Champions Outlawed #3 // Review
Champions Outlawed #3 is written by Eve. L. Ewing, drawn by Bob Quinn, colored by Federico Blee, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. With the Champions split between C.R.A.D.L.E. “reeducation camps,” Viv Vision the runaway, and the fugitives Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, and Nova, the team has never been more fractured, and the stakes have never been higher.
At the reeducation camp, Starling (Tiana Toomes) has had enough of the constant brainwashing and manipulation. With the help of fellow Champions, including Locust (Fenandra Rodriguez), and The Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne), Starling starts an uprising, but the Champions are still vastly outnumbered. Elsewhere, Viv Vision is still on the run, grappling with her guilt after betraying her friends, as well as the knowledge that they’re still mourning her, thinking her dead. Finally, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, and Nova are running themselves ragged, jumping from location to location, trying to stay one step ahead of C.R.A.D.L.E. agents who always seem to know their next moves.
Because it follows all of these different characters, Champions Outlawed #3 covers a lot of ground both emotionally with the individual characters and the narrative as a whole. Ewing explores the spectrum of emotions the heroes in the reeducation camps feel, from Bombshell’s (Lana Baumgartner) broken down compliance and despair to Starling and Locust’s rage to The Wasp’s analytical concern. While they’re all in the same situation, Ewing realistically portrays how different people would react very differently. In addition to this, Ewing portrays Viv’s guilt, and ultimately, grief, in a way that feels very human without eliminating the way she thinks in a very logical, analytical way because she’s not human. It’s a delicate balance that Ewing pulls off flawlessly.
Unlike previous issues, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Nova, and now Ironheart are not as prominent in Champions Outlawed #3. Their story is told through snippets of Miles’ journal and their interactions with each other as they take a respite in their latest safehouse. Ewing packs a lot of emotion into these pages, supported by Quinn’s drawings.
Quinn uses many panels on one page to create a montage of all of the close calls between the Champions and C.R.A.D.L.E., and combined with Ewing’s dialogue, this drives home just how exhausted this group is, how they’ve been doing nothing but running and fighting for their lives. Even in the moments where the team has some downtime, Quinn’s drawings show just how exhausted the heroes are, how much of a toll this situation is taking on such young characters. Finally, Blee’s colors tie the entire story together. While Champions Outlawed #3 covers three different storylines, Blee uses the same color story throughout the issue, creating a cohesive feeling and helping the story flow.
With its emotional undercurrent, high stakes action, and incredible art, Champions Outlawed #3 is the series’ strongest issue yet.
