Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions

Contest of Champions
Cover of Contest of Champions #1 (June 1982). Art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Publication date	June - August 1982
Number of issues	3
Main character(s)	See Text

Contest of Champions is a three-issue comic book limited series published from June to August 1982 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Mark Gruenwald with art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.

Publication history

This series was significant as it was Marvel's first published limited series. An unrelated five issue limited series published in 1999, Contest of Champions II, is a sequel in title only.^[1]

Plot

The Elder of the Universe, the Grandmaster, challenges a hooded female called the "Unknown" - eventually revealed to be Death - to a game for the life of his fellow Elder, the Collector (killed by the cosmic being Korvac in the title Avengers).^[2] The pair decide to use various superheroes from Earth as pawns, the goal being to collect the four pieces of a prize called the "Golden Globe of Life." A victory for the Grandmaster's team means the Collector may be resurrected, while a loss indicates the character must remain dead.

The Grandmaster's team consists of Captain America; Talisman; Darkstar; Captain Britain; Wolverine; Defensor; Sasquatch; Daredevil; Peregrine; She-Hulk; the Thing and Blitzkrieg; while Death's team consists of Iron Man; Vanguard; Iron Fist; Shamrock; Storm; Spider-Man; Arabian Knight; Sabra; the Invisible Girl; Angel; Black Panther; Sunfire and the Collective Man.

Although the storyline depicts a tie, and the Grandmaster's team is written as being successful, Death advises that the Collector can only be resurrected if the Grandmaster takes his fellow Elder's place in the Realm of the Dead, with the character agreeing to the terms. International heroes Blitzkrieg (Germany); Collective Man (China); Defensor (Argentina); Peregrine (France); Shamrock (Ireland); and Talisman (Australia) debut in the series, and each issue contained a catalogue of all featured heroes and was the prototype for the publication the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.^{[citation needed]}

An Avengers Annual eventually reveals that this was a ruse perpetrated by the Grandmaster as he is able to steal Death's powers and then via another deception forces the entity to banish all Elders from her realm, effectively making them immortal.^[3]

Biography

• Contest of Champions Vol. 1 #1-3
• West Coast Avengers Annual #2
• Avengers Annual #16

In other media

A version of the Contest of Champions storyline was adapted in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes. In this version, the Grandmaster pits the Fantastic Four against their worst enemies: a group consisting of Ronan the Accuser, Impossible Man, Annihilus, and the Super-Skrull. In the end, the Thing defeated Ronan the Accuser and saved Earth from destruction.

Scott Lobdell began submitted stories for Marvel, based on these characters for short stories in Marvel Comics Presents.^[4]

Collected Editions

• Avengers: The Contest (Contest of Champions #1-3, West Coast Avengers Annual #2, Avengers Annual #16)

Footnotes

1. ^ Contest of Champions II #1 - 2 (Sept. 1999); #3 (Oct. 1999); #4 - 5 (Nov. 1999)
2. ^ Avengers #175 (Sept. 1978)
3. ^ Avengers Annual #16 (1987)
4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVGQ5km9BuY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP3E42FDB3CA564492