Black Goliath and the Champions

The letters page of Champions #6 noted that Black Goliath was originally considered for membership in the Los Angeles team. Instead, the hero with the power to grow 15-feet-tall received his own solo series, which ran for five issues. Meanwhile, Hercules became the Champions' resident strongman. Although Black Goliath would never join the Champions, a guest appearance in #11 established that he had designed the team's sky-car.

Oddly enough, Black Goliath #3 introduced the supervillain Vulcan. In spite of his name, the criminal appeared to have no connection to the Roman god Vulcan (a.k.a. Hephaestus to the Greeks) or the Olympians in general.

House of Ideas

Defenders: Beyond #5 (Jan. 2023) wrapped up the limited series by taking the heroes to the House of Ideas. Home to a godlike creative force, the surreal dimension included some nostalgic comic book imagery. In drawing attention to the comic book as a storytelling medium, writer Al Ewing and illustrator Javier Rodríguez emphasized the importance of agency and experience within their characters—ending the abstract adventure on an optimistic note.

The House of Ideas is, of course, a longstanding euphemism for Marvel Comics. The cover of Champions #6 (June 1976), for instance, noted that the magazine came from the House of Ideas! In that story, Angel, Iceman, Black Widow and Hercules defeated a costumed villain called Rampage.

Covering the Champions

Marvel Comics used various approaches when picturing heroes on team book covers. The Champions, for example, displayed only Hercules in the upper-left corner of covers throughout most of the series. The color of Hercules' headband changed from red to brown to green as the series progressed, but otherwise the illustration remained consistent. Not until #16 did the corner picture all five founding members of the team.

Hercules Black Widow Angel Ghost Rider Iceman

The corner image of Ghost Rider changed slightly in #17, the final issue of the series.

Even More Marvel Super Heroes - 1982

To round out coverage of the Marvel Superheroes - 1982 biographies from Contest of Champions, this post reproduces the profiles of those heroes known in hindsight as Defenders for a Day. Keep in mind that, by the time of publication, Black Goliath had become the second Giant-Man, and Marvel Man had changed his name to Quasar. Also, while the profile for Tagak mentions the leopard Opar, and the profile for Falcon mentions the bird Redwing, neither of these animals accompanied the heroes as Defenders for a Day.

For good measure, I've included the profiles for Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Paladin (who, arguably weren't Defenders for a Day). Profiles for Ms. Marvel and Son of Satan link to related posts where they also appear.

CAPTAIN ULTRA
(Real name unrevealed) Would-be hero possessing flight, strength, and other powers but has a vulnerability to fire. Nationality unknown. Current whereabouts: unknown. First appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR #177.

FALCON
(Sam Wilson, social worker) American who uses an anti-gravitic suit with wings to fly, and has a nigh-telepathic link with his falcon Redwing. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA #117.

HAVOK
(Alex Summers, archaeology student) American mutant whose body generates cosmic energy that can be siphoned off into explosions. Brother to Cyclops. Occasional member of the X-Men. Current whereabouts: Rio Diablo, New Mexico. First appearance: X-MEN #58.

HERCULES
(Uses no regular alias) Olympian born man-god possessing super-strength. Son of Zeus. Former member of the Avengers. Current whereabouts: Hollywood, California. First appearance: THOR ANNUAL #1.

IRON FIST
(Daniel Rand, investigator/bodyguard) American-born trained in the martial arts in the dimension city of K'un-Lun, master of the "iron fist" technique. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: MARVEL PREMIERE #15.

JACK OF HEARTS
(Jack Hart, student) American endowed with strange energy, enabling him to fly and shoot energy rays, and computer-analyze machinery at a glance. Current whereabouts: Earth. First appearance: DEADLY HANDS OF KING-FU #22.

PALADIN
(Real name unknown) American mercenary possessing great agility and fighting prowess. Wears a bullet-proof vest and carries a gun. Current whereabouts: New York environs. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #150.

POLARIS
(Lorna Dane) American mutant with the ability to control magnetism. Current whereabouts: Rio Diablo, New Mexico. First appearance: X-MEN #49.

QUASAR
(Wendell Vaughn, security chief) American wielding a pair of power-bands from Uranus, capable of tapping any power source and transforming that energy into solid objects or force-beams. Also enables him to fly. First appearance (as Marvel Man): CAPTAIN AMERICA #217. First appearance (as Quasar): HULK #234.

SON OF SATAN
(Daimon Hellstrom, occult expert) American whose father is an arch-demon. Possesses supernatural strength and wields a trident and rides a chariot driven by fiery horses. Occasional member of the Defenders. Current whereabouts: New York City. First appearance: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #12.

STINGRAY
(Dr. Walter Newell, oceanographer) American who uses special deep-sea suit, enabling him to breathe underwater, withstand the ocean's pressure, swim with great speed, and glide through the air for short distances. Also uses an electrical sting-blast. Current whereabouts: Hydrobase, Atlantic. First appearance: SUB-MARINER #19.

TAGAK THE LEOPARD LORD
(No other name known) Extra-dimensional humanoid with great athletic ability and fighting prowess. Though blind, he is able to see by telepathic link to his pet leopard, Opar. Current whereabouts: his home dimension. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #72.

TORPEDO
(Brock Jones, ex-football player, ex-insurance agent, high school coach) American who wears strength-enhancing suit enabling him to fly at great speeds. Current whereabouts: Clairton, Virginia. First appearance: DAREDEVIL #126.

INACTIVE

GIANT-MAN II
(Bill Foster, physicist) Black American who could mentally stimulate growth in height and mass up to about twenty-five feet. First appearance (as Bill Foster): AVENGERS #32. First appearance (as Black Goliath): POWER MAN #24. First appearance (as Giant-Man): MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #55. Reason for retirement: radiation poisoning weakened body.

MS. MARVEL
(Carol Danvers, ex-security agent, freelance writer) American who possessed ability to fly, super-strength, heightened reflexes, and a precognitive Seventh Sense. Former member of the Avengers. First appearance: MS. MARVEL #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.

NOVA
(Richard Ryder, student) American who possessed super-strength and the ability to fly. First appearance: NOVA #1. Reason for retirement: loss of powers.

PROWLER
(Hobie Brown, window washer) Black American who used various gimmicks to fight crime. First appearance: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #78. Reason for retirement: voluntarily gave up costumed identity to devote time to civilian life.

WHITE TIGER
(Hector Ayala, student) Puerto Rican who used mystic amulets to grant heightened strength, speed, agility, and fighting ability. First appearance: DEADLY HANDS OF KING-FU #22. Reason fore retirement: loss of amulets granting power.

DECEASED

CAPTAIN MARVEL
(Mar-vell, captain in Kree militia) Alien humanoid of the Kree Empire who had superhuman strength and fighting skills, photonic powers enabling him to fly, and a zen-like "cosmic awareness" which enabled him to perceive things extrasensorily. First appearance: MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #12. Died from cancer in THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL graphic novel.

This panel from Contest of Champions #1 spotlights the three founding members of the Defenders: Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Dr. Strange. The background features Human Torch, Thing, and Quasar (formerly Marvel Man).

Neutral by Nature: Godzilla

The nine-alignment system outlined in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons recognized that some creatures lack the intelligence to consider Good vs. Evil or Law vs. Chaos. Within the realm of comic books, the character Godzilla fit into this brand of neutrality. Godzilla's monstrous size, however, posed a very real threat to those around and prompted characters of various alignments to take action.

Godzilla #3 found the giant lizard in San Francisco, facing the Champions superhero team on top of the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division). Although both groups had similar objectives to subdue the giant lizard, S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan refused to work alongside any of the Champions.

Dugan: Far as I'm concerned, you're a civilian and that makes you a vigilante--and that makes you a lawbreaker!

Through the lens of AD&D, Dugan wouldn't recognize the Champions unless they too were Lawful Good. As such, while S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Champions remained at odds, Godzilla managed to escape.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

Godzilla. Vol. 1. No. 3. October 1977. "A Tale of Two Saviors." Doug Moench (writer), Herb Trimpe (artist), Tony Dezuniga (inker), Wohl & Watanabe (letterers), Don Warfield (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor).

Pegasus

With the Champions having recently disbanded, Marvel Two-In-One #44 found Hercules asking the Thing for assistance. Powerful monsters had overrun Olympus, and Hercules needed help rescuing his father, Zeus.

The story introduced Hercules riding a chariot drawn by winged white horse. Although the valiant stead resembled Aragorn, the unnamed animal would have been the Pegasus from Greco-Roman mythology.

Marvel Two-In-One. Vol. 1. No. 44. October 1978. "The Wonderful World of Brother Benjamin J. Grimm." Marv Wolfman (guest-writer/editor), Bob Hall (penciler), F. Giacoia (embellisher), J. Costanza (letterer), Michele W. (colorist), Jim Shooter (consulting ed.).

Olympian Alignments

An earlier post looked at several Asgardian characters in in terms of their alignment from the the classic Dungeons & Dragons source book Deities & Demigods (later titled Legends & Lore).

To follow up, here are the D&D alignments listed for a number of characters in Greek mythology, better known by their Roman names to the Defenders.

Neutral Evil: Hades (god of the underworld and death). Known by the Roman name Pluto, this god fought the non-team in Defenders #2-4 (Volume 2).

Chaotic Neutral: Poseidon (god of seas, oceans, streams, and earthquakes). Worshipers include all who depend on the sea. To this point, Sub-Mariner invoked this god by his Roman name whenever he exclaimed, "By Neptune's Trident!"

Deities & Demigods also assigned the Chaotic Neutral alignment to the demigod Heracles from classical mythology. I would describe the Marvel hero Hercules (Roman spelling) as Neutral Good during his modern adventures as a superhero, including his involvement in Defenders for a Day.

Legacy

The recent loss of former teammate Black Widow brought Iceman, Angel, Ghost Rider, Hercules, and Darkstar back to Los Angeles to grieve—and also to reminisce about their days as Champions (Iceman #6).

The group learned that their former headquarters was now a fitness center, and Iceman felt all the more smited when someone mistook him for the Silver Surfer.

In his plain-clothes identity as Bobby Drake, the now-out hero kissed a man for the first time while on an impromptu date. The evening ended abruptly, however, with the arrival of Sentinels (which the team fought in Champions #17, the last issue of their original series).

Sina Grace wrote Iceman #6 (December 2017). A back-up story by Robbie Thompson recounted the hero's origin and personal history, including a flashback to the fight scene from the cover of New Defenders #126.

Neutral Good: The Champions

At face value, mutants Angel and Iceman had little in common with Hercules, Black Widow, or Ghost Rider—outside of the fact that they were all living in Los Angeles at the same time.

Whatever differences they might have had, however, the group largely put them aside while working together as the Champions.

Motivated by a general belief that the world still needs heroes, the short-lived super-team captured the spirit of Neutral Good under the classic alignment system from Dungeons & Dragons.

Lawful Good	Neutral Good	Chaotic Good
Lawful Neutral	True Neutral	Chaotic Neutral
Lawful Evil	Neutral Evil	Chaotic Evil

The silhouetted image above comes from the closing page of Champions #4.

Last Words

Captain Mar-vell turned down a chance to join the Defenders, but they didn't hold that against him (Defenders #62-63).

When the cosmic champion was on his deathbed with cancer, the non-team joined other heroes of Earth in paying their last respects to the Kree warrior in The Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel (1982).

While most everyone remained somber during Mar-vell's final hours, sidekick Rick Jones chastised other heroes for selfishly having invented their own super powers when they could have been searching for a cancer cure. Death in comic books had more significance then than it has today; heroes at that time did not readily return from the grave.

With no word balloons, we can only imagine what transpired between Hercules and Devil-Slayer in the moments leading up to this page from the Captain Marvel graphic novel.

Coming of Age

The end of Defenders #16 left five members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants transformed into infants. Yet when the evil mutant Blob next faced the Defenders (#63), he was an adult again. What happened to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the time in between?

Following his transformation into an infant, Magneto went in captivity at the mutant-research facility on Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland. When the villain Eric the Red used an energy ray to restore him to adulthood, the master of magnetism broke free (X-Men #104).

Held inside a neighboring cell, other members of the Brotherhood inadvertently returned to adulthood as well. But they did not rejoin Magneto. Instead, Blob, Lorelei, and Unus teamed up with Vanisher, who concocted a plot to keep them free (Champions #17).

Chased by a trio of mutant-hunting Sentinels (secretly controlled by Vanisher), the escaped members of the Brotherhood sought refuge in headquarters of the Champions. Since Angel and Iceman of the original X-Men were members of the Los Angeles super-team, Vanisher gambled that the Champions would sympathize with their fellow mutants and agree to harbor them.

The first part of the plan paid off beautifully, as Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Angel, Iceman, and Darkstar trounced the Sentinel robots. But instead of taking in the evil mutants, the Champions captured the band of criminals.

Mastermind, a founding member of the Brotherhood who too became an infant in Defenders #16, did not regroup with his teammates in Champions #17. But the master of illusions must have returned to his true age with the others, as he would become the lynchpin in the Dark Phoenix saga in the pages of the X-Men.

Champions. Vol. 1. No. 17. January 1978. Bill Mantlo (writer), George Tuska (artist), John Byrne (embellisher), John Costanza (letterer), Phil Rachelson (colorist), Archie Goodwin (editor). This was the last issue of the Champions series.

They Were the Champions

With the Son of Zeus and a demonic motorcyclist part of the regular lineup, the loosely organized Champions of Los Angeles played out like a West Coast branch of the Defenders.

A combination of camaraderie and necessity held the Champions together—but only for only so long. Interestingly enough, soon after the series ended with Champions #17, Hercules became a leader of the Defenders for a Day.

Iceman and Angel, of course, later joined the New Defenders (with Angel wearing the halo-crested costume he adopted during his time with the Champions).

A letter to writer Bill Mantlo and editor Archie Goodwin in Champions #15 discussed the five founding members of the team.

Dear Bill and Archie,

Thanks a lot! With CHAMPIONS #12 you've become my favorite Marvel mag, ousting AVENGERS out of the #1 spot—and that takes some doing!

Now to other things. The art was fabulous. Please keep John Byrne on CHAMPS, but have him inked by Frank Giacoia. As to the team itself:

1. Hercules—By all means, keep him. Without Herc, the Champs would have no power. But try to keep his temper down, huh?


2. Black Widow—She shows a great instinct for leadership, and the Champs definitely need a leader. But she needs to exhibit more control. Have her give orders, but don't overdo it.


3. Angel—You're developing him beautifully. I think his new costume is great, and I've been waiting for a long time for the halo on his chest.


4. Iceman—Mr. Drake is improving, also. Don't, I repeat, don't ditch the Iceman!


5. Ghost Rider—You have a problem here. After reading the past lettercols, I get the feeling most fans don't think he fits in well, and I agree.

Danny Dragos
Kings Park, NY

Moondragon Knows Best

Given her off-putting personality, Moondragon did not enter the Avengers' ranks during a lineup change in Avengers #151. And when the federal government reconfigured the team in #181, Moondragon didn't make the cut. Thirty issues later, the insufferable Moondragon took membership matters into her own hands.

When the Avengers discussed plans to streamline the team to only six active members, a horde of heroes suddenly arrived at Avengers Mansion (#211).

Secretly summoned by Moondragon, the cavalcade included Angel, Black Panther, Black Widow, Dazzler, Hawkeye, Hercules, Iceman, Moon Knight, Tigra, and Yellowjacket.

Mentally compelling them to attack one another and try out for the team, Moondragon evaluated each hero's abilities and potential, while the Avengers remained powerless to stop her.

Scarlet Witch: Enough! We demand that you cease this outrage! We can make our own decisions!

Moondragon: Can you? Some of you would choose to stay out of force of habit … or loneliness … or fear of failure in the world beyond these walls! You are children! And it is better that I choose!

Moondragon eventually agreed to back off. Yet her words struck a nerve, as several longstanding Avengers suddenly decided to depart. The Scarlet Witch and Vision, for example, left to focus on their marriage.

Of all the changes, the Beast's was the most surprising—if not conspicuous. The hero announced out of the blue that perhaps Moondragon was right—so he too quit the Avengers to resume his scientific career. This change of heart didn't last long, however, as Beast joined the Defenders soon afterward, and tried to reshape them into an Avengers-like team.

Considering Moondragon's previous decision to mentor Hellcat (Avengers #151), it's of interest that Tigra (who wore the Cat costume first) was the only new hero to stick around and join the team following the chaos (along with returning member Yellowjacket). Was the "cat" symmetry a coincidence? I can't help but imagine that Moondragon was discreetly involved in that and other decisions.

Avengers. Vol. 1. No. 211. September 1981. "…By Force of Mind!" Gene Colan (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Janice Chang (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist), Jim Shooter (scribe).

The Marvel Heavyweights

Hulk and Sub-Mariner, the two physically strongest members of the Defenders, were also two of the hardest heroes to pin down in terms of strength.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (first edition) placed Hulk lifting up to 90 tons when he was calm, with the ability to lift more than 100 tons when angry. Prince Namor, meanwhile, was slated with the ability to lift 40 tons on land and 75 tons underwater.

Two years earlier, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15 (1981) made an initial attempt to classify heroes by their physical strength. Breaking the fourth wall, the humorous back-up feature also included many of the heroes' reactions to their ranking.

THE SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHTS
Hulk: Bah, Hulk should be in a class by himself!
Thor: Forsooth, there is not a match for my mighty thews in all midgard!
Hercules Nay, friend Thor, if Hercules be on Earth, thou art but a close second!
Iron Man: With a potent enough energy source I can charge my armor to this power level--for about two seconds.
Wonder Man: Er … I want to be an actor, not a super guy!

THE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Black Bolt: (empty word balloon)
Doc Samson: I am as strong as a calm Hulk--too bad the Hulk is never calm.
Sasquatch: I haven't met Spider-Man yet, but I once took on the Hulk for fun. (See Incredible Hulk Annual #8.)
Sub-Mariner: Beneath the sea, Namor's strength is supreme. On land, I am still a force to be reckoned with!
Thing: Of all the bum raps I ever got, this beats 'em all! I ain't no crummy second-rater!
Thundra: If I ever run into that web-headed fool, I will squash him for having dared to place me in this category.
Vision: At my maximum density, my strength is most devastating.

Spider-Man and several Defenders fell among the Super Mediumweights or below.

Edward Hannigan illustrated the first-edition covers for The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983).

Defenders for a Day

The day after a TV documentary promoted the Defenders' loose membership policy, more than a dozen heroes arrived at Nighthawk's ranch ready to join the team. Instead of welcoming the prospective members, Nighthawk was enraged.

It's no wonder that the new members' first line of business was to get someone else in charge. Putting it to a vote, they elected Hercules as their leader, but only after Captain Mar-vell said he didn't want the job (Defenders #62).

In a highly strategic move, Valkyrie proposed that the crowd of heroes would work best if they divided into three smaller teams. Nighthawk and Hercules concurred.

Picking his team first, the Son of Zeus chose Black Goliath, Captain Ultra, Havok, Hellcat, Iron Fist, and White Tiger.

Valkyrie then selected Falcon, Jack of Hearts, Prowler, Stingray, and Torpedo. This set a precedent for Valkyrie's later stance (in #121, #126) that the Defenders did not need an official leader, unless of course it was her.

That left Nighthawk leading Marvel Man (Quasar), Nova, Polaris, Tagak, and Daimon Hellstrom ("Son of Satan"), who questioned Nighthawk's leadership skills from the get-go

Although all of the heroes who joined in issue #62 left by the end of #65, Hellstrom later became a regular member of the team. As an aside, there were no signs that Hellstrom and future-spouse Hellcat even noticed one another when he was a Defender for a Day.

As for Captain Mar-vell, the Kree warrior decided he didn't want to join the Defenders at all.

Ms. Marvel, who guest starred in #57, basically returned here to brag that she was now booked up as an Avenger.

And Paladin, who also arrived at the ranch that day, declined to join the team because he worked only for pay.

The Hulk, meanwhile, lept away after many of the one-shot Defenders tried to capture him.

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 63. September 1978. "Deadlier by the Dozen!" David Kraft (story), Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney (artwork), J. Costanza (letters), R. Slifer (colors), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).

The Day the Defenders Stood Still

Although it read like a farce, Defenders for a Day became a defining moment in the team's history. This is the first of several posts discussing the foreshadowing and impact of that fateful day.

Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, and Hulk were the core members of the group in Defenders #62. But when a well-intentioned TV documentary explained that the team lacked an official roster, numerous heroes arrived at the Richmond Riding Academy to announce their membership.

However, half of the superheroes featured on the cover of #62 didn't show up in the story. For starters, Spider-Woman and Human Torch were not Defenders for a Day. Neither was Angel, although he later joined in #125.

Power Man, a former Defender, did not return for this issue either. But his business partner, Iron Fist, was a Defender for a Day without him. A flashback in Last Defenders #3 (2008) pictured Luke Cage's future wife (Jessica Jones) among the Defenders for a Day. This was one of several attempts to situate her heroic alias into the history of the Marvel Universe.

As for the rest, Captain Mar-Vell, Falcon, Jack of Hearts, Nova, and Hercules were Defenders for a Day, along with many heroes not pictured on the cover of Defenders #62.

Iron Man finally arrived in #63. But instead becoming one of the Defenders, he alerted them that swarms of villains also had declared their membership!

Defenders. Vol. 1. No. 62. August 1978. "Membership Madness!" David Kraft (dashing dialogue), Sal Buscema and Jim Mooney (pandemonius pictures), J. Costanza (lively letters), B. Sharen (cozy colors), Bob Hall (enthusiastic editing), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).