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The Original Alpha Flight

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As many of you may know, I've been slowly working on a side project dedicated to drawing the various rosters the X-Men have had in chronological order. As such, I wanted to test the waters to see if you'd all be interested in seeing the line-ups of some of the spin-offs and splinter groups related to the X-Men. I figured I'd start with the very first - Alpha Flight! I'm considering this piece a bit of a pilot, so depending on the number of favourites and the quality of comments it receives I'll likely be taking on such teams as the New Mutants, X-Factor and X-Force, along with continuing on with the X-Men of course.

Co-created by Chris Claremont and Canadian-raised John Byrne, Alpha Flight made their debut in 1979 in the pages of X-Men (Vol. 1) # 120. They were introduced as a Canadian equivalent to the X-Men, a band of superhuman champions whose mission was to find and capture Wolverine. This initial line-up consisted of team leader Guardian, the twins Northstar and Aurora, Sasquatch, Snowbird and Shaman. While they would fail in their mission to detain Wolverine and return him to Canadian custody, Alpha Flight proved popular enough to be given their very own spin-off in 1983. Helmed by their co-creator John Byrne, Alpha Flight's ranks grew to include Marrina Smallwood and the pint-sized bruiser Puck.

Alpha Flight are uniquely critical to the X-Men's mythos, since they are an integral part to Wolverine's backstory. As the story goes, the Flight was an initiative created by the Canadian government under the supervision of Department H. Their goal was to train superhumans from the Great White North and use them as champions for the country. Guardian spearheaded the project, alongside Wolverine, who eventually left the team. The Flight proved to be such a success that the government approved several tiers to the project, with Alpha Flight acting as their senior division. While the roster that debuted in X-Men # 120 weren't the original members of the group (thanks to various retcons), they were the first in readers' minds and are the most iconic line-up of the team to date.

James Hudson (Guardian) served as team leader, as mentioned before. His steely reserve and unbeatable willpower made him the Canadian equivalent to Captain America. Though not imbued with natural powers, James wore an armoured suit he had created which granted him the abilities of flight, superhuman strength and the ability to create force fields.

Jeanne-Marie Beaubier (Aurora) and her twin brother Jean-Paul (Northstar) were mutants with the powers of flight, superhuman speed and photokinesis. Jeanne-Marie was a teacher at a Catholic school and was characterized by her prudish behaviour, making her seem quite uptight. Beneath this exterior was her second personality, that of Aurora, who was sensual, sassy and ready for fun. Jean-Paul was one an extremist who worked alongside separatists in Quebec, but later turned to skiing and eventually became a rather popular athlete on the winter sports circuit. 

Walter Lankowski (Sasquatch) was originally a science liaison for the Flight, but became a member after Gamma radiation imbued him with the ability to transform into a hulking beast with ginger fur. Easily the most level-headed member of the team, Walter contrasted sharply against the impetuous Aurora. Despite this, the pair became close friends and eventually lovers. This infuriated Jean-Paul, who judged his sister harshly for her actions, though I would in fact suggest his jealousy was aimed towards his sister due to him being perhaps in love with the hunky scientist.

Michael Twoyoungmen (Shaman) was the team's mystic, though this was a role he often pushed back against. He initially pushed against his First Nations heritage, instead favouring to venture off and become a surgeon in the "white man's" world. After being unable to save his own wife from an incurable illness, Michael turned to magic and became a member of Alpha Flight.

The enigmatic Narya (Snowbird) was a demigoddess able to transform into the shape of any arctic animal. To fit into Man's World, Narya established herself within the RCMP under the guise of Anne McKenzie. As Snowbird, Narya was the most mysterious member of the team and was one of the most intriguing.

Marrina Smallwood and Eugene Judd (Puck) were members of the junior Beta Flight team, who were promoted to Alpha Flight at the onset of the team's ongoing series in 1983. Marrina was hatched from an egg, growing up as a lemon-skinned humanoid girl. As it turns out, Marrina is part of an alien race known as the Plodex, which makes her feral and unpredictable. By contrast, Puck is a rather chipper fellow who was imbued with the powers of a spirit known as the Black Razaar. This lengthened his life, as well as shortened him to a puny 3'6". Puck is able to utilize his form in such a way that mimics rubber, enabling him to bounce off of surfaces and travel at great speeds.

While it may not look it, this piece took a surprisingly long time to complete. I worked away at it for weeks, toiling over who would end up being in this piece or not. I initially contemplated leaving off Puck and Marrina, due to time constraints and my fear that people really wouldn't care either way (since Alpha Flight is a D-list team after all). Still, I persevered and am quite happy that I stuck it out. Alpha Flight is such a great team and I'm happy that there's at least one cool superhero group that represents my country. What I especially appreciate is that they're so unusual too. They're not all buff or buxom heroes who exemplify the beauty norms of western society. They're freaks and misfits, but also somehow quintessentially Canadian (though I could do without Puck's stereotypical dialogue). If I were pressed to say which members of Alpha Flight are my favourite, I'd go with Aurora and Snowbird.

As always, I do love hearing from you guys so please feel free to leave a thoughtful comment below letting me know what you think of this piece and of Alpha Flight. 

Enjoy! :)
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© 2015 - 2024 Femmes-Fatales
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Most of these characters have since been messed up, even KILLED ! ...

Byrne destroys all his characters and should do only the art...no plotting...