliminated prior to the event

Allies: Proja, and his associates; trainers (Colossus' trainer, Doc Samson's trainer, Hulk's trainer, Namor's trainer, Sasquatch's trainer, Thing's trainer, Thor's trainer, Wonder Man's trainer); unidentified alien agents, unidentified announcer, unidentified referee, unidentified whoever this guy is or that guy is;
    off-ring betting organizations;

Opposition: Cyclops (Scott Summers), Wolverine (James Howlett/Logan), Avengers (notably Captain America/Steve Rogers, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, She-Hulk/Jen Walters, Wasp/Janet Pym), Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Girl/Sue Richards, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards), and X-Men (additionally including Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner, Sprite/Kitty Pryde, Professor X/Charles Xavier, Storm/Ororo Munroe), as well as heroes of Earth in general, although they could do nothing effectively to get through the barrier;
    he participants -- with the exception of Champion himself -- only fought due to the Champions' threat to use his power to devastate Earth

Other attendees: Notably Alicia Masters

Location: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York

First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 (October, 1982)

History:
(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 (fb) - BTS) - The Elder of the Universe known as the Champion sent Proja to recruit Earth's most powerful warriors to challenge him in a boxing match. 

(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 - BTS) - Proja "recruited" -- teleporting them with or without their permission to the Champion's training sphere -- the Thing, Thor, Doc Samson, the Hulk, Colossus, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Sasquatch, and Wonder Man.
    The Vision (Victor Shade) was considered but rejected as his nature as an artificial man put outside of the Champion's class.

(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7) - Thor was the first challenger to be teleported from the training facility to the ring, with his Asgardian raiment transformed into boxing shorts, shoes/boots, and gloves (he retained his helmet).      As they could not banish his mystic hammer, Mjolnir, he carried it.      The Champion and Thor exchanged threats, but at the start of the fight, the Champion swiftly dodged Thor's first punch and delivered a punch to his face while noting his lack of speed and finesse.       No match for the Champion's combat skills, Thor struck back with Mjolnir and then hurled it at the Champion, who banished Mjolnir extradimensionally.      Mjolnir's enchantment either causes it to return or the Champion sensed this spell and willing returned him.      Nonetheless, Thor was disqualified for using foreign weaponry and teleported back to Chicago in his original garb.

.

The Hulk was the second to face the Champion.      Although he possessed Banner's mind, the collective stress of the event caused him to lose control, and the Hulk shredded his gloves and charged the Champion, shouting, "ARRGGH! Hulk hates puny alien! Hulk smash!"      Refusing to soil his gloves on a mindless brute, the Champion had him teleported away as well.

.

.

An experienced college athlete (although in football), the third challenger was Sasquatch -- who was even taller at 10' tall than the 9'2" Champion -- dodged the Champion's first blow, earning his praise.      Trying to fight strategically, Sasquatch slipped behind the Champion and picked him up by the mid-section, which disappointed Champion, who noted that the move was highly irregular and that the referee would surely break them up if he permitted it to continue. Knocking Sasquatch back with an elbow, Champion urged his opponent to defend himself as he subsequently punched him back into the ropes.      Having planned to play along until Champion had revealed his "real" reason for coming to Earth, Sasquatch leapt forward from the ropes and announced his plans to end this fiasco. However, his leap carried him directly into the path of the Champion's devastating left hook. The "thunderous blow crashed into Sasquatch with sufficient power to totally demolish a medium-sized mountain," and Sasquatch fell to the mat, knocked out in the first round.

The aliens working the betting parlors noted that there were new revised odds: 4000 to 1 against Earth. They urged haste as the next challenger had already entered the ring.      The fourth challenger was the steel mutant Colossus, was swiftly punched back into a corner, where the Champion rained blow after high-impact blow, relentlessly and mercilessly pounding away at him.       The referee stopped the fight, noting that Colossus could no longer defend himself.       As Colossus was carried away on a stretcher, the crowd roared, and the Thing remarked that the kids had "did 'imself proud," lasting almost a full round.

.

With only himself and the Thing left to fight, Wonder Man asked Ben what would happed to Earth if they also failed, but urged him to forget about that and to fight to win.      Out of his league, Wonder Man repeatedly battered, including being knocked across the ring into the force field. Realizing he could not take much more punishment like that and never having wanted to be a hero, he nonetheless heard the crowd begging him to get on his feet, and he forced his agonized form to his feet. However, he was disqualified when he tore up the floor and threatened to wrap it around the Champion.      Having been unable the penetrate the force field, the Avengers members spread out throughout the crowd so they might be able to confront the Champion given the chance.      During the five minute intermission while the ring's mat was repaired, the Champion informed Proja that this world was unworthy of their glorious gift -- the thrill and joy of true competition, and he feared that it might prove unworthy of continued existence.

.

The Thing entered the ring and advised the announcer to hurry it up, as he had a date with his girl later and that he would have a real fight on his hands if he was late. His optimism and attitude  inspired the crowd.      The Champion subsequently reappeared and noted that he sensed that he had chosen well as this last bout should at least fulfill his minimum standards for amusement. The Thing repeatedly replied to the Champions statements with jest.      After the two briefly circled the ring and gaged the other's abilities, the Champion slipped an "earth-shaking haymaker" under Ben's guard and knocked him across the ring into the force field. Although the Thing considered that nobody had ever hit him like that before and the Champion noted his disappointment, the Thing pulled himself to his feet and warned the Champion that this was his last chance to surrender. Repeated taunts led the Champion to rush him, and the Thing ducked under a potentially lethal punch and then caught him by surprise with a left hook. As the Champion rushed back, the first round ended.      As the second round progressed, the Thing tried to avoid another devastating punch, but the Champion penetrated his guard and delivered an uppercut that sent the Thing flying high into the air and into the force field. As he dropped down, the Thing tried to angle his fall to land on top of the Champion, who saw through his plot and easily sidestepped the assault. When the Thing tore through the mat, the referee prepared to award the Champion a TKO (Technical Knock-Out), but the Thing pulled himself back up into the ring, announcing, "I ain't even begun to fight!"      The mat was again repaired between rounds.      During the third round, the Champion noted that the Thing had outlasted every opponent he had ever faced, and he wondered how long the Thing's incredible endurance could sustain him. Replying that that had deserted him the previous round and that he was fighting on good looks and sheer personality alone, the Thing rushed forward and tackled the Champion. Although the referee called foul for grabbing about the waist, the Champion apparently allowed it, and the Thing marshaled his fading strength, unleashing a hail of mighty blows that forced the Champion back into the corner.      Nonetheless, the Champion noted that he had never before known such joy, as he had at last found a worthy foe after countless eons of searching. When the Thing delivered a blow that caused the Champion to spit and exclaim that he thought the last blow had shattered his ribs, the Thing suggested they call the fight before one of them really got hurt. Shouting a defiant, "No!" the Champion delivered a devastating punch that sent the Thing tumbling head over heels against the far side of the ring.      Considering that all of Earth was watching and counting on him, the Thing forced himself to his feet, but the Champion rushed forward and delivered a punch that apparently broke his jaw. Nonetheless praising the Thing for having the courage, strength, skill, and desire, as well as the willingness to play by the rules that the other lacked; for having an instinctive understanding of competition; and the hunger to fight to win and to fight the pain no matter the cost; the Champion rained punch after punch on the Thing while noting that even he must eventually fall before his superior force.      Despite the brutal battering, the Thing stayed on his feet until the bell rang. The referee, however, announced that the Thing wold never survive a fourth round and that he must stop the fight and declare the Champion the winner by TKO.

.

     The Thing crumbled to the floor, but as the Champion gave his victory speech and prepared to note his judgment of Earth, the Thing interrupted, dragging himself across the ground and noting that the fight was not over, that the Champion had only won by a technicality and that he would never really beat him as he was too stupid and ugly to know when to quit.

    Acknowledging this, the Champion noted that any world that could spawn one such as him was truly the worthiest of all. The Champion subsequently departed to face "endless universes and infinite worlds," calling the Thing his friend and noting that they would never meet again, which was a pity, because to him alone, he would offer the supreme glory: A rematch.

    As the Champion vanished, the Thing replied, "No thanks! I've had about all I can stand..." and he dropped to the ground.

(Marvel Two-In-One I#96 - BTS) - The Thing was hospitalized following his injuries at the hands of the Champion (as well as from the Gladiator (Kallark).

Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco, Ron Wilson, and an uncertain inker (detailed in the Appearances list below).

    I started reading/collecting comics (specifically Marvel, of course) when I was seven years old in late 1977. This came out when I was 12, and I think it was the coolest stories I had ever read at that point. It remains a favorite.

    I thought it was referred to as the Fight of the Century or something like that, but re-reviewing the story, I don't see any such reference in re-re-re-reviewing the story. My copy is falling apart. I was surprised and disappointed to find that it was not available digitally...at least at the time I wrote the profile.

    You can see Proja's gatherings in his profile.

    Where was Hercules in this fight? He was experienced wrestler, which is not much like boxing, but he might have done better than Thor who cheated.

    She-Hulk was disappointed that she was not chosen for the contest, and Iron Man speculated that perhaps the Champion was a male chauvinist. This was later confirmed in She-Hulk I#8 (December, 2004)

    I was having scanner issues when I was finishing this profile, and, as noted, it was not available digitally. I apologize for most of the images being lower-quality (I had scanned a few of them previously).

    This profile was completed 04/17/2024, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Earth Heroes vs. Alien Champ event has no known connections to

• other boxing matches, alien or otherwise...
  

I believe these two guys were alien agents of the Champion who arranged the battle at Madison Square Garden, paying the appropriate parties to make it happen.      However, it is not 100% certain, and they could have been aliens who had come to watch the fight and were either buying tickets or betting on the event. --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 Note: Neither of these guys match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.      They looked to be about 9-10' tall.

.       As one might guess, the announcer announced the fight.      As the Champion and Thor headed back to their corners, he walked off --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 Note: This cyclopean guy did match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.      As the announcer prepared to do his job, Thor's trainer told him that the ref was about to announce him...but this was not the referee.

.      An impenetrable and unbreakable force field was erected within the Madison Square Garden sporting complex around the ring.      None of the powers of the heroes outside the field nor any technology they could access could penetrate the force field.      After the Champion's departure, the field vanished. --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7

Reacting to public pressure, the gaming commissions of states like Nevada and New Jersey quickly authorized a host of off-ring betting parlors.      A number of extraterrestrials apparently participated in running the betting parlors, although many people believed them to be human tellers in costumes.      After the disqualification of Thor and the Hulk and the swift defeat of Sasquatch, the aliens working the betting parlors noted that there were new revised odds: 4000 to 1 against Earth.      They urged haste as the next challenger -- Colossus -- had already entered the ring. --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 Note: None of these guys match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.

The referee officiated the match, calling fouls with various illegal moves, such as Thor's use of his hammer, Wonder Man's ripping of the mat/ring, and the Thing tackling the Champion around the waist; he presumably would have called Sasquatch's grabbing the Champion around the waist from behind, but the Champion swiftly fought free on his own.      He counted a knockout against Sasquatch, called the fight with Colossus due to his being unable to defend himself, and declared the Thing unable to continue another round. --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 Note: This guy did match up with any known extraterrestrial race of which I am aware.

The guy speaking would seem to be the referee, but the referee was standing off to the left (cropped out of this panel). Another guy is seen in shadow standing by the Champion's side.      He had two eyes and clearly was not the announcer...unless the announcer was a metamorph?      And, I also don't know who the guy on the far right was...maybe one of the Champion's trainers or managers?      As Thor and the Champion exchanged taunts on the way to their respective corners, a pair of relatively small and thin beings (presumably the guy on the right and the shadowed guy standing by the champion's side) led the Champion back to his corner. The referee remained in position, and Thor's trainer led him to his corner, while the announcer is clearly seen in profile walking toward the edge of the ring, presumably to depart. --Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7

images: (without ads)
Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7, pg. 20, panel 2 (aliens apparently arranging the fight venue vs. purchasing tickets, betting, etc.);
       pg. 21, panel 1 (off-ring betting, pre-fight);
       pg. 22, panel 1 (force field around the ring);
          panel 3 (announcer);
       pg. 23, panel 2 (Cyclops and Wolverine futilely assaulting the force field);
       pg. 24, panel 1 (unidentified guy instructing a clean fight);
          panel 6-7 (Thor missing the Champion and being punched in return);
       pg. 25, panel 8 (Hulk in boxing gear);
       pg. 26, panel 1 (Hulk shredding gloves);
          panel 2 (Hulk charging Champion);
       pg. 27, panel 4 (Sasquatch punched out);
          panel 5 (Sasquatch dropping);
       pg. 28, panel 1 (off-ring betting, mid-fight);
          panel 4-5 (Colossus punched and collapsing);
       pg. 29, panel 7 (Wonder Man being punched across the ring);
       pg. 31, panel 3 (Thing in robe);
       pg. 36, panel 3 (Champion punching Thing head-over-heels);
       pg. 38, panel 1 (Champion with belt)

Appearances:
Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7 (October, 1982) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Wilson (penciler), Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone (inkers), Jim Salicrup (editor)

First posted: 09/03/2026
Last updated: 04/17/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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