New Challengers #1

Writer: Scott Snyder, Aaron Gillespie Artist: Andy Kubert Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: May 16, 2018 Cover Price: $2.99 Critic Reviews: 26 User Reviews: 15
7.3Critic Rating
6.8User Rating

From the pages of DARK NIGHTS: METAL! Challengers Mountain has returned to the DC Universe and chosen a new team of explorers! Five misfit strangers are given a second chance at life, but only if they obey the orders of the mysterious Professor and execute deadly missions in the most unexplored corners of the multiverse! And if the new Challengers of the Unknown fail...it will be more than just their own lives that hang in the balance!

  • 9.5
    Bounding Into Comics - Daniel Mills May 17, 2018

    Scott Snyder and Aaron Gillespie have crafted a wonderfully fun adventure for readers. Read Full Review

  • 9.2
    Comicsverse - AJ Zender May 16, 2018

    NEW CHALLENGERS #1 is a fantastic new addition to DC's New Age of Heroes. With a brilliant look in the life and history of one of its title characters as well as an intriguing premise, the only true downside to this story is some slightly confusing plot points. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Lyles Movie Files - Jeffrey Lyles May 16, 2018

    New Challengers was a very nice surprise. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here and if future installments will be as shocking and unpredictable. For now this was a very solid start. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Comics: The Gathering - Olivier Roth May 16, 2018

    All in all, this was a strong debut for the New Challengers and I can’t wait to read more. Read Full Review

  • 8.5
    Black Nerd Problems - Chris Aiken May 16, 2018

    I really like New Challengers. While we don't get to know more about the other members of the team or get to see more of their first mission, I'll chalk that up to the fact that you can only fit so much in the first issue. Synder and Gillespie do a great job of selling the premise and teasing what's to come. They have also given Andy Kubert a lot to work with. I like his art, especially what he does with the settings. I'm ready to see how he draws the crazy set pieces and the dangers the team will encounter. Read Full Review

  • 8.4
    The Fandom Post - Chris Beveridge May 22, 2018

    While we get a small taste of the first mission here and hints of the larger play in store with what the Prof is doing, it's mostly a standard introductory issue. But it's one that does a lot right as we get a good handle on several of the characters and the situation they find themselves in. It's something that didn't require reading Dark Metal to understand, which other recent series haven't done well, and just a lot of fun. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    The Pop Break - Sheena Fisher May 16, 2018

    Things move fast in this introductory issue, giving Kubert plenty of opportunities to cut his teeth. He captures the crazy and the mundane with equal aplomb, but that fact that his strongest work is in the last pages bodes very well for this new title. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - Justin Partridge May 16, 2018

    Along with dynamic, vintage comic energies, New Challengers #1 is a solid win for DC's "New Age of Heroes." Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Geeked Out Nation - Jideobi Odunze May 16, 2018

    New Challengers #1 I would say successfully introduces us to the Challengers of the Unknown,and what makes them so special from everyone else who aims to solve the mysteries of the multiverse. This first mission so far is a good test for determining what these characters have to offer, and if this is a miniseries worth seeing through to the end. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Major Spoilers - Matthew Peterson May 17, 2018

    Ties up multiple team incarnations with a clever premise, adds in some strong art and an interesting mix of characters to do Kirby's creations justice in a modern fashion. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Newsarama - David Pepose May 18, 2018

    While some readers might be impatient for more clues, New Challengers is a promising debut executed with some supreme talent. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield May 16, 2018

    I'm hoping the next five issues give us a little more to connect with because right now the challenger is there, but the Challengers are lacking. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Comicosity - Doug Zawisza May 16, 2018

    Not enough here to elicit a deposit of my attention, as the four primaries don't even lock their names in my brain by the end of the issue, but I'm a sucker for the Challengers concept. I'm in for the long haul, confident that Snyder has this story planned for a slow burn. The verdict is out on this one. There's stuff here, and the promise of uncertainty that the legacy of the Challengers of the Unknown should evoke is present. I just wish it had a little more heart. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    The Super Powered Fancast - Deron Generally May 16, 2018

    An interesting first issue that does a good job of humanizing the characters as well as open up new mysteries and questions to ask with the next issue. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Bleeding Cool - Joshua Davison May 17, 2018

    New Challengers #1 leaves me on the fence. There are plenty of interesting places for this story to go, but it could also devolve into macabre for the sake of macabre. In any case, this first issue is solid, unique, and recommendable, and you should feel free to check it out. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Multiversity Comics - Jonathan O'Neal May 17, 2018

    "New Challengers" is a promising series start and another nice entry in DC's The New Age of Heroes line, but it might be best to check any nostalgia for the old team at the door. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    Geek-O-Rama - David May 19, 2018

    I really enjoyed this. The Challengers have been gone from print long enough that younger readers probably won't catch some of the throwbacks, but there are very much a few neat ones. Andy Kubert's art has just the right balance of grittiness, while Scott Snyder and Aaron Gillespie's story draws you right in. It moves quickly, but without feeling like anything is missing. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    Graphic Policy - Brett May 16, 2018

    The series has a lot of potential. With a team that can go anywhere and experience anything there's so much that can be done part of the fun will be to see where it all goes. There's also the mystery of the team mention in Metal that's a mystery. The concepts are there. The mystery is good. The canvass on which it can all be painted is impressive. The delivery though is a bit lacking. This very well could be a case where the overall package is better than the individual issue but with just one that's a bit difficult to tell. As is, this is one I'll read but the excitement has waned. Read Full Review

  • 6.5
    The Brazen Bull - Charlie Chipman May 16, 2018

    With an interesting premise, there's potential for New Challengers to be great, but after what I've read, in Issue #1, I'm concerned. Right now, I'm not sure why I should care about, or invest my time in, this series' protagonists nor do I know why I should care about what they're doing. Overall, this issue fell short of expectations. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    DC Comics News - Seth Singleton May 18, 2018

    By tapping into a rich vein of DC history, it might be a herald of the non-powered characters in storytelling that has always made titles like Justice League stronger. This issue opens with enough history and mystery to give itself a fair chance. Make it all sing by the fifth issue and all will be right again in the DCU. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    AIPT - David Brooke May 16, 2018

    A so-so start that has an interesting premise if you can get through all the explanation. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Comic Bastards - Garrett Hanneken May 16, 2018

    Overall, New Challengers appears to be a promising start for an adventure comic. You feel as if you're on this journey with the team ready to travel through the unknown. However, this issue doesn't get you familiar with the team members that you'll be on this journey with nor does it give you a reason as to what the purpose of the adventure is, but there lies the mystery that might hook readers to come back for more. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Weird Science - Branden Murray May 16, 2018

    New Challengers has a story paced a lot like other New Age of DC Heroes titles released already featuring teams, the Terrific's mixed with the Immortal Men is how I would describe it, which to me isn't a ringing endorsement to rush to buy the book just yet. Unless you've enjoyed both those titles thoroughly of course, which I haven't.  For now, unless you have a connection to the Challengers stories of the past, this is a pass with the possibility of becoming better in the future, if it hits the right notes. I mean the first splash page was interesting enough I just need a lot more of that. Read Full Review

  • 5.6
    Geekery Magazine - Lucas Fashina May 16, 2018

    I love some of the concepts inserted here, and though it is by no means a standalone book Scott Snyder did a solid job of setting this book up. I do think some the panels from the Darks Days Casting and Metal would have done a better job than some of the panels inserted here. There were a solid 7 panels that have now made me interested and wanting to read the second issue. Read Full Review

  • 4.0
    GWW - Do You Even Comic Book May 17, 2018

    The New Age of Heroes was meant to put artistic talent front and center. Its results have been hit and miss. In a backhanded way,New Challengers#1 is a great example of its mission statement. If not for Kubert's abilities I'm uncertain whether this issue would entertain at all thanks to the sheer volume of dry text in play. On story and dialogue alone I am not at all compelled to explore the next issue; the art, though, resonates and may be sufficient to check outNew Challengers#2. Perhaps by then the script will catch up with the visuals and prove equally compelling. Read Full Review

  • 4.0
    ComicBook.com - Chase Magnett May 16, 2018

    It is a new comic in need of a cause to be read. Read Full Review

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