Contest of Champions

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Contest of Champions #1. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.
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Contest of Champions #1. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton.

Contest of Champions is a 1982 three-issue limited series by American publisher Marvel Comics. This was Marvel's first-ever limited series; it involved the Elder of the Universe called The Grandmaster and a hooded female (eventually revealed to be Death) playing a game for the fate of his fellow Elder, The Collector. They used various heroes from around the world to collect the four pieces of the "Golden Globe of Life." If the Grandmaster's team collects the most pieces, the Collector will live again. If Death's team collects the most pieces, the Collector will remain dead.

The Grandmaster's team was:

Death's team was:

Six of these heroes (Blitzkrieg, Collective Man, Defensor, Peregrine, Shamrock, and Talisman) debuted in this series. Other heroes who appeared in the story but took no active part were:

El Aguila, Ajak, American Eagle, Ant-Man II, Aquarian, Aurora, Beast, Black Bolt, Black Knight III, Black Widow, Blue Shield, Brother Voodoo, Captain Ultra, Captain Universe, Colossus, Crimson Dynamo V, Crystal, Cyclops, Dazzler, Devil-Slayer, Doc Samson, Doctor Druid, Doctor Strange, Falcon, Firebird, Gargoyle II, Gorgon II, Guardsman II, Havok, Hawkeye, Hellcat, Hercules, Hulk, Human Torch, Iceman, Ikaris, Jack of Hearts, Jocasta, Karkas, Karnak, Ka-Zar, Living Mummy, Lockjaw, Machine Man, Jamie Madrox, Makkari, Medusa, Mister Fantastic, Mockingbird, Moondragon, Moon Knight, Namorita, Nightcrawler, Nighthawk II, Night Rider IV, Northstar, Paladin, Polaris, Power Man II, Professor X, Quasar III, Quicksilver, Razorback, Red Wolf III, Rom, Scarlet Witch, Sersi, Shaman, Shanna the She-Devil, Shooting Star, Shroud, Silver Surfer, Snowbird, Son of Satan, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman I, Sprite II (Kitty Pryde), Stingray, Sub-Mariner, Tamara Rahn, Texas Twister, Thena, Thor, 3-D Man, Tigra, Torpedo III, Triton, Union Jack III, Ursa Major, Valkyrie III, Vindicator, Vision, Wasp, Werewolf by Night, Whizzer, Wonder Man

At the end of each issue, Marvel catalogued all of the heroes and made summaries of them, leading to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

The Grandmaster's team won (although as drawn the game actually ends in a tie), only for the Grandmaster to learn that to revive The Collector he would have to die. He accepted.

(It was later revealed that this was precisely what the Grandmaster had intended from the beginning, since he wanted to infiltrate the Realm of the Dead, and ultimately trick Death into giving all Elders of the Universe true immortality. He succeeded.)

An unrelated sequel, Contest of Champions II, was published in 1999.

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