Marvel just officially confirmed the four heroes who will lead its next generation of heroes in The New Champions. From the Young Avengers to the original Champions, Marvel has had several new generations of heroes, with young up-and-comers ing the classics. Now, it's time for a new cohort to rise, with four key heroes leading this sizable team.

New Champions Names the "Core Four" Heroes of New Generation

Meet Moon Squire, Cadet Marvel, Liberty and Hellrune

The New Champions comic series by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli will center around four "core" heroes: Moon Squire, Cadet Marvel, Liberty, and Hellrune. The series is set to be full of cameos galore, but as characters come and go, the core four (originally designed as sidekicks for Moon Knight, Captain Marvel, Captain America and Thor) will remain in the middle of it all.

The news comes thanks to an interview with CBR, where Foxe says:

We didn’t want to bog you down with origins right away, and our "core four" of Moon Squire, Cadet Marvel, Liberty, and Hellrune have already had their starts addressed to an extent, so NEW CHAMPIONS #1 is really about showing off the team’s dynamic as they seize back their lives and throw themselves head-long into heroism the way only teenagers with short-term views on consequences can. They’ve had a hard bargain in their short lives, and one member of the team is dealing with it less successfully than the others, which is going to really kick our plot into gear and bring the initial New Champions into with a bunch of new faces—some of which have never seen the inside of a Marvel comic before.

The New Champions Are a Permanent Addition to Marvel Lore

The New Heroes Started Off as a Variant Cover Initiative

The New Champions were originally designed for a variant cover series where all-star Marvel artists designed sidekicks for Marvel's major heroes, with the purpose of celebrating the success of Spider-Boy, the recently introduced "forgotten sidekick" of Spider-Man. When the characters were first invented, there was no intention of bringing them into Marvel's main continuity, but as time went on and curiosity grew, the New Champions appearing in their own comics became an inevitability.

Eventually, the core four officially debuted in Spider-Woman, also written by Steve Foxe, where their powers were partially explained as part of a Hydra experiment. Meanwhile, other New Champions like Scarlet Witch's sidekick Amaranth and new Ghost Rider Fantasma have appeared in other series.

The New Champions Will NOT Be Replacing The Champions

Rest Easy, As the Original Champions Will Even Meet the New Champions

When a new generation of heroes arrives, there is always stress about whether that means the previous generation will be ignored from here on. Steve Foxe assures fans that will not be the case, and even teases an early meeting between the original and New Champions, saying:

There are plans for all of these characters - heck, I’m writing some of them! And if you thought to yourself, But how do the Champions feel about these kids calling themselves the NEW Champions - expect to have that question answered very early on.

As well as the Champions, Foxe promises New Champions will star a lot guest stars, including some huge names. Foxe states:

These kids are inspired by, and in some cases directly connected to, some of the most revered heroes in the Marvel Universe. It would be a HUGE missed opportunity not to see them interact with their idols and explore those links. Just don’t be surprised if the connections aren’t always what you expect them to be…!

New Champions Is Not an Origin Story, But an Exploration of New Characters

The "Core Four" Will Anchor the Story

Foxe confirms that origins for any new characters will come with time, but - especially in a comic series with a main cast of up to seven heroes at a time - there will be a concerted effort not to overwhelm readers with backstory. The core four already had their introduction in Spider-Woman, so New Champions #1 is more about establishing the team's dynamic. It especially makes sense that Hellrune will be a key figure in the story, as it's her teleportation powers that will assemble the New Champions.

New Champions is setting the stage to be a whirlwind adventure starring a host of new heroes, as a fresh generation of superhumans launch into the Marvel Universes, with stories rooted in the team dynamic and their links to their iconic inspirations. However, we now know that this will all be anchored by four key heroes that Marvel fans already met, giving readers an easy and familiar entry point into the potential chaos of New Champions.

New Champions #1 is available from Marvel Comics January 8, 2025.

Source: Adam Barnhardt, CBR