Hey guys! so we decided we wanted to work on something a little different for you all. We’ve done our first official Fandom Correspondents Draft and we decided to start with something everyone loves : Marvel Comics!
So we each had to come up with a team of 7 characters with just a few rules :
- No villians, Heroes and Anti-Heroes Only.
- Anyone from the main Marvel Comic Universe.(No Star Wars, No Disney.)
- Your team has to have 1 leader, 1 powerhouse, 1 wild card and the other four spots can be anything.
- You have to be able to defend each pick with a short opinion piece.
- If you miss a round then you lose that character and you will have to defend your team without them.
So we got together and did our draft order like a traditional fantasy football snake draft with this order
- Carter
- Wise Sage
- Red Lanyard
- Raven
- Vance
So here is our first round picks!
Carter : Nova : Powerhouse Choice
Part of our team had to include a powerhouse, so i picked Nova. I actually don’t know much about about Nova aside from the fact that he wields “cosmic power” and has often been compared to the green lantern. I know enough about Marvel to know that “cosmic” is almost synonymous with powerful. And anyone compared to the lanterns cant be a pushover.
Wise Sage : Captain America : Leader
After our draft was over, Vance remarked (somewhat snidely) that I had chosen all of the popular characters. I have to disagree. Just because my choices weren’t as cool and hip as the selections from the other correspondents, does not mean I was playing a popularity contest. Instead, I want a team that wins, because if the Brood forms an alliance with the Skrulls and elects Thanos as their leader, I do not want to have to bank on Thanos feeling guilty because he accidentally killed his goldfish, so that Johnny Blaze’s penitent stare will work. Instead, I want proven heavy hitters who know how to take down the biggest threats possible. With that in mind, I asked myself three questions when drafting. First, can my team work together? Second, can my team handle a litany of threats? And third, does my team have a trump card it can play if everything goes wrong?
Which brings me to this first pick, Captain America (Steve Rogers). Cap is the best leader in the Marvel Universe by far, and quite frankly, I am shocked I was able to grab him at 2. For the purpose of my Avengers team, he simply makes everything work. As leader, I know I have a guy that everyone respects. In a straight up fight, I like his odds against just about any, non-cosmic, threat in the Marvel Universe. But most importantly, I know that there are a number of intangible qualities that Cap brings to the table; qualities which will absolutely be needed on my team. My team is full of heavy hitters, so my first pick had to be someone who could direct the battle. Had I been forced to pick someone else, I’m not sure the rest of my team would work. I got lucky.
Red Lanyard : Carol Danvers : Leader
For my first pick, I figured I would fill my leader spot. After all, no team is any good without someone to lead, direct, delegate, and inspire them to fulfill their duties. And while there were tons of excellent leaders I could have gone with for my opening pick—Black Panther, Spider-Man, Black Bolt, Charles Xavier, Sam Wilson—I knew immediately when I was planning my draft who I would pick up if she was available. Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, is a superhero with incredible military and super-team experience. With such military duties as head of defense for NASA and United States Air Force Captain and such super duties as Avenger and Mighty Avenger leader, Danvers has the combat, espionage, and social experience and insight needed to lead any mission regardless of style, size, and objective. Her experience in the military proves her ability to organize and execute unified team maneuvers, and her experience fighting alongside and against such Marvel elites as Iron Man, Wolverine, and Black Panther. She has tons of cosmic insight. And, perhaps most important in a leader, her recent struggles and triumphs in Secret Wars and Civil War II reveal that she is someone who will fight for what she sees is right regardless of opposition or prejudices. With the intelligence to deduce a course of action, the experience to execute it flawlessly, and the passion to fight through whatever goes inevitably goes to hell, Carol Danvers repeatedly proves her worth as an elite Marvel power and an ideal leader.
Raven : Black Widow : Leader
Black Widow is my leader, because…Duh.
But really, she’s fierce, strong, confident and her skills in Mixed Martial Arts are matched by none. She knows how to sling her guns if need be, but really, guns are only her secondary weapon. She thinks strategically, doesn’t let her emotions interfere with her decision making and because of that she never second guesses herself. She’s a natural Born Leader and anyone who comes in contact with her is drawn to her.
Vance : Iron Man : Leader
Admittedly I thought Iron Man would already be gone by this point but I knew that following Wise Sage at #2 that I wouldn’t have my personal first pick but I’m still very happy with my choice for leader. Tony Stark has consistently been a solid force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, in his lab and in his office. He’s a man who can really do anything once he sets his mind to it. He’s been a leader for the Avengers many times and his most famous outing as a leader also involved him being the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the same time so yeah, he’s a solid choice.
The real reason I chose Iron Man for my team overall is the fact that he is ultimately one of the most resourceful men in the Marvel universe. You can either look at his origin of making the first Iron Man suit while in captivity or even looking at the fact that he creates a new element in Iron Man 2 that cures his affliction from the arc reactor. Even looking into the comics we have his brutal black market take down of Ezekiel Stane or his ability to lead the Avengers against the Skrulls at the end of Secret Invasion. Tony is the prime pick because he’s truly capable of handling every situation that is thrown at him.
That’s it for Round 1! We’ll have a new round every Wednesday and Sunday until May 16th when we’ll have our last round and our full team defense and you guy will be able to vote on who has the best team until May 21st when we Reveal the winner!
