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.

Volume 1

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.

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.
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.
Northstar and Aurora, super-speed flying 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.
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.

Volume 2

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.

Volume 3 - "All-New, All-Different" Alpha Flight

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.

Beyond

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^*, 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.

Northstar is currently in SHIELD custody (he was resurrected and brainwashed by the Hand, having been killed by a brainwashed Wolverine), and Aurora's whereabouts are currently unknown. A recent image on Newsarama has emerged, however, depicting both Northstar and Aurora in an up-coming battle ^*. Nothing else is known of their current or future status.

Villains

Alpha Flight has fought many criminals and malevolent entities. Many were unique to them as they were based in Canada. Notable examples include:

Appearances in other media

X-Men The Animated Series

Alpha 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. To read more about this episode:stx-superhero-report

The Incredible Hulk

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. stx-superhero-report

External links

AlphaFlight.net

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