Issue(s): Champions #17
Cover Date: Jan 78
Title: "--Cause the Sentinels hunt again!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
George Tuska - Penciler
John Byrne - Inker

Review/plot:
This issue is a rare instance of John Byrne on inks over someone other than himself. His distinctive style still shows over Tuska's pencils and makes them look ok, but it's still a waste of Byrne's talent.

Lorelei, Unus, and the Blob show up at the Champion's headquarters, on the run from Sentinels.

It turns out they (and presumably Mastermind) were re-evolved into adult form incidentally while Eric the Red was restoring Magneto. However, the Sentinel attack is a ruse set up by the Vanisher.

The bad guys manage to knock out everyone but Darkstar, but she wipes the evil mutants out in a matter of panels, leaving the Vanisher stuck in a half-teleported state.

She runs to poor Bobby Drake for comfort, calling herself inhuman. This makes the Ghost Rider, who so far has been really hard on her, realize that she has problems too.

This would be a fairly forgettable fight issue if it weren't for the fact that A) it shows how the old Brotherhood members become adults again and B) it is the last issue of the Champions series. It is promised that the Champions will appear again in an undefined future issue of the Avengers, but the real next event for them is Peter Parker being sent out to take photos of the team dismantling in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #17-18.

Like Super-Villain Team-Up, this is a series that never really got off the ground or lived up to its core concept (a super-hero team for regular people, with a storefront headquarters) due to revolving creative teams.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - shows how Mastermind, Lorelei, Unus, and the Blob became adults again.

Chronological Placement Considerations: The opening narration for this story places first Champions #16, then Super-Villain Team-Up #15, and then Iron Man annual #4. But the Iron Man annual refers readers to Champions #16 to learn the fate of Darkstar after her injury fighting MODOK. Neither story relies on the other so you are safe either way. I have the IM annual occurring first to help fit it in with Iron Man's and MODOK's timelines, and MCP does the same.

References:

• The Champion's alarm system is still broken due to their battle with Swarm in Champions #14-15.
  
• Iceman heard that the Sentinels had all been destroyed by the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #100.
  
• The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants were reduced to infancy by Mutant Alpha in Defenders #16.
  
• Eric the Red restored Magneto to adulthood in Uncanny X-Men #104-105.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I wouldn't have enjoyed this issue at all without Byrne's inks.

In the panel where we see the baby Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the blocks there spell out "this book is dead".

Anybody know what the sales figures were for this final issue of the Champions?

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a sales number a current Marvel editor would give up a kidney to have today.