Alpha Flight Fans: Gather

[Cold Water]

I believe you, Nomads.
And thank you for the info so I can check out anything I may have missed.
In the TPBs, there was a couple cross overs with Secret Wars.

[Sutekh]

I want to see a new Alpha Flight mystical villain who casts incantations like Dr. Strange, only tapping into evil forces, such as the Great Beasts.

Invoking Kariooq the Corrupter, they can cast a spell to corrupt or dissolve matter. Kolomoq the Snow Beast to create blizzards, blinding snowstorms, hurl icicles and shuriken-like giant snowflakes, etc. Somon the Artificer to build barriers to block attacks and cages around foes using surrounding matter. Tolomaq to summon 'living flame' elementals that chase people around, like the animated fire 'monsters' that Pyro used to make.

Without actually bringing back the Great Beasts (which, IMO, are diminished in impact the more they get trotted out and beaten down, since they are kinda supposed to be *gods*), the 'mythology' of the Alpha Flight universe can still be tapped for a specific encounter. (Heck, given his experience with Shaman's pouch, perhaps the new evil magician is Smart Alec, finally having assimilated his brief 'view' of the mystical secrets of the universe, and turned his genius to mastering dark magic!)

Such a spellcaster, tapping into the Great Beasts, could be one of a half-dozen villains arrayed against the Flight, perhaps with a Plodex monster (or individual capable of infecting native life with Plodex characteristics?) as 'heavy hitter,' etc. (to pick another bit of Flight history / lore that could be tapped into).

[Cold Water]

At first I was all *YAY!CELEBRATE* !!!


And then I was all O_o?



And then I was all *sob*


I WANT MAC BACK.

[Nevets]

Also: I just ordered #29-46 in singles.
WEEEEEEEEE.
Now, the two week wait begins.

Nice!

While Alpha Flight started from the x-men , this thread should really be on the main marvel forum , not the x-books.

I disagree, they are ultimately considered by Marvel as X characters. Fox even has the movie rights due to their connection to the x franchise.

[Cold Water]

Why do you keep breaking my heart, Alpha Flight?



Poor Aurora.



Because he's such a lovable snob.

[Cold Water]

I kind of love how Snowbird made him go along anyway.

[Anduinel]

I kind of love how Snowbird made him go along anyway.

That scene is one of the reasons I roll my eyes when people give Northstar a hard time about not being a team player. It's not like he had a lot of incentive.

[Cold Water]

That scene is one of the reasons I roll my eyes when people give Northstar a hard time about not being a team player. It's not like he had a lot of incentive.

I know, it was kind of mind rape-y.

[Anduinel]

I know, it was kind of mind rape-y.

Funny you should mention that. Here's Heather's reaction when Northstar gets brainwashed and abducted by a newly-manifested mutant who commanded him to be her boyfriend:



Not exactly a moment that endeared the team to him.

[Cold Water]

That was kind of shitty of Heather to react like that.
Wow.

[Anduinel]

That was kind of shitty of Heather to react like that.
Wow.

Yeah. I love Alpha Flight, but it never surprised me for a moment that Northstar seemed to prefer being with the X-Men. Which hey, fine by me. I think it's great character development.

[Cold Water]

Yeah. I love Alpha Flight, but it never surprised me for a moment that Northstar seemed to prefer being with the X-Men. Which hey, fine by me. I think it's great character development.

The thing is, he kind of did start out as the snobbish jerk before they were mean to him (at least from the beginning of Byrne's run), but yeah, I can totally see why he wouldn't want to be with them. He may have been a snob, and maybe what he said to Aurora was out of line (but, hey, having four brothers, I can honestly say that that IS something a brother would say to a sister), but they did treat him pretty bad at times.
Like right after #22 when they all sat around and questioned him for past terrorist actions. I love how he argued with them. The entire time I was reading it, I was cheering him on.

[Nomads1]

F

Ah yes, that Heather, what a born leader. The only thing she used to do better was kill her own teamates before the enemies could. After all, she was the leader, and it was her responsability.
I really can't belive it when people argue that she was a better leader than Mac.

Peace

[Anduinel]

The thing is, he kind of did start out as the snobbish jerk before they were mean to him (at least from the beginning of Byrne's run), but yeah, I can totally see why he wouldn't want to be with them. He may have been a snob, and maybe what he said to Aurora was out of line (but, hey, having four brothers, I can honestly say that that IS something a brother would say to a sister), but they did treat him pretty bad at times.
Like right after #22 when they all sat around and questioned him for past terrorist actions. I love how he argued with them. The entire time I was reading it, I was cheering him on.

Given the way Mac approached him, though, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Northstar would start off hostile to the team. Everyone else in Alpha Flight got approached with a positive incentive to join: for Aurora it was freedom from her dowdy, oppressive life at Madame DuPont's, for Walter it was a place to put his new discovery to use, etc. Northstar got a pitch that seemed more like a threat to out him than anything else, then when he was ready to walk away anyway, Mac brought out his long-lost sister...who was suffering from a mental condition that meant she was an active danger to herself and others in the field, but Mac kept her on the team anyway. It was explicit that Northstar only ever stayed with Alpha Flight because Aurora wouldn't leave and the circumstances of that really don't give him a lot of reason for warm and fuzzy feelings toward the team. Not to mention that being part of AF ultimately cost him his skiing career. And it always seemed a bit weird to me that the team never got that there was more to his hostility than just his being the team pill. They didn't have to excuse it or anything, it's just odd that the lightbulb never seemed to go off over anyone's head.

Not to stay that Northstar wasn't an arrogant jerk 99% of the time, but that doesn't make him in the wrong.

[Cold Water]

Wait. Did the thing with Mac happen in issue one?
I will have to go back and read it. SO MUCH was crammed into the first few issues, so much going back and forth, that it took me a while of reading the series before I could start actually remembering what happened with which character to make me actually remember that character's story.
I freaking love this series.
And it's made me really like Northstar a LOT.
Even if Amazing X-Men goes downhill as far as Nightcrawler is concerned, I'd still read it for Northstar's involvement (he stays in the book, yes?).