CHAMPIONS OF LOS ANGELES

Membership: Angel (Warren Worthington III), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna), Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze/Zarathos), Hercules (Heracles), Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Purpose: Fighting crime on the West Coast and the (greater) Los Angeles area

Affiliations: Emerson Bale, Beast (Hank McCoy), Regina Clayborne, Alexei Bruskin, Richard Fenster, Bill Foster, Gambit (Remy LeBeau), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Magneto (Max Eisenhardt), Ivan Petrovich, SHIELD (Dum Dum Dugan, Gabriel Jones and others), Stunt-Master, Two-Gun Kid (Matt Hawke), Venus, Jennifer Walters, X-Force (Bedlam/Jesse Aaronson, Boomer/Tabitha Smith, Cannonball/Sam Guthrie, Mirage/Danielle Moonstar, Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, Syrin/Theresa Rourke-Cassidy)

Enemies: AIM, Amazons, Ares, Beast-Men of Rus, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Blob/Fred Dukes, Lorelei, Unus/Gunther Bain, Vanisher/"Telford Porter"), Cerberus, Crimson Dynamo (Yuri Petrovich), Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom), Godzilla, Griffin (Johnny Horton), Harpies, Hippolyta, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Huntsman, Warlord Kaa, Edward Lansing and his mutates (Old Billy, others), Mutates of Earth-6943, Menoetius, MODOK (George Tartleton), Once-Humans, Pluto, Possessor (Kamo Tharnn), Rampage (Stuart Clarke), Shadow Soldiers, Stilt-Man (Wilbur Day), Swarm (Fritz von Meyer), an unidentified Titan, Titanium Man (Boris Bullski), Typhon, Vanisher's Pseudo-Sentinels;
formerly Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                  formerly Champions Building, Los Angeles, California;
                                  formerly an office building in Los Angeles, California;
                                  formerly Warren Worthington's beach house, California;
                                  formerly UCLA campus, Berkely, California

First Appearance: Champions I#1 (October, 1975)

History:

(Champions I#2 (fb) - BTS) - The formation of the Champions was indirectly instigated by Pluto. The Greek god of death had concocted a complex scheme to conquer Olympus. He allied with several Hell-lords, then threatened war with Zeus unless his brother agreed to a forced marriage between Venus and Ares and Hippolyta and Hercules. Pluto was well aware these weddings would allow him to freely attack Olympus due to an ancient law that forbid Olympian spouses to battle each other.

(Ghost Rider II#14 - BTS) - Johnny Blaze drove to the UCLA campus to run an errand.

(Champions I#1) - After allying with Ares and Hippolyta, Pluto instructed Cerberus and groups of Harpies, Amazons and Mutates to assault the surface world and draw out Hercules and Venus, who were living on Earth. The Mutates attacked the UCLA campus where Richard Fenster had arranged for Hercules to give a lecture on Zeus. As fate would have it, Black Widow and her companion Ivan were there for Romanoff to apply for a job at the school when the Amazons attacked Venus. Blaze, as Ghost Rider, encountered Cerberus on campus. Lastly, the newly enrolled Iceman and the visiting Angel faced the harpies. The heroes eventually banded together against their common enemies. Then, Pluto appeared, telling Venus she must marry Ares and Hercules must marry Hippolyta or the world would die.
 
(Champions I#2) - When Hercules and Venus refused and the others helped them escape, Pluto returned to Olympus and demanded that Zeus forced the marriage. Seeing no other choice, Zeus sent the Huntsman to Earth. He used his spear of fire to paralyze and stun the heroes, figuring it would be an easy win. To his surprise, Ghost Rider proved immune due to his satanic power and even managed to chase Huntsman away with a hellfire bolt. Angel, Iceman and Black Widow quickly recovered, but both Hercules and Venus remained unconscious leading Black Widow to theorize the weapon was more effective on Olympians. Romanoff, essentially taking command of the team, ordered Ghost Rider to stay behind and protect Hercules and Venus while she and the two former X-Men tracked down the Huntsman. When the trio located him, the hunter used the power of his staff to summon the giant Menoetius to fight on his behalf. They succesfully beat him and backed Huntsman into a corner, thinking victory was assured. However, Huntsman used his powers to teleport them back to Ghost Rider who he tricked into believing his three friends were actually Ares, Hippolyta and Pluto. Ghost Rider blasted them within seconds, leaving him vulnerable to Huntsman's sneak attack from behind. With all mortal heroes beaten, Huntsman returned to Olympus with Hercules and Venus. Though eager to help their friends, Black Widow and the others had no way of reaching Olympus and, full of regret, went their own way.

(Champions I#3) - Black Widow and Iceman stayed at Angel's beach house, contemplating recent events when Ghost Rider suddenly arrived to inform them of a way to reach Olympus: through the portal to the underworld left open by Pluto when he came to UCLA. Fighting their way through Huntsman, the Mutates and the hordes of Hades, the Champions arrived in Olympus in time to interrupt the weddings of Hercules and Venus. Ghost Rider then informed Zeus of Pluto's deceit and treachery. Furious, Zeus called off the weddings and banished Pluto to Hades. He allowed Hercules and the other Champions to return to Earth.

(X-Force/Champions '98 (fb) - BTS) - Pluto placed the false memory into the minds of the Champions that Zeus had forced him to grant the Champions the ability to banish a Titan if Pluto attempted to raise it on Earth, using a spell he placed in their minds. The spell, however, would actually raise the Titan. 

(Incredible Hercules#114 (fb) - BTS) - Black Widow, acting as the team's de facto leader, still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact she was commanding the legendary Greek demi-god Hercules. To make him less awe inspiring, she dedicated herself to studying every myth, story and historical reference text she could find on him and his exploits.

(Champions I#4) - Hercules and the Black Widow wandered along the beach near the San Marino hospital when they were attacked by Old Billy, a test subject of criminal psychiatrist Edward Lansing. Billy attacked the heroes and kept them distracted long enough for Lansing's guards to blast them into oblivion. They awoke in Lansing's office who used his mind control device to send the Widow, Hercules, and several of his mutates to slay the rest of the Champions. Lansing's agents found Angel, Iceman, and Ivan who were staying at Warren's beach house. The heroes proved unable to stand against the villains. When the Ghost Rider arrived, he and his two teammates held Hercules at bay, and Ivan did well against the mindless mutates. The Widow then jumped Ivan and beat him to within an inch of his life, but she was unable to slay her old friend, and she threw off Lansing's programming, turning on him instead. Natasha destroyed Lansing's mind control device, which freed Hercules. Lansing fled but ran into his newly freed mutates who killed him. Lansing's corpse was found on the beach in the morning, surrounded by his lumbering mutates.

(Ghost Rider II#17 (fb) ) - After helping the Champions deal with Lansing and his mutates, Johnny Blaze took a temporary leave of absence because he had a job as a stuntman to go to. Hercules, jolly as ever, shook Blaze's hand and bid him a fond farewell.

(Champions I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Angel came up with a proposal to formalize the heroes' partnership into a fully organized and funded superhero team. Though everyone was receptive to the idea, Black Widow's old friend Ivan Petrovich had his misgivings. Around the same time, Richard Fenster was fired by UCLA as their lecture agent and, to add insult to injury, was told he had to inform both Hercules and the Black Widow they were fired as well.

(Champions I#5) - While Hercules trained with the UCLA Bruins, and playfully mopped the floor with the footballl players, Petrovich discussed his concerns about Black Widow joining these "Champions". He pointed out that in the past she'd always gotten hurt joining teams and was concerned with his tsarina's wellfare. At the same time, Iceman and Angel were visiting Emerson Bale, the Worthington family attorney who showed Warren just how much money his recently deceased parents had left him. Stunned by the amount, Iceman noted it was more than God makes.

(Champions I#5 - BTS) - Bale was asked to become the legal representative of the newly founded Champions Inc.

(Champions I#5) - Rushing to UCLA to tell Hercules and the Black Widow of their financial windfall, Angel spotted Richard Fenster who was heartbroken over having gotten fired. He offered Fenster a new job as the Champions' business manager, his first task: finding them a suitable headquarters in Los Angeles provided it wasn't too big: "twenty or thirty floors ought to do it". Meeting in downtown Los Angeles to officially invite Hercules and Black Widow to join, Bobby allowed Warren to do the convincing while he took a little stroll. He happened to spot Rampage (Stuart Clarke) in the process of robbing a nearby bank. Quickly turning into Iceman, he attacked but was beaten back by the armored villain. The commotion caught the attention of the other Champions who rushed to help their teammate. Rampage proved more than a match for them, holding back even Hercules, eluding Black Widow and capturing Angel, threatening to bust his head in if they didn't let him go.

(Marvel Vault: Gambit and the Champions#1 (fb) - BTS) - The young mutant thief Remy LeBeau observed the Champions' fight against Rampage, studying the team for his upcoming heist (he'd been hired by Spat to steal the mystical scroll of Vishnota, owned by the Worthington Foundation). Watching the gaudily clad heroes, he couldn't help but think there wasn't enough money in the world to get him to ever dress like that (see comments).

(Champions I#6) - Black Widow and the others gave in to Rampage's demands and started to back away. As soon as Warren was clear, Iceman turned and encased Rampage in a block of ice. The villain escaped from this prison and attacked the Widow, though her aide Ivan tried to protect her and caught the brunt of the blow. Shocked he might have killed a man, Rampage fled. The Champions watched as an ambulance rushed the injured Ivan to the hospital. The vengeful Black Widow was officially elected team leader and, after cooling down, took the team to see Ivan in the hospital. During this period, Iceman concluded he would quit the team as soon as the current crisis was over and the Champions were officially launched. He preferred to leave the superhero business to focus on an actual career. Later, they faced Rampage again when he was fighting the police (his old business manager had seen Clarke in his armor on the news and informed the cops). Angel, wielding Hercules' mace, got some good licks in. Realizing he was beaten and refusing to go to prison, Rampage blew himself up. Much to the Champions' surprise, he survived and was taken to the hospital.

(Marvel Vault: Gambit and the Champions#1) - The Champions attended the Worthington Foundation charity auction where Gambit would try to steal the Scroll of Vishnota. Spat, using her beauty, distracted Warren Worthington long enough to knock him out before he could finalize the security arrangement. Remy meanwhile chatted up the Champions' leader Black Widow, who was annoyed her date Hercules paid little attention to her. Before LeBeau could make his move, the auction was interrupted by the arrival of MODOK who wanted the Scroll of Vishnota for himself. The Champions engaged him, but MODOK used his psychic power to turn Hercules against his teammates. Remy used the distraction to grab the Scroll and ran off, though he had a last minute change of heart and decided to help the Champions. He used his mutant powers to charge up the ancient scroll, tossing it to MODOK who was taken out by the sudden explosion. Later, Widow, Ghost Rider and Hercules argued amongst themselves who had to tell Warren his charity event had been ruined. Both immortals concluded it was Romanoff's prerogative as team leader, much to her chagrin.

(Avengers I#151) - The Champions watched a television report on the Avengers' latest roster change, with former members Hercules and Black Widow briefly feeling somewhat nostalgic.

(Black Widow: Deadly Origin#3 (fb) ) - When Angel, Ghost Rider and the others voiced their doubts about the Champions' viability, claiming they were just too disparate a group, Black Widow calmed them down. She explained they were anything but disparate in a town like Los Angeles. She pointed out that they were typical: Half god, half demon, half human and half Westerner, out west to seek their fortunes. In fact, she added, why settle for being super heroes, they should start a movie studio. Cheered up, Hercules hugged her.

(Avengers Assemble I#14AU (fb) - BTS) - After Richard Fenster finalized the deal on the Champions' new 30 story skyscraper headquarters, the team threw a party to celebrate. During the joyous gathering, the Champions met the Stunt-Master (George Smith). To mark the occasion, Fenster and the Champions posed for pictures. Later that night, after having a bit too much fun, Iceman threw up in the elevator with Widow and Smith noting it looked like a slurpee.

(Champions I#8 (fb) - BTS) - The Russian government approached Ivan's son Yuri Petrovich to capture "three embarrassing defectors"--his father Ivan, the Black Widow, and commisar Alexi Bruskin and return them to Russia. He recruited his lover Darkstar, the Titanium Man, as well as the American mercenary the Griffin. He also acquired the services of Stuart Clarke (Rampage). Learning of Petrovich's plans, Bruskin sought out the Widow to form an alliance. To draw the Widow's attention, Bruskin launched a projectile into the temporary headquarters of the Champions.

(Champions I#7) - After the device crashed through the window and flew around for awhile, Hercules and Iceman stopped it, and it was given to Ivan to analyze to find out who had sent it (which is what Bruskin wanted). Within the device, Ivan found a black pearl, and both Ivan and Natasha instantly recognized this as Bruskin's calling card. Bruskin then spoke to them through the device, revealing himself to be on the roof across the street and inviting the Widow to join him. After she arrived, Bruskin came up from behind and put a gun to her head, but she easily disarmed him, as planned. They then greeted each other as old friends, but before Bruskin could explain himself, he was struck down by the Titanium Man. At the same time, Angel, Johnny Blaze and the team's attorney Bale visited Clarke in the hospital. Feeling the genius inventor shouldn't rot in prison, Warren offered to pay for his legal defense but Clarke refused Bale's services. After the lawyer left, Blaze felt something was up because no sane man would refuse help like this "unless he had a side bet going." Turning into Ghost Rider, he went to see Clarke getting freed by Griffin and Darkstar. A brief fight broke out, but the two heroes were unable to stop him.

(Champions I#8 (fb) - BTS) - The Black Widow and Bruskin were captured by the Titanium Man and brought back to Yuri Petrovich.

(Champions I#8) - Clarke, wearing his Rampage outfit, was sent by Petrovich to confront the Champions in their tower. He taunted them with pictures of the captured Widow and revealing the name of the master planner. The recovered Ivan punched Rampage, knocking him down, and Rampage voiced his intentions of fighting them after he delivered the message Petrovich had given him to deliver. Intending to activate what he believed was a tape recorder in his belt, Rampage actually activated a bomb planted in his armor by the villain. The Champions and their associates Yuri, Bale and Fenster escaped injury, but Clarke was badly wounded and couldn't tell the heroes anything else. He was rushed to the hospital by Ghost Rider while a furious Ivan started work on a device to track down Widow and Bruskin, using the black pearl as a homing beacon. Iceman carried him around on his ice sleds while they searched LA. At the same time, Fenster convinced the heroes that their official opening ceremonies should proceed as planned. With only Angel and Hercules available, the press was a little curious where the others were though all those present were inspired by Angel's speech about the Champions' fight for every individual's right to be free. Just then, the ceremony was interrupted by the arrival of Crimson Dynamo (Petrovich), Titanium Man and the Griffin.

(Champions I#9) - Hercules fought valiantly, easily holding his own against the Crimson Dynamo who even got hit on the head by Richard Fenster with a folding chair. Eventually, despite the arrival of Ghost Rider, the Russians managed to overwhelm and defeat the Champions. Not quite meanwhile, Iceman and Ivan had located Widow and Bruskin in an empty warehouse. They barged in, just as the Black Widow had already freed herself and was fighting her old student Laynia Petrovna, now the Darkforce wielding Darkstar. The fight was interrupted by the return of Crimson Dynamo and the others who carried the unconscious Champions with them. Much to Ivan's shock, the Dynamo revealed himself to be his long lost son Yuri.

(Champions I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Yuri had the Black Widow, Bruskin, and Ivan chained up and put aboard his supersonic hovercraft. The Champions however, were imprisoned within a cell deep within the San Andreas fault where Darkstar was to keep them restrained with her Darkforce energy field.

(Champions I#10) - As soon as the Champions came to, they started to attack the field, overpowering Darkstar and causing her to teleport herself, Titanium Man and the Dynamo back to the surface, ready to depart. They briefly watched the team struggle in vain to free themselves using Darkstar's remote viewing powers and then headed to their hovercraft. Aboard the ship, a fight broke out when father and son Petrovich had a heart to heart. Realizing she was on the wrong side of the conflict and that the Widow wasn't her enemy, Darkstar quietly used her powers to free the Champions and even telepathically told them where they would be heading. The team quickly commandeered a jet plane and chased the Russians who were about to meet with a submarine that would whisk them away. With Darkstar's help, the Champions made short work of Griffin, the Titanium Man and the crew of both the submarine and the hovercraft. However, Laynia couldn't bring herself to take her lover Petrovich in and let him go.

(Champions I#11 (fb) - BTS) - Stark-West was contracted by Emerson Bale to create a suitable aircraft for the team. Engineer Bill Foster came up with the design of the 2 million dollar costing "Champscraft". Though competently designed, the contractors cut corners and used subpar building materials while putting it together. At the same time, Black Widow contacted Nick Fury to help the naturalization process of the newly defected Darkstar along. Iceman began to feel some annoyance at the seemingly effortless acceptance of their former enemy into their ranks.

(Marvel Treasury Edition#13) - Celebrating the holidays in Los Angeles with the Champions, the Black Widow was pleasantly surprised by a rare meteorological event: a white, snowy Christmas.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#18 (fb) - BTS) - Iceman started visiting the hospitalized Rampage on a regular basis, though he seemed unresponsive and comatose. Unbeknownst to the Champions, the severely injured Clarke had revived and even used supplies from the hospital apothecary to concoct a mind control gas.

(Champions I#11) - The Champions took the newly delivered Champscraft for a test drive while Bill Foster looked on. However, the craft's controls almost immediately froze up, causing the heroes to plummet to the ground below. In the end, both the heroes and the unruly craft were saved by Foster who shot up to goliath size to grab them. Foster then proceeded to check out the problem, quickly realizing the airship was constructed with subpar materials that couldn't handle the levels of stress it was designed for. Even though an annoyed Angel called Emerson Bale, there was no immediate explanation. Then, the team caught a news report about Ghost Rider, Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid fighting a strange menace in Arizona. Deciding to help out, the Champions boarded the Champscraft (which was safe to use at limited speeds). Joining with Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid, the team reunited with Ghost Rider and together they confronted the threat of the extradimensional Warlord Kaa and his mind controlling forces. Shortly after the fight, they were contacted by Bill Foster using the communication system in the Champscraft. He needed their help with a mysterious, glowing box (actually a Null-Life Bomb) he'd recently obtained that supposedly belonged to the Stranger. As he explained the situation, the Stilt-Man burst in and announced he wanted the box because it would make him master of the world.

(Champions I#13 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking to reclaim his Runestaff, which he'd lost on Earth fighting Hercules, Kamo Tharn the Possessor, began moving his planet across space. Eventually the Elder of the Universe brought it close enough to feel the effect of Earth's sun.

(Champions I#12) - The Champions arrived back in Los Angeles in time to see Black Goliath fighting the Stilt-Man on top of their own headquarters. When Darkstar used her powers to destroy the Z-Ray energy weapon he carried, Stilt-Man decided to beat a hasty retreat. In spite of their superior numbers and strength, the Champions, considering the somewhat ludicrious looking villain a bit of a pushover, proved incapable of stopping Day from getting away. Black Goliath went after him on his own, while inside the Champions Building Foster's girlfriend Regina Clayborne was presenting the Black Widow with the mysterious, glowing box he'd told them about. She carried a mysterious box containing the Null-Life Bomb. Clayborne wanted to keep Stilt-Man from stealing the device. Shortly after returning from their successful fight against Stilt-Man, the team was surprised by the arrival of the Stranger who intended to reclaim the bomb. Misunderstanding his presence, the heroes attacked him. During the fight, the box was opened, which activated the Null-Life Bomb which rapidly proceeded to build towards an explosion that would destroy the Earth. The Stranger, who did not realize the Runestaff had been brought to Earth, transported the Champions to the world of Kamo Tharnn. Hercules swiftly identified the world and the approaching Beast-Men, while the blind Tharnn recognized Hercules' voice, vowing the one who stole his Runestaff would die.

(Champions I#13) - Tharnn ordered his forces to bring him the head of Hercules. As the rest of the Champions fought off the Beast-Men, Darkstar headed back to Earth via the Stranger's closing portal, and Iceman followed her. Sensing their teammates' departure, Tharnn told the others it was time to feel his world-rending power as he seemingly transformed the world around them into a hellish realm. Actually standing still, the remaining Champions believed themselves to be fighting a losing battle against winged demon creatures and a giant lava monster. Ultimately however, Angel realized they were facing an illusion and succeeded in convincing his teammates of the same. Bragging about having savored his victims' agonies, Tharnn announced his intent to end their lives with his next move, but an irate Angel thrust forward and battered Tharnn unconscious. Meanwhile, Darkstar and Iceman arrived on Earth (within the Null-Life bomb in which the Stranger had become trapped) and informed the Stranger that the Runestaff was still on Earth. Sensing the Runestaff's location, the Stranger opened a rift in the hyper-space within the bomb's dimensional wall, and Darkstar reached in and claimed the Runestaff from a broom closet in Midtown Hospital. Under the Stranger's instruction and with his own power added to hers, Darkstar added the Runestaff's power to the Null-Life Bomb's energies, forcing it to grow faster than it had been designed to do; the expansion exceeded the bomb's programming, effectively driving it mad, and causing it to expand forever into cosmic nothingness. The bomb thus somehow ceased to affect the physical world, releasing all those previously trapped within.

(Iron Man Annual I#4 - BTS) - Iron Man, on MODOK's trail for having stolen most of the Eastern seaboard's energy supply to power his Doomsday Chair, bursted into a Nevada AIM base only to find it empty. He swiftly realized the base was merely used as a relay station for the energy. Before he could act, MODOK's country wide blackout hit the West Coast.

(Iron Man Annual I#4) - In need of back up, Iron Man headed for LA to visit the Champions. However, the team never received his advance warning signal due to the blackout. He was attacked by Ghost Rider, but this misunderstanding was quickly cleared up by the Black Widow. Iron Man updated everybody on MODOK and AIM using his mini-projector. Agreeing to help, the Champions split up into three teams to investigate three AIM bases. Black Widow, Hercules and Angel headed to the National Redwood forest, where they were attacked by AIM agents and captured. Iceman, Darkstar and Ghost Rider headed to San Francisco, where they found an underwater AIM installation and were attacked by AIM agents and mutated sea creatures, and Darkstar was injured.

(Iron Man Annual I#4 - BTS) - Iron Man travelled to the Mojave desert, where he came across a Franciscan mission. He asked a friar if he had seen any strange activity, but the friar attacked, revealing himself to be Stryke, a biologically reconstructed, powerful fighter. Realizing he had been set up, Iron Man used his image reproducer to confuse Stryke so that he could escape. He headed back to the Nevada base, contacting the Champions on his way.

(Iron Man Annual I#4) - Having allowed themselves to be captured, Black Widow's team broke free and headed for Nevada. Iceman rescued Darkstar and put her on life support in the Champscraft enroute. Iron Man found MODOK at the AIM base, where he had been funneling all the stolen energy into his Doomsday Chair to amplify his mental powers. Once-Humans attacked and the arriving Champions defeated them. MODOK escaped, destroying the installation behind him, trapping Iron Man and the Champions. Iron Man then used the remaining energy in the energy cradle to supercharge himself. He broke free and charged after MODOK, only to accidentally appear to destroy him. Afterwards, Darkstar was brought to the hospital.

(Ghost Rider II#23) - The Champions saw Ghost Rider off following their latest mission together. Hercules and Black Widow admitted that, though a valiant ally, they always felt relieved when he left. His demonic nature prevented them from fully trusting him. Widow's old friend Ivan Petrovich added that the general public felt the same way, and reasoned that having him on the team wasn't doing the Champions's P.R. any favors. Still, the heroes figured they'd rather have him with than against them.

(Champions I#14) - As a result of the Champbuilding's sub-par construction standards and faulty materials, the wiring running through the base's advanced computer systems burned through. This caused severe glitches. Hercules and Iceman were the only Champions present when the interactive computer suddenly classified them as hostile intruders and attacked. The building's control system threw everything it had at the heroes, from security robots to hidden laser blasters in the wall, even a giant press that nearly crushed Hercules. It was also able to animate the Rampage armor the team had in storage, leading Hercules and Iceman to erroneously conclude their old opponent Clarke was somehow responsible. The other Champions were unaware of this, as they were seeing the Widow's friend Ivan Petrovich off who was leaving for Russia by boat. After they said goodbye to him on the Santa Monica pier, they heard screams. Black Widow, Darkstar and Ghost Rider checked it out and ran into a small army of giant mechanical bees, belonging to the Swarm who kept himself hidden while he dealt with Robin Callahan, an Interpol agent who'd stolen the queen bee he needed to control his hive. After killing Callahan with bees from his body, Swarm wanted to open his suitcase to retrieve the insect.  He found he couldn’t open it because it was treated with a form of fast acting insect repellent. Swarm therefore chose to flee the scene, taking his mechanical bees with him. The Champions later discovered the corpse of the Interpol agent and decided to take his briefcase with them back to their headquarters. There, they discovered the mess Hercules and Iceman had made trying to disable the building's security systems. Moments later, an exhausted Angel came crashing through a window, warning the heroes about the giant swarm of bees heading for them.

(Champions I#15) - Swarm ordered millions of bees to cover the Champions headquarters in Los Angeles, trapping the heroes inside. Having the heroes where he wanted them, Swarm entered the building himself, joined by his giant mechanical bees who easily defeated and captured Iceman and Darkstar. Swarm (his gloves treated with a repellant neutralizer) grabbed the briefcase from the Widow's grasp and fled, closing the hallway behind him with a hive wall strong enough to keep even Hercules out. When Iceman and Darkstar awoke they found themselves within Swarm's hive, who proceeded to share his origin story with the heroes. Swarm hoped they would help him to free the queen bee from the amber without hurting her, Darkstar complied, feeling no living being should have to endure entrapment. With the queen freed, she immediately grew to giant proportions. Feeling the heroes had served their purpose, Swarm and the queen bee wanted them dead. As Swarm battled the Champions the queen bee fought Hercules but when the demi-god used all his strength to throw the giant insect out the window over the sea all the bees that made up Swarm's body left him to follow her, leaving only his skeleton behind with a single bee hiding in the skull.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#36 (fb) ) - Following Swarm's defeat, the Champions made arrangements for his remains to be transferred to New York's Empire State University for further study.

(Avengers I#163 (fb) - BTS) - Eager to have his revenge on Hercules and the Champions, Pluto struck a deal with Herc's old enemy Typhon. If he was able to defeat Hercules, Pluto would free the Titan from Hades by having Herc replace him. Typhon then appeared in Avengers Mansion, where he ambushed Iron Man and the Beast. He took the Beast hostage and threatened to kill him unless Hercules was summoned. Iron Man explained that Hercules was with the Champions now, but was forced to call the LA based team and convince them to come to New York.

(Avengers I#163) - Hercules was accompanied by his fellow Champions Black Widow and Iceman, who piloted the Champscraft headed for New York.

(Avengers I#163 - BTS) - It took several hours to make the trip from LA to New York, while he waited Typhon began to recall his previous beating at the hands of Hercules. Rather than face Hercules again himself, he forced Iron Man to intercept and fight him first.

(Avengers I#163) - Iron Man attacked Hercules, Iceman, and the Black Widow, but as they fought, he drew the conflict back to Avengers Mansion. The Beast managed to free himself, and all five attacked Typhon. Pluto saw that Typhon would not be able to stand against their combined power, and pulled him back to Hades.

(Godzilla#3) - When the mutated, giant lizard some call Godzilla emerged from the ocean near San Francisco and started to attack ships near the Golden Gate Bridge, the Champions rushed to the city by the bay aboard the Champscraft. They engaged the monster, luring it away from the bridge and on course for Fisherman's Warf. In a supreme display of force, Hercules succeeded in toppling the massive beast over when it threatened to squash the downed Angel. The fighting was interrupted by SHIELD who were less than pleased to see superheroes involving themselves in what Dum Dum Dugan considered their fight. SHIELD planned to contain Godzilla using giant, electrified nets. The plan failed miserably because Hercules was still in the water near the creature, forcing SHIELD to drop the nets prematurely or they'd hurt the hero. Furious at being attacked again, Godzilla went on a rampage and destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge. Meanwhile, Hercules dove under water to escape the nets, grabbed a piece of bridge debris and hurled it at Godzilla, only to hit and disable the SHIELD Helicarrier instead. With no resources available to stop Godzilla, SHIELD and the Champions watched as the creature disappeared into the ocean again.

(Super-Villain Team-Up#14 - BTS) - After mind controlling the Avengers with neuro-gas as part of his ongoing tug of war with Magneto, Doctor Doom proposed a challenge. He allowed the master of magnetism to pick one Avenger as his ally, provided he was able to break the hero free from the neuro-gas conditioning. Hoping it would help him secure the X-Men's support, Magneto chose Beast and succesfully broke his neuro-gas conditioning after they escaped on board a commandeered Avengers Quinjet. When both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four proved unavailable, Beast remembered the Champions and suggested they headed for Los Angeles. However, Doom had suspected this and ordered the Avengers to contact the team, warning them of Magneto and Beast's impending arrival.

(Super-Villain Team-Up#14) - When the unlikely duo approached the Champions Building they found the team waiting for them on the roof, ready for a fight.

(Champions I#16) - The Champions would not listen to Beast's explanations, claiming the Avengers had warned them he'd try to sell them those lies. Magneto used parts of the Champions Building to hold the team at bay, even forcing Hercules to his knees by manipulating the iron particles in his blood. However, the Champions could not be reasoned with, leading Magneto and Beast to give up and confront Doom directly. The two took off for Washington D.C., where Doom had taken court. In order to keep up with Magnus' electro-magnetic force bubble, Darkstar encased the team in her Darkforce energy and took off. Reaching the White House within minutes, the team was understandably impressed and a little concerned with Darkstar's seemingly limitless powers. She promised she'd soon reveal their origins, for now they had to deal with the Hulk who was there along with Magneto and Beast. The Champions learned the error of their ways when Doom appeared and released his neuro-gas to turn Angel, Hercules, Iceman, Darkstar and the Widow into his mind-controlled puppets. With only Ghost Rider left unaffected because of his demonic nature, the situation seemed bleak. In a last ditch attempt, the demon attacked Doom directly and poured hellfire through the slits in his face plate. This forced Doom to remove the plate, thereby exposing himself to his own neuro-gas. With his mind clouded, Doom lost control over the others, freeing them and ending the threat.

(Incredible Hulk III#106 ~ Giant-Size Hulk#1) - After helping to save the world, the Champions were honored at UCLA by the president of the United States for their good work. During the ceremony, the heroes received word the Hulk was in the area, causing trouble in a traffic jam on the 405 freeway. They immediately rushed to oppose him, spotting him holding a car over his head. They attacked, unaware that inside was Bruce Banner's cousin Jennifer Walters suffering from a burst appendix. Banner had changed to the Hulk to get her to the hospital, which the behemoth did in spite of the Champions' best efforts. Later, the Champions visited Walters in the hospital where they were chastized by Jennifer who posed a simple question to the team: did they even bother to ask Hulk what he was doing before attacking him? Ashamed, the team kept silent. In the aftermath, Hercules felt he no longer deserved a medal, with Widow trying to console him (see comments).

(Champions I#17 (fb) - BTS) - Vanisher was one of several mutants captured by Stephen Lang's Sentinels. Though eventually freed, he couldn't help but admire Lang's workmanship and the quality of the robots. He decided to use them in an elaborate scheme to defeat the X-Men. First, he did what he could to patch up the broken down, beaten and half finished models left behind after the battle. He reprogrammed them, making sure they'd attack humans and mutants alike and sent them to defeat the X-Men. However, the Pseudo-Sentinels were unable to find the mutants, returning instead with the captured Blob, Unus and Lorelei. Unperturbed, Vanisher thought of a new plan: have the trio pretend the Sentinels were chasing them. If they sought shelter with the Champions, they would surely contact the X-Men.

(Champions I#17) - "Chased" by the Pseudo-Sentinels, Blob, Lorelei and Unus rushed inside the Champions Building, its security systems still inoperative following the Swarm incident. Finding only Hercules and Black Widow present, the mutants prentended to be doomed while the Sentinels burst in. Black Widow quickly activated the Champions alert signal, which consisted of select windows on the top floors of the base blacking out to form the team's stylized C. Of all the remaining Champions, only Angel noticed the alarm and went to find the others. He spotted Iceman and Darkstar who were waiting in line at the cinema to see Johnny Blaze's new movie Stuntmaster Hot Cycles. Spotting Angel was enough to convince Bobby there was danger and he turned into Iceman, shocking his fellow moviegoers who rapidly joined to form a violent, anti-mutant mob. Darkstar and Ghost Rider also involved themselves in the riot, but Angel soon convinced them of the bigger threat at hand. They rushed to the Champions Building where Hercules and the Widow were struggling to keep the Sentinels contained. The combined might of the Champions made short work of the patchwork robots and Angel soon realized there was something very wrong here. Before they could act, the Vanisher appeared and shot the Champions with his blaster. His plan ruined, he planned to kill the unconscious heroes, figuring the death of two of their founding members would surely get the X-Men to come to LA. Darkstar, who was barely conscious, overheard this plan and used her powers to animate the Sentinel pieces, defeating Blob, Unus and Lorelei. Furious, the Vanisher aimed his blaster at her, but the revived Iceman destroyed it with an iceblast. Figuring he could teleport away, Vanisher was stopped mid-way by Darkstar's energy blast. Shocked to see the villain esssentially cut in half, Darkstar turned to Iceman for consolation while the team considered their next move.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#17 (fb) ) - Not too long after the battle against Vanisher and his Pseudo-Sentinels had ended, the Champions reached a sad conclusion: both the Vanisher, his allies and the Pseudo-Sentinels had gone through all their defenses like they weren't even there. This latest setback led the individual members to conclude the team had been doomed from the start. Ghost Rider, fed up with the team and defending a building that seemed intent on killing them, was the first to quit. While a sobbing Black Widow blamed herself for his departure, Darkstar announced she'd be returning to Russia as well, feeling the group was just too disparate to remain united for long. She took off, causing a heartbroken and frustrated Iceman to quit as well. Angel watched in disbelief as Hercules and the Black Widow announced they'd be leaving as well. Furious, Angel declared the world still needed Champions even if he was the only one left.

(Thunderbolts I#27 (fb) - BTS) - Within two weeks of their break-up, Angel came to his senses and realized the Champions were indeed done. He had most of the team's equipment, including their Champscraft, stored in a Worthington Industries facility.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#18 (fb) - BTS) - Iceman visited the seemingly comatose Rampage in the hospital and was subjected to a dose of the mind control gas. Clarke had Iceman take him from the hospital and forced him to wear a spare set of Rampage armor, making him his operative. Meanwhile, police directed the Angel to track down his ally Iceman, who was believed to have criminally abducted the comatose Clarke.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#18 (fb)) - Angel looked for Iceman in the abandoned Champions Building, and was ambushed by Rampage (Drake) under Clarke's control. Fearful of harming his old friend, the Angel was reluctant to fight Rampage.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#18 (fb) - BTS) - Clarke plotted to use Rampage (Drake) to gain revenge on Angel and then the rest of the Champions.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#17 (fb) - BTS) - News of the Champions' imminent break-up was reason enough for the Daily Bugle to send freelance photographer Peter Parker out to Los Angeles to cover the event.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#17) - The Angel was on hand to save photographer Parker from a pair of windows that had popped out of an upper floor of the Champions Building (apparently due to the builders using shoddy materials). After making sure Peter was safe, Warren then confronted Clarke about involving others in his scheme. Clarke summoned Rampage (Drake), who punched out the Angel and sent him flying out a window, but Peter (having overheard the argument and quickly changing into his Spider-Man guise) showed up to save the Angel. They then confronted Clarke and Rampage (Drake). Angel tried to stop Spider-Man from harming Rampage (Drake), forcing Spidey to punch out Angel to stop him from holding back. Clarke's force field prevented Spider-Man from attacking him directly, and when Rampage (Drake) caught and threatened to crush Spider-Man, Angel acted to save him, throwing a power rod from the rubble and striking Clarke's force field. The energy overload knocked out Clarke, then fed back to Rampage (Drake). The explosion destroyed the armor and revealed Iceman, who was still under Clarke's mental control and ready to renew his assault.

(Spectacular Spider-Man II#18) - While Clarke lay unconscious, Iceman attacked Angel and Spider-Man, but eventually Spider-Man decided to try to shock Iceman out of Clarke's control by tossing him inside a nearby car wash. The hot steam stunned Iceman, shocking him free from Clarke's control and leaving him partially amnesiac. Angel then flew the crippled Clarke back to the hospital.

(X-Force/Champions '98) - As the Titan began to rise in Northern California, the former Champions members, guided by Pluto's false memories, reunited to do what they believed was right. At the site of the Titan's massive hand, they met X-Force who happened to be travelling in the area. The young mutants watched as the Champions began to chant the spell supposedly designed to banish the Titan. During the ritual, the mystically enhanced Danielle Moonstar realized the truth: the spell would actually liberate him. Using her enhanced vocal cords, Siryn yelled out a warning to the Champions who stopped the ritual mid-way. The awakened Titan caused a massive landslide, but the Champions and X-Force escaped unscathed though they soon had to contend with Pluto, who arrived and was furious at being stopped. The heroes fought him, but it was the fury of the Titan that caused him to leave in the end. Hoping to end the threat once and for all, the teams came up with a plan: the Champions started an adjusted version of the ritual while Moonstar used her fear manifesting mutant ability to scare the Titan into leaving this realm altogether. The Champions' chant closed the barrier behind him. The day saved, the Champions were mobbed by the media but Black Widow assured them they wouldn't be reuniting as a team.

(Thunderbolts I#27) - Black Widow agreed to have Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts use the Champions' old aircraft, though Archangel felt the need to check out the band of seemingly reformed criminals himself. After concluding their attempt to clean up their act was genuine, he allowed them to keep the Champscraft with his blessings.

(Incredible Hercules#114) - Hallucinating and violent after Ares infected him with Hydra blood, Hercules began to experience flashbacks to his first adventure with the Champions when he encountered Black Widow. He remembered how she chided him for daydreaming on the battlefield, reminding him that though the Champions were still an up-and-coming group it would be nice if the actual membership noticed they existed.

(Punisher War Journal II#17 (fb) - BTS) - On a road trip with the Punisher, Stuart Clarke recounted his past, including his frequent run-ins with the Champions though Clarke's recollections were embellished considerably.

(Avengers Assemble I#14AU) - Natasha Romanoff visited the Champions' old business manager Richard Fenster in San Francisco. They were joined for coffee by Fenster's best client, the Stunt-Master. The old friends caught up and reminisced about the days of old when Natasha noticed Fenster still carried around a picture in his wallet taken at the party thrown when the Champions bought their headquarters. He admitted that night was "kind of the best moment of his life". They were all still together, living in the same city, their ally Ivan was still alive. It made Fenster feel they were doing something good at the time (see comments).

Comments: Created by Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks).

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Champions of Los Angeles should not be confused with

• Champions of the Realm (Apollyon, Avalonia, Behemoth, Bloodraven, Blue Stone, Blackthorn, Captain America, Ch'll, Faery Queen, Greenskyn Smashtroll, Idol, Ironheart, Merman, Nighthowl, Nosferata, Skorch, Swift, Warmaker, Witchfire)
      - Eurth, counterparts of Avengers, rescued young St'vaan from Dreadlord @ Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#1
• Champions, initial name of the 50 States-Initiative team the Order @ Civil War I#6
• Champions of Xandar, Nova's squad, wiped out by Nebula @ Nova I#24
• Champion (Tryco Slatterus), Elder of the Universe @ Marvel Two-In-One Annual#7
• Imus Champion, giant criminal businessman @ Avengers I#109
• Champion, unidentified alien, absorbed one of the light shards created to oppose the Triple Evil, slain fighting Triple Evil @ Avengers III#50
• Champion , an alien invader @ Strange Tales I#98
• Champion, title of Mister X after winning Bloodsport competition @ Wolverine II#167
• Champion of Machus, android warrior created by Machans @ Fantastic Four I#303
• or any other "Champions" or "LA" characters

Champions Building

After deciding to band together as a team, the Champions' business manager Richard Fenster selected a state of the art, 30 story skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles as their base. As soon as Worthington Industries owned the building, the team's attorney Emerson Bale contracted Stark-West to outfit the base with the latest technologies, including a semi-sentient interactive computer system, a training facility, science labs and luxurious living quarters. With a mere push of a button, a number of windows on the top floors would darken in a pre-arranged pattern, forming a huge "C", which would serve as a call signal to any and all Champions in the area. However, sub par contracting and the use of shoddy materials made the building a hazard on more than one occassion. It was durable enough to withstand a fight between the giant-sized Stilt Man and Black Goliath on the roof and could also hold the Swarm's gigantic beehive. Once, a computer malfunction caused the building's security systems to identify Hercules and Iceman as intruders and employed lethal force to stop them. Even after the Champions disbanded, the building remained a menace and was scheduled to be boarded up. Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker was nearly killed by two falling window panes that popped from their frames. He was saved by Angel, who had come to meet him there. The building was also the site of a final confrontation between Rampage, who had mind controlled Iceman, and Angel who was aided by Spider-Man. The final fate of the faulty skyscraper remains unrevealed.

--Champions I#9 (Champions I#9-17, Godzilla#3, Spectacular Spider-Man II#17-18

Champscraft

Figuring the team was in need of a more convenient mode of transportation than Iceman's slides or Darkstar's force bubbles, Champions attorny Emerson Bale contracted Stark-West to create a suitable aircraft. Engineer Bill Foster came up with the design of the Champscraft, a supersonic hovercraft that could carry five passengers comfortably and came equipped with, among other features, a closed circuit video communication system and a life support system, providing oxygen for at least one passenger. Though the design and engineering principles were sound, the Champscraft was constructed using subpar building materials. This meant the Champions nearly crashed during their initial test drive because the ship's systems couldn't take the stress and strain. Bill Foster, as Black Goliath, saved the craft from crashing and then determined the problem. He concluded the Champscraft should still be safe to use, provided they kept its maximum speed within five times the limit. Launched by Hercules, who carried it to the roof, the Champscraft's initial mission took it to Arizona where the Ghost Rider, Hawkeye and Two-Gun Kid were fighting off Warlord Kaa. After the fight, Black Goliath contacted the team on their closed circuit video to ask their help in dealing with a mysterious glowing box that supposedly belonged to the Stranger. The Champscraft was then used to bring the team home from Arizona, a journey that went without any reported problems. Some time later, the Champions used their airship to get to San Francisco where the giant lizard Godzilla had emerged from the ocean. The trip reportedly took 20 minutes. On another mission, the Champscraft flew from LA to New York within hours. The Champscraft life support system was required when the Champions aided Iron Man in oppossing MODOK. During the mission, Darkstar was injured and placed in the Champscraft where the medical equipment kept her stable long enough for the others to deal with the threat. After the Champions disbanded, the Champscraft was mothballed and placed in a Worthington Industries storage unit along with the team's other equipment. When Hawkeye took over as leader of the Thunderbolts, he approached the Black Widow with the request to use the Champscraft. Romanoff agreed and had it shipped out to Colorado, though the Thunderbolts were briefly confronted by Archangel who was a little curious to see what the band of supposedly reformed criminals wanted with the aircraft and accompanied them back to their base. There, the old and dusty vehicle received an overnight overhaul, courtesy of the team's resident tech expert Ogre. He replaced the signature C on the hood of the vehicle with the Thunderbolts's lightning insignia and used the stylized letter on a new uniform he'd created for Charcoal. The T-Bolts used the refurbished Champscraft on several missions, most notably against Graviton where it suffered severe damage.

-- Champions I#11 (Champions I#11-12, Godzilla#3, Avengers I#163, Iron Man Annual I#4, Thunderbolts I#27-34

images: (without ads)
OHOTMU Teams 2005, p9, pan1 (main image)
Champions I#2, p13, pan2&3 (Black Widow steps up as leader)
Champions I#5, p5, pans1&2 (analyzed by Black Widow)
Avengers I#151, p10, pans 5,6,7 (reflect on the Avengers lineup)
Champions I#9, p8, pans 1,2,3,4,5 (display impressive teamwork)
Champions I#11, p8, pan1 (analyze the Champscraft)
Champions I#14, p2, pans 2,3,4,5 (attacked by their own headquarters)
Giant-Size Hulk#1, p19, pan6 (ashamed about attacking Hulk without reason)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#17 p8, pans1-5 (Champions no more)
X-Force/Champions '98, p36, pan1 (briefly reunited in the 90s)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#13, p30 (Champions roll call)
Champions I#17, p5, pan2 (Champions building C alert)
Thunderbolts I#27, p14, pan1 (Champscraft)

Appearances:
Ghost Rider II#14 (October, 1975) - Tony Isabella (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#1 (October, 1975) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#2 (January, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils, John Tartaglione (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#3 (February, 1976) - Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo (writers), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#4 (March, 1976) - Chris Claremont (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Ghost Rider II#17 (April, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), Frank Robbins (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#5 (April, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), Don Heck (pencils), John Tartag (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#6 (June, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Avengers I#151 (September, 1976) - Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, Jim Shooter (writers), George Perez (pencils), John Tartaglione (inks),
Champions I#7 (August, 1976) - Tony Isabella (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#8 (October, 1976) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Bruce Patterson (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Champions I#9 (December 1976) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Treasury Edition#13 (1976) - Roger Stern (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#10 (January, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Frank Giacoia (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#11 (February, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#12 (March 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Ghost Rider II#23 (April, 1977) - Gerry Conway & Jim Shooter (writers), Don Heck (pencils), Don Newton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#13 (May, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#14 (July, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Iron Man Annual I#4 (August, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Don Perlin (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#15 (September, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Bob Layton (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Avengers I#163 (September, 1977) - Jim Shooter (writer), George Tuska (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Godzilla#3 (October, 1977) - Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Tony DeZuniga (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Super-Villain Team-Up#14 (October, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Don Perlin & Duffy Vohland (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#16 (November, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Bob Hall (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#17 (November, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (pencils), John Byrne (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#17 (April, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), David Hunt (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#18 (May, 1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), David Hunt (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man II#36 (November, 1979) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
X-Force/Champions '98 (December, 1998) - Tom and Mary Beirbaum (writers), Terry Shoemaker (penciler), Sean Parsons and Harry Candelario (inkers), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Thunderbolts I#27-34 (September, 1999 - January, 2000) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Giant-Size Hulk#1 (August, 2006) - Peter David (writer), Juan Santacruz (pencils), Raul Fernandez (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hulk III#106 (July, 2007) - Greg Pak (writer), Gary Frank (pencils), Jon Sibal (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Incredible Hercules I#114 (February, 2008) - Greg Pak & Fred van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (pencils), Paul Neary (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
Punisher War Journal II#17 (May, 2008) - Matt Fraction & Rick Remender (writers), Howard Chaykin (pencils & inks), Aubrey Sitterson (editor)
Black Widow: Deadly Origin#3 (March, 2010) - Paul Cornell (writer), Tom Raney & John Paul Leon (pencils), Scott Hana & Matt Milla (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Marvel Vault: Gambit and the Champions#1 (August, 2011) - Scott Lobdell (writer), George Tuska (pencils & inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers Assemble I#14AU (June, 2013) - Al Ewing (writer), Butch Guice (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Jake Thomas & Lauren Sankovitch

First Posted: 04/07/2015
Last updated: 04/07/2015

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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