Alpha Flight Feats of Strength

[-K-M-]

As the title says what are some abilities of Alpha Flight that have made them standout.

Eg.)
-Box beating the Sentinels
-Northstar and Auroua possibly be able to reach near light speed
-Sasquatch at a time had class 100 strength
-Guardian by keeping himself at rest with the Earth's electromagnetic field, he was able to transport himself vast distances almost instantaneously.

What are some events that made them stand out and show that they actually are strong and can run with the big boys.

[Phil]

In a Marvel Universe scale.... nothing.

They haven't been treated with respect or used to their potential.
Unfortunately they're just a footnote in the MU... and now possibly just a cheap gimmick.

[Powersurge]

Well, Sasquatch dragging an oceanliner or whatever (a really, really big ship) to shore is kinda impressive. Granted, its not the same as lifting said ship above the head, but still the thing would easily weigh in excessive of several 100 tons.

Also, Weapon Alpha held his own against the X-Men at least for a moment or two, until an enraged Banshee arrived, and he also managed to one punch Wolverine and throw him for a loop. Not an easy task.

As for Snowbird, she managed to subdue the Wendigo. Who else could have done that? Wolverine, the Hulk, and who else? Ah yes, Snowbird.

As far as speed goes, and as has already been mentioned, no one in the Marvel Universe can touch Northstar or Aurora speed wise.

As for Shaman, he ... well ... he is very Native Indian. But hey, wasn't his daughter placed on or near the level of Dr.Strange?

[-K-M-]

Well, Sasquatch dragging an oceanliner or whatever (a really, really big ship) to shore is kinda impressive. Granted, its not the same as lifting said ship above the head, but still the thing would easily weigh in excessive of several 100 tons.

Also, Weapon Alpha held his own against the X-Men at least for a moment or two, until an enraged Banshee arrived, and he also managed to one punch Wolverine and throw him for a loop. Not an easy task.

As for Snowbird, she managed to subdue the Wendigo. Who else could have done that? Wolverine, the Hulk, and who else? Ah yes, Snowbird.

As far as speed goes, and as has already been mentioned, no one in the Marvel Universe can touch Northstar or Aurora speed wise.

As for Shaman, he ... well ... he is very Native Indian. But hey, wasn't his daughter placed on or near the level of Dr.Strange?

Yeah he should still be in class one hundred strength

I don't remember what, what issue was that and did anything else happen?

Indeed, she even ripped out poor old Walter's heart.

Well Northstar, Aurora after Walter did the tests on her took a lot of her speed potential away from her.

Shaman is very powerful, and Tailsman she is strong in her own right. Well I will see what the other says about them.

[Barnacle13]

In a Marvel Universe scale.... nothing.

They haven't been treated with respect or used to their potential.
Unfortunately they're just a footnote in the MU... and now possibly just a cheap gimmick.

C'mon they had really snazzy outfits! That's something much of the Marvel Universe couldn't boast. I'm talking original Alpha Flight here.

[Phil]

Well, Sasquatch dragging an oceanliner or whatever (a really, really big ship) to shore is kinda impressive. Granted, its not the same as lifting said ship above the head, but still the thing would easily weigh in excessive of several 100 tons.
Something The Hulk, The Thing, Colossus, Juggernaut, Gladiator... etc etc could do also, and would be written as doing easier than Sas.


Also, Weapon Alpha held his own against the X-Men at least for a moment or two, until an enraged Banshee arrived, and he also managed to one punch Wolverine and throw him for a loop. Not an easy task.
I'd disagree to an extent, everyone gets one punch in against Wolverine, especially when distracted.


As for Snowbird, she managed to subdue the Wendigo. Who else could have done that? Wolverine, the Hulk, and who else? Ah yes, Snowbird.
I'd say that's more a case of who has, than could.
But... Sabretooth, possibly Silverclaw.. off the top of my head.


As far as speed goes, and as has already been mentioned, no one in the Marvel Universe can touch Northstar or Aurora speed wise.
Quicksilver's always gonna be written as beating the pair of them.


As for Shaman, he ... well ... he is very Native Indian
So's Forge. And Danielle Moonstar


But hey, wasn't his daughter placed on or near the level of Dr.Strange?
And what year did we last see her?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to pick faults or put down my own favourite team, I just think that untill a decent writer takes AF seriously they're going to be the whipping boys of the MU.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Well, Sasquatch dragging an oceanliner or whatever (a really, really big ship) to shore is kinda impressive....Also, Weapon Alpha held his own against the X-Men at least for a moment or two, until an enraged Banshee arrived, and he also managed to one punch Wolverine and throw him for a loop. Not an easy task...

Wow. Hulk Annual#8, yes indeedy, I remember that: Walt and James working together! It impressed me as much as Sasquatch picking up an airplane and casually tossing it aside!

Hudson taking on Wolverine by himself, knowing that it could mean his life, showed more heart and nerve than most people would exhibit in their whole lifetime. Hudson knocked out Wolverine...and it didn't look like no sucker-punch, either.

Shaman is just a very practical but burdened man who manages to come up with pragmatic short-term solutions to immediate problems. [That isn't to say that the solutions are perfect.]

While I agree with Phil that AF is being treated badly now, it just makes me want to appreciate the good presentations of the team all the more.

[MistressMerr]

Quicksilver's always gonna be written as beating the pair of them.

Which is completely ridiculous, his top speed has been explicitly stated as around Mach 4, while the twins can easily double that.

[Powersurge]

Quicksilver's always gonna be written as beating the pair of them.

Which is completely ridiculous, his top speed has been explicitly stated as around Mach 4, while the twins can easily double that.

Yep. According to the Official Guide to the Marvel Universe, Quickies top speed is 175 mph, whilst a down powered Aurora can hit the speed of sound, approx. 770 mph according to the write up. Prior to her power reduction she could, theoretically, reach 99% the speed of light, which is where Northstar still stands.

Just a tadbit faster than their fellow pointy eared, sharp featured speedster.

[MistressMerr]

Actually, to be fair, Quicksilver's been speeded up substantially since then (to the aforementioned Mach 4). Nevertheless, he still can't touch the twins.

[Powersurge]

Actually, to be fair, Quicksilver's been speeded up substantially since then (to the aforementioned Mach 4). Nevertheless, he still can't touch the twins.

Okay. But hey, whats up with the pointy ears and sharp featured thing? Is that like a universal characteristic of Marvel speedsters or something? :?

[cmdrkoenig67]

Uh...PS, Quicksilver doesn't have pointy ears. Sharp features?...yes...I guess his hairstyle and those eyebrows could be considered sharp/pointy.

Other Marvel speedsters that aren't pointy and/or sharp featured:
Spitfire
Whizzer I
Whizzer II/Speed Demon
Whizzer III
Runner(the Elder)

As for speed...The twins are far faster than any known human in the air(besides Captain Marvel II/Photon/whatever they're calling her now, when she took on a pure light-form)...on the ground they may not be faster than Pietro....who knows, they've never had a race(I personally think they would be faster than him on land too...though they would cause massive environmental damage around them).

Dana

[MistressMerr]

On the ground... hmm, that'd be a decent race. I say the twins take it though, they'd just have to really concentrate on not tripping.

[cmdrkoenig67]

On the ground... hmm, that'd be a decent race. I say the twins take it though, they'd just have to really concentrate on not tripping.

Interesting point....Northstar and Aurora originally weren't meant to have hyper-reflexes(like Quicksilver). Writers after John Byrne added the super-reflexes. Imagine the amount of concentration it would take for them to pay attention to every obstacle as they move at superspeed.

Some good examples of Byrne writing them without the super-reflexes(which he had always said they didn't have)...issue #3, page 10: Northstar getting clocked by the wall projection...if he had the heightened reflexes he would have easilly avoided being whacked...And Northstar being unable to stop Nemesis(who isn't a speedster) in issue #8 from chopping Deadly Ernest into bits. I'm sure there's more....but I think they're more interesting without the super-reflexes...call me crazy.

Dana

[suzene]

Some good examples of Byrne writing them without the super-reflexes(which he had always said they didn't have)...issue #3, page 10: Northstar getting clocked by the wall projection...if he had the heightened reflexes he would have easilly avoided being whacked...And Northstar being unable to stop Nemesis(who isn't a speedster) in issue #8 from chopping Deadly Ernest into bits. I'm sure there's more....but I think they're more interesting without the super-reflexes...call me crazy.

Wouldn't dream of it. Characters who actually have to be careful with their powers for more than the cliched innocent bystander/property damage factor tend to be more interesting. I'd rather write about someone like Pyro than the Human Torch because Pyro, while he's a pyrokenetic, isn't immune to fire. You have to wonder what his mindset must be as he straps enough flammable liquid to his back to take out a neighborhood block, knowing that if someone takes a swing at him, he could be blown sky-high. At the same time, being near all of that dangerous stuff is the only way he can get in on something like the Brotherhood. I find that kind of thing fascinating.

Suzene

[cmdrkoenig67]

Some good examples of Byrne writing them without the super-reflexes(which he had always said they didn't have)...issue #3, page 10: Northstar getting clocked by the wall projection...if he had the heightened reflexes he would have easilly avoided being whacked...And Northstar being unable to stop Nemesis(who isn't a speedster) in issue #8 from chopping Deadly Ernest into bits. I'm sure there's more....but I think they're more interesting without the super-reflexes...call me crazy.

Wouldn't dream of it. Characters who actually have to be careful with their powers for more than the cliched innocent bystander/property damage factor tend to be more interesting. I'd rather write about someone like Pyro than the Human Torch because Pyro, while he's a pyrokenetic, isn't immune to fire. You have to wonder what his mindset must be as he straps enough flammable liquid to his back to take out a neighborhood block, knowing that if someone takes a swing at him, he could be blown sky-high. At the same time, being near all of that dangerous stuff is the only way he can get in on something like the Brotherhood. I find that kind of thing fascinating.

Suzene

Yes indeed. Heroes and villains who aren't all powerful/infallible....that's the stuff that made comics great.
Although, the biggest reasons I don't like the Ultimates is they have too many faults....these people aren't heroes....they're awful people that I never want to meet and really don't want to read about.

Dana

[suzene]

Yes indeed. Heroes and villains who aren't all powerful/infallible....that's the stuff that made comics great.
Although, the biggest reasons I don't like the Ultimates is they have too many faults....these people aren't heroes....they're awful people that I never want to meet and really don't want to read about.

Sounds about normal for a Mark Millar book where there's not an editor to step on his neck. If I hadn't read Ellis' and Morrison's (Robbie, not Grant) run on Authority first, I never would have bothered with the book. As it is, there's a huge gap in my TPB collection where Millar's run would have fit. 'Wanted' was purile and the main character was a damned wimp who blamed his entire loser life on his mommy. His use of Northstar was a complete cop-out -- if you're going to bother with that kind of convoluted set-up to get super-speedster assassain, at least have the balls to make the concept as terrifying as it should be -- and Wolverine's hypocricy was disgusting.

It's not fair to say that he can't write anything of interest, because he *does* come up with interesting ideas, but my problem with Millar's writing is that just can't do a satisfactory deliver when it comes to writing people as actual heroes, and heroes are what I'm looking for when I pick up a superhero comic.

Suzene

[kozzi24]

The only weay for the twin's powers to work (and this is consistent with Byrne) is that their reflexes are in direct proportion to their speed. Northstar could stop Nemesis' assassination of Earnest because NS was standing still when she lunged.
But if they have NO enhanced reflexes, both twins would have run into something long before they joined Alpha.
Another Byrne example is in the last Alpha/Omega fight. Delphine as Mac took out Northstar with an INVISIBLE wall. He was already in flight, so may have been able to avoid anything on the visible spectrum.

I think nowadays both twins can move at superspeed...Aurora is considerably slower than Northstar now, but she has much greater range in the use of the light powers. This works for me to vary the abilities on the team (if they're ever on a team together again!)