Spider-Boy is joined by a whole team of long lost sidekicks on "New Champions" variant covers

New Champions variant cover
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel Comics recently struck sales gold with the idea of Spider-Man having a long lost, forgotten sidekick known as Spider-Boy - and now they're taking that idea much, much further this October with a huge wave of variant covers featuring more supposed long-lost sidekicks of other Marvel heroes.

Though the characters are just for variant covers at the moment, other characters such as Gwenpool have made the jump from variant cover design to actual character in the Marvel Universe before - and Marvel is teasing that that could happen again with any or all of these new teen heroes.

"Like Spider-Boy, these new characters inspire a secret history of countless adventures where they’ve fought side-by-side with their superhero mentors!" reads Marvel's announcement. "Featuring fresh, bold designs by all-star talent, these stunning new covers may just be a glimpse into the future of the Marvel Universe!"

The enigmatic Spider-Boy has become a Marvel Comics sales sensation since his debut in writer Dan Slott and artist Mark Bagley's Spider-Man title. And he'll even soon get his own spin-off title, all down to the demand of sales according to Slott.

With that in mind, it makes some sense that Marvel would want to continue tapping into the idea of a superhero with a lost sidekick from their previously unknown past. And labeling them as "Champions," after Marvel's most recent incarnation of a teen superhero team, along with the implication that they could appear again beyond the variant covers, does seem to imply the publisher has some ideas.

But what's a little strange is how many of these characters, such as Vision, Captain Marvel, Hulk, and Iron Man, have actual existing teen proteges already.

Here's the gallery of covers, followed by a list of the titles and artists organized by release date:

October 4

  • Black Panther #5 by Ernanda Souza
  • Doctor Strange #8 by Romy Jones
  • Fantastic Four #12 by Corin Howell
  • X-Men #27 by Peach Momoko

October 11

  • Avengers #6 by Taurin Clarke
  • Blade #4 by Mateus Manhanini
  • Guardians Of The Galaxy #7 by Ron Lim
  • Magneto #3 by Betsy Cola
  • Venom #26 by Rian Gonzales
  • Wolverine #38 by Leinil Francis Yu

October 18

  • Deadpool: Badder Blood #5 by Nick Bradshaw
  • Ghost Rider #19 by Luciano Vecchio
  • Incredible Hulk #5 by Dan Panosian
  • Invincible Iron Man #11 by Takeshi Miyazawa
  • Miles Morales: Spider-Man #11 by Sara Pichelli
  • Moon Knight #28 by Javier Garrón
  • Scarlet Witch #9 by Jen Bartel
  • TBA #1 by Mirka Andolfo

October 25

  • Amazing Spider-Man #36 by Kris Anka
  • Captain America #2 by Lucas Werneck
  • Captain Marvel #1 by Paco Medina
  • Immortal Thor #3 by Toni Infante

One other interesting note from the list is the October 25 'TBA #1' cover by Mirka Andolfo. The art isn't among the covers revealed so far, and the 'To Be Announced' listing makes it seem like the cover will appear on a title Marvel has yet to announce.

Read up on the best teen superhero teams of all time.

TOPICS
George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

Read more
New Champions #4
Meet Gold Tiger, the young Wakandan hero whose origin will be revealed in New Champions #4
Gold Tiger battles a hoard of zombies.
New Wakandan hero Gold Tiger is the latest to join Marvel's New Champions
Ultimate Sabretooth's bloody hands holding Ultimate Wolverine's helmet
Ultimate Peter Parker is officially mentoring his son as Spider-Man, the new Ultimate Sabretooth is coming, and more revealed in Marvel's May 2025 Ultimate Universe solicitations
Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1
Spider-Hulk, Spider-Prowler, Count Parker, and more are the latest Spider-Man variants as the Spider-Verse and Venomverse prepare to go to war
X-Men #16 variant cover by Russell Dauterman
Marvel reveals its full slate of May 2025 comics and covers featuring the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, and more
Phoenix #9
Peach Momoko dresses up Phoenix, Black Cat, Wolverine, Venom, and many more in new kimono variant covers
Latest in Marvel Comics
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel may have just sneakily confirmed one of the biggest Daredevil: Born Again fan theories
New Champions #4
Meet Gold Tiger, the young Wakandan hero whose origin will be revealed in New Champions #4
Marvel Rivals: Ignite #1
Marvel Rivals goes manga in a new comic from Peach Momoko and three other Japanese artists that reveals several new in-game costumes
Fantastic Four #30
Thanks to Doctor Doom, Ben Grimm is no longer the Thing and his kids don't even recognize him in Fantastic Four #30
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong