One of my absolute favorite MCU movies is “Thor: Ragnarok” because let’s be honest here… Thor… AND Loki… (fans herself furiously). Needless to say, this movie gets watched a lot around our house (although after this admission my husband might have a thing or two to say about that… [laughs nervously]).
After our most recent viewing of said movie, my husband went on a long rant about how they got rid of the Grandmaster way too easily in the movie, given that he’s one of the ageless Elders of the Universe. Of course, because I am a total nerd, this prompted me to pull out our copies of the limited series Contest of Champions #1, #2 and #3 and refresh my memory a little, and I am very glad that I did.
All the Superheroes go Poof!
The story begins with the Avengers having a good-natured fitness contest amongst themselves. They’re busy ribbing each other and trying to show one another up, when suddenly there is a bright red glow, and all at once, they all just vanish.
We are then shown the Soviet Super-Soldiers, who are busy fighting Red Ghost, and lo and behold, a red glow appears and poof! They, too, are suddenly gone.
The story quickly shifts to The Fantastic Four, The Canadian Super-Team Alpha Flight (who are flying over the misspelled NorthwestERN Territories – The actual place is Northwest Territories – My inner Canadian is thoroughly offended!), The Uncanny X-Men, and on and on. One by one, all the superheroes of Earth disappear.
This part of the story is really interesting because it shows myriad superheroes, many of whom are lesser-known characters that generally get very little mention in the Marvel universe. We see and get to spend time with more obscure characters like Talisman, The Mighty Defensor, and Sasquatch, which is lots of fun.
Not in Kansas Anymore
After detailed descriptions of many, many disappearances, we are finally shown the kidnapped superheroes, who have now re-materialized and are being held captive inside a colossal arena. Professor X and Moondragon quickly deduce that their prison is somewhere in the orbit of Earth and that a vast “intelligence” is approaching.
Suddenly, there is another red glow, and said “intelligence” begins speaking into the minds of the superheroes. Before long, it’s revealed that the speaker is an immortal Elder of the Universe called The Grandmaster. The Grandmaster is closely followed by a hooded and cloaked character, who is simply identified as The Unknown.
Pawns in a Cosmic Game
The Grandmaster explains that his brother, The Collector, had foreseen a “great evil” coming to the universe and had begun preparing by collecting those whose superpowers could potentially defeat this force. However, The Collector’s agenda was discovered and as a consequence, he was slain by the man-god Korvac.
As powerful as the Grandmaster is, he does not have the power to bring back his brother. Thus, he has enlisted the help of The Unknown, who is presumably strong enough to bring an Elder back from the dead. However, The Unknown won’t bring The Collector back quite that easily.
Being the obviously bored eternal beings that they are, The Grandmaster and The Unknown have hatched a plan. The Grandmaster is to devise a game, which if he wins, will result in The Unknown returning The Collector. If, however, the Grandmaster loses, he will be stripped of his powers and will be forced to join his brother in oblivion.
Weird Rules Set by Even Weirder Beings
The Grandmaster then explains the rules of the game. He tells the crowd that all the people of Earth are currently being held in a state of suspended animation. He explains that both he and The Unknown are each going to pick four teams of superheroes to be their champions. The Grandmaster will then take something called The Golden Globe of Life and split it into four pieces, sending each segment of the orb to a remote part of Earth. Each of the teams then has one hour to compete against their opposing team to capture one of the hidden pieces of the orb.
If the Grandmaster’s teams manage to capture more pieces of the orb, he will make a solemn promise to never again conscript the people of Earth for his games. Should The Unknown win, she will extend the life of Earth’s sun by a million years, therefore extending the life of humanity by that length of time. In the interest of being fair, The Grandmaster eliminates all humans, Immortals, Inhumans, Atlanteans, Eternals and aliens from the game, so that only superheroes can become champions.
The Game’s Afoot!
So, The Grandmaster and The Unknown begin picking their teams. Here, I imagine a junior high game of dodgeball, where all the nerdy kids stand around quietly stewing as the jocks fill all the spots on the team.
In the end, The Grandmaster’s team consists of: Blitzkrieg, Captain America, Captain Britain, Daredevil, Darkstar, Defensor, Le Peregrine, Sasquatch (go Canada!), She-Hulk, Talisman, The Thing and Wolverine. The Unknown’s team is made up of: Angel, Arabian Knight, Black Panther, Collective Man, Invisible Girl, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Sabra, Shamrock, Storm, Sunfire, and Vanguard.
As soon as the teams are picked, the contestants all vanish, and the game begins.
Frenzy in the Frozen North
As the title suggests, the first contest takes place in the “Frozen North” and The Grandmaster’s team consists of Talisman, Daredevil and Darkstar, while The Unknown’s team consists of Invisible Girl, Iron Fist and Sunfire.
Immediately, Darkstar and Sunfire take to the air and engage in combat. Sunfire initially makes a few very non-pc comments about having to fight a lowly female, but satisfyingly gets his butt thoroughly handed to him by said female.
Down below, Daredevil runs off on his own, explaining that he doesn’t like working with other superheroes, as their presence tends to confuse his radar sense. He is, however, followed by Iron Fist, who proceeds to make life very difficult for the blind superhero.
Meantime, Talisman sits in meditation, while his dream-time self wanders about in search of their missing portion of the orb. As Talisman sits in his altered state, Invisible Girl approaches him in her transparent form, unaware that her disguise is useless against the mystic's otherworldly senses.
After much grappling amongst the champions, Sunfire melts a section of ice, accidentally dislodging the missing portion of the orb. The superheroes converge, grappling for the prize, but ultimately Daredevil is the first to get his hands on the trophy and so, the first game goes to The Grandmaster.
Ghost Town Showdown
The second contest is set in a western-style ghost town. This time, The Grandmaster’s team includes Captain Britain, Defensor and She-Hulk, while The Unknown’s team is made up of Arabian Knight, Iron Man and Sabra.
Here too, some very non-pc exchanges occur between Arabian Knight and Sabra, which allude to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. It’s frankly pretty cringey to read these exchanges, but well, different times and all that… There’s also some pretty funny banter between Defensor and She-Hulk, where Defensor is trying to be the suave seductor and She-Hulk is having literally none of it. All the while Iron Man is preaching peace and tolerance and being completely ignored for his efforts.
Before long, however, the champions realize that they’re wasting precious time squabbling and need to get on with the task of finding their segment of the orb. She-Hulk and Arabian Knight engage in battle, with Arabian Knight flying around the green giantess on his magic carpet, while she leaps around, trying to smash him to smithereens.
Elsewhere, the remaining superheroes are engaged in battle, until Iron Man’s suit picks up the signature of the missing orb. Once again, the heroes converge on the whereabouts of the prize, and this time Arabian Knight is the first to seize it. Thus, the second game goes to The Unknown.
Siege in the City of the Dead
The third contest takes place in China, near the historical Terracotta Army. For this contest, The Grandmaster’s team includes Le Peregrine, The Thing and Wolverine, while The Unknown’s team is made up of Angel, Black Panther, and Vanguard.
Team Grandmaster gets off to a rocky start, as the champions immediately start turning on each other and hurling insults at one another. After several spicy exchanges, Wolverine takes off at a run, because he’s a “loner” and can’t stand working with others.
Team Unknown isn’t doing much better, as Vanguard is immediately disappointed at the lack of discipline in his teammates. There’s a small squabble about who the boss of the team is, but eventually they decide that they’re all bosses and should just get on with their job. Angel then takes to the air for reconnaissance and Black Panther slinks off to search for the missing orb segment.
As the battle gets started, it’s obvious that Wolverine is a little too invested in the violence of the game. The Thing has to pull the overzealous loner off of Black Panther and remind his teammate that this is, after all, just a game. Eventually, the orb section is found amongst the Terracotta Army. In the ensuing tumult, The Thing is the first to reach the prize, meaning that the third contest goes to The Grandmaster.
Struggle in the Jungle
The fourth and final contest takes place in an undisclosed jungle. Here, The Grandmaster’s team is made up of Blitzkrieg, Captain America, and Sasquatch and The Unknown’s includes Collective Man, Shamrock, and Storm.
At the onset, Collective Man immediately multiplies himself and begins searching the jungle for the missing segment of the orb, with Sasquatch hot on his tail. Meanwhile, Blitzkrieg and Storm engage up above and Shamrock and Captain America engage on the ground.
Sasquatch manages to knock down and subdue Collective Man at around the same time that Storm takes out Blitzkrieg. While Collective Man calls on the power of a thousand of his countrymen and frees himself from Sasquatch, Storm releases a lightning bolt, which strips a piece of bark from a tree, revealing the missing piece of the orb.
Immediately, Captain America makes a run toward the orb, but before he can reach it, Shamrock comes out of nowhere and snatches the final piece away. The fourth game thus goes to The Unknown.
To The Winner go the Spoils… But Not Really
At this point, we are taken back to the arena, where all the pieces of the orb are reunited. For some unbeknownst reason, although the teams officially tied, The Grandmaster is inexplicably declared the winner of the contest. We soon find out that The Unknown is, in fact, Death and that she has no intention of letting The Grandmaster off the hook so easily.
She explains that in order to bring The Collector back, there needs to be an exchange of a life for a life. Because The Collector is an Elder of the Universe, the only soul that would equal his, is either that of The Grandmaster himself, or the combined essences of all the superheroes gathered in the arena.
Since The Grandmaster has promised to no longer enlist any of the gathered superheroes in his games, he is left with no choice but to forfeit his own life in exchange for the life of his brother. So, he walks into The Golden Globe of Life, where he is presumably committed to oblivion, and in exchange, out walks The Collector.
Enraged at the trick just played on him and his brother, The Collector vows to get even with Death. Unphased, Death reminds The Collector that nothing in the universe can ever beat her, to which he pledges an oath that even if he has to gather all the powers of the universe, he will somehow find a way to defeat her.
A Legacy for the Next Generation
This series was, simply put, awesome! It’s wonderful to see so many superheroes portrayed in a relatively small, three-part saga.
Another fairly obscure treat presented in this series is that each book contains a section of an index of all the then-current superheroes in the Marvel universe. This index was apparently the precursor to the many Marvel character guides that would follow in the years to come.
I have a fond place in my heart for these guides. This is mostly due to the fact that, starting at a very young age, my daughter would spend countless hours meticulously studying her well-worn and dog-eared copy of one such guide, with the diligence of a grad student. She could recite the names and powers of dozens and dozens of characters on command and easily rank them in order of their strength.
I have many fond memories of sitting around the dinner table and watching my husband mentally pair superheroes in combat and ask my daughter who would win. She could spend hours talking about which characters could defeat who and precisely why.
Re-reading this series was a very nostalgic and fun experience for me. While "Thor: Ragnarok" isn't at all a faithful representation of "The Contest of Champions," it's nevertheless a wonderful bridge between then and now. Both the movie and the comic book series are an absolute treat that I think can be thoroughly enjoyed by all!
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