Contest of Champions

[Karma]

Who remembers the first one? Who enjoyed the second one? The SECOND one to me was more interesting, simply because of the brood tie in. I loved the brawl between IronMan and Psylocke. Having Psylocke use the rings of Mandarin (or so it seemed) easily gave her an advantage over Iron Man but i thought even without them, she could have taken him down with her Psi Powers.

Storm seemed to have a BLOOD LUST when chasing after Human Torch. She looked like she was ready to kill him , mean while Phoenix vanquished Justice. Thor went through all of his opponents with ease until he faced Storm..and she prooved to be an unyielding force against him until he decided to kiss her and slip that tongue in LOL!

the most SURPRISING battle in there to me was Scarlett Witch versus Cable. I NEVER saw the Scarlett Witch being SO competent and capable in battle by herself ...especially against a man who LIVED to hunt/fight. SW displayed physical skill that i'd NEVER seen her use in over 20 years and she credited it to "being trained by one of the best fighters in the world [Captain America]", she used her hex blasts and her magick to totally disarm Cable whenever he brandished a weapon and at the very end, it was her hex blast that prooved to be Cable's undoing.

THAT was the fight that i was surprised that i enjoyed so much.

I thought the END was rather weak though...having Rogue being able to absorb everyone's powers...including PHOENIX while under the thrall of the brood queen? i felt that C o C II fell flat at the end.

 

[The Doctor]

The only reason I ever bought the first issue of the first Contest was because of the Female Captain Universe's cameo in the book (whose origins they have never explained) but I did think it was an interesting concept. It's too bad that the second one sucked so hard.

 

[Karma]

the second one featured some hot face offs. even the one panel battles were able to cause intrigue (Phoenix vs. Justice; Black Widow beating down ALL of X-force)

But i hated that Rogue became the crux of the matter and that the Brood became so sloppy at the end of their cleverly laid plans.

again, i have to say the most surprising thing for part II to me was the battle between Scarlett Witch and Cable. I'd NEVER seen Wanda be so capable and competent in a one on one battle , especially against a honed killing machine like Cable. It's a shame that even at her BEST during Avengers vol. III when she was the leader, she wasnt this good.

 

[Rampage]

Speaking of Scarlet Witch, she is simply another member of a long line of women who cannot simply be powerful and good. They all have to be fatally flawed, not simply flawed.

I would have preferred overall to see her get herself together and work with Dr. Strange for a while, then maybe being a counterbalance to him, maybe an archmage with a differing philosophy, maybe even bad. But CRAZY?!! That is too typical of what many unrefined men think of powerful women as it is...

Think of it. Wanda with her crap together, along with She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel/Binary, Rachel, Storm, Kitty, and Illyana Rasputin? Now THAT is a superteam...

 

[Black King]

for those of us a bit to young to remember, what was the general premise was it any good and is it out in trade?

 

[Karma]

the original contest of champions happened in the 1980's.

it involved the Elder of the Universe called The Grandmaster and a hooded female (eventually revealed to be Death) playing a game for the fate of his fellow Elder, The Collector. They used various heroes from around the world to collect the four pieces of the "Golden Globe of Life." If the Grandmaster's team collects the most pieces, the Collector will live again. If Death's team collects the most pieces, the Collector will remain dead.

several "new" characters including: Blitzkrieg, Collective Man, Defensor, Peregrine, Shamrock, and Talisman debuted during this limited series but , with the exception of Talisman, many of them have since gone int obscurity in MU.

and at the end of each issue, all the characters involved were catalogued as the creation of the first "official marvel universe handbook" came into being.

Contest of Champions II occurred at the end of the 90's and is UNRELATED to the original plot. it involved a plot by the brood to eliminate "weaker" heroes from selection through a series of duels as they once again attempted to find new hosts for their brood eggs and power for the brood queen. they planned to use Rogue to absorb the powers of the winning heroes and transfer them to the brood queen. Ms. Marvel aided Rogue and the two women finally settled the legendary bitter grudge between them.