The Champions #14

Name: The Champions #14
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jul 1977 · Marvel · 0.30 USD

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“The Creature Called... Swarm!”

★ 1st appearance — Swarm

About this Issue

The Champions #14 (cover-dated July 1977) is the debut issue of Swarm — Fritz von Meyer, a former Nazi melittologist whose consciousness was absorbed into a colony of mutant, radiation-altered bees, leaving his skeleton suspended within a living hive. The character represented Marvel's Bronze Age push to blend superhero action with body-horror conceits: a villain whose very form was an insectile nightmare rather than a costumed criminal. Although the Champions series itself never built a stable rogues gallery of its own, Swarm proved durable enough to migrate into Spider-Man's corner of the Marvel Universe and eventually onto animated television, giving this otherwise modest issue a reach well beyond the cancelled team book in which he was born. The issue is also notable as the final appearance of Ivan Petrovich in the Champions title and for Iceman debuting a newly redesigned costume — two character-status changes layered into what is otherwise Swarm's introductory chapter.

In "The Creature Called... Swarm!", the Champions face a terrifying new threat as the team's own headquarters turns against them—Hercules and Iceman are caught in a deadly defense system. Meanwhile, Ghost Rider, Black Widow, and Darkstar are ambushed by the mysterious and menacing Swarm, whose true nature remains a chilling mystery. Written by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne, with dynamic art by Byrne and inks by Mike Esposito, this 1977 issue delivers suspense and action in a 30-cent comic from Marvel. The cover, by Gil Kane and Al Milgrom, captures the intensity of the moment.

writer Bill Mantlo · writer, artist John Byrne · inker Mike Esposito · colorist Glynis Wein · letterer Irv Watanabe · letterer Gaspar Saladino · cover Gil Kane, Al Milgrom

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $10

CGC 9.8 · 34 in census $238

CGC 9.6 · 42 in census $103

CGC 9.4 · 43 in census $57

CGC 9.2 · 13 in census $43*

CGC 9.0 · 16 in census $35*

CGC 8.5 · 7 in census $29*

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CGC 8.0 · 10 in census $26*

CGC 7.5 · 6 in census $24

CGC 7.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $280–$330 2 listings

CGC 9.8 $280 CGC 9.8 $330

CGC 9.6 $166 1 listing CGC $74 1 listing CBCS 9.8 $148 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $36 1 listing Raw — VF+ $28 1 listing Raw — VF $40 1 listing

Raw — VG ▾ $13.5–$42.98 2 listings

VG $13.5 VG $42.98

Raw — GOOD $23.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $8.99–$138 9 listings

Raw / ungraded $8.99 Raw / ungraded $8.99 Raw / ungraded $12.87 Raw / ungraded $18.19 Raw / ungraded $24.99 Raw / ungraded $28.89 Newsstand $29.89 Raw / ungraded $40 Raw / ungraded $138

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Newsstand $9.34 Newsstand $9.99 FINE $12.72 VF $13 VF $17.97 Newsstand $17.99 The Champions #14 (July 1977, Marvel Comics) 1st Appearance Of The Swarm 6.5 F+ $6 Marvel The Champions #14 Swarm Lord Appearance 1977 - at least a 5.5 $9.99

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History

By the time issue #14 went on sale (April 19, 1977, per Grand Comics Database sourcing), the Champions series was deep into the Bill Mantlo–John Byrne creative partnership that had stabilized the book after a turbulent early run that saw a dozen different writer/penciller/inker combinations across its first seventeen issues. Archie Goodwin served as editor. Byrne received a co-plotting credit alongside Mantlo's full script, a collaborative arrangement that became standard for their run together on the title; the first-page lettering was handled by Gaspar Saladino, with Irv Watanabe lettering the remainder, and Glynis Wein colored the issue while Mike Esposito inked Byrne's pencils. The series was already struggling commercially — Marvel would cross-promote the team in three consecutive guest-star appearances in other titles the same summer in an attempt to boost flagging sales — meaning issue #14 arrived during an editorial scramble to find any story momentum that might rescue the book before cancellation.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Swarm (Fritz von Meyer) — a Nazi scientist turned living bee-colony supervillain — establishing one of Marvel's most visually distinctive Bronze Age antagonists.
Swarm was created by writer Bill Mantlo and penciler/co-plotter John Byrne; Mike Esposito inked, Glynis Wein colored, and Archie Goodwin edited.
The story title is 'The Creature Called…Swarm!' and the issue went on sale April 19, 1977, with a July 1977 cover date.
Von Meyer's origin as presented in the issue and its immediate sequel: a WWII-era war criminal who fled to South America, discovered a meteor-irradiated colony of superintelligent bees, attempted to control them with a psionic device, failed, was devoured, and had his consciousness absorbed into the hive — his skeleton remaining as the focal point of the swarm.
Ivan Petrovich (Black Widow's longtime ally and supporting cast anchor) departs the Champions in this issue, returning to Russia under a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. assignment arranged by Nick Fury; his next appearance in any title is Daredevil #188.
Iceman (Bobby Drake) debuts a newly redesigned costume in this issue, replacing the minimal look he had worn since his X-Men debut in 1963.
The issue is part one of a two-part Swarm story concluded in Champions #15 (September 1977); both issues have been collected in Champions Classic Vol. 2 (Marvel, 2007) and Champions Classic: The Complete Collection (Marvel, 2018).
Swarm received his first animated adaptation in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode 'Swarm' (Season 1, Episode 5, aired 1981), voiced by Al Fann — though that version reimagined the character without the Nazi-scientist origin, depicting the hive as irradiated by a meteorite rather than animated by von Meyer's consciousness.