The Young Avengers Are Great, But I Know Why Marvel’s Champions Are Even Better

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The Young Avengers were formed when Nathaniel Richards escaped Kang the Conqueror, his future self, and arrived at the present-day Avenger’s Mansion. The Avengers have been disbanded, so he used the Avengers Fail-Safe Program, a list of Avengers-related heroes, to help him to avoid becoming Kang. The Young Avengers team is full of powerful heroes with connections to some of Marvel’s most notable heroes, but there is one team of young heroes that is even better.

The Champions were formed by Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, and Nova when they became disillusioned by the Avengers after the second superhuman Civil War. The main difference between the Young Avengers and the Champions is that the Young Avengers strive to be more like their elder heroes, and the Champions fight with the goal of being better than the heroes that came before them. The Champions’ use of hope and justice rather than unjust force, and their individuality from the Avengers, makes them the superior team, and each of the Champions’ many members demonstrates why in different ways.

10

Starling (AKA Tiana Toomes)

The Hero Daughter of A Famous Villain

One of the more recent members of the Champions, Tiana Toomes, is the granddaughter of the Vulture, a classic Spider-Man villain, and was gifted a Vulture suit by her grandfather. Tiana eventually became romantically involved with Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and the Vulture did not condone a close relationship with a spider-person, but she made it clear she would make her own path without her grandfather in her life.

Tiana chose the name Starling because the brids of the same name have a bad reputation, but are only trying to survive like everyone else, just like how she is related to the Vulture, and has a similar suit, but uses it to fight crime rather than commit it. She uses it to redefine the image that the Vulture made evil, which makes her a perfect Champion, as she strives to be better than her elder, and to make a good name for herself.

9

Falcon AKA (Joaquin Torres)

The Staple Of Global Aid And Heroism

Joaquin Torres fought with the Champions during Secret Empire, and was one of the key members of the Champions’ worldwide initiative when they started operating globally. Joaquin became Falcon when he was kidnapped and experimented on by Karl Malus, who combined Torres’ DNA with the vampiric falcon, Redwing, the avian partner of Captain America (Sam Wilson). Joaquin became Captain America’s sidekick and took on Sam’s previous alias: Falcon.

Even before Joaquin became Falcon, he cared for the Mexican community, leaving food, water, and medicine for those attempting to cross the border. Torres demonstrated a love and compassion for his people, even when the government was failing them, which made him a perfect member for the Champions’ worldwide team. Joaquin represented the Mexican community with the Champions, and was astaple for global care before and after he became a superhero.

8

Ironheart (AKA Riri Williams)

Inspired By Iron Man, Built On Her Own

Riri Williams wasn’t one of the founding members of the Champions, but she did join fairly early on. She fought during the second superhuman Civil War like some of the founding Champions, and she took over the mantle of Iron Man after he fell into a coma during the Civil War. What makes Ironheart so unique next to Iron Man is that she built her own armor from scratch and became her own superhero before she met Iron Man. Riri was a young genius, and used that intelligence to reverse-engineer a piece of Iron Man tech to build her own brand-new suit.

Even though she became closer to Iron Man the more she developed into a hero, eventually she broke away again, and Riri created an even stronger identity in Ironheart. After a devastating fight with Thanos, Riri built a new Ironheart suit based on Thanos’ Chitauri army. What makes Ironheart such a perfect Champion is her ability to be inspired by great heroes, while creating her own identity apart from them.

7

Snowguard (AKA Amka Aliyak)

A Canadian Superhero With An Original Origin

Amka Aliyak is an Inuk from Nunavut, Canada, and as a teenager, she investigated a facility she was suspicious of and discovered the Inua spirit, Sila, in captivity. Amka accidentally caused an explosion, which bonded Sila to her, and gave her the power to transform parts of herself into wildlife. As Amka joined the Champions, she went by the name Snowguard.

Rather than attacking with a heavy hand, Snowguard chose to investigate something she thought was wrong, and she helped those in need, perfectly aligning with the Champions’ morals. Snowguard’s origin is completely original, not based on any other hero, and developed by Jim Zub and Sean Izaakse with the help of the Inuit community. What makes Amka such a special character is that she was able to make a name for herself without the shadow of a bigger hero looming over her.

6

Cyclops (AKA Scott Summers)

A Mutant Trying To Right the Wrongs Of His Future

The version of Scott Summers that joined the Champions was a time-displaced version of Cyclops from the past. Beast pulled the original X-Men from the past because he believed they could help fix the present version of Cyclops, who had gone down a wrong path. When Scott tried to join the Champions, the other members were reluctant because they believed Scott’s older self had become a villain. Scott continued to prove himself to be better than his older self, fitting perfectly within the ranks of team Champions.

Scott is also an example of the representation of all the communities that the Champions are made up of. There are the worldwide Champions, but they also have mutants; they’re not all just Avengers-related heroes. Cyclops proves that the Champions are more than their elders, they can be born of any form of hero.

5

Brawn (AKA Amadeus Cho)

The Smarter Hulk, Which is Saying Something

Amadeus Cho was a friend of Bruce Banner long before he became a Hulk himself. As a young man, Amadeus was given the title of the seventh-smartest man in the world. Eventually, when the Hulk needed help with a new type of radiation, Amadeus absorbed the Hulk’s powers with nanites, and became the new Hulk. Amadeus distanced himself from Bruce Banner and rebranded himself as the better and smarter Hulk, wanting to be better than his predecessor in every way.

Unlike certain members of the Young Avengers that wanted to be like the Avengers, Amadues always did what he could to better himself, rather than following someone else. That includes balancing himself out with his Hulk persona, and calling himself Brawn. Amadeus was one of the founding members of the Champions, and worked hard to prove he could be the Hulk without unnecessary violence.

4

Vivian “Viv” Vision

A Synthezoid With A Soul

The daughter of the Avenger known as the Vision, Vivian Vision was created when Vision wanted to find a way to become more human and created a suburban family of syntheziods. Viv’s brainwaves were created with Vision’s brainwaves combined with Virginia, Vision’s synthezoid wife’s, brainwaves. Viv always wanted to be more human, as she went to school with regular human kids, but really, she already was.

As a member of the Champions, Viv explored her romantic feelings, first by kissing Amadeus Cho, and realizing he wasn’t her type. Viv developed feelings for Riri Williams, and learned how to deal with rejection when Riri didn’t reciprocate those feelings. During an altercation with the High Evolutionary, he actually made Viv fully human for a time, but she eventually reverted to a syntheziod. Viv was never a copy of Vision, like Jonas of the Young Avengers, she was always an upgrade.

3

Nova (AKA Sam Alexander)

A Nova Unlike The Rest

Sam Alexander is unlike any other Nova of the Nova Corps. His father was Jesse Alexander, a member of the Supernovas, also known as the Black Novas. While searching for Jesse and his Nova helmet, Gamora and Rocket Raccoon stumbled upon Sam, who was also looking for his father. Rocket and Gamora trained Sam how to use his father’s Nova helmet, and Sam even befriended Uatu the Watcher.

As Nova, Sam warned the Avengers of the coming Phoenix Force, and helped them in the final battle against the Dark Phoenix. Impressed by his bravery, the Avengers invited Sam to join them, but that fell apart after the second superhuman Civil War. The Avengers no longer lived up to his standards, and Sam became a founding member of the Champions. Sam demonstrated his independence, becoming a powerful Nova without the Nova Corps, and even leaving the Avengers when they were doing what he knew was wrong.

2

Spider-Man (AKA Miles Morales)

The Ultimate Spider-Man

Miles Morales is the Spider-Man of the original Ultimate Universe, Earth-1610. Unlike a lot of the other Champions, Miles was directly inspired by, and worked closely with, his predecessor, Spider-Man. What makes Miles such a good Champion comes after Secret Wars. Miles was relocated to Earth-616 where he had to prove himself as the new Spider-Man all over again. Early on in this new Earth, a vision of the future showed Miles killing Captain America during the events of Civil War II.

Miles had to not only prove to the older heroes that he was worthy of being Spider-Man, but also that he was more than this vision of the future. After the Civil War ended, Miles became one of the three founding members of the Champions, after losing faith in the Avengers. Miles proved to the world that he was good enough, and he overcame it all without Spider-Man, but by being the best Spider-Man he could be.

1

Ms. Marvel (AKA Kamala Khan)

The Greatest Champion

Kamala Khan is the Champion. She was the founder of the Champions, and even though she didn’t always have the confidence to lead the team at first, she held the team together. Kamala is the biggest superhero super fan, especially of Captain Marvel, so the second superhuman Civil War hit her the hardest when Captain Marvel disappointed her so much. Kamala put her passion for her heroes behind her in exchange for what was right.

Ms. Marvel was the one that proclaimed the team’s mission to foster a better tomorrow through hope and wisdom rather than unjust force. Kamala always led the team in the direction of what was right. Her prominent sense of justice exposed itself when the government banned young heroes, and named the law after Ms. Marvel’s secret identity. Kamala always fought for what she knew was right, and made sure her team did too. Kamala set the stage for a better future for young heroes everywhere.

“}]] The Champions prove they’re better than the Young Avengers.  Read More