Contest of Champions

Infobox comic book title
title = Contest of Champions


caption = Cover of "Contest of Champions" #1 (June 1982). Art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.
schedule = Monthly
format =
limited=y
publisher = Marvel Comics
date = June - August 1982
issues = 3
main_char_team = See Text
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subcat=Marvel Comics
sort=PAGENAME

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

Publication history

This was significant as it was Marvel's first published limited series. An unrelated sequel, "Contest of Champions II", was published in 1999.

Plot

The Elder of the Universe, the Grandmaster challenges a hooded female called the Unknown - later revealed to be Death - to a game for the life of his fellow Elder, the Collector. [Killed by the cosmic being Korvac in Avengers #175 (Sep. 1978)] The pair decide to use various superheroes from around the world to collect the four pieces of a prize called the "Golden Globe of Life." If the Grandmaster's team win, the Collector will be resurrected; while a victory for Death's team will mean the Collector remains dead.

From the collected heroes, Grandmaster and Death select teams of 12 to compete in the four competitions for the sections of the Globe:

The Grandmaster's team is successful (although the actual comic depicts a tie), and the Grandmaster learns that for the Collector to be resurrected, he must take his fellow Elder's place in the Realm of the Dead. Although the Grandmaster accepts, this later proves to be a ruse as he is able to steal Death's powers and then through still another trick forces her into banishing all Elders from her realm - effectively making them immortal. ["Avengers" Annual #16 (1987)]

The series featured the debut of six new international heroes - Blitzkrieg (Germany); Collective Man (China); Defensor (Argentina); Peregrine (France); Shamrock (Ireland) and Talisman (Australia). Each issue contained a catalogue of all featured heroes and was the prototype for the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe".

Footnotes