IMUS CHAMPION
IMUS CHAMPION
Real Name: Imus Champion
Identity/Class: Human (see comments) technology user
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Armed costumed agents,
Talima (personal assistant), unidentified lawyer;
formerly Mephisto;
formerly employed Boris, the Corruptor (Jackson Day),
Fleshtones, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Lady Bullseye, Ninotchka, Peregrine, unidentified US intelligence agent, unidentified old female secret agent with surgical skills
Enemies: Avengers (Captain America/Steve
Rogers, Firestar/Angelica Jones, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony
Stark, Justice/Vance Astrovik, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff,
Thor/Odinson, Vision), Black Panther (T'Challa), Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Conan of Cimmeria, Courier, Hatut Zeraze, Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Lynx,
Namor the Sub-Mariner, Peregrine (Alain Racine), Nyla Skin, Squadron Supreme (Doctor Spectrum/Joe Ledger, Haywire/Harold
Danforth, Hyperion, Moonglow/Arcanna Jones, Power Princess/Zarda
Shelton, Shape/Raleigh Lund, Skylark/Linda Lewis, Whizzer/Stanley
Stewart) of Earth-712 (aka "Earth-S"), Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett);
indirectly Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Boris Korpse,
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Sumi
Base of Operations: A retreat in Marin County on the
California coast;
"Champion Tower"
a base in Marin County, outside Sausalito, across the bay
from San Francisco, California
First Appearance: Avengers I#109 (March, 1973)
Powers/Abilities: Champion is about nine feet tall and appears to possess some degree of superhuman strength, though the extent of his own ability is unknown, as he usually wears an exo-skeleton. He was strong enough to grab the wheel of a plane as it was taxiing for takeoff, and bring that wheel to a complete halt.
A data storage unit implanted into his skull and connected to his brain enabled him to transfer his mind into surrogate robot bodies designed as muscular, normal-sized males.
Champion claims to have mastered all physical skills, but had demonstrated most significantly a proficiency in archery.
Champion formerly wore an armored suit, equipped with a null force field, preventing most attacks from striking him. His gloves fire wrist blasts able to disintegrate most forms of matter.
Champion wore a teleportation suit that he purchased from unidentified parties; per Champion, its cost matched that of a private island. While the technology allowed Champion to teleport and out of Wakanda, despite their technology shields that normally blocked such transportation; however, it was good for only one round trip.
Champion wore an underwater suit that allowed him to travel to the ocean's depths and still allowed him mobility to physically combat others.
Amongst his special collectables and weapons are:
Perhaps his greatest weakness is an apparently pathological need to accomplish things in a grandiose fashion, drawing the attention of others to stop him, when he could have easily accomplished his goals in secret.
Height: 9'
Weight: 776 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black (graying)
History:
(Avengers I#109 (fb) - BTS) - As he grew, Imus Champion developed an
extraordinarily large body, one so large that doctors told him he would
never be able to physically support himself. Instead, Champion drove
himself to build his muscles powerful enough to do just that. In
addition, he established himself as an entrepreneur, becoming one of
the fifty wealthiest men on the planet.
(Black Widow V#5 (fb) - BTS) - The Time magazine considered him a genius, Guy Health reported about his goal to become the richest man on the planet and the Daily Bugle wrote an article about his most recent corporate takeover.
(Avengers I#109 (fb) - BTS) - Champion sought to
obtain a ship containing a nerve gas shipment, which had sunken off the
coast of California in 1942. Realizing that the Coast Guard would stop
him before he could ever reach the ship, he decided that by triggering
the San Andreas Fault, he could sink California, thus moving the US
coast such that the ship would now be in international waters. In
addition, the resultant chaos would divert the law away from his
activities.
Champion thus had a series of charges placed along
the fault, which he could have detonated at any time. However, desiring
a more spectacular display of his abilities, he decided that he wished
to trigger the detonator by firing an arrow from a distance. As he
lacked training in archery, he decided that he must recruit someone to
train him. He decided to recruit the Avenger Hawkeye (Clint Barton) to
train him.
(Avengers I#109) - Arriving late for his flight to New York,
Champion instructed his chauffeur to drive through a fence onto the runway,
heading off the taxiing airliner. Though the plane is already going 50 mph,
Champion leapt out, grabbed the landing gear and stopped one wheel, causing the
airliner to pivot to a stop. Security confronted him, but upon learning that he
owned the whole airline, they let him board the plane and fly to New York.
Champion subsequently recruited Hawkeye to train
him, telling him that he merely wished to become a talented archer to
complete the list of skills which he had mastered. Hawkeye agreed to
train him in exchange for a donation of one million dollars to his
favorite charity, and over a period of weeks he accomplished his goal.
Champion had wished Hawkeye to send a letter to the Avengers, assuring
them of his well being, but as Hawkeye had recently left the group on
bad terms, he declined. Claiming he did not wish the Avengers to think
Hawkeye missing, Champion expertly forged the letter himself.
No sooner had Champion completed his training when
he began to prepare to trigger the fault as intended. Hawkeye was
appalled to learn what he intended and prepared to stop him, but
Champion destroyed his bow and then captured him. Champion attached
Hawkeye to one of the bombs and prepared to fire the arrow at the
detonator. However, the Avengers had been alerted to a problem when
Wanda (Scarlet Witch) realized that Hawkeye would have signed the
letter "Clint," rather than "Hawkeye," as Champion had. The Avengers
(Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision)
arrived on the scene, but Champion and his agents managed to hold them
off. The Vision freed Hawkeye just as Champion was drawing back his
bow, and Hawkeye used his spare bow to fire an arrow that cut
Champion's moving bow string from a distance of 50 yards, spoiling his
aim.
Thor then opened a chasm beneath Champion's feet, and Hawkeye fired a knockout gas arrow that incapacitated him. Champion was delivered to the authorities.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#126 (fb) - BTS) - Champion's prison sentence was commuted when it was learned that his massive form was deteriorating, apparently a progression of the disease which had tortured his body since his youth.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#124 (fb) - BTS) - Champion hired le Peregrine to capture the Lynx, who carried the Panacea drug, a cure to all known disease.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#124 - BTS) - Peregrine successfully obtained the Lynx, stealing her from both Wolverine and the Courier.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#125 (fb) - BTS) - Peregrine brought Lynx to Champion's retreat.
(Marvel
Comics Presents I#125) - Champion chastised his doctors for complaining
about being attacked by the ferocious Lynx, reminding them that he was
paying them one million dollars each, which should compensate them for
such hardships. When she bit him, however, he swatted her unconscious.
When Wolverine and the Courier arrived and confronted le Peregrine,
Champion's agents, the Fleshtones, attacked them all, until the
Fleshtones were subdued by the newly arrived Black Widow.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#126) - Champion's agents checked on the Fleshtones, bringing them before Champion himself, only to learn that they were actually being worn by Courier, Wolverine, and le Peregrine, the latter of which had been convinced to join forces with the former two. They were then joined by the Black Widow, who knocked back. As the struggles caused his retreat to combust, Champion refused to allow the work for the cure to his condition to go up in flames, and he rushed into the fires after them.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#129 (fb) - BTS / Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 (fb) - BTS) - Aided by his skills in stage magic and illusion, Champion survived the fire relatively unscathed and continued his search for the Lynx. Courier and le Peregrine infiltrated his costumed agents.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#129) - Champion led his agents to the Antarctic Base of They, in search of either Lynx, or the Malaigent, from which he hoped to reverse engineer the cure for his condition. When Wolverine and the Widow disabled They's security system, Champion led his men to infiltrate the base. Finding Lynx alongside Wolverine, he attempted to take her by force, confronting Wolverine, but was knocked down by Courier and Peregrine, who ambushed him from behind. They unleashed their defenses, slaughtering Champion's agents, and Peregrine struggled to hold Champion himself.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#130) - Sometime later, Peregrine wrote a story based on the Panacea and the recent conflicts, but his publisher rejected the idea. Peregrine had no idea that Champion owned the Publishing House.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 (fb) - BTS) - Champion purchased a biotechnology company which had developed a cure to his condition, thus achieving the cure for himself.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 (fb) - BTS) - Champion began collecting singular artifacts of power and interest.
(Avengers III#5 (fb) - BTS) - Wealthy entrepreneur Imus Champion initiated
Operation: Smokescreen to keep the Avengers from interfering with his
plans to pilfer a spacecraft from Thanos' fleet that had crashed years
before (cicra Avengers I#125) from the seafloor of Northern Maine before it could be recovered by the US government. Champion
employed the Corruptor (Jackson Day), first programming him with a post-hypnotic
suggestion so he could not reveal Champion's involvement or location. Using an image inducer to pose as Project: PEGASUS administrator Andrew Kappelhof, Corruptor took control of the Squadron Supreme (Dr. Spectrum,
Haywire, Hyperion, Moonglow, Power Princess, Shape, Skylark, Whizzer) who were then based out of the Project.
(Avengers III#5 (fb)) - The US government had Project: PEGASUS send out a recovery team, traveling by commercial airliner for security reasons. However, the plane (owned by Championair) crashed, though it remained afloat with most of its passengers alive.
(Avengers III#5) - Duane Freemen sent the Avengers (Captain America, Firestar, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Justice, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision) to investigate the plot. As they approached, the Corruptor sent the Squadron Supreme to confront the Avengers, accusing them of being imposters impersonating the heroes apparently lost during the battle against Onslaught. A fight ensued, covering the final raiding of the alien ship, which was subsequently delivered to Champion's Boston warehouse, to be shipped directly to Champion as machine parts. However, Champion realized that the Avengers would eventually figure out what was going on, and so he began plans to crush them before they knew what had hit them.
(Avengers III#6 - BTS) - Suspecting the Squadron had
been
mind controlled (again), the Avengers investigated Project: PEGASUS.
This led to another battle with the Squadron, but Scarlet Witch freed
the Squadron from the Corruptor's influence. Warbird identified
the Corruptor's image inducer, and Hawkeye de-activated the device,
revealing the Corruptor's true form, after which Power Princess punched
him out.
(Avengers III#6) - Frustrated, Champion planned a reckoning against the Avengers and the Squadron.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 (fb) - BTS) - The Squadron used unspecified means to protect themselves against further mind control.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 (fb) - BTS) -
Seeking to provoke a confrontation and a contest between himself and
the the
Avengers and Squadron Supreme, Champion -- via unrevealed means --
initiated an attempt to again take control of the Squadron's minds.
Despite their precautions, Moonglow was uncertain they would be able to
fend off the attack, and she sent a message to Avengers mansion, asking
their help.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998) - After the
Squadron and Avengers arrived, Champion challenged them both to stop
him from
walking to his tower and transmitting the detonation codes to his
satellite, which would activate twenty explosive devices, each within a
major American city, containing a sufficient payload of military-grade
nerve gas to kill every living thing within a 200 mile radius.. In addition, he covered the field with an
electromagnetic dome that would also trigger the explosives if any of
them tried to leave the group or contact the outside world.
Champion vanished from sight, leading the teams
to split up into smaller groups to locate him.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 - BTS) - Firestar had ants carry a message to Giant-Man (Hank Pym) who then led other ants to destroy Champion's equipment; at the same time he notified public officials of the bombs' locations, so that they could be safely dismantled.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998) - Using his various weapons, he successfully incapacitated all sixteen heroes and made it to his tower. Though he regretted having to kill so many innocent people, he felt it more important that he follow through with his threat. However, upon his arrival, Giant-Man revealed the incapacitation of Champions' tower's equipment. All of the other heroes recovered and confronted Champion as well, and he surrendered, promising them all that his attorneys would have him out within a week, and that they would file suit for this false arrest.
(Avengers III#10) - A few days later, Champion's lawyer discussed with him the positive progress of his motion to dismiss the charges against him. Unconcerned, Champion instead contemplated the fact that the Avengers had defeated him, and that he must train and prepare so that next time...
(Black Widow V#4 (fb) - BTS) - Imus harvested the brain of Ivan Petrovich after his death.
(Black Widow V#3 (fb) - BTS) - Imus, calling himself Sumi, came to cybernetics expert Ned, the son of a Russian scientist in the same field, and had him create a data storage device based on his father's work. Sumi looked at the papers on the device his father had made for Black Widow and started asking Ned questions about it. He figured out a lot about everything on his own. Eventually Sumi asked Ned to find a way to watch human memories, but it didn't work as Sumi expected when he tried it on a frozen brain in his possession (the brain of Black Widow's old mentor Ivan Petrovich). Sumi took the data unit Ned had made for him and his research somewhere else.
(Black Widow V#4 (fb) - BTS) - After finding out about the data storage unit in Black Widow's belly Imus decided to go after her to destroy the heart of the Avengers. He learned from Ivan's brain many shocking information about Black Widow like the dead baby.
(Black Widow V#3 (fb) - BTS) - Imus used Ned's data storage unit to control surrogate robot bodies.
(Black Widow V#5 (fb) - BTS) - At some point Imus bought an intelligence agent, who was in debt with former HAMMER leader Norman Osborn, by promising him new weapons technology if he framed Black Widow for spying on her allies and selling the information.
(Black Widow V#1 (fb) - BTS) - Imus sent Black Widow an envelope with a black rose and a ribbon to play mind games with her (it was a reminder to her dead baby and its father from years earlier).
(Black Widow V#1) - One of Imus' surrogate robot bodies watched Black Widow through a sniper rifle scope meeting with former KGB agent Black Rose, the only rose she knew, to learn if the content of the envelope meant anything to him, but he couldn't help her.
Later the robot shot Black Widow with a tranquilizer dart to sedate her when she spotted and attacked his agent, an old female surgeon, working for Imus. The robot watched the old woman cut a data storage device from her lower body without perforating her stomach or intestines. Sumi complimented the old woman for her skills before murdering her and keeping the device for himself. Sumi apologized to Black Widow for the pain and asked her to come looking for him as soon as she could.
(Black Widow V#4 (fb) - BTS) - Sumi hired Lady Bullseye.
(Black Widow V#2 - BTS) - Imus forced Black Widow to go into hiding by exposing her spying on the superhero community for years through the device in her belly, which was a highly advanced data storage device, the size of a pill, capable of wireless uploads and downloads of vast amounts of information. An intelligence agent, who had previously endorsed Norman Osborn, and was now working for Imus Champion revealed to Hawkeye, Tony Stark and Captain America (Barnes) that the Black Widow was collecting info on all of her allies on how to get to them. He added the Black Widow was going to sell the information to the highest bidder, but they wouldn't believe him until Stark received a call that Pepper Potts had been shot by Lady Bullseye with a sound rifle, which knocked her out. Imus' plan succeeded and Black Widow was now wanted by the FBI, who offered a 1 million dollar reward for information that led to her arrest.
(Black Widow V#3 (fb) - BTS) - Sumi hired Ninotchka and Boris to go after Black Widow.
(Black Widow V#3 - BTS) - Black Widow went to London and visited Ned, the son of the Russian scientist, who had created the device stolen from her belly and learned from him about his former employer Sumi, what he had learned about Widow's storage unit from his father's papers and what he had created for him.
(Black Widow V#3) - Imus, controlling a surrogate robot, who revealed himself as Sumi, confronted Black Widow alongside Boris and Ninotchka in the burning lab of Ned, which had just been blown up by one of Imus' agents. During the battle Ninotchka slew Ned with a knife before the Widow knocked her and Boris out. Black Widow shot the Sumi robot, who revealed he had more bodies like this one to control, thanks to Ned's data storage unit. He then told Black Widow to follow the rose because this was how he found her baby.
(Black Widow V#5 (fb) - BTS) - Black Widow activated a virus within the files from the data storage unit stolen from her, which would destroy every computer that had downloaded or shared information from it.
(Black Widow V#4 - BTS) - Paralyzed by Black Widow Lady Bullseye revealed Sumi had hired her for the hit on Pepper and that Black Widow would contact her. He didn't give her a message for Black Widow because he had already given it to her. Black Widow took a memory drive from her and traveled to Russia to find answers, but found none.
(Black Widow V#4) - Imus, controlling another robot body, approached Black Widow at a restaurant in Munich, Germany. She had figured who he actually was and was mad at him for having memories only Ivan should've had. Black Widow destroyed the Sumi robot for mentioning her dead baby and husband before Captain America (Barnes) and Imus' intelligence operative captured her. Barnes was unaware the intelligence agent kept her in a cooler to get ready for Sumi.
(Black Widow V#5) - Imus was in bed with four women when he activated another surrogate robot. Using the robot he visited Black Widow in the cooler to tell her how he had downloaded all the secrets from the storage unit and read them, including the incomplete file on Imus himself. Black Widow told him it was incomplete because he wasn't worth his time and still wasn't. She wondered if Imus had become too weak to come after her by himself due to his disease.
They were joined the the intelligence agent, who Black Widow provoked until he hit her so hard the chair she was bound to fell over. Black Widow broke free and forced the agent to reveal how Imus had bought him. She then revealed how she had recorded the whole conversation and that she had days ago activated a virus within the data Imus and the agent had spread that would destroy every computer it came in contact with, including the one in Imus head. Imus lost control over the robot when the virus caused the robot's brain and Ned's data storage device in Imus' head to short-circuit.
His scientists fixed the storage
unit, but told him to contact the original creator, which was
impossible because he was dead, as it could short-circuit again. Black
Widow appeared and Imus' underlings fled. He revealed how he couldn't
part with Ivan's brain even after he had downloaded all its memories.
Unplugging himself from the computer Imus attacked Black Widow, who
smashed Ivan's brain over Imus' head. During the fight Black Widow
noticed all of Imus' medication and realized he was dying and wanted
her to kill him so he could send his mind into a robot body. Black
Widow left him alive, but left Imus in a vegetative state by deleting
his mind and his connection to the robots.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1 (fb) - BTS) - Imus Champion allied with Hell-lord Mephisto in a plot to manipulate time-displaced Hyborian warrior Conan of Cimmeria into freeing Mephisto from Las Vegas' Hotel Inferno, in which he had been mystically bound; however, Mephisto provided limited information to Champion.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb) - BTS) - Mephisto appreciated that time-displaced Hyborian warrior Conan of Cimmeria would be able to locate the Serpent Scepter, which could only be accomplished by one who had been covered in the blood of Set's priests. Mephisto believed that the combined power of the Serpent Crown and Serpent Scepter could free him.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1 (fb) - BTS / Conan:
Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS)
- To facilitate Conan's discovery of the Serpent Scepter, Mephisto had
Champion (presumably use his agents to) kill Max, the possessor of the "Ring of the Sect of the Red Serpent."
Mephisto presumably knew that Max's ally
the thief Nyla Skin would want revenge and wish to claim the ring, and
he also presumably arranged for Skin to enlist Conan's aid in these
matters.
(Conan:
Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS) - Champion purchased an
advanced teleportation suit for a cost matching that of a private
island. 
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1 - BTS) - Nyla allied with Conan to rob Imus Champion at the Hotel Inferno. They fought security guards, but then they discovered Black Cat was already there and had already robbed the safe.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1) - Imus Champion reported that their plan had proceeded apace, with the exception of the Black Cat having acquired the ring, which he considered to be an unlucky turn, but that there were ways around it. Mephisto countered that it was not luck but inevitability.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#2 - BTS) - Black Cat escaped with the ring, but Nyla nailed the Cat's helicopter with a tracker. The two then fought off Champion's men and stole a car.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#2) - Observing the conflict via a scrying mirror, Champion noted that Conan had not captured the ring, and he questioned the wisdom of the plan, suggesting that some of his men could... -- but Mephisto interrupted, noting that Champion's men were useful fools and that the ring would only respond to Conan.
Mephisto further told Champion that while he had an impressive mind, he should not think he could improve on schemes laid by the prince of lies. He finished that things must be done in the proper order: The ring, the sceptre, and then the crown. And, ultimately Mephisto would walk free again.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#2 - BTS) - Nyla eventually drove herself and Conan to the Collision Center, where they confronted the Black Cat and her associate Boris Korpse. Although the Cat escaped again, the chest containing the ring they sought fell from the helicopter. When Conan opened the chest and grasped the ring, it transported him and Nyla to Wakanda.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3) - Wearing his teleportation suit, Imus watched via Mephisto's portal as Nyla and Conan wandered Wakanda, and Mephisto noted that Conan would lead them to the scepter. Imus noted that he was unaware that there were any sites (presumably temples of Set) there, and he considered that it was likely underground. Mephisto instructed Champion to go there himself as soon as Conan found the location, and Champion noted that his suit would teleport him there and back; however, he noted how much the suit had cost him and that it was only good for one round trip, so advised Mephisto that he had best be right about this. Mephisto assured him that he would soon be the most powerful man on Earth and that he would rule over all of its souls at the right hand of Mephisto.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 - BTS) - The ring took possession of Conan and led him to a cavern containing the Scepter of Set, at which point Conan rallied to shatter the ring, although he still recalled where it was showing him to go. After smashing into a hidden cavern behind a thin rock wall, they found an altar to Set and the scepter, at which point they confronted by and fought with the Black Panther and a pair of Hatut Zeraze.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3) - Imus then teleported in and claimed the Scepter of Set, swatting away Conan (who had been stunned by the Black Panther) and then teleporting back to Hotel Inferno when the Black Panther charged him.
Mephisto noted that he knew the plan would succeed, although Imus
challenged his gloating, noting that he had done all of the work.
Assuring Champion that he would be rewarded as no mortal had ever been,
Mephisto then showed him an image of Atlantis and instructed him that
he could use the Scepter of Set to claim their true prize, the Serpent
Crown.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4) - Demanding more answers from Mephisto before risking his life against Namor, Champion learned of the origins of Serpent Scepter, which explained that only Conan -- who had been covered in the blood of Setian priests -- could have discovered the Serpent Scepter. Mephisto then told Champion he would teach him how to survive the combined power of the two items, but only after he had been freed from his prison in Hotel Inferno. Although Champion suspected Mephisto had numerous secret plots, he accepted Mephisto's instruction to -- after claiming the Serpent Crown -- bring Conan and his associate to him so he could claim their souls.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4 (fb) - BTS) - Traveling to a hidden temple/cave near Atlantis in an armored aquatic suit and wielding the Serpent Scepter, Champion claimed the Serpent Crown and slew the Atlantean guards who attempted to interfere with him.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4) - Having taken a Wakandan chemical provided by Shuri, Conan and Nyla swam to the ocean floor and approached the temple. Champion then confronted them and goaded Conan into a brief fight that was interrupted by the arrival of Namor. Donning the Serpent Crown, Champion then forced Conan and Namor to fight, until Nyla assaulted from behind, knocking away the Serpent Crown and allowing Conan and Namor to regain their wits. However, still possessing the Serpent Scepter, Champion halted his challengers, reclaimed the Serpent Crown, and then banished Namor to an unspecified desert before informing Conan and Nyla that they were going to die slowly in Las Vegas.
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#5 (fb) - BTS) - Champion spent hours studying the power of the Serpent Crown and Serpent Scepter, after which he decided that he no longer needed Mephisto to safely wield the two items.
(Conan:
Battle for the
Serpent Crown#5) - Holding the Scepter and wearing the Crown, Champion
released Conan and Nyla from their chains and forced them to their
knees, but he found that the combined efforts of using the items' power
and protecting himself from their influence was too much, and he cried
out in pain. Mocking this limitation, Conan took advantage of the
distraction to punch Champion, knocking the Scepter from his hand and
the Crown from his head. 
As Champion's men attempted to recapture Nyla, Conan engaged Champion, trading punch for punch until Mephisto interrupted. After Conan refused Mephisto's offer to wield the weapons to liberate Mephisto in exchange for being sent home (or whatever else he wished), Mephisto attempted to guide Champion to use the weapons -- which he had reclaimed -- together safely, but Champion arrogantly refused to serve Mephisto any further, although redonning the Crown again filled him with pain. When he attempted to remove the Crown, however, Conan leapt on his back and held the Crown on Champion's head until the two weapons apparently consumed Champion.
Both the Crown and the Scepter vanished in the process.
Comments: Created by Steve Engelhart, Don Heck, and Frank McLaughlin.
I'm pretty sure that being a nine foot tall powerhouse able to halt a moving airplane is not within the limits of human abilities, although he was wearing an exoskeleton. There has never been any mention of Imus Champion actually being superhuman though, so I'm not sure if he is a mutant, mutate, or just using advanced technology as needed.
I always liked Avengers I#109, though it is perhaps the most contrived plot I have ever read. Every single problem Champion had could have been easily avoided, but perhaps he wanted things to proceed as they did, because he actually wanted to face the Avengers.
All (or, at least, most) of the items listed above as in Champion's possession probably deserve profiles at some point.
The Official Marvel Index to the Avengers entry on Avengers #109 details the events of that issue as starting in early November, with Imus training for weeks, and ending in mid-December.
Although Conan had distrusted the Wakanda water-breathing chemical and considered it sorcery, he accepted Nyla's goading that he could not allow Champion to get away with having stolen from and dismissing him.
Profile by Snood. Black Widow V update by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
No known connection to:
Champion's agents
Armed with various weapons, they wear nondescript blank facemasks to remind him of the faceless masses from which he has accumulated his wealth.
--Avengers I#109 (Avengers I#109, Marvel Comics Presents I#126, 129
Champion's
retreat
Apparently based on the West Coast, it offers total solitude, lacking even telephone or other communications when not desired. It fits Champion's personality because it looks down on the world. It was apparently consumed by flames after he had abducted Lynx.
--Avengers I#109 (Avengers I#109, Marvel Comics Presents I#126, Black Widow V#5
(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS) - Champion purchased an advanced teleportation suit for a cost matching that of a private island.
The suit could penetrate Wakanda's defenses, allowing him to teleport from Las Vegas and back, but it was only good for that round trip, after which it apparently burned out.
images:
Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998, p14 (w/o ads), pan 1
Avengers I#109, p5, pan2, civilian attire
Avengers I#109, p15, pan1 (first costume)
Black Widow V#3, p17, pan4 (Sumi, surrogate robot body)
Black Widow V#5, p13, pan5 (Imus showing muscle)
Avengers I#109, p12, pan1 (retreat)
Marvel Comics Presents I#125, p2, pan2 (face)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1, last page, panel 1 (business suit)
#3, pg. 1, panel 1 (teleportation suit);
#4, pg. 9, panel 1 (undersea suit);
#5, pg. 5, panel 1 (mostly full, with Serpent Crown and Scepter);
pg. 6, panel 1 (using Crown and Scepter together);
pg. 17, panel 2 (apparently consumed in explosion)
Appearances:
Avengers I#109 (March, 1973) - Steve Englehart (writer), Don Heck (pencils), Frank McLaughlin (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#125-126 (1993) - Scott Lobdell (writer),
Dennis Jensen (pencils), John Hodlredge (inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Marvel Comics Presents I#129-130 (1993) - Scott Lobdell & Dan Slott
(writers), Dennis Jensen (pencils), Dennis Jensen & Jon Holdredge
(inks), Terry Kavanagh (editor)
Avengers III#5-6 (June-July, 1998) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Perez
(pencils), Al Vey, Bob Wiacek (#6) & Bruce Patterson (#6) (inks),
Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 - Kurt Busiek & Len Kaminski
(writers), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Matt Banning, Vince Russell, Bob
Wiacek, Al Vey & Paul Neary (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers III#10 (November, 1998) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Perez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Black Widow V#1-5 (June-October, 2010) - Marjorie Liu (writer), Daniel Acuna (artist), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1-3 (April-June, 2020) - Saladin
Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Martin Biro (assistant editor),
Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4-5 (November, 2020) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
First Posted: 04/12/2004
Last updated: 12/04/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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