Alphan in X-men 508 Revealed (Spoiler Warning)

[DelBubs]

I think it's Pointer, Omega Red is a little bit more flamboyant in his appearence and attire.

Could be another Russian mutant, though. Marvel does have (has had) a few of them.

Ben, can we set up counselling sessions on the board. The hatred of Pointer (?) is so ingrained that the locals are in a constant state of denial. It's Pointer, deal.

Then again...

[Alpha Fan]

Well, besides that out of charatcter comment about Alpha Flight I couldn't be happier with "Uncanny X-Men" right now. Psylocke and Northstar are two of my favourite Marvel characters (next to Aurora and Snowbird) so having them re-join the team at the same time is very good news to me. I wonder what kind of interaction there will be between them.

I'm also happy to see them in an optimistic mood. Evey time we see Northstar and Aurora after they fall in limbo we see them trying to commit suicide, being chased by mosnters, their minds destroyed or brain-washed... For once, they are fine, working together and Northstar even in a relationship!

One question as I haven't read the issue. Is Aurora also asked to join the X-Men? If so, what is her decision?

And one last thing, could anyone post scans from the issue? I'm curious to see the twins drawn by the Dodson/Land. Thanks in advance

[rplass]

One question as I haven't read the issue. Is Aurora also asked to join the X-Men? If so, what is her decision?

Unknown. Stay tuned. It's one of the many questions readers are asking about the events of this issue. It doesn't say either way if she's been asked already or what she said. It could have been a great opportunity to recreate the scene from AF#9 where Logan recruited Aurora... dunno, wait till next issue?

Love,
rplass

[maniac mike]

You get to see more of Northstar in this ish...

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multime....php?aid=27525

[rplass]

Whoa... "Are you still gay?" What the frak kind of question is that?

I can't even express my feelings on that. Terrible.

Also, uh, he quit? Not even one issue later? Weird.

Two good points though, nice simple costume design, just his old black/white starburst costume with a red X on it, thankfully no redesign like the last tme he joined the X-Men.

Also, I was glad to see him resembling the same character we saw in #508...Land doesn't usually keep his characters looking the same from panel to panel or issue to issue.

OK, let's see if he really quit or not when the issue comes out.

Love,
rplass

[varo]

i dont think that was meant to be taken literally.

[Le Messor]

I've read these issues now.

I don't think he's quit the team yet. Maybe he can rejoin Alpha and play for both t--
never mind.

I don't think his character has been captured well here. He's too chipper; something Northstar has never been, and certainly wouldn't be with all he's been through lately. Also, he makes the point about 'I refuse to join the X-Men to be the 'gay one', but I will do it for all the reasons I didn't join Alpha Flight for' (duty, responsibility); and then spends most of his screen-time making gay quips every couple of lines. As if his reason for being here is to be the 'gay one'.
Reading what Matt Fraction said about wanting him to be sure of himself, I understand how he got there, but it doesn't work for me.

I don't really think they've captured Madison well, either, but his could be madness based on his expieriences.

- Le Messor
"We all go a little mad every now and then..."
- Norman Bates

[rplass]

Oh and JP's finally got an SO, some dude, no name.

Ah, this week's OHOTMU A-Z Hardcover #8 reveals that his boyfriend's name is Kyle. Hi, Kyle!

Love,
rplass

[Flightpath07]

Sorry if this is slightly off-topic...

John Byrne was certainly an innovative and a cantankerous old bastard, wasn't he? If you look really closely at what he did with early Alpha Flight, you can see how he pushed the enevelope in so many ways.

Nature Vs Nurture - The whole story of Marina certainly fits in here. Born to be death to a planet, can the love of her adoptive parents overcome this in her?
And how about Mr Northstar? JB would be ostrasized today for even thinking what he dared to suggest in AF. Isn't it obvious that he raised the Nature Vs Nurture question when it came to Jean-Paul? Is he gay because he was born that way, or because the 'relationship' that was inferred that he shared with his foster-dad was 'more' than just a family relationship? No, JB did not answer the question, but he did leave it hanging out there, didn't he? And what about Aurora? In a day when it was less popular than it is now to bash the church and religion, JB had no problem inferring that Aurora might very well be crazy only because of the way the nuns treated her. Again, is it nature, or is it nurture? Was she born with the crazy-person gene, or did her environment create her psychosis?

There were other risks that JB took, other ways he really messed with people's perceptions through Alpha Flight...

Mac was a scientist who created something that government types wanted to use as a weapon. He disagreed, so he stole his creation. But, in the end, Mac became nothing more than a weapon of the Canadian government, exactly what he did not want his creation used for!

Puck, a man in pain all his life, fights past that pain to become a hero. The littlest man, becomes huge of stature as a hero.

Shaman, the man who could not save his own wife, doubts himself. His doubt keeps him from being able to wield the power that is his. When he overcomes the doubt, he becomes Shaman. Then, his power takes away the mind of one of the smartest men on the planet in Smart Alec! Oh, the painful irony!

I absolutely love the story of Sasquatch. A pro football player, he goes on to be one of the leading scientists in his field. What does he do with his intellect? He becomes a superstrong hairy beast that fights crime, of course! lol. Muscle-bound jock, to great scientist, to super-strong superhero. That is one twisted story!

One last note. I want JB to come back to Marvel. And i want him to re-write and retro Wolverine back to who JB wanted him to be.

Here is what i see. Wolverine discovers that all these "James Howler"-type memories are false. So are the memories about him being as old as he thinks he is. So are the memories of him being "forced" to have the adamantium fused to his skeleton - it was a choice.

Allthese false memories were planted and manipulated to drive him insane. It was done by some unknown intelligence out in space. I'll leave the why of it for JB to figure out. This intelligence manipulated the memories of those around Wolvie, those he came into contact with, to keep up the pretense of these false memories.

This knowledge does the trick, drives Wolvie insane. He leaves all of the teams (and series) he is a part of, he goes absolutely nutso, psycho, back to a feral state for the most part, and disappears into the northern woods. For the next 24 months (in our time), he is onyl seen in his own monthly comic, eating nuts and berries, killing bears, frightening hikers, that sort of thing. Then, Heather tracks him down. Once again, she calms him, she helps him. She brings him back to the new Department H, to continue helping him re-adjust. No, he does not join Alpha Flight per se, but he does appear in their series. He is around. There is interaction. Eventually, with JB guiding his character development, and Heather helping him out, he gets back to be who he is supposed to be. At that point, does he join Alpha Flight? Does he strike out on his own? Does he rejoin the XMen? Does he find who messed with his head and kill him? I don't know!

But i know John Byrne would do it justice...

[kozzi24]

One question as I haven't read the issue. Is Aurora also asked to join the X-Men? If so, what is her decision?

No, she was not asked. Cyclops stood there and asked Northstar right in front of her and quoted his need for speed on the X-Men...and did not ask the faster of the two mutants standing there!!

Especially with the "quips" in #509, I think Matt Fracton just wanted Northstar for the gay angle, and it is a shame because there is so much more to the character. This coming from Fracton, who felt the need to introduce Karma as "likes girls" when that aspect of her character had nothing to do with that story.

I have not had much faith in Fracton and am not gaining any. I kjnow Psylocke has her fans, and I did really like her when she was introduced circa Uncanny 212. Now I personally find the English-now-Asian-with-a-blonde-Anglo-twin-who-is-telekenetic-but-used-to-be-telepathic is WAYto convoluted to ever be a good character choice in an already crowded team book. I once liked the character, but I found to her to be one of those better off dead or relegated to whatever pet project Clairmont has going on.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I'm rapidly losing faith in Fraction too...This "Sisterhood" storyline wasn't very good...Along with some bad dialogue, as rplass pointed out above.

The art had a lot to do with my dislike of it too, I wasn't digging Land's porn tracings or the fact that without words, the story would have been incomprehensible from the art. He's not a good visual story-teller (this is all my opinion, of course).

Dana

[DelBubs]

Excellent post Flightpath.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I agree with almost everything you posted, Flightpath (good stuff)...However, John Byrne won't ever work on Alpha again, even though I'd love to see it.

Dana

[Flightpath07]

Excellent post Flightpath.

Tanx.

[rplass]

Ok back to the thread... Northstar appears in issue #511, previews below:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...759&disp=table

Love,
rplass