Overall, this trip to space was refreshing for Champions. After so much that has happened, breaking away for just an issue to address the whereabouts of a teammate was worthwhile. This was a dangerous game that Sam was playing to have Kaldera help him to get his helmet back, but at the same time it was fun for so much that could have gone wrong. Well, so much that could have been worse than the kind of trouble she brought him. Read Full Review

Sam kind of playing good cop to Kaldera's crazy cop is interesting. One has to wonder, though, what lengths he will go to get his powers back. As much as he tries to reign Kaldera in, there is only so much he can do to hold back a homicidal warrior alien. In the end, is the helmet worth it? It's this kind of drama that is making Zub's Champions such a thrilling read. Read Full Review

Really fun issue. I'm honestly surprised by the ASM #9 connection. I didn't realize that was Sam's helmet, but I'm glad Jim Zub did. That's a really good use of continuity.

Brief but important moments for Ms. Marvel and Viv Vision precede the all-Sam-Alexander show, which is actually the all-Kaldera show. Kaldera is insanely great, emphasis on the "insane" -- but she skates on the edge of overstaying her welcome and the "to be continued" ending points to more Sam'n'Kaldera shenanigans in the immediate future. It's cool to get some bonus Nova content, but this is supposed to be a team book, right?

Sam and Kaldera’s misadventure in space is a breath of fresh air for a Champiosn series fresh out of a couple War of the Realms tie ins. I love that Zub is continuing Sam’s story from previous series and his master of continuity was on display with his reference to Amazing Spider Man 9

The helmet thing was cute, the villain’s dialogue got a little grating at times.

A Shaggy Dog story of an issue. First few pages are yet another character having an emotional breakdown, with Ms. Marvel in tears and leaving the team. Viv randomly starts talking to an alter-ego personality, which is a plot point that last was mentioned more than a year ago. I had forgotten that was even a thing. The remainder of the issue is Sam with the crazy villain girl trying to steal his helmet back. The humor in these scenes doesn't work at all, and the entire plot of Sam getting his powers back is a huge mess. There are a million ways this could have been done, like Sam working with his actual friends to get it back, or proving himself to the Nova's that he deserves his helmet. Instead, he teams up with a psycho, attacks dozens of space cops and seemingly gets the man in charge killed. And in the end, his helmet wasn't even there, so this plot point was completely pointless and only served to make Sam look immature, show he makes bad decisions, make him look selfish and frankly undeserving of his powers. more