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Contest of Champions II #1-5
Contest of Champions II
Offered their hearts' desire for victory, Marvel's greatest super heroes are kidnapped by aliens and entered into a gladiator-type tournament. Now our greatest champions face-off in one-on-one combat.
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
25 people want to read
About the author
Chris Claremont
3,286 books899 followersChris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 13, 2019
Nice followup story line from the original mini series. New plot makes this a nice change. Good art and action throughout. Recommended
February 25, 2020
So all the earth's heroes are teleported from earth to a distant world and take part in a 'Contest of Champions' to see who is the best. Well there some fights and some montages of fights but over all result as most of the reviewers have felt it 'meh', the series was just OK. Iron man stays unaffected by whatever the plan was and it's left to him to find a solution and save everyone. And then there's some X-Men villain and some aliens and as usual we win.
I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
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June 3, 2013"That was some contest. But I'm way glad it's over." - Shadowcat
Oh my God, me too. That was tedious.
Oh my God, me too. That was tedious.
January 26, 2025
So this is pretty good but also quite a mess. I havn’t read the first Contest of Champions and no one here makes any references to it so not sure who was even in that one.
At its core this volume is an X-Men story but the closest to a main character is probably Iron Man. The setup is convoluted and the evil alliance doesn’t make a great deal of sense.. but at least some of the bad guys know it doesn’t make any sense.
The editing is choppy with some pages obviously cut out to save room. I don’t mean in this edition but rather the original plot. There’s also some new hero’s introduced who seem like this is their debut but they’re terrible and i really can’t see any need for them given all the heros present.
The match-ups are sometimes fun but mostly very short one-to-two panel affairs. One of the oddest things for me is how badly Clairemont seems to know the x-men, perhaps there were continuity errors with other characters too that i just didn’t notice as I’m more familiar with x-men than others.
Oh before i get to those, the new Spider-Woman is here and is like described as super sexy? Even though i feel like she’s probably younger than spider-man, maybe I’m wrong? Anyway at least she isn’t drawn too sexy, infact it would be nearly impossible to tell here apart from standard Spidey except for the very thin pony-tail.
But the X-men... they do something with Rogue here which is quite a stretch for how her powers work.. but I’ll allow it. However twice it claims Shadowcats basic nature is to be intangible.. that’s not true, i think that may have happened to her once, maybe, don’t recall, but it isn’t true at this point in the comics.
That would mean she would have to concentrate to remain solid instead of concentrating to become intangible, a very different proposition. She also seems to be wearing epaulets for some reason, she looks like a judge from 2000AD.
My main gripe would however be Psylocke. Last i recall she had a face tattoo due to make Crimson Dawn nonsense, that’s gone, turns back up in one panel late on in grey instead of its proper red color. She also had a brief ability to teleport through shadows but no mention of it here.
The very last time she appeared they effectively depowered her by having her trap the Shadow-King inside her mind. If however she ever uses her telepathy again he will get out.
This fact is actually brought up in this comic! It then not only proceeds to let her use her telepathic knife (the literal concentration of her telepathy), but even worse, in her first appearance she went full telepath! So... that’s a mess.
Psylocke aslo sports a new look later on which would be much cooler if we saw her get it but once again that page must have been cut. I’m assuming they gave her that look as one of the new characters looks suspiciously like psylocke.. or at least one of psylockes previous costumes.
In one section, Storm has a vision of Death-Bird, i thought for a moment we where actually going to get a resolution to the Death-Bird/Bishop plot which was dropped.. way back when. The last we saw of Death-Bord and Bishop they where crashing into some big alien ship.
But apparently that was just a misdirect or something.
Oh and i forgot about Cyclops... which this comic also did. He appears on a list of losers but we never even see who he lost too. That’s just sad :lol .
There is some good x-men related character stuff however. Overall a fun messy time.
At its core this volume is an X-Men story but the closest to a main character is probably Iron Man. The setup is convoluted and the evil alliance doesn’t make a great deal of sense.. but at least some of the bad guys know it doesn’t make any sense.
The editing is choppy with some pages obviously cut out to save room. I don’t mean in this edition but rather the original plot. There’s also some new hero’s introduced who seem like this is their debut but they’re terrible and i really can’t see any need for them given all the heros present.
The match-ups are sometimes fun but mostly very short one-to-two panel affairs. One of the oddest things for me is how badly Clairemont seems to know the x-men, perhaps there were continuity errors with other characters too that i just didn’t notice as I’m more familiar with x-men than others.
Oh before i get to those, the new Spider-Woman is here and is like described as super sexy? Even though i feel like she’s probably younger than spider-man, maybe I’m wrong? Anyway at least she isn’t drawn too sexy, infact it would be nearly impossible to tell here apart from standard Spidey except for the very thin pony-tail.
But the X-men... they do something with Rogue here which is quite a stretch for how her powers work.. but I’ll allow it. However twice it claims Shadowcats basic nature is to be intangible.. that’s not true, i think that may have happened to her once, maybe, don’t recall, but it isn’t true at this point in the comics.
That would mean she would have to concentrate to remain solid instead of concentrating to become intangible, a very different proposition. She also seems to be wearing epaulets for some reason, she looks like a judge from 2000AD.
My main gripe would however be Psylocke. Last i recall she had a face tattoo due to make Crimson Dawn nonsense, that’s gone, turns back up in one panel late on in grey instead of its proper red color. She also had a brief ability to teleport through shadows but no mention of it here.
The very last time she appeared they effectively depowered her by having her trap the Shadow-King inside her mind. If however she ever uses her telepathy again he will get out.
This fact is actually brought up in this comic! It then not only proceeds to let her use her telepathic knife (the literal concentration of her telepathy), but even worse, in her first appearance she went full telepath! So... that’s a mess.
Psylocke aslo sports a new look later on which would be much cooler if we saw her get it but once again that page must have been cut. I’m assuming they gave her that look as one of the new characters looks suspiciously like psylocke.. or at least one of psylockes previous costumes.
In one section, Storm has a vision of Death-Bird, i thought for a moment we where actually going to get a resolution to the Death-Bird/Bishop plot which was dropped.. way back when. The last we saw of Death-Bord and Bishop they where crashing into some big alien ship.
But apparently that was just a misdirect or something.
Oh and i forgot about Cyclops... which this comic also did. He appears on a list of losers but we never even see who he lost too. That’s just sad :lol .
There is some good x-men related character stuff however. Overall a fun messy time.
March 22, 2018
Man, this was dumb. Boring, pitting hero vs hero, but poorly written fights. I mean, Phoenix alone doesn't just incinerate every other character if she's being controlled by nanites to make her angry and malevolent? And the rules (of the comic, not the contest. There are no real rules of the contest) keep changing and not everything is explained? Ugh, skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.
May 18, 2015
This series was alright but to be honest, it felt like way to much technical jargon dialogue at times especially from Ironman lol. I found his parts to be exhausting. Otherwise, it was interesting to see various superheroes fight against each other and which ones came out on top.
March 7, 2011
Not very good.
September 13, 2017
Most of the defects of a Claremont book and most of the defects of a Contest of Champions book. But parts of it are OK, I guess.
January 30, 2026
Dopo aver letto il primo "Contest of Champions", qui un salto di qualità c'è ed è visibile: abbiamo una storia articolata, una trama orizzontale, dialoghi di approfondimento...Purtroppo, ancora una volta, ha prevalso l'idea di "Usiamo tutti i supereroi!" in uno spazio troppo piccolo.
Il nemico poteva usare la stessa trama con un cast più ridotto, perché si capisse dove andava la serie senza tanti fronzoli.
Non è una brutta mini, ma risulta ancora un po' goffa, sbrigativa.
Il nemico poteva usare la stessa trama con un cast più ridotto, perché si capisse dove andava la serie senza tanti fronzoli.
Non è una brutta mini, ma risulta ancora un po' goffa, sbrigativa.
February 24, 2024
All but one of the fights are lame, and they barely have time to breathe. But the actual brood plot is pretty decent.
February 20, 2016
In the first issue of the collection, Iron Man and the Human Torch are doing a drill with the government when Rogue interrupts. Suddenly, the three are zapped and they are transported to a space craft. On the ship, they find out that they have been summoned by Coteire, because they want to have a contest to see which superhero is the best of the best. Iron Man, however, is not buying the simplicity of the situation as being projected by a hologram in his room, because he can detect the nanites that are crawling all over his suit and registering as a biohazard. Then we discover that the ship has captured a number of superheroes and the nanites are infecting them to make them believe they are living their dreams. The hosts detect that Iron Man hasn't been infected with the nanites and make him fight in the arena first against Psylocke, who attacks as soon as she see's him. Things aren't looking good for Iron Man, but when he realizes that most of the battle is just an illusion, he defeats Psylocke. Soon, Iron Man has to battle the X-Force- Cannonball, Moonstar, Sunspot, Meltdown, Proudstar, and Siryn, and he deals with them with ease. However, then Jesse Bedlam (who can disrupt any kind of electrical or mechanical system) get a hold of him and Domino appears to knock him out. The Coteire say they are transporting Iron Man back to where he came from, but behind the scenes they say that they are disposing him. The X-Force move on to the next round.
In the second issue, Iron Man and Psylocke appear in an area that they think is another part of the ship. Iron Man ties Psylocke up because she still wants to battle because of the nanites. Iron Man uses his tech to modify the nanites so they help them fight against the bad nanites. Meanwhile, a number of battles go on in the arena- The Human Torch beats Spider Woman, the Hulk beats Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch beats She Hulk, and Storm beats the Human Torch (because H.T. decides he doesn't want a contest to ruin his streak of not using his powers to do harm). During this time, the Coteire leaders approach Katherine "Kitty" Pryde and discover that the nanites are making hers sick because she is resisting them.
In the third issue, The Scarlet Witch beats Cable (or does he give up?). In his last words he tells her that the contest is a trick. In the other area where Iron Man is, Spider Woman is next to appear and she is immediately chased by the predators in the area. Rosetta Stone and Lockdown appear and kill the predator and pick up Spider Woman. Then they meet Iron Man and Psylocke and team up. They also discover that they are battling The Brood. In the arena, the next battle is between the New Warriors and the Slingers...but this time they don't fight, they play basketball and the New Warriors win. Meanwhile, Pryde and Shadowcat are being experimented on by The Brood. The Brood is trying to transfigure the supers and get them to join The Brood. In the arena, battling continues- Spider Man beats Beast, Domino beats Power Man, Hawkeye beats The Wasp, Iron Fist beats Colossus, Daredevil beats Firestar, Phoenix beats Justice, Gambit beats Quicksilver, Black Panther beats the New Warriors, Black Widow beats Wonder Woman, Deadpool beats Generation-X, the Invisible Woman beats Iron Fist, and Thor beats Storm.
In the fourth issue, Deadpool takes on Daredevil and wins. Meanwhile, others are being transported to the jungle and learning that not old did the Coterie lied to them, but their powers have also been zapped. The all team up and are told that The Brood are weeding them out so they can take the best of the best and put an embryo in them so when their creature is born, it will absorb the power from it's host. In the arena, the Black Widow beats the X-Force, but is then beaten by Thor. Next, Phoenix beats the Thing, Spiderman beats Domino, Captain America beats Black Panther, and Gambit beats Wolverine. The Brood thinks they have the heroes finally narrowed down, Hawkeye takes his aim from the rafters.
In the final issue, we pick up with Hawkeye taking aim at the Brood who has taken the shape of Rogue. While Hawkeye and Gambit are fighting, the "mother" of the Brood, who has taken the form of Rogue, has sucked up all the power from the remaining heroes to make herself extremely powerful. But then Hawkeye and a group of the "defeated" heroes come back to fight the mother while others go free who they can in other parts of the ship. The team is about to take down the queen but then they are teleported to safety. However, the queen breaks the transmission system which leaves her and Warbird to battle while the other two women try to figure out how to get themselves and Warbrid out of there safely. Right before the ship blows, the mother leaves Rogues body and the four of them transport to the military training area where the storyline began. Of course, though, the mother lives on.
In the second issue, Iron Man and Psylocke appear in an area that they think is another part of the ship. Iron Man ties Psylocke up because she still wants to battle because of the nanites. Iron Man uses his tech to modify the nanites so they help them fight against the bad nanites. Meanwhile, a number of battles go on in the arena- The Human Torch beats Spider Woman, the Hulk beats Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch beats She Hulk, and Storm beats the Human Torch (because H.T. decides he doesn't want a contest to ruin his streak of not using his powers to do harm). During this time, the Coteire leaders approach Katherine "Kitty" Pryde and discover that the nanites are making hers sick because she is resisting them.
In the third issue, The Scarlet Witch beats Cable (or does he give up?). In his last words he tells her that the contest is a trick. In the other area where Iron Man is, Spider Woman is next to appear and she is immediately chased by the predators in the area. Rosetta Stone and Lockdown appear and kill the predator and pick up Spider Woman. Then they meet Iron Man and Psylocke and team up. They also discover that they are battling The Brood. In the arena, the next battle is between the New Warriors and the Slingers...but this time they don't fight, they play basketball and the New Warriors win. Meanwhile, Pryde and Shadowcat are being experimented on by The Brood. The Brood is trying to transfigure the supers and get them to join The Brood. In the arena, battling continues- Spider Man beats Beast, Domino beats Power Man, Hawkeye beats The Wasp, Iron Fist beats Colossus, Daredevil beats Firestar, Phoenix beats Justice, Gambit beats Quicksilver, Black Panther beats the New Warriors, Black Widow beats Wonder Woman, Deadpool beats Generation-X, the Invisible Woman beats Iron Fist, and Thor beats Storm.
In the fourth issue, Deadpool takes on Daredevil and wins. Meanwhile, others are being transported to the jungle and learning that not old did the Coterie lied to them, but their powers have also been zapped. The all team up and are told that The Brood are weeding them out so they can take the best of the best and put an embryo in them so when their creature is born, it will absorb the power from it's host. In the arena, the Black Widow beats the X-Force, but is then beaten by Thor. Next, Phoenix beats the Thing, Spiderman beats Domino, Captain America beats Black Panther, and Gambit beats Wolverine. The Brood thinks they have the heroes finally narrowed down, Hawkeye takes his aim from the rafters.
In the final issue, we pick up with Hawkeye taking aim at the Brood who has taken the shape of Rogue. While Hawkeye and Gambit are fighting, the "mother" of the Brood, who has taken the form of Rogue, has sucked up all the power from the remaining heroes to make herself extremely powerful. But then Hawkeye and a group of the "defeated" heroes come back to fight the mother while others go free who they can in other parts of the ship. The team is about to take down the queen but then they are teleported to safety. However, the queen breaks the transmission system which leaves her and Warbird to battle while the other two women try to figure out how to get themselves and Warbrid out of there safely. Right before the ship blows, the mother leaves Rogues body and the four of them transport to the military training area where the storyline began. Of course, though, the mother lives on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2017
Claremont se ha currado más el guión que en la primera parte, pero el dibujo de Jiménez y el estridente color, propios de su penosa década, le restan atractivo. Mejor trama, peores combates.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews