Kickers Inc. #1 (November 1986)

Back in February of 2021, I wrote a review of D.P.7 #1 (November 1986). Unlike most of Marvel's titles, this series was set in the New Universe, a Jim Shooter-spearheaded imprint created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the debut of the Fantastic Four in 1961. The basic caveat of the New Universe was that unlike the Marvel Universe, this was a world just like ours, with none of the fantastical elements of Marvel's other superhero books, until a White Event hit on July 22, 1986, at 4:22 a.m. EST, causing this world to have its first generation of superhuman beings. 

The line launched with eight titles, including this one. Kickers, Inc. had been created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz for the New Universe before the imprint got fleshed out. The original title was Mr. Magnificent and the Team Supreme, the group being in the vein of the Challengers of the Unknown, including having an all-terrain "Ultramobile". DeFalco and Frenz intended the book to be a rather tongue-in-cheek adventure title. However, when the New Universe got more fleshed out, DeFalco realized that the book would not fit, but Shooter convinced them to bring the book in, as he wanted a "sports book"...even though being football players was just the group's day job, and the focus was meant to be on their adventures off the field.

Kickers, Inc., like all the other New Universe titles, didn't last very long, only 12 issues. This was mainly due to the book being unable to keep a creative team (DeFalco had lost interest in doing the book early on, only writing the first two-and-a-half issues, and plotting out the next two to be written by others). It was a problem that plagued most of the other New Universe books had as well. 

Did this book start with some promise? Well, let's find out as we look at Kickers. Inc #1! 

The cover is a Ron Frenz piece. It's pretty neat, showing one of the main characters of the series getting empowered while the rest of the presumed Kickers are watching with concern. It's a pretty neat cover, not much else to say about it. I do like the masthead logo, the usage of a solid blocky font and the little football helping show the sport connection these characters have. 

"This Legend Born!"
Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciler: Ron Frenz
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: George Roussos
Letterer: Phil Felix
Editor: Michael Higgins
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins, naturally on the gridiron. The New York Smashers are in a bit of a pickle. They're losing the game to their unnamed opponents with 17 points to 21. There's only seconds left before the game ends. Smashers Quarterback Giovanni "Jack" Magniconte attempts to make one last pass as the opposing team's linemen jump at him. 

Despite this, Jack manages to make a pass. His teammate Dallas "Dasher" Corbin manages to make the catch but gets tackled hard on the two-yard line. 

However, Corbin managed to get himself knocked out of bounds, forcing the game's clock to stop. He managed to buy the Smashers time for maybe one or two more plays.

Jack gets the ball, but he gets blitzed. But Mr. Magnificent has a plan.

He manages to fake a fumble, forcing the clock to stop again. Another snap, and one Thomas "Suicide" Smythe (yeah that's his nickname. Don't look at me, I didn't write this) runs the ball. Thanks to their teammate Beauford "Brick" Wohl (pronounced "wall" for the sake of the pun) mowing down the other team like a weedwhacker through...weeds, Smythe is able to make the touchdown. This gives the Smashers six points, giving them the win, 23 to 21.

In the locker room, the team enjoys and celebrates their win, which allows us to see a bit of the team's personalities. Jack is the humble leader, Smythe is the showoff, Wohl is the intelligent financier, and Corbin is the refined rich guy. We also see a bit of the dynamics of the team, mainly in Smythe and Corbin pranking each other. We also learn that Jack enjoys drinking a nutritional drink made by his brother Steve, who is a nutrition expert. After the team gets cleaned up and changed, Jack goes to meet his beloved wife Darlene. The two head out to meet Steve. Darlene wishes he wouldn't spend so much time with him, as Steve had a gambling problem and as such, she sees him as a bad figure in Jack's life. Jack rationalizes that gambling was a way for Steve to keep involved in sports after his knee got wrecking playing football in college. Also, Steve raised Jack by himself after their parents died. Makes sense Jack would feel a great loyalty to him after that.

Anyway, the two head out for Steve's business.

"And to think, honey, this started as a pizza joint..."

Jack is really proud of his elder brother. He's seemingly kicked his addiction and turned his life around, with Darlene pointing out that the reason he was able to start a business was because of money he borrowed from Jack. Steve greets the two and introduces them to his invention: the "Intensifier".

"Bobby suggested 'The Man Enlarger'. He doesn't work here anymore."

The device is meant to artificially stimulate muscles and increase their mass, making someone stronger, faster, tougher. Regular treatment with this device could increase a man's speed and strength by ten, possibly fifteen percent.

Like the great comic book scientist he is, Steve's been testing it on himself. So far, he's seemingly suffered no ill effects. Yeah, you can tell this was originally not intended to fit into the New Universe. More on that later. In Central Park, Jack and Darlene discuss the device. Darlene is naturally worried it would cause harm to Jack. But Jack isn't worried. He trusts his brother, and this machine could make him a better player. As they return home, the White Event hits, and Jack momentarily gets dizzy. 

The next day, Jack prepares to undergo the Intensifier. Steve warns him to not expect miracles. It may take months and regular treatment to show results. Steve flips the switch, and well...a miracle happens.

Steve did not remember putting in a system for dyeing hair.

Steve is shocked, as the Intensifier is not supposed to work this well this quickly.

He runs some tests on Jack and finds nothing wrong with him. Jack himself decides to go for a nice head-clearing jog. He gets splashed by a car driven by some pranksters and angrily runs after it. Evidently Jack wants to go Mortal Kombat on those punks. 

To the passengers' amazement, Jack is able to keep up with their car, and it's going 40 miles per hour (around 64.4 kilometers per hour for you metric folks). Jack grabs the car, but it manages to drive away...leaving him holding the rear bumper.

Later at the Sports Power Plus building, Steve run more tests...and he's left utterly baffled. He asks his brother not to tell anyone about this until he's studied the effects more closely. Don't want any nasty side effects to suddenly pop up, after all. Jack agrees and heads to practice. After Jack leaves, Steve gets a phone call from a man named Sloane, demanding the money he is owed. Thing is, Steve already spent it developing the Intensifier. 

Sloan...is surprisingly fine with it. He even offers Steve a chance to break even, booking a couple bets for him in the next football game. After all, Sloan sees the Magnicontes as an investment in the future that will pay off big time. Maybe Darlene was right about Steve after all.

Speaking of Darlene, Jack is showing off his new powers to her. She's far more worried than impressed, thinking he really needs to see a doctor. But Jack is too excited. He can't wait to see what he can do on the field.

The day of the game arrives, and problems arise thanks to Jack's new powers. He throws a pass at Dasher, only to end up cracking his ribs.

Yeah, new power comes with new problems. Despite this, the Smashers win the game. Over the next few weeks, the Smashers become one of the winningest teams in the League (presumably the NFL but not named due to legal reasons). The team also makes a massive profit thanks to appearances in commercials, product endorsements, and doing charitable events. They even do their own version of the "Super Bowl Shuffle". However, over time, Jack seems to grow more depressed. It's like despite holding back, football doesn't challenge him anymore. He's now undoubtedly the strongest, fastest, and most powerful man in the League. It's...become too easy. 

Back at Sports Power Plus, Steve is giving a man an Intensifier treatment. But so far, it seems only Jack has become powerful because of it. Steve is worried about this, as he's invested everything he had in it. He even started gambling again in an attempt to clear his debts but only ended up owing more money. I'm assuming he's betting on other sports besides football, because otherwise, it makes Steve look like an idiot.

The Smashers win their conference championship, guaranteeing a ticket to the Super Bowl. But Jack is too depressed to celebrate. Unaware of his powers, this leaves his fellow teammates utterly confused. While this went down, Sloan suggests an opportunity for Steve to clear his debts. You see, the bookies theorize the Smashers will win the Super Bowl by 17 points. Sloan wants Steve to convince Jack to make sure the team doesn't let that happen. Win or lose, it cannot be by 17 points. Steve refuses (likely because he knows Jack will never go for it) and gets a Mighty Punch to the side from Sloan's enforcer for his trouble. 

The next day, Steve is testing Jack, his mind in conflict about Sloan's demand. Jack hears his older brother muttering, and fears that he's fallen off the gambling wagon again. But there's something more important on his mind, the Intensifier's effects being reversed. He wants to be his old self again, as he feels he's a living cheat code for football. 

That night, he laments to Darlene that he can't do the thing he loves anymore because of his new power. He feels there is nowhere to go that would understand his problems. Remember, DP7 exists in this universe as well, but Jack is unaware he's a paranormal (what superhumans in the New Universe are called).

The Super Bowl arrives, and thanks to Jack, the Smashers win it, 65-17. Sloan is not going to be happy...

After the game, Jack goes to visit Steve, only to find a crime in progress.

"HEY! YOU OWE ME A PIZZA!"

Jack hands a Mighty Beatdown to Sloan and his men. However, they managed to fatally shoot Steve. In his last moments of life, Steve laments that things got out of hand, and he gives an apology to his younger brother before dying in his arms. 

Three weeks pass. Wohl, Smythe, Dasher and Darlene are meeting Jack at Steve's old business. Jack shows off his powers to them and catches them up on everything. He has them undergo the Intensifier...even though it was shown earlier that it didn't work...and the only reason Jack seemingly got power from it was because of a delayed reaction to the White Event. 

A few days pass. At Jack's apartment, the group put together plans to create something new, something to help people with...unusual personal issues like Jack had. It'll give the group something to do in the off-season...and allow them to keep doing something once they have to hang up the cleats. Darlene remarks that these "dumb kickers" are going to need more than a new name if they break her lamp (Jack and Dasher were tossing it around like a football), and with that, they got a name: Kickers, Inc.

I though this issue was...decent. You can tell this was meant to fit into the New Universe if you knew anything about the ground rules of it, though. For example, the Intensifier. One of the ground rules of the New Universe was that it was meant to be a world just like ours, the real world. No aliens, no monsters, no demons, no super-high-tech stuff. The Intensifier can qualify as that.

Also, Jack being hit by the White Event. In the New Universe, the White Event occurred between 4 and 5 AM.  Unless the Smashers playing a game really late at night, which I doubt as even football players need to sleep, then he should have been hit while he was asleep, not walking with Darlene in presumably the middle of the day or evening. 

Speaking of Jack, he's clearly the main character of this story, and it does do a decent job establishing who he is: a humble man who has a bit of an obsession with being the best at football. And in the classic Marvel tradition, he finds his new power more of a curse, and his origin has a touch of tragedy. I also like that we get to see a bit of the personalities and dynamics of the other Kickers, ripe for growth and development in future issues 

I've talked about Frenz's work in the past. You can see the Jack Kirby reverence in the way he draws faces, hands, and certain poses. 

I don't think this is bad, but DeFalco and Frenz would go on to do better stuff. For example, their Thor run, which I think is ridiculously underrated. Sadly, Kickers Inc. has never been collected in trade form, so you'll have to scour a comic book shop's back issue bins and hope you find this if you want to read this for yourself. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!