Kickers, Inc. #1

History

Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz — who had previously collaborated on The Amazing Spider-Man — originally developed the concept under the working title "Mr. Magnificent and his Team Supreme" before the New Universe's own rules had been defined, envisioning something closer in spirit to DC's Challengers of the Unknown, complete with an all-terrain vehicle called the Ultramobile. When Jim Shooter funneled the idea into his new imprint and insisted on a sports-grounded series, DeFalco and Frenz reworked it to fit — but the result pleased neither the creators nor, ultimately, Shooter. The debut issue was released on July 29, 1986 (cover-dated November 1986), with interior art inked by Sal Buscema and colors by George Roussos, edited by Michael Higgins under Shooter's watch as editor-in-chief.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Jack Magniconte ("Mr. Magnificent"), Darlene Magniconte, Dallas "Dasher" Corbin, Thomas "Suicide" Smythe, and Beauford "Brick Wall" Wohl — the full founding roster of Kickers, Inc.
• Written by Tom DeFalco, penciled by Ron Frenz, inked by Sal Buscema, colored by George Roussos, lettered by Phil Felix, and edited by Michael Higgins; released July 29, 1986 with a November 1986 cover date.
• The issue's story — titled "This Legend Born!" — establishes Jack Magniconte as star quarterback for the fictional New York Smashers who gains superhuman strength and stamina when the cosmic White Event interacts with his brother Steve's experimental muscle-enhancement "Intensifier."
• Steve Magniconte, Jack's brother and the inventor of the Intensifier, dies in this first issue at the hands of loan-shark enforcers — a classic death-by-origin-story that motivates Jack to form Kickers, Inc. as a non-profit foundation helping people with unusual problems.
• Jack's powers are presented as ambiguous in origin: the White Event and the Intensifier both act on him simultaneously, so even Jack himself does not know whether the cosmic event or the device is responsible for his abilities.
• The series was one of eight titles launched as part of Marvel's New Universe imprint, which debuted in 1986 to mark the publisher's 25th anniversary and was intended to be a fully separate shared universe with no hidden races, gods, or magic.
• DeFalco wrote only the first five issues, and Frenz penciled only the first three; by issue #6, neither creator remained on the book — the series rotated through nearly a full new creative team per issue before cancellation with #12.
• Jack Magniconte returned in a 2006 Untold Tales of the New Universe back-up story (in New Avengers #16) as part of Marvel's 20th-anniversary New Universe retrospective, and a reimagined version appeared in the newuniversal reboot.

Full credits

Key issues in Kickers, Inc.

Variants (1)