You can say who Witch fire's dad is. I don't know, but you can say anyway.
You can say who Witch fire's dad is. I don't know, but you can say anyway.
"All it takes for sexism to prosper is for good men to see nothing."
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I never cared for Madison once he became Box. And I couldn't STAND him with Heather (written by Mantlo).
And, yeah, oddly enough I do care about Heather again. But I loved Byrne's Heather. I just hated Mantlo's Heather. He made her mean and stupid. Hudnall wrote her as a leader, but so far, he hasn't written her to be quite as stupid as Mantlo's Heather. He's also given her back a heart and made her feel real again.
"All it takes for sexism to prosper is for good men to see nothing."
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This was a phenomenal issue, fun as heck, the kind of bbook Marvel just doesn't seem to put out anymore. I was already really enjoying Hundall's run, but this was the issue that took it over the top. A solid Alpha line-up really kicking ass as a team. Biggest let down, after that amazing Jim Lee cover, we got yet another issue with uninspring Jim Calimee art inside (though, to be fair to the guy, he was really trying hard, and I'll even say he was improving in some points, however, I already knew I was never gonna be a fan). Still, I loved it. Next, Alpha will meet Canada's new official super-hero team. I always loved these kind of battles, the underdog vs the governmental lapdogs.
Peace
Another "From the beginning" summary, courtesy of Limerick on the old CBR:
Alpha Flight #76 - November 1989
"Bad News"
Hudnall/Calimee
Montreal: The Canadian Army surveys the streets of a Montreal subarb......They are littered with the bodies of violently killed ordinary Canadians......Suddenly, a soldier tells his superior about the arrival of Canada's Super Team----GAMMA FLIGHT!!!!!
The new Super Team is led by Nemesis, who asks a soldier to fill them in on what's been happening.......He explains that it seems that everyone within a six mile radius has been slaughtered, killed by an evil force.......Witchfire uses her sorcerous powers to search the six mile area and detects a demonically possessed presence.......Nemesis orders brother and sister, Auric and Silver to re-conn the area from the air......Nemesis, Witchfire and Wildchild head in on foot.
Heather Hudson's Apartment: Heather calls her mother to check how long they've been away for----it's three months!!!......Suddenly, Shaman and Puck start to feel unwell......They are brought to the hospital by their team-mates......The doctors are puzzled as to what's happening but Eugene figures it out......While in the Dream Queen's dimension they had used the local energy/matter to heal themselves......Now back on Earth, this effect has been reversed, leading to their rapid health deterioration!......At the hospital they notice The Sorcerer's handiwork in Montreal on T.V......Although reluctant to leave their team-mates behind they know what they must do and head for Montreal.
Montreal: Gamma Flight enters the six-square mile area affected by the strange events......Nemesis, Witchfire and Wild Child manage to locate the centre of the possessed area......But they are shocked to find a possessed young girl has been the source of the death and destruction.....Grinning manically with wild eyes,she tells them her 'death graffiti' has been a message from her master......Gamma tries to get her to talk to them about her master but she says she will only speak to another who will arrive shortly(Talisman)......The girl then orders hundreds of zombies to attack them.....Nearby Auric and Silver are being attacked by a similar bunch of dead civilians (who are able to fly)......As they come under more and more pressure the team unites and falls back......They are struggling to cope with the sheer number of zombies confronting them.
Just as they seem to be about to succumb to the hordes, Alpha arrives to save the day......In a huge confrontation they eventually overcome the zombies while Talisman faces off against the demonically possessed girl......The girl tells her that her master has been busy the last three months and that Talisman will see the fruit of his labours in the coming weeks......This is where he is getting serious......Then Talisman drives the deomn out of the girl's body, using her magic powers....As the demon leaves,the hordes of dead civilians suddenly become inactive now that their source of re-animation is gone and the battle is over.....Unfortunately, it ends tragically and the young girl dies a few moments later in her arms,ending any celebrations Alpha have at their victory......Worse still, Nemesis tells Alpha that because they no longer are acting with government sanction, she is under orders to arrest them!
As she holds the young girls dead body,Talisman promises her that Alpha will bring back the light...
Limerick’s thoughts:
--Another amazingly violent issue--Not many titles would carry the images of the dead kid on page 3 or show the death of the child later in the issue.....I found her death quite moving and tragic......I agree with Parch that the possessed child was a high point of the story, although the hordes of undead are so poorly rendered it really takes away from the impact which is a shame......I agree also that this issue is an almost carbon-copy of the Dream Queen battle..
--Bad times for Puck and Shaman as the Dream Queen Dimension effect wears off.....It's not hard to guess what may be ahead for Puck!
--Gamma Flight are interesting, athough there are flaws......Auric and Silver are far too similar to Aurora and Northstar......Wild Child's costume is unforgivable!--He really does look weird....But Nemesis is back and Witchfire appears an interesting addition to the Canadian superheroes.....It'll be great to see the two teams go to loggerheads if Gamma try to arrest Alpha.
--I didn't realise Talisman could fly.....She definitely seems to be the most powerful member of the team right now.
--Despite the art and the storline repitition, I did actually find this issue reasonable......I think the Gamma Flight twist and the quite moving ending saved it for me......I'm really enjoying Alpha at the moment.
Nevets’ thoughts: I love Gamma Flight! I disagree with Limerick on Silver and Auric, they are twin super heroes, but I don’t really see that they are too similar to Northstar and Aurora. Glad to see Nemesis back, and so happy to see the introduction of Witchfire!
Last edited by Nevets; 07-24-2014 at 11:40 AM.
Another "From the beginning" summary, courtesy of Limerick on the old CBR:
Alpha Flight #77 - Mid-November 1989
"Shattered Design"
Hudnall/Thomas
Calgary: Heather Hudson takes some retail therapy at the Steven's Avenue Mall while recovering from Alpha Flight's recent ordeals and before deciding on their next move.....As she walks down the street a bullet from a sniper's rifle hits her a glancing blow and then plows through the forehead of another pedestrian, killing him instantly......Heather is shocked but races towards the building she feels the sniper was firing from.....Nearby policemen see her running and start to persue her, thinking she was involved in the killing in some way.....Heather changes into her costume and flies up an elevator shaft to try and catch the killer.....On the roof,she sees the sniper on the next building and flies towards him.....He starts to fire at her but her suit protects her until it suddenly starts to lose power and she begins to fall to the street below....She manages to use her resevre power to cushion her fall but still blacks out from the impact.....When she comes around,several police officers point their guns in her face.
As she's brought in for questioning, Heather deduces that her suit had been affected by a phone company micro-wave transmitter on the roof.....Rather than being questioned by the police,she finds herself interrogated by Canadian Internal Security......They tell her they don't believe that the bullet was meant for her but the victim was indeed the intended target--Senator Edward Barlow, a former presidential candidate and a supporter of the Contra rebels in the South American nation,Costa Brava.....His support of the rebels was in direct conflict with the current President's policy......Telling her they've kept the details of her interrogation out of the press, they tell her she's free to go but warn her to stay out of this 'situation'.
As she leaves the police building a man approaches her,telling his name is Larry Warren and that he was a friend of Senator Barlow's.....They go for a coffoe and Warren tells her that he was a childhood friend of Barlow's......Barlow had revealed an imoportant secret to him.....Barlow had discovered a plot by a U.S. Army general to try and overthrow the Costa Brava government......But the General had links to drug dealers and the coup was being financed by them in return for crop rights on drug plantations once the new regeime was established......Larry claims that Barlow wanted to expose the whole thing but needed to gather more evidence......Unknown to Heather and Larry, their conversation is being monitoired by two suits sitting at the next table.
Heather goes to telephone her fiance, Madison Jeffries, to cancel her planned date with him.....He tells her he feels they should meet to discuss their faltering relationship.....But when she tells him it's just not possible, he says he has something 'to do' anyway......Behind him, Diamond Lil brings him a cup of tea!
Heather turns to Larry and takes his phone number.....She then goes outside and watches him leave.....She disappears downb a back alley and changes into her Vindicator costume.....The two suits follow her outside but lose her......Instead they tail Larry.........Unknown to them, Heather flies above them watching their every move.
Further down the road, Larry finds his way blocked by a large articulated truck.....Suddenly, he is surrounded by several suited goons wielding serious weapons.....Larry thinks they're here to help him but he gets a shock when they tell him they're not 'his people.....Fortunately, Heather arrives on the scene to dis-arm the goons......After that she looks for information,asking who hired them.....They resist at first but when she threatens some serious harm,one of them tells her they were hired by General Will Zimmerman......At Larry's suggestion, Heather goes after the General while Larry says he'll look after the goons until the cops come.....But after she leaves he turns a machinegun on them, revealing he is not wquite who he says he is.
New York: The Kingpin hears that his men have not reported in and that Larry Taylor may still be alive.....He orders the General's assassination.
Washington D.C.: Heather fklies to Washington and discovers the General's address using a telephone book......But when she goes to his house,she finds him dead and his assassin leaving the scene.....She recognises him as the same guy who killed Barlow from the roof in Calgary.....She pins him down but he laughs out her suggestion that she'll bring him to the police-He says his people have too many contacts to let the charges stick......Furious,she knows he's right but breaks his hand to put him out of acton for a while.
Not long after, his own colleagues men confront Larry (a fake name, his real name is Garcia) and blame him for ruining everything.....They've made a deal with Kingpin and under the new arrangements, Garcia dies!!!.....They throw him out of a high-rise window.
Back at her house, Heather is re-united with her fiancé (completely unaware of his antics with Diamond Lil......She sees a report on 'Larry's' death on the T.V. which suggests he was a Costa Bravan spy......She feels a sense of content that she's messed up someone's plans.
Limerick’s thoughts:
--Like Parch, I was surprised at how the Gamma confrontation was by-passed.....It had been set up nicely at the end of the last issue and I was looking forward to a Canadian Super-team scrap......Not to be!.....I had thought that this issue was fulfilling an 'Acts of Vengeance' crossover requirement (with The Kingpin appearing) and that might explain why it was sandwiched in between the Sorcerer issues......But this issue isn't actually an 'Acts of Vengeance' story so it is a little puzzling......The guest artist may explain it......Perhaps Camilee was falling behind and Hudnall needed to draft up a story to plug the gap at short notice.
--The art in this issue, while not awe-inspiring,I s so much better than the recent issues of Alpha.....And this is the guest artist---Sign him up now!......With clearer depictions of events, Hudnall is allowed to tell a more complex story and he delivers the goods.....Heather shows her toughness in a political yarn that has aspirations of 'Watergate'!.....The Kingpin connection did seem a little tenuous, though.
--There was an interesting little sequence on page 6 where Heather's suit is affected by a microwave transmitter.....It's a little unclear how she pulls out of that fall......I assumed (for the summary) that she managed to engage the reserves she referred to.
--Oh, Madison....You dirty rat! How can any man resist Diamond Lil??.....Well, Madison Jeffries couldn't and she obliges by adopting a sexy 'Barbie' doll look, including wearing shades indoors---way ahead of her time......I enjoyed the way the relationship was revealed almost as an afterthought.......But you just know this one's gonna run and run......Either way, Madison's a lucky guy getting the pick of Alpha's finest females.....But Heather will dole out an ass-kicking of galactic proportions if she finds out!!
--On page 25, Heather uses a lasso-type effect to dis-arm one of the 'suits'......I was unaware of this Spider-man webbing type of power being possible from her suit.
--Overall this issue was really good, although it did ignore events which seemed to be certain to be addressed after the end of the last issue......Madison's cheating ways did surprise a little, though.....I didn't know he had it in him.
I'm not feeling this group the way I did the one with Flashback, Diamond Lil, Smart Alec and Wild Child (with guest appearances by Box and Madison Jeffries). Nemesis, in particular, seemed very specifically designed as a revenant / revenge foil for Deadly Ernest, and so her coming back and being sort of a generic hero feels like it's taking away from her story, which was done, as if the Crow stuck around after avenging his fiancé and decided to join the Avengers, instead of returning to the afterlife to reunite with her.
Auric and Silver, while a cool sort of duo, frost and flame, suffer from the comic book trope of, 'I have a super-power, which comes with a free side-order of being able to fly for no darn reason at all...' (Half of Image's Stormwatch, and assorted Marvel mutants, for instance. I absorb energy! Which allows me to fly. I shoot fire! Which allows me to fly. I have a sonic scream! Which allows me to fly...) I like the different sort of nature of them having optic blasts, instead of shooting heat or cold blasts out of their hands. It's always fun to mix it up and have an energy projector not use their hands, like someone breathing fire, or shooting eye-lasers, or Storm calling down lightning from the sky.
See, this is all a part of the Llan story, if I remember correctly... and maybe, if the art had been better, as noted by Lim, I might have enjoyed it more. It just seemed like such a train wreck.
As for Gamma Flight, I am going to side with Lim on Silver and Auric. They came across, too similar to Northstar and Auric - I mean, Aurora. The fact that they're twins, dark hair, even have a bit of a foreign look to them, as Northstar and Aurora did. Too many similarities for me. Wildchild, however, has always looked weird, so I am not sure what the issue is there. Nemesis, I loved the original (Deadly Ernest tie), but the appearance of following Nemesis, doesn't explain who she is or how she came back, if she's the same Nemesis. Talisman flying - general rule - if the character uses magic - there is nothing they can't do. And Witchfire, I have mentioned before, I really liked her (and her tie to her father)...
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