Cover Date: July 1977
On-Sale Date: April 1977
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artist: John Byrne
Inker: Mike Esposito
Letterer: Irv Watanabe
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Editor: Archie Goodwin
Cover Artist: Dave Cockrum
On a quiet night, Hercules and Iceman suddenly find themselves under attack by the computer defense system of their own headquarters. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider and Darkstar have joined Black Widow at the dock to see Ivan off as he leaves upon a ship to Russia. They fail to notice a frightened man on the other end of the pier that is carrying a briefcase intended for the local authorities. The man is attacked by a swarm of giant, mechanical bees, prompting the Champions to intervene. During the fight, Ghost Rider is bitter and harsh toward Darkstar, angry that his teammates have accepted her while still fearing him. The man with the briefcase is confronted by someone he calls “Von Meyer”, who seems to be comprised of a swarm of killer bees. Von Meyer is unable ot touch the briefcase due to it being coated in a repellant, so he leaves. The Champions find the man dead from bee stings, discovering that he is an Interpol agent. Black Widow attempts to contact her teammates back at their headquarters but finds them not answering.
Back at the Champions’ building, Iceman and Hercules are still battling the computer system until Iceman is finally able to shut down the power source. They discover the malfunction to have been caused by faulty wiring, confirming that their equipment has been built with faulty materials. The other Champions arrive, but their reunion is interrupted by the Angel, who comes crashing frantically through the window. He warns his teammates that “they’re coming, millions of them!” When the heroes look outside they see approaching storm clouds, until Angel points out the dark mass is moving against the wind. Then they hear the buzzing and realize it’s an army of killer bees in the sky, coming right toward them.
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| A massive chip on that shoulder, Johnny. |
THE ROADMAP
Ghost Rider appeared last in Ghost Rider (1973) # 22.
CHAIN REACTION
It’s the coming of Swarm, a Nazi made out of killer bees! Seriously, that’s the greatest super-villain concept of all time, people.
If The Champions as a series is remembered for anything, it’s this issue and the introduction of Swarm, who is really the only lasting legacy character to be introduced. Ramage has shown up once or twice over the decades, but Swarm is one of those wacky bronze age character concepts that just demands other writers to use him in some capacity. He’s a bunch of killer bees in a purple hooded cloak that stings people to death, really, I just can’t get over that.
Other than the outrageous new villain, this issue continues on with what is quickly becoming strengths of the series. Mantlo is continuing to make the Champions seem like an actual group of comrades (friends is probably too strong) that relate to one another outside of just fighting bad guys. He has an interesting take on Johnny Blaze, who is starting to really lash out due to his teammates being afraid of him. It makes sense and coincides with what’s happening in his simultaneous solo series; he’s down with scaring criminals with his supernatural powers, but not the people he’s supposed to be friends with. That he chooses Darkstar as the target of his anger is telling, as she’s not just the only new member of the team since its formation, but also that she’s a woman. Black Widow points out in this issue that Johnny is fairly misogynistic toward his female teammates, and that’s a flaw that the character has had since he first appeared (just look at how he treated poor Roxanne Simpson).
John Byrne continues to be absolute dynamite on the artistic chores, even when paired with Mike Esposito instead of Bob Layton as his inker. Byrne’s ability to choreograph fight scenes is masterful, even this early into his career, and his ability to make even the ridiculous look intimidating is to be commended. Not only is Swarm more terrifying than he has any right to be, but Byrne’s rendition of Ghost Rider continues to get more fearsome.
If only the early issues of the series could have been as good as the last few, perhaps The Champions could have grown into something truly great?
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