Champion of the Universe

The Champion is a fictional character, appearing in Marvel Comics universe. He is not necessarily a villain but has played the role in the past through his impetuous and arrogant actions. He first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7.

Character biography

The Champion is one of the alien Elders of the Universe. He is an immortal who keeps himself busy by fighting assorted superheroes, including The Thing, The Incredible Hulk, Colossus, Thor, and Wonder Man. Although he wishes to prove himself the greatest warrior in the universe, he usually does so fairly. For example, in his first appearance, he fought the Thing and defeated him with ease, but the Thing would not surrender; when forced to choose between killing his defeated opponent or yielding, the Champion yielded.

The Champion was among the Elders who sought to restart the universe by killing Galactus. From this encounter he came into possession of the power gem.

The Champion later came into possession of the Power Gem (one of the Infinity Gems); Thanos tricked the Champion into giving him the gem during the Thanos Quest.

In recent times, the Champion had settled on the planet Skardon, whose native Skard exist in a "might makes right" culture; all disputes, including matters of law, are settled in a trial by combat, with the winner of the fight thus becoming the winner of the dispute. By defeating Skardon's most powerful fighters in the natives' boxing-ring-esque arena, the Champion became the ruler of the planet. He then deliberately let the living conditions deteriorate on Skardon, and let it be known that he would continue to do so until a "worthy challenger" defeated and dethroned him. Adam Warlock responded to this challenge, and defeated the Champion with the power of another Infinity Gem, the Soul Gem, but made the mistake of doing so outside the ring and without engaging in hand-to-hand combat; thus, it was not a "legal" defeat in the eyes of the Skard, and the Champion maintained his position as ruler. Adam Warlock and his former Infinity Watch allies Gamora and Pip the Troll then recruited cosmically powerful beings from across the universe, intending to dethrone the Champion in the ring according to Skardon law, but the Champion managed to defeat all comers, including Drax the Destroyer, Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, the Silver Surfer, and Adam Warlock himself.

The Champion was ultimately unseated by the She-Hulk, who was sent to Skardon as a representative of the universal judiciary body known as the Magistrati, at Pip's request. After initially fighting the Champion to her near-defeat, She-Hulk used her experience as a lawyer as well as her physical power to her advantage, asking for and receiving an "appeal" to the trial by combat, set for three months later. Upon discovering that Skardon law prohibits the use of weaponry or other foreign objects in the arena of legal dispute, she requested that the Champion face her in a rematch without using the Power Gem. With the Champion's power thus diminished, and the She-Hulk having trained to increase both her strength and combat skills in the time between her first trial and the appeal, the Champion was dealt his first known defeat in physical combat. He also forfeited the use of the Power Gem, having made a bet with the She-Hulk in which he agreed to never use the Gem again if she defeated him. (how this occured is not known, since the Champion has mastered almost every form of combat in the universe, She Hulk even with extra training should not have even been able to land a punch if the Champion didn't let her.)

After falling to the She-Hulk, the Champion took the new name of "The Fallen One" in disgrace. He also attempted to take revenge on the She-Hulk through a proxy, passing the Power Gem to the heroine's arch-enemy Titania (who also failed to defeat the She-Hulk).

Powers and abilities

The Champion controls an energy source referred to as the Power Primordial. This energy is apparently residual energy that is left over from the Big Bang itself. The Champion has channeled this energy force into the development of his physical form.

While exercising, the bodies of humans tap into electro-chemical energies found in their molecular structure. The Champion's body, however, taps into cosmic nuclear energy during exercise. As a result, the Champion possesses virtually limitless physical strength, the limits of which aren't known. However, he once destroyed an entire planet with the force generated by a single punch after jumping several thousand feet into the air (although he carried the Power Gem at the time). Hence, his strength vastly exceeds the Class 100 level, being able to lift in excess of 100 tons. The Champion's physical strength is only determined by the amount of cosmic force that his body can contain.

Aside from his vast strength, his body does not tire from physical exertion, since his musculature generates no lactic acids. The Champion is not limited by the need for food, drink, or sleep. The Power Primordial is all that is required to sustain him.

The Champion's body is virtually invulnerable against all forms of conventional injury. His body is capable of resisting penetration wounds, extreme temperatures of heat or cold, corrosives, etc. Only an injury that resulted in the dispertion of a great majority of his bodily molecules could, potentially, cause him life threatening injury. The Champion's body is functionally immortal and he is immune to the effects of aging and is immune to all diseases and infections. The Champion can survive indefinitely and unaided in the vacuum of space. As he becomes angry, he subconsciously draws in further amounts of energy from his surroundings, increasing his abilities even further, most notably his physical strength.

Having channeled all of the cosmic energy at his command to transform his body into a practically perfect fighting machine, the Champion isn't able to direct the energy into force-blasts, unlike most of the other Elders.

Although being nearly as old as the universe itself, the Champion is not as intelligent as the other Elders of the Universe, partially due to the fact that most of the other Elders have chosen to devote at least some of their energies to the development of their minds as well as their physical bodies. Still, his experience and knowledge could be considered well beyond that of an average human; in particular, he has some familiarity with advanced alien technologies that surpass the understanding of most Earthlings. However, when it comes to physical combat, his knowledge and expertise is unmatched. He is as formidable at hand to hand combat as a being could be and is a master of every fighting style that exists across the Universe.

When not "jobbing" to the heroes of Marvel, Champion is nearly invincible in hand to hand combat.

Limitations

The Champion possesses very strong psychological inhibitions against killing. In all of his tens of thousands of bouts, he has never killed an opponent. During a battle with the Thing, the Champion had beaten him within an inch of his life. The Thing would not submit and, as a result, the Champion submitted, realizing he would have to kill the Thing in order to win.

The Power Primordial is channeled through the Elders of the Universe and sustains them only through their very desire and will to continue to exist in pursuing their various interests. The Champion's interests, of course, being fighting, training to fight, and seeking opponents to fight. If the Champion were to grow disinterested in his pursuits and chose not to continue them, he could potentially die as a result, although since Death decreed no Elder could ever enter her realm, this may no longer be true.

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Character biography

Powers and abilities

Limitations