Versus their counterparts, the Freelancers! And you’ll be surprised to see who’s left standing at the end of the battle!

Unfortunately, the preview for this issue is totally wrong.  I mean we see the Champions and the Freelancers in this issue, but there is no versus and definitely no battle for us to see who is left standing.

However, Mark Waid does give us a good start to a story arc that will probably lead up to the above promised battle.  This issue gives readers a look at the positive things that can happen when people are given a positive example to inspire them. And on the flip side, we are shown how greed and a lack of compassion can bring out the ugly in people and how that can become all they stand for. We see the Champions together, working on their team work but having fun with each other and further demonstrating that these kids are becoming more then just teammates.  On the opposite side, we are shown more about the Freelancers and the corporation that keeps them on the payroll. It is an effective comparison of these two groups of young people and shows us that a small seed of negativity can easily grow into something worse, just as easily as a positive example can lead people to do good.

And as I said with the last issue, I am really enjoying Humberto Ramos‘ art in this book.  He really brings these characters to life, giving each their own personality and the style really works with the youthful tone of this book.  I really hope that he is planning on staying with this book, because I really think his art just matches with the writing perfectly, and I personally think the book would lose something if it was to lose him.

Overall, I liked this issue. It didn’t blow me away like the last issue did, but this does set up something that we are going to see come to fruition down the line and really test the team and their resolve. I like the Freelancers and their contrary position to our heroes and I am looking forward to seeing the two teams comes face to face. I’m sure any fan of the Champions will enjoy this issue and I hope they are as excited for what’s to come as I am.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Humberto Ramos
Story:6.5 Art: 9 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review