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Official Site: Marvel Comics

The Champion (Tryco Slatterus) is a fictional character, appearing in Marvel Comics universe. He is not necessarily a villain but has played the role in the past through his impetuous and arrogant actions. He first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7.

The Champion is one of the alien Elders of the Universe. He is an immortal who claims to have been born billions of years ago, in the Ancrindo Nebula, in the direction of the Magellanic Clouds. Although he wishes to prove himself the greatest warrior in the universe, he usually does so fairly. He keeps himself busy by fighting powerful warriors throughout the universe, and has even fought a number of assorted Earth superhero, including The Thing, both the Incredible Hulk and the She-Hulk, Colossus, Thor, and Wonder Man. Of these, Thor was disqualified for using a weapon (his hammer); The Incredible Hulk was disqualified because the Champion refused to "soil his hands on a mindless animal;" Wonder Man was disqualified for tearing up the ring after being battered badly in the first round; Sasquatch was knocked out in the first round; and Colossus was defeated by technical knockout in the first round when he was unable to continue fighting. Prince Namor had been previously disqualified for refusing to stoop to training, and Doc Samson had been disqualified for not being sufficiently skilled to qualify as an opponent. Alone of all of earth's superheroes, the Thing managed to put up a semblance of fight against the Champion, and lasted longer than any previous opponent the Champion had fought.

Of all the opponents the Champion ever faced, only the Thing lasted more than two rounds. In his first appearance, though the Champion fought the Thing and defeated him with ease, the Thing would not surrender; convinced that the planet was in danger (the Champion had threatened to destroy it if one of the heroes could not satisfy his desire for a "good fight"), the Thing believed that everyone depended on him, and fought on, despite broken bones and getting knocked out of the ring. The Thing astonished the Champion with his resilence and courage, leading the Champion to say the Thing was the opponent he had sought through the ages, the one who would require all of his might and skill. His jaw broken and severely beaten after collapsing at the end of the third round, the Thing crawled across the ring to demand the fight continue when the Champion claimed victory. When forced to choose between killing his defeated opponent or yielding, the Champion yielded. When the Thing said he was "just too stupid and ugly to give up," the Champion replied he could never defeat the Thing. He might break his bones and his body, but he could not break his spirit. Any planet which could produce a champion such as the Thing, he said, was a truly worthy world.

The Champion attempted to kill the Silver Surfer to prevent him from interfering with a Skrull plot to use Nova to force Galactus to destroy the Kree Empire. The Champion was overpowered by the Silver Surfer, suffering his first known defeat in combat (however it is notable the Surfer used the Power Cosmic to blast the Champion rather than engage him physically). The Champion was among the ten Elders who sought to restart the universe by killing Galactus. He attempted to kill Mantis, who was rescued by the Silver Surfer. The Champion then battled Galactus and the Silver Surfer, but was converted to energy and consumed by Galactus. The Champion and the other Elders devoured by Galactus caused Galactus "cosmic indigestion" from within, which allowed them to escape. The Champion came into possession of the Power Gem (one of the Infinity Gems). He witnessed a battle between Galactus and the In-Betweener, and aided the Silver Surfer, Nova, and the other Elders in helping Galactus defeat the In-Betweener. The Champion then fled to escape the wrath of Galactus. Thanos eventually tracked the Champion down to the planet Tamarata, and tricked the Champion into causing a seismic disruption that destroyed Tamarata, forcing him to forfeit his Infinity Gem for transport to another planet. However, instead of helping the Champion after receiving the Gem, Thanos caused the Champion to fall to another world.

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