Anticipation is high for Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos’ upcoming Champions #1, and that enthusiasm has already resulted in significantly high pre-order numbers.
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Pre-orders for Champions #1 have already crossed over the 400,000 mark, partly due to its vibrant roster of young heroes and also partly due to the well-known track record of Waid and Ramos.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the response to the new Champions series,” SVP of Sales and Marketing David Gabriel told ComicBook.com. “Hitting the 400K mark shows that the entire comics industry is ready and waiting for the story Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos have to tell. As the weeks go on, I imagine that excitement will hit a fever pitch with fans and we’re not done yet. Between the launch parties and other Marketing initiatives, there’s a lot to be excited about with Champions right now.”
In addition to retailer launch parties for the first issue, Marvel is also issuing a 1:1000 retailer incentive variant cover from Mike Hawthorne, which can be viewed in the gallery.
The new team consists of Nova, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Ms. Marvel, the Totally Awesome Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv Vision, and young Cyclops from the All New X-Men. That last addition will actually be the first hurdle that the Champions will need to clear according to Editor Tom Brevoort.
“This is the young Scott Summers pulled from the past. In my head, he’s kind of the first challenge the group faces,” Brevoort explains. “Which is to say that when they get together and start to do this, what they’re doing is not just putting together a superhero team, they’re more like activists. They’re making an inclusive statement that they mean to be for all members of their generation: it’s time to get together and stand up and fix the world. This is a message that goes out and people come in response to it. Cyclops shows up and goes, “Boy I love what you’re putting down, I’d like to be a part of it.” It’s kind of like Kid Hitler showing up at the door. The older Cyclops has done some stuff. He’s a hugely divisive figure in the Marvel universe, so the first question these kids have to answer for themselves is, should we let him be a part of this? Is his very presence going to taint what we’re doing? His older self became a radical and a revolutionary and did awful things, but is it the same guy? And that’s kind of why he’s there I think. He wants to go down a different road than his older self did.”
Eisner Award winning writer Mark Waid and Eisner Award-nominated artist Humberto Ramos join forces to bring you a teen team supreme that refuses to adhere to the antiquated ways of old. It’s time to be heroes again, and Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales, Nova, Cyclops, Viv Vision and the Totally Awesome Hulk are ready to answer the call. All it takes is six young heroes and you can change the world. They are the Champions – and they’re just getting started!
Champions #1 hits comic stores on October 5th.
