What Ever Became of the
Contest of Champions Foreign Characters?
by Sean McQuaid
Being a big fan of the COC story (despite the
howlingly huge blunder in the final chapter), I figured I'd try to
answer this.
The COC players included Angel, Arabian Knight, Black Panther,
Blitzkrieg, Captain America, Captain Britain, Collective Man,
Daredevil, Darkstar, Defensor, Invisible Girl, Iron Fist, Iron Man,
Peregrine, Sabra, Sasquatch, Shamrock, She-Hulk, Storm, Sunfire,
Talisman, Thing, Vanguard & Wolverine.
Of those, Arabian Knight, Black Panther, Blitzkrieg, Captain Britain,
Collective Man, Darkstar, Defensor, Peregrine, Sabra, Sasquatch,
Shamrock, Storm, Sunfire, Talisman, Vanguard & Wolverine were non-USA
heroes (I know Storm's got a USA connection technically, but she's
mostly African in terms of her background and identity).
Major players among the non-USA crowd include Black Panther, Captain
Britain, Storm, Sunfire & Wolverine. The Panther (or his Hudlinesque
alternate-reality equivalent) is currently starring in his own series,
Captain Britain's in the new EXCALIBUR book, and Stom and Wolvie are
still major X-folk plus their many guest appearances plus Wolvie's NEW
AVENGERS role (in case of need for lethal force, break glass).
Sunfire's drifting in and out of the X-books too, and many unfortunate
things have happened to him of late.
That leave the more minor foreign folk: Arabian Knight, Blitzkrieg,
Collective Man, Darkstar, Defensor, Peregrine, Sabra, Sasquatch,
Shamrock, Talisman & Vanguard.
Arabian Knight
After various appearances in HULK, GHOST RIDER (Blaze), ROM, MARVEL
COMICS PRESENTS and the X-book annuals (where he was briefly part of
Desert Sword), AK got killed off by Humus Sapien in a THUNDERBOLTS
cameo.
Blitzkrieg
After appearances in HULK and ROM, Blitz resurfaced in CAPTAIN
AMERICA, where he was part of the German superteam Schutz Heiligruppe
in a couple of stories before Gru's Scourge-esque Zeitgeist/Everyman
character killed him. For more info, see...
http://www.marvunapp.com
Collective Man
After various appearances in HULK, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS and X-FORCE,
Collective Man got killed off in the second CITIZEN V mini, only to
return in a recent X-MEN story.
Darkstar
Introed as a foe-turned-member of the CHAMPIONS, Darkstar went on to
make many more appearances, sometimes alone but usually alongside her
brother Vanguard and/or as part of various Russian superteams (most
recently the Winter Guard). After various appearances in HULK, IRON
MAN, SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, ROM, X-MEN VS.
AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS, SOVIET
SUPER-SOLDIERS, STARBLAST, QUASAR, DAREDEVIL, THUNDERBOLTS, AVENGERS,
X-MEN UNLIMITED and MAXIMUM SECURITY, she joined the X-Corporation in
X-MEN just long enough to suffer a pointless death.
Defensor
After his CONTEST debut and a tiny HULK cameo, Defensor disappeared
for years until Gru had Zeitgeist/Everyman murder him off-panel(!) in
a CAPTAIN AMERICA storyline. For more info, see...
http://www.marvunapp.com
Peregrine
Peregrine has appeared (both as a solo merc/hero and occasional Silver
Sable operative) in HULK, ROM, SOLO AVENGERS, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS,
ALPHA FLIGHT and AVENGERS, and is still flapping around the MU. For a
purchased but unpublished MCP story teaming Peregrine and Shamrock, go
to http://www.marvunapp.com
Sabra
Notable mostly for her occasional HULK guest appearances and some
memorable appearances in NEW WARRIORS (where she took an aggressive
romantic interest in Justice), Sabra has also appeared in MARVEL
SUPER-HEROES and various X-books, both solo and as a member of the
X-Corporation.
Sasquatch
An ALPHA FLIGHT mainstay, he's among the Alphans scheduled to make an
ill-fated guest appearance in upcoming NEW AVENGERS material.
Shamrock
After her CONTEST debut and minor HULK and ROM appearances, Shamrock
got an origin in MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS, made a couple more
appearances in ALPHA FLIGHT and EXCALIBUR, and plays a very minor role
in the recent MARVEL MONSTERS guide book. She's also a prominent
figure in the alternate timeline of the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY,
appearing in a couple of issues of their series.
For a purchased but unpublished MCP story teaming Peregrine and
Shamrock, go to
http://www.marvunapp.com
For more Shamrock information in general, go to:
http://www.marvunapp.com
Talisman
After his CONTEST debut, Talisman made only one more appearance, as
one of a number of mystics allied with Doctor Strange in QUASAR
#23-25. Apart from Defensor, he's the most seldom-seen of the CONTEST
heroes, perhaps in part because his alias got hijacked a time or two
by better-known Canadian characters in the ALPHA FLIGHT series (Shaman
and his daughter both went by the alias Talisman at one time or
another). For more Talisman info, go to:
http://www.marvunapp.com
Vanguard
This Russian hero's appeared quite a bit, usually alongside his sister
Darkstar and/or as part of various Russian superteams (most recently
the Winter Guard). He's appeared in IRON MAN, HULK, MARVEL TEAM-UP,
ROM, X-MEN VS. AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS,
SOVIET SUPER-SOLDIERS, STARBLAST, QUASAR, DAREDEVIL, THUNDERBOLTS,
AVENGERS and MAXIMUM SECURITY. He died during Quasar's Starblast
crossover but later got better, as explained in Kurt's Avengers run.
For recent Marvel Handbook entries on the COC players, consult the
following handbooks:
Avengers 2004 (Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, She-Hulk)
Daredevil 2004 (Daredevil)
Fantastic Four 2005 (Invisible Woman, Thing)
Golden Age 2004 (Captain America)
Marvel Knights 2005 (Black Panther, Daredevil, Iron Fist)
X-Men 2004 (Storm, Wolverine)
X-Men 2005 (Archangel, Captain Britain, Sunfire)
As for Arabian Knight, Blitzkrieg, Collective Man, Darkstar, Defensor,
Peregrine, Sabra, Sasquatch, Shamrock, Talisman & Vanguard, at least
six of them should be showing up in the all-new A-Z handbook run...