Alpha Flight #32 - (Bill Mantlo and Jon Bogdanove, March 1986)

Just the smallest scrap of subtext this time.

Aurora’s “our beloved Walter” can be read ambiguously, especially taken as a stand-alone. Even if the sentiment is a little strong, Walter had been a founding member of Alpha Flight, so the “our” could have referred to the team as a whole feeling his absence. But given the twins’ shared grief over Walter’s death a few issues back, it seems far more likely that Aurora means “our” as in her and Jean-Paul’s love for him. And really, it’s a very kind gesture on Aurora’s part to acknowledge the possibility of her brother’s loss being anywhere equal to her own, given what a hard time he gave her and Walter about their relationship previously.

This scene takes place during a time when the twins couldn’t touch each other without their powers shorting out, more unforeseen side-effects of Walter Langkowski tinkering with Aurora’s genetic code back in AF #24. (Without her fully informed consent, remember. Because he was the worst fucking boyfriend.) This was one of the better ideas Mantlo had for the twins, as it added a new layer of delicious angst... erm, a new wrinkle to their relationship – driving them apart physically when they were finally at a place where they could begin to lean on each other for emotional support. Unfortunately, even that didn’t last long before the new direction for Aurora became complete self-absorption.

Next time: My kingdom for a sonogram!

Previous installments of the series can be found here.