Wakanda has a new Champion. Marvel’s New Champions #1 by writer Steve Foxe (X-Men ’97) and artists Ivan Fiorelli (Fantastic Four) and Ig Guara (Sensational She-Hulk) asks the question: Who are the New Champions? First introduced as The Assembly in Foxe’s 10-issue Spider-Woman run, the San Francisco-based teen team includes the jet-powered Cadet Marvel, the spell-casting Hellrune, the hard light-constructing Beacon, and the light-absorbing Moon Squire. After Spider-Woman freed the brainwashed superheroes from the control of the terrorist organization Hydra, The Assembly reassembled as the New Champions.
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When Hellrune cast a magic spell summoning the New Champions, she brought together a group of young heroes to fight the undead Cult of Hela: the Ghost Rider-inspired roller derby jammer Fantasma; the green-skinned, super-strong Hulkette; the Scarlet Witch’s protégé, Amaranth; Justin Jin, the unstoppable Kid Juggernaut; the temperature-wielding Logan Lewis, a.k.a. Nightshade; Spider-Man’s forgotten kid sidekick, Bailey Briggs, a.k.a Spider-Boy; and a “Wakandan runaway” known only as Gold Tiger. (Upcoming issues will introduce card-slinging magician Monte and the pink-clad Magnetrix, who resembles the mutant master of magnetism: Magneto.)
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Marvel’s 2025 Black History Month variant cover series has revealed a closer look at Gold Tiger, who will adorn the cover of New Champions #2 in February with a variant cover by artist Alitha Martinez (Iron Man).
Created by artist Ernanda Souza, Gold Tiger first appeared on the cover of 2023’s Black Panther #5 as part of the New Champions Variant Cover program that imagined all-new young heroes as partners of established superheroes like Deadpool, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Moon Knight.
Souza’s original design (below) was inspired by Black Panther co-creator Jack Kirby’s unused design for T’Challa, at first named “Coal Tiger” by Kirby and co-creator Stan Lee. (Black Panther would debut in 1966’s Fantastic Four #52, while Coal Tiger — an alternate universe version of T’Challa — would come face-to-face with his mainstream counterpart in 1992’s Avengers #356.)
Gold Tiger takes her name from her golden claws and is shown with spell-casting abilities like Doctor Strange. It remains to be seen if the Wakandan teen has any connection to Queen Nehanda, Wakanda’s 11th-century Black Panther, who trained in the occult arts and was granted the power of Soul Sight with the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives a Black Panther their powers.
“As soon as I saw the New Champions variants, my mind started racing dreaming up possible origins and powers and codenames for these imagined sidekicks,” Foxe said of the characters created for variant covers. “Reverse-engineering the cast from the covers was unlike any other creative process I’ve ever been involved in, and I’m beyond stoked to debut a whole new class of Marvel heroes — and a few villains! — in New Champions alongside Ivan Fiorelli, who makes each and every one of these new additions feel like they’ve been part of the fabric of the universe all along.”
Foxe continued, “I’ve been dying to write a teen hero team my whole career—it’s the time in everyone’s life when we’re figuring out who we really are, and adding Norse magic or jet-powered punches or accidental hell portals to that search for identity is a recipe for storytelling gold.”
Marvel’s Black History Month variant covers will also spotlight Black heroes Black Panther (Avengers #29), Luke Cage (Power Man: Timeless #1), Storm (Storm #5), Captain America (Sam Wilson, Captain America #2), Temper (X-Men #11), Frenzy (X-Factor #7), and Spider-Man (Miles Morales: Spider-Man #30). The Gold Tiger New Champions #2 cover goes on sale Feb. 12.
New Champions #1
WHO ARE THE NEW CHAMPIONS? What do four kids whose lives were derailed by Hydra, Scarlet Witch’s mysterious protégé, a cursed roller derby jammer and a Wakandan runaway have in common? Not much! But when Hellrune’s mysterious powers activate to bring them together, they’ll have to learn how to work as a team quickly – or face the wrath of the Cult of Hela! Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli (TIMESLIDE) team up to introduce the next generation of Marvel Heroes!
On sale: Jan. 8
New Champions #2
NEW ALLIES… AND ENEMIES? Hellrune has summoned young heroes from far and wide, but who among them has what it takes to become a New Champion? The smooth-talking magician Monte seems to be a prime candidate, but is he more than he appears? And who is the mysterious MAGNETRIX?
On sale: Feb. 12
New Champions #3
CHAMPIONS VS. CHAMPIONS! The New Champions adopted a name that didn’t belong to them – and the previous Champions have something to say about that! But when an old enemy threatens both teams, they’ll have to work together to survive – or there might be no Champions left at all!
On sale: March 19
