Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a
Marvel Comics superhero team, noteworthy for being one of the few
Canadian superhero teams. Created by
Chris Claremont and
John Byrne, the team first appeared in
Uncanny X-Men #120 (
August 1979).
Throughout most of its history, the team has worked for
Department H, a fictitious branch of Canada's
Department of National Defence that deals with super-powered persons. Most team members have distinctly Canadian attributes, such as
Inuit or
First Nations heritage.
The team was originally merely a part of the back story of the
X-Men's
Wolverine but, in 1983, Byrne launched an eponymous series featuring the group, which continued until 1994. Two short-lived revivals have been attempted since, with a third recently hinted at, despite most of the team's apparent demise.
Though reluctant to take the job, Byrne wrote and drew the series for 28 issues before handing it off to another creative team. During that time, the series attracted fans with storylines that dealt with one or two characters at a time, seldom bringing all the members together. This unusual approach contrasted with other Marvel team series like the
X-Men,
the Avengers, or the
Fantastic Four. It is interesting to note that many of the characters seem to resemble other Marvel Comics super-heroes, albeit slightly modified, and of course made to be Canadian. Notice Iron-Man and Captain America in the Guardian, the Hulk in Sasquatch, Thor in Snowbird, Dr. Strange in Shaman, Sub-Mariner in Marrina, etc. Even the sibling mutants Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver can be seen in the mutant siblings Aurora and Northstar.
The initial makeup of Alpha Flight was pan-Canadian, including:
*
Guardian, Originally Weapon Alpha, then Vindicator, he was a scientist from
Ottawa who wore a suit of
battle-armor that lets him fly and have an energy field around him. Guardian was the leader, and wore a stylized
maple leaf flag on his costume, marking him as the Canadian team's equivalent of
Captain America, but with a bit of
Iron Man as well, due to his techno-armor suit.
*
Vindicator, Guardian's wife, who after Guardian's death in issue #12 took his costume and became leader of the team.
*
Marrina, an
amphibious woman from
Newfoundland. She was a former member of
Beta Flight. It should be noted that she was actually part of an other world invading force.
*
Northstar and
Aurora, super-speed flying mutant twins from
Quebec.
*
Puck, a
dwarf bouncer from
Saskatoon who said "eh" at the end of every sentence. Puck was also a former member of
Beta Flight.
*
Sasquatch, a scientist from
British Columbia who could transform into a giant fur-covered beast resembling a
Sasquatch. This character originally developed his powers from a
Hulk ispired gamma radiation expriment that was affected by a solar-flare. Eventually it would be explained that Sasquatch was actually a mystical monster.
*
Shaman, a
First Nations medicine man from
Calgary.
*
Snowbird, an
Inuit demi-goddess from
Yellowknife who could transform into animals of the north.
After Byrne left, the series was written by many others, including
Bill Mantlo,
James Hudnall,
Fabian Nicieza,
Scott Lobdell &
Simon Furman. It continued for 130 issues, introduced dozens of characters and villains (the most prominent of which were
Talisman,
Madison Jeffries,
Box,
Diamond Lil,
Manikin,
Persuasion, and
Goblyn), and featured cross-overs with other characters in the Marvel universe. The series ended in 1994.
In 1997, Marvel restarted the series as a Volume 2, with largely different characters. This series ended in 1999 after only twenty issues and an
annual. The new additions to the roster included:
*
Flex, half-brother to Radius.
*
Manbot*
Murmur, a young woman from
Quebec City with mind-control powers.
*
Radius, half-brother to Flex, able to create a forcefield.
Returning members were Vindicator, a de-aged Guardian (who turned out to be a clone of the original, set at age 19), and Puck. Sunfire was also a member briefly while looking for assistance with an illness crippling him.
The focus of this series was on Department H's consistently hidden agenda and Alpha Flight's reluctance to comply thereto. One example was their sub-human treatment of Sasquatch, which turned out not to be Walter Langkowski but an actual
bigfoot-type monster. The series ended with this Alpha Flight working with the original lineup (minus Marrina) on a mission.
 |
The "All-New, All-Different" Alpha Flight. Clockwise from top left: Yukon Jack, Centennial, Sasquatch, Puck II, Major Mapleleaf and Nemesis |
In 2004, Marvel started a new volume of Alpha Flight, with the "All-New, All-Different" prefix. The first six-issue story arc, which shows Sasquatch attempting to construct the new team, is called "You Gotta Be Kiddin' Me." The series was cancelled again at issue #12 due to low sales.
The new team recruited by
Sasquatch includes:
*
Centennial, a 97-year-old man whose
Supermanesque mutant powers manifested after being awoken from a coma by
Sasquatch.
*
Major Mapleleaf, the son of a
WW2 super-hero of the same name and a stereotypical goody-two shoes (secretly a normal human who rides a superpowered horse).
*
Nemesis, an old Alpha Flight adversary/ally.
*
Puck, the daughter of the Alpha Flight member of the same name.
*
Yukon Jack, a mysterious man from a primitive tribe, bought from his father by
Sasquatch.
Alpha Flight (the team consisting of
Sasquatch,
Guardian,
Vindicator,
Shaman,
Major Mapleleaf II, and both
Pucks) were brutally attacked by a new villain, "
The Collective", in Marvel's
New Avengers #16. Their bodies were left in the
Yukon Territory as The Collective continued on to the United States. Although it appears that the entire team was killed in action, it has been hinted on recent fan message boards that the members of Alpha Flight are in fact NOT dead. Popular Scottish comic writer
Mark Millar has professed his interest in the characters of Alpha Flight, and has suggested that a new Alpha Flight series could emerge from Marvel's 2006
Civil War storyline. (In fact, both Guardian and Puck are seen in
Steve McNiven's promotional drawing for Marvel's up-coming Civil War.) Also, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief
Joe Quesada hinted that fans of Alpha Flight should not despair at their apparent death in New Avengers, suggesting that there is more to come from Canada's premier super team.
In an interview published by
Newsarama in April 2006[
1], Millar has stated that another writer he considered at the time to be a personal favorite would in fact be writing the next
Alpha Flight series. The identity of that writer has not yet been disclosed.
Alpha Flight has fought many criminals and malevolent entities. Many were unique to them as they were based in Canada. Notable examples include:
*
Great Beasts*
Master of the World*
The Plodex*
Deadly Ernest*
Jerry Jaxon and
Omega Flight*
The Derangers*
Gilded Lily*
Dreamqueen*
PestilenceAlpha Flight was seen on the X-Men animated episode "Repo Man."
Vindicator (Mac Hudson, who had renamed himself Guardian in the comics) and the Canadian Alpha Flight capture Wolverine. The Canadian government demand their project back. Either he joins their team as originally planned or they repossess his indestructible, adamantium skeleton. The story is similar to Guardian's first comics appearance (as Weapon Alpha) in
Uncanny X-Men #109, though in the comics story, Weapon Alpha went after Wolverine solo.
Bruce Banner travels to Canada, hoping to find his old friend, Dr. Walter Lankowski. He does manage to find him, and the two of them attempt to rid Banner of the Hulk forever. However, Bruce discovers a horrifying secret about his friend, one which may cost him his life.
Alpha Flight members*
AlphaFlight.net
