Champions is a book with a lot of heart! It has the perfect mix of characterization, drama, action, and comedy. Waid loves these characters and it shows. Give him half a chance and he could have you fall in love with them too. Despite half the team missing from this issue due to the Secret Empire event. Waid still doesn't miss a beat and keeps the book flowing. And in this day and age where consistency seems to be an endangered species, Champions always comes off as a refreshing read.

Champions is one of the best team books out there. This isn't just a team of heroes, they're friends. And this issue really shows that from start to finish. Cyclops emotional roller coaster isn't just felt by himself. His entire team goes through it with him. There is no denying these teen heroes care for each other. Champions does what a lot of books fail to do these days. It goes beyond being heroes who beat up bad guys and shows a family of friends. And with all the angst of the last several years from IVX, Civil War 2, and Secret Empire. Champions is a breath of fresh air and reminds us, how fun comic books can be.

Epilogues like this set the tone for what comes next. And unfortunately the tone Waid set for this team is a bad one. These are the Avengers, but The characters are hardly acting like it.

A great start to a new era and something that has been a long time coming since the start of Champions.

Solid issue with nothing considerably wrong with it. Just the shortchanged feeling and lack of any kind of cliffhanger. The issue gives you one heck of a fight with some good trash talk. Thanos is a good book in a way it has no right to be. You shouldn't be rooting for either Thanos or Thane considering they're “bad guys!” Yet Lemire tricks you perfectly into not just enjoying the story. But considering how you may feel about the characters, Lemire makes you care who's gonna win. Despite the fact one of them will try to destroy the universe no matter the outcome. They're “bad guys,” they're “villains,” and yet it's so much fun. In the past years where we've dealt with hero versus hero over moral and ethical reasons. Reading about villain versus villain for more straight forward reasons seems to be a lot more enjoyable.

For all intents and purposes, this is an epilogue but fails to bring any excitement for what comes next. Or fails to bring a sense of dread for what could happen to Captain Marvel. This issue is too off balanced attempting to mix humor with depression. I usually enjoy Captain Marvel but as a new starting point this just didn't hit the mark it needed to. Hopefully with Legacy starting and the return to the old numbering system. Doing away with constant rebooted #1 issues. This issue just stays a bad blip in the grand scheme of things to come.