Alpha Flight Fans: Gather

[Anduinel]

I have no idea how and why they made and decided to keep Heather Hudson a villain, unstable or tortured. It doesn't make sense to me.

Brisson's tale was filling in the gaps between the 2011 AF series (where Heather got brainwashed and was AWOL with her kid at the last issue) and Amazing X-Men about five years back, where she was working with the team again and waved the AF series off as her and Mac having had "a rough year".

But goddamn, does the Brisson story leave a bad taste in my mouth. The 2011 series stripped Heather of her heroism and agency. Brisson decided to continue the theme instead of doing anything to reverse Van Lente and Pak's missteps, and in some ways made it worse by giving the reins to Mac in this instance. Like I said, I don't think Brisson wrote Mac out-of-character; given some of Mac's previous leadership decisions, I can 100% see him doing something like locking his wife in a sim until she gets to where he wants her. But an Alpha Flight that would be regressive up against the standards of the Byrne era isn't really one I want to read.

[Factor]

Brisson's tale was filling in the gaps between the 2011 AF series (where Heather got brainwashed and was AWOL with her kid at the last issue) and Amazing X-Men about five years back, where she was working with the team again and waved the AF series off as her and Mac having had "a rough year".

But goddamn, does the Brisson story leave a bad taste in my mouth. The 2011 series stripped Heather of her heroism and agency. Brisson decided to continue the theme instead of doing anything to reverse Van Lente and Pak's missteps, and in some ways made it worse by giving the reins to Mac in this instance. Like I said, I don't think Brisson wrote Mac out-of-character; given some of Mac's previous leadership decisions, I can 100% see him doing something like locking his wife in a sim until she gets to where he wants her. But an Alpha Flight that would be regressive up against the standards of the Byrne era isn't really one I want to read.

Agreed. The sad thing is that X-editors are so tone-death that I don't think they even get how problematic the whole situation is.

[Huntsman Spider]

To think I was looking forward to sharing this comic with my Canadian friend before I found this out. That is just nine different levels and fifty different shades of messed up.

[powerpax]

I mean, I think a case can be made for AF's larger history being about fucked-up dysfunctional relationships and weird mystical shit. But at this point I think leaving the Hudsons miserable for so long is a mistake and unfortunate. I love Alpha Flight - I don't expect them to get some A-list book, but I wouldn't mind another solid mini/maxi. It seems like the last one started well and then ended with a lot of people unhappy.

[Anduinel]

Alternatively, Zub's story makes me all that more eager for him to do more with this team. Like I mentioned previously, I really appreciate that he brought the family aspect back into the book. And I also like that he touched on Narya's mortal heritage. She's always been depicted as a child of two worlds, but the one we most often see being addressed and given the most importance is her godly heritage. That reminder that she's also a part of this fragile, perhaps foolish man as well as the daughter of Shaman was nice. And the art was fantastic... her father in his tormented aspect was really creepy.

[Sutekh]

And I also like that he touched on Narya's mortal heritage. She's always been depicted as a child of two worlds, but the one we most often see being addressed and given the most importance is her godly heritage. That tie that she's also a part of this fragile, perhaps foolish man as well as the daughter of Shaman was nice.

Yeah, Narya has been too often the icy remote 'goddess,' and that's a bit limiting for characterization or growth / development, so it's nice to see a writer exploring her mostly unexplored human side.

[Anduinel]

I mean, I think a case can be made for AF's larger history being about fucked-up dysfunctional relationships and weird mystical shit. But at this point I think leaving the Hudsons miserable for so long is a mistake and unfortunate. I love Alpha Flight - I don't expect them to get some A-list book, but I wouldn't mind another solid mini/maxi. It seems like the last one started well and then ended with a lot of people unhappy.

The last writing team got jerked around a lot, iirc. First the book was supposed to be a mini. Then they got a couple more issues to play with. Then it was going to be an ongoing. Then someone up the chain decided, nope, it's a mini again! And they kind of got caught with their pants down - they'd already changed the ending in anticipation of having at least another arc to work with, and there wasn't time to rework it again. But even all that aside, one of my main gripes with AF is how often writers don't seem to realize the degree that certain relationships are messed up. The Aurora/Sasquatch business, for example, has always been somewhat uncomfortable due to the consent issues that crop up around the comic book version of her DID. It was bad back in the Byrne day. Skip forward 30+ years, and Pak/Van Lente actually went several steps worse, without ever seeming to realize there were issues there to begin with. (And I really wasn't a fan of Van Lente passing the buck to Byrne when questioned about it. Like I said, the man hasn't written the book in decades.) Like, I'm here for the nostalgia, but sometimes that nostalgia does need to be reexamined with the passage of time.

[powerpax]

I remember loving when Snowbird returned and was part of Pak's Hulk run, with him voyaging around with the gods or something, and she was one of them. That was great. Was that Hulk? I think so.

[Anduinel]

I remember loving when Snowbird returned and was part of Pak's Hulk run, with him voyaging around with the gods or something, and she was one of them. That was great. Was that Hulk? I think so.

The Incredible Hulk, I think? But it was kind of a Hercules stealth-solo at the time? There was some interesting stuff going on in that run, not to mention Pak and Van Lente doing their best to confirm Herc as bisexual.

[powerpax]

Oh, that's right, it was Hercules at the time. Good times.

I thought Pak/Van Lante/Eaglesham was a lovely team for AF. It's a pity it ended on a sour note for people. I never got to read much of it.

[lurkerforyears]

I finally read this. The last story was sad but also completely in character.

[Anduinel]

Oh, that's right, it was Hercules at the time. Good times.

I thought Pak/Van Lante/Eaglesham was a lovely team for AF. It's a pity it ended on a sour note for people. I never got to read much of it.

I have many issues with that series, but I still think it's worth a read if you can get it via Marvel Unlimited or something if you're curious about how the Hudsons got where they are. Eaglesham's art was great; you can tell he put in the research regarding the locales and such. There were some decent callbacks to previous stories. It was obvious that the creatives had a lot of affection for the team overall. And it was pretty ballsy for the writers to make the primary romance arc between Northstar and Kyle; they apparently had to arm-wrestle their editor for every show of affection between those characters. (Really, it sounds like they had a pretty rough time with their editor overall on this project, which is a shame.)

The down side is that the writers seemed to be trying to introduce potential new readers to Alpha Flight's history while updating it a bit, but I don't feel they succeeded very well. The classic beats were all there - Dept H still being shady as hell, Master of the World, team continuity being specifically acknowledged - but the execution was lacking. The women on the team generally aren't treated that well, Aurora and Heather especially. Marrina was now the edgy one on the team. Sasquatch was literally dumbed down. Puck was the comic relief. (In fairness, Puck should have been a bit out of it anyway due his being in the "Wolverine goes to hell" arc just previous.) The overall tone is kind of "Alpha Flight's Greatest Hits as performed by Micheal Bay". Wasn't a huge fan.

[Anduinel]

To think I was looking forward to sharing this comic with my Canadian friend before I found this out. That is just nine different levels and fifty different shades of messed up.

The other two stories are nice, I think. Enough to be worth picking up if you're a fan.

[Digifiend]

Alternatively, Zub's story makes me all that more eager for him to do more with this team. Like I mentioned previously, I really appreciate that he brought the family aspect back into the book. And I also like that he touched on Narya's mortal heritage. She's always been depicted as a child of two worlds, but the one we most often see being addressed and given the most importance is her godly heritage. That reminder that she's also a part of this fragile, perhaps foolish man as well as the daughter of Shaman was nice. And the art was fantastic... her father in his tormented aspect was really creepy.

Yeah, Zub's was definitely the best of three stories, and Brisson's the worst. Let him do the team in an ongoing and lets see Snowbird interact with Snowguard.

[Huntsman Spider]

The other two stories are nice, I think. Enough to be worth picking up if you're a fan.

Thanks for the recommendation. Might still be worth checking out, then.

Yeah, Zub's was definitely the best of three stories, and Brisson's the worst. Let him do the team in an ongoing and lets see Snowbird interact with Snowguard.

I would love to see that.