Alpha/Omega

[Canucklehead]

To be honest I want Guardian to either be Mac or a completely new character in the suit.

I hope to God its not the Collective dude. Why would an American put on the Guardian costume anyway? That doesnt make sense. Thats like a Canadian putting on Captain America's costume.

MikeM

You never know, it could be Major Mapleleaf Jr! Oeming said he didn't really mind the 3rd series so maybe Lou found a soft spot in the writer. The Guardian looks pretty pissed in the promo, it could be Mac because his team and wife were slain. It coud be young mister Sadler because his young honey was eaten by tiny scorpions. Wasn't it said that one character would be brand new? Maybe it IS a new person in the suit.

I do doubt it's an American. What I'd love to see come of "the Collective dude" is become a major villain. I'd love to see a show-down between him and Mac. Hudson was always the least interesting of the original 6 in the Flight. This would finally give him some emotion and character. Give him that 3rd dimension he was lacking. At first he was the only one I wanted dead. The more I think about it, the more I want him to be alive and show us what kind of person he really is, what he's made of, how he'd react after this tragedy... then again, for all we know it could be Toad in the suit. Can't wait to find out!

[cmdrkoenig67]

Funny...I still wish Mac had been left dead since Vol. 1 #12. His death was genius, Delphine Courtney posing as him...even more genius...Great storytelling there.

Dana

[kozzi24]

I don't think the guy with the shield is John Walker/USAgent. Why? you ask, simple Walker would be the first guy for registration of heroes and to go after heroes who refuse to register! Thats how blind he is, all for glory, none for honor.

My guess is that it's Steve Rogers/Captain America, of course he can't go by C.A. anymore so my thought is he returns to his "NOMAD" identity without the old costume.

That's my thought.

MM

The deaths of John Walker's parents by people who knew his identity could be motivation in making him very anti-registration.

[Canucklehead]

Funny...I still wish Mac had been left dead since Vol. 1 #12. His death was genius, Delphine Courtney posing as him...even more genius...Great storytelling there.

Dana

Same here. The problem is that's not possible anymore. Killing him would be the logical and expected way to go. I thought it was the best way, die a hero, like he had previously. Now a huge part of me wants to know who James MacDonald is and what makes him tick. He was killed before his personality was fully shown and then that was dealt with poorly. Now we'd get to see what we were missing. You can't beat Heather as the leader of Alpha Flight. The true fans know this. I just can't help but want to see James fullfill his dream. He has nothing more to lose. This is how most heroes get to start out. This is when their true self is portrayed. Mac finally, as a late blumer gets to know what true loss is. I want to see every minute of James MacDonald Hudsons pain and what he does with it. I want the true original leader of Alpha to finally get a voice and become a real player in the Marvel U. I want to see him kick some serious a$$ and give Canada the respect it truely deserves.

[Tiberius Bane]

I could live with Lou being in the Guardian outfit.
I actually liked Major Mapleleaf.

I have always been a fan of Mac though. I was so disappointed when they killed him off. Then was excited when they brought him back only to be disappointed to find out it wasnt him. And then to be excited again during the building blocks (is that what it was called?) story arc...only to be disappointed when he sacraficed himself to save Heather when they were trying to port Galactus away...only to be (etc, etc, etc)

Man, he should just change his name to Resurection Man.

MikeM

[Canucklehead]

I am also a fan of Mr. Mapleleaf. Reminded me of all those great episodes of Due South.

Man, he should just change his name to Resurection Man.

I think we finally discovered Mac WAS a mutant afterall. His power is to come back from the brink of death, no matter what the odds.

I am the Rejuvenator. I'll be back.

[Mokole]

While I'm no fan of the Hudson characters, I'd prefer Feedback, Mac, Wild Child, or MML to be Guardian, not a foreigner.

Can't turn his issue #12 death back anymore with out another retconn. Or five.

[Barnacle13]

You gotta agree with Canucklehead, that would make for some powerful characterization. Mac was never a favorite of mine, but seeing him deal with such tremendous loss could certainly add deminsion to his character and make him interesting.

One other thing I was thinking today that gave me a good feeling about this new book.... You gotta credit Mike Oeming for coming to this site for research. It shows a lot of class on his part, but more than that it shows he's already done his research. He knew this site was the source of Alpha info. Follow that up with the intelligent questions he's posed to the group and I think we can all rest comfortably it'll be a good representation of what we all believe Alpha had potential to be. I'm thoroughly excited that Alpha (Omega) Flight will finally get a decent treatment.

Mike, make sure you get Marvel to advertise this book. Previous volumes of Alpha Flight didn't get much support. Subscriptions weren't even offered for the last attempt. Get the marketing you deserve to make this a success. I'll gladly pay for a subscription or three to make this thing fly.

[Mokole]

Here's my reading of a bit of the Newsarama interview:

"Mark thought that out of Civil War, there would be those heroes who for one reason or another, did not fit on either side, either because they became fugitives Arachne or they hated what’s happened to their superhero culture USAgent, or they were being deported Beta Ray, all kinds of reasons. But "running to Canada Vietnam style" was never in the picture. There will be characters like that, but they wouldn't be in Flight, you don’t put cowards on your team."

Of course I'm joking, but Arachne would be the one if an anti-SRA was on the team. Is USAgent a cultural/artsy guy?

Guardian and Talisman are the draws for me so far, and I'm not a Hudson fan even!

[kozzi24]

I'm looking forward to this title. Plenty of us here complained about Vols. 2 and 3 being called Alpha Flight but not being Alpha Flight. We don't have that complaint here. There's ties to Alpha in locale and Talisman, but this is not Alpha and no one is trying to convince us it is.

This team being called Omega Flight leaves the "Alpha" name to the originals. Alpha Flight can exist and been referenced and seen in the Omega Flight book.

It has never been stated that the team from Avengers #16 was definitively dead. I think Mike Oeming has hinted at this, that we would be seeing more than one member of the "dead" team. I think at least Heather, Sasquatch, Puck and Shaman survived. They may be incapacitated and need prolonged healing. A visit from Liz to her father's bedside could result in her possession of his pouch. Mac and Puck were both seen in the Civil War promotional poster, so Mac probably survived...tho personally, I think it would be a wasted circumstance to not take the opportunity to make him dead again and restore Heather as the Guardian-costumed Alpha leader.

Only one Canadian in the promo art? That's talisman. My guess for this team is Talisman/Elizabeth Twoyoungman, Julia Carpenter, Vlint Barton and John Walker and Beta Ray Bill.

One wild guess...Sasquatch's injuries in Avengers #16 reawakens aspects of the Great Beasts, perhaps allowing Tanaraq's repossession...which also saves Walter's life.

Maybe I'm optimistic because Clint Barton, Julia Carpenter, John Walker and Talisman and Beta Ray Bill are all characters I would like to see back in action regularly. In this case, Walker's presence is the most out of place, even considering his Force Works history. I would not be surprised to see him betray the team for agendas of the American government after the second arc.

Kollins and Oeming have shown respect for the characters they are writing, and respect for Alpha, so I have faith in their designs for the new title. And I see their not calling this title "Alpha Flight" to keep the name free for characters who are Alpha is part of that respect.

[Canucklehead]

I threw together (very quickly, mind you) some sketches of possible Omega logos as soon as I heard the new title. Does anyone have any they'd like to share?

[mreeez]

Guess I am in the minority in long time AF fans but to me Mac was always Guardian, not Heather.

I think it was just being blown away in X-Men #109, the iconic image of Weapon Alpha bursting through the ground and proceeding to beat the tar out of Wolverine. I remember when I first saw that and was just awed at the image.

And, like a previous poster said, we never really got to see Mac leading the team for a period of time. Every time he was brought back, I was looking forward to Mac at the helm but he was killed/written off again and again.

To me, I would like to see Mac and Liz in the new book with the rest of AF retired due to the results of NA #16. I get the feeling that Shaman was killed and that Liz is inheriting the mantle from him.

Something I would like to see is more Alphans in other books. We have had Northstar in X-Men, Aurora and Jeffries in Weapon-X (i think was the name of that book) and Lil in 198. I always thought Puck would be great in the Avengers.

[Legerd]

Guess I am in the minority in long time AF fans but to me Mac was always Guardian, not Heather.

I think it was just being blown away in X-Men #109, the iconic image of Weapon Alpha bursting through the ground and proceeding to beat the tar out of Wolverine. I remember when I first saw that and was just awed at the image.

And, like a previous poster said, we never really got to see Mac leading the team for a period of time. Every time he was brought back, I was looking forward to Mac at the helm but he was killed/written off again and again.

To me, I would like to see Mac and Liz in the new book with the rest of AF retired due to the results of NA #16. I get the feeling that Shaman was killed and that Liz is inheriting the mantle from him.

Something I would like to see is more Alphans in other books. We have had Northstar in X-Men, Aurora and Jeffries in Weapon-X (i think was the name of that book) and Lil in 198. I always thought Puck would be great in the Avengers.

I agree with you mreeez (in fact I might be the poster you refered to) Mac never really got the chance to be developed as a character before being killed off. Everyone says he was boring and emotionless, but has anyone taken a look at Reed Richards?! Talk about distant. He's always been the absentminded professor who gets lost in his work, but no one calls him boring or emotionless. What gives?

[NickT]

Looks like we can confirm who the guy with the shield is.


http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=83210

Captain America has chosen a side, but what about the man who briefly took up his mantle, the U.S. Agent? In a story by Michael Avon Oeming and Scott Kolins, John Walker has to choose a side – the government he has always remained loyal to or the man whose legend he attempted to uphold? The answer won’t be what you think.

[DelBubs]

First off, Canucklehead : Neat banners, can I nick one for my sig? In regards to Mac, I'm with the majority here, I don't think we've seen the real Mac since vol 1 #12. There were brief glimpses of him in Unlimited X-Men #45?, which imho is the best rendition of him since #12, but the real Mac needs to come back. On that tack, I'd have to hazard that most of the roster of Omega Flight is there if we follow the evidence.

Beta Ray Bill - Mike Oeming says it's so so it's good enough for me.
US Agent - Almost sure on this given the post by Adam.
Talisman - That Coronet is a bit of a give away. If Postman Mike killed her dad then she's gonna be pissed. So coming out of retirement makes sense.
Arachne (JUlie Carpenter?) - Considering the events in Ms Marvel #6, I don't think she's pro reg anymore.
Guardian - We know it's the suit, but who's in it? So far I've seen it suggested that it's Mac, Steve Rogers, John Walker, Clint Barton or Tony Stark?