rounds. Although the Champion fought Thing and ultimately defeated him with ease, Thing would not surrender, as he was convinced that the entire planet was in danger. Thing believed that everyone depended on him, and fought on despite broken bones and getting knocked out of the ring. Thing astonished the Champion with his resilience and courage leading the Champion to say 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, 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 Thing said he was "just too stupid and ugly to give up," the Champion replied he could never defeat Thing. He might break his bones and his body, but he could not break his spirit. The Champion then stated that any planet which could produce a champion such as the Thing was a truly worthy world. The Champion later 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 one of the eleven Elders who sought to restart the universe by killing Galactus. He attempted to kill Mantis but she 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 four Elders devoured by Galactus caused Galactus "cosmic indigestion" from within until they were forced out of him by Master Order and Lord Chaos. When asked to aid the Silver Surfer and Nova in helping Galactus to defeat the In-Betweener the Champion was one of the four Elders who agreed and he physically restrained the Grandmaster to prevent him from opposing them. Once the In-Betweener had been defeated by Galactus the five Elders used their Infinity Gems to instantaneously travel very far away from Galactus and his vengeance. As a result, the Champion ended up with the Power Gem (one of