Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos plan on bringing back a much-loved and classic team book tradition with January 17’s CHAMPIONS #16: the membership drive! In the wake of their less-than-excellent meeting with the Avengers in the last arc, the group wants to redouble their efforts to make the world a better place and they need more heroic bodies on the squad to do that.

The CHAMPIONS creative team promises to expand the line-up and continue working towards that goal. Of course, that will mean more killer costumes to work with on the page, but Ramos proves, of course, up the challenge. We talked with the artist about the new influx of characters, the continued development of Red Locust, and his collaborative relationship with Waid!

Marvel.com: The Champions clearly just had a wild time during their adventure with the Avengers. Has that altered how they appear moving forward in this series?

Humberto Ramos: I think so. Every single situation in the Champions Universe will eventually have a consequence in their future actions.

Marvel.com: Membership drives were a hallmark of team books for years. How was it reviving that tradition with the Champions?

Humberto Ramos: The Champions brand is a legacy to take seriously as it is for me in every single Marvel character I get to work with, but the new take and expectations Mark Waid planted in this new group brought heart and hope back to the Marvel U.

Marvel.com: What kind of challenges does bringing all of those characters into one book—or on one cover like that of #16–offer?

Humberto Ramos: The new team looks awesome, right? I am as excited as everyone else to [see] how Moon Girl, Spider-Gwen or the Falcon’s personalities will shock our kids’ world.

Marvel.com: How has it been developing Red Locust and the legacy around her since her first appearance in CHAMPIONS #9?

Humberto Ramos: It’s always exciting to create new characters and I got a little pride to know our girl Fernanda has a Mexican heritage. With Red Locust I have a great opportunity to show at least a glance of how beautiful my country is. I can’t [help] but thank the team for allowing me to do so.

Marvel.com: You and Mark had worked together previously, but have also been shepherding this team along since the beginning. How do you think your collaborative relationship has evolved in that time?

Humberto Ramos: For me it’s exactly the same feeling I had back in time with [our first work together]. The only difference for me is now I’m more aware of the colossal creator Mark is for this industry. Back in those days, I was naive and had no idea, but now I gladly know.

Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos continuing building the legacy of this team with CHAMPIONS #16 on January 17.

1917 to 2017: 100 years of Kirby.

Join us to celebrate Jack “King” Kirby’s 100^th birthday by learning about the characters and stories he created that changed comics forever. To commemorate Jack’s centennial, we’ve sat down with the modern-day creators he influenced—and the decades of work he gifted us all.

Never let it be said that Hulk doesn’t have feelings. In fact, a strong sense of betrayal led him to leave the Avengers not long after they formed. He helped found the team along with Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp in the first issue of AVENGERS, but then left at the end of the second after the team battled Space Phantom, who had the ability to take someone’s physical form. After assuming the Jade Giant’s identity, the Phantom fought the heroes who didn’t exactly have nice things to say about Bruce Banner’s alter ego, some of which came out even after Hulk regained his place in this reality.

As AVENGERS #3 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee began, the team discussed finding The Hulk during their monthly meeting. Iron Man—in his sleeker red and gold armor for the first time in this book—projected himself to the likes of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and even Spider-Man to see if they’d help track the man-monster down to no avail. However, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes did get help from Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade. Rick tried getting Hulk to turn back into Bruce and lie low for a while, but the procedure didn’t take and Hulk returned to his rampaging ways. Jones called out for help and the Avengers answered!

The heroes, however, didn’t quite have the upper hand. Hulk knew their desert battleground far better than anyone and used that knowledge to fight his attackers, hop a train, and make a thrilling escape. Unbeknownst to all the players, they had a secret audience watching all of this: Namor, the Sub-Mariner! He planned to put himself in the one place that Hulk would wind up and then convince him that they should both embrace their hatred of humanity and attack the surface world. Hulk agreed, though he never fully trusted his new partner. They then faced off against the Avengers in tunnels under Gibraltar, which housed abandoned weaponry from World War II. The daring duo used these destruction dealers as part of their attack on our favorite Assemblers.

Avengers (1963) #3

• Published: January 10, 1964
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Penciller: Jack Kirby
• Cover Artist: Jack Kirby

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The ensuing battle of epic proportions featured the pair essentially turning Iron Man into a statue, a sonic blast knocking Wasp out of the air, and both Hulk and Namor attempting to rip Mjolnir out of Thor’s hands! Though that endeavor failed, the two mighty misanthropes neared victory up until the moment when stress caused Hulk to return to his Bruce Banner form. At this point, he had kept his dual identity a secret, so the scientist made a break for it while no one watched.

Alone, Namor soon fell to the Avengers, partially because of their strength but also because his powers lessened the longer he moved outside of the water. Thanks to some H2O trickling in, The Sub-Mariner gained just enough juice to make his own escape. In the next issue, he’d have the most important tantrum in all of comics history, accidentally freeing Captain America from his icy prison.

This issue from 1964 went a long way to continue building the Marvel Universe that we all know and love. From the heroes communicating with one another in the beginning to the continued storylines and, of course, the epic villain team-up, Kirby and Lee worked hard on these stories to lay groundwork that’s still being used to this day.

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more throughout Kirby Month and beyond! And join the conversation on all of our social channels with the hashtag #Kirby100.

The Spirits of Vengeance stand between the armies of heaven and hell, holding each at arm’s length in an attempt to save all Earthly life—and the afterlife—from destruction.

On January 17, writer Victor Gischler and artist David Baldeón present the penultimate chapter of their epic tale with SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #4! As Necrodamus forges a pathway to war, Ghost Rider, Satana, Blade, and Hellstorm unite again to arbitrate the conflict between darkness and light.

We spoke with Mr. Gischler about the otherworldly battle ahead of issue #4.

Marvel.com: What makes Necrodamus such a great villain?

Victor Gischler: He’s exactly the sort of villain I like. Because he’s all powerful? Nope; because he’s third rate in every way and has been reminded of that every day of his life. “I’ll show you” is his mantra.

He does have some legit magical powers, but compared to somebody like Doctor Strange, he’s something of a nobody. And he knows it. It’s eaten him up all his life, and the only way he can accomplish anything is to punch above his weight. And then along comes the Judas silver…

Marvel.com: How do you get into the head of a character like that?

Victor Gischler: We’ve all had those times we feel we’ve been treated unfairly. So just take that to its darkest possible place…and there you go. It’s easy to put ourselves in the shoes of the hero. But we should be able to see the world from the villain’s point of view too—otherwise he’s just a cardboard cutout.

Marvel.com: Can you tell us about his endgame in SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE? Why all the angel-killing?

Victor Gischler: Hmm…that’s begging for a spoiler. I’ll answer like this: for once in his sad life, he feels he’s concocted a way to come out on top. The angel-killing acts as a test for him to hone his new weapon. Let them laugh at Necrodamus now!

Marvel.com: How will the Spirits of Vengeance hope to stop the mad sorcerer?

Victor Gischler: When you put the four of them together you have everything…brains, muscle, cunning, sass…and lots and lots of fire.

Marvel.com: It’s pretty cool to see Ghost Rider fighting alongside Blade. What proved to be the most exciting aspect about putting those two heroes together?

Victor Gischler: They really are cool in the actions scenes…but the bonus for me ends up being when Blade and Johnny Blaze are just talking. I feel like, in another reality, they’d hang out and get beers and be buds.

Hear the drums of war in SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE #4, by Victor Gischler and artist David Baldeón, on January 17!

A big head with an even bigger ego blasts his way into Battlerealm this week in “Marvel Contest of Champions.” Rejoice folks: M.O.D.O.K.’s finally joining the marvelous melee! We talked to Kabam Art Director Gabriel Frizzera and Game Designer Shane O’Connor about the maniacal mental organism, his nefarious plans, and how exactly he’ll be duking it out with those tiny limbs of his.

Marvel.com: What’s our favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing doing on Battlerealm? Wouldn’t he be more at home, on Earth, with a bunch of A.I.M. lackeys at his beck and call?

Gabriel Frizzera: He’s been in the Battlerealm for a while, since his unsuccessful rebellion against The Collector landed him a job as his trusted Chairman for Technological Affairs. After some disastrous experiments with Terrigen, M.O.D.O.K. felt he was about to get sacked and changed sides. The Grandmaster was about to get rid of him as a leftover of the old administration, but M.O.D.O.K. convinced him to let him take over a small portion of the Battlerealm to run a Hotel/Spa/Bootcamp where Grandmaster could send all the unwanted Champions. Little does he know, that M.O.D.O.K. has other plans…check out our motion comic if you want to find out more!

Marvel.com: And this looks like classic M.O.D.O.K.—gold floaty chair, tiny purple limbs, terrible haircut. Are there any unique “Contest” tweaks I missed?

Gabriel Frizzera: No, he’s pretty much the classic. This one is pure, unadulterated M.O.D.O.K., one of the best designs for a Super Villain ever created by “King” Jack Kirby. In fact, he was one of the first characters we modelled for the game, but for the longest time we couldn’t agree on how to best introduce him. I’m a big fan, so I was always pushing for the character. It took almost three years, but M.O.D.O.K. is finally playable in The Contest!

Marvel.com: I gotta know, what the heck do his animations look like? I mean he can’t really punch or kick…

Gabriel Frizzera: To compensate for the lack of reach of his limbs, we built giant mechanical arms with a variety of abilities, like claws, circular saws, etc, that more than compensate for his tiny arms and legs; actually, his arms and legs are regular size, his head is the one that’s oversized. He also uses his trademarked psychic blasts, and lots and massive headbutts, of course!

Marvel.com: What about his abilities? I’m guessing the team worked his mad genius into his kit somehow?

Shane O’Connor: We all know it would take a super genius to calculate the optimal ability alignments that unlock the maximum killing potential…but here’s a hint: M.O.D.O.K. is protected by a powerful Force Field at all times. Enemies will need to find a way to take it down and deal damage before it comes back online. M.O.D.O.K. also oscillates his attributes with a hidden ability called Flux. M.O.D.O.K. is weakest when Flux is low, but watch out for his Incinerate and Doomsday Blades when Flux is high!

Marvel.com: What exactly are the unique block bonuses he gets from the different Classes?

Shane O’Connor: Once M.O.D.O.K. awakens his Signature “Master Plan” Ability, he’ll want to pay attention to the Classes that appear in Quests. Once he defeats a Class, he’ll activate a unique Block bonus for future fights against that Class within the same Quest. Each bonus calibrates his Block and Force Field to become more effective against that Class. For example, he’ll take less damage from Cosmic enemies using Buffs or Science enemies using Debuffs. It’s especially effective against Mystic Champions, but M.O.D.O.K. didn’t bother to develop a bonus against the Skill Class. After all, they’re not even Super Human!

Marvel.com: What kind of teammates do we want fighting at his side?

Shane O’Connor: M.O.D.O.K. has left an impression on many members of The Contest. He has seven Synergy Bonuses—more than any other Champion to date! Taskmaster is both a worthy adversary and a powerful ally, as his Advanced Idea Mechanics Synergy increases M.O.D.O.K.’s ability to recharge his Force Field. Deadpool and Gwenpool ran away with his Doomsday Chair, but if they team up with him then M.O.D.O.K.’s Flux is restored to its true maximum potential. Abomination and Ultron are also great to pair with due to their powerful Unique Synergy Bonuses.

Marvel.com: And when can we fly his big head around Battlrealm?

Shane O’Connor: Find the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing in the SCIENCE RULES! Crystal as well as the MECHANIZED ORGANISM and DESIGNED ONLY FOR KILLING Arenas on Dec 21!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com and @MarvelGames on Twitter for more “Marvel Contest of Champions” news and interviews!