Sneak Peak: Wolverine First Class #5

[Fred Van Lente]

We're sending this one (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/?id=9186) to the printers this week... Soooo exciiiiited...

Due to the vagaries of the publishing biz, this happens to be the first Alpha-centric comic I wrote, but has wound up being the last one published...

http://www.fredvanlente.com/images/wolvefc5_snippet.gif

[varo]

omg fred, you went all "first flight" on us. i do believe thats stitch, st. elmo and groundhog, as well as smart alec? is that mac he's talking to?

listen fred, we (me) love what you are doing with alpha and respect your detail to its history, we also know that marvel has something cooking that (hopefully) will be closer to the originals, i demand that your the writer!!

[-K-M-]

Oh wow I can't wait for this, and art from Clayton Henry?...gold

[varo]

but has wound up being the last one published...


am i reading to much into this, or is that a hint?

[Legerd]

DAMMIT! I swore not to buy anymore Marvel comics until they bring back AF in their own series! You're screwing that up for me Fred. :evil:











Thanks! :D

[Dfense75]

Lookin good Im gonna have to pick this up. Varo is right Fred. If Joe Q doesnt believe your the man for Alpha than send him here. We'll help convince him.

[Mokole]

Wow, great start Mr. van Lente. Sure is good to see and read! Good luck with Alpha Flight, if you get the opportunity (can't be bad letting Henry have a fair shot at AF, eh?)

[Fred Van Lente]

Thanks for kind words, all! Just happy to share with fellow Alpha fans...


am i reading to much into this, or is that a hint?

Sorry, you're reading too much into this. 8)

[birdygirl]

This looks very promising. Interesting script and beautiful artwork. Can't wait to buy it. Thanks for showing us this, Fred.

[rplass]

Who's bottom right, is that Walter? Doesn't look exactly like Clayton's Walter. It could be Kyle, dunno.

When does this story take place? The costumes are confusing the continuity for me. Snowbird, Shaman and Aurora were still wearing their Gamma Flight costumes in that flashback in AF #92, and Logan had already left Dept H. by then, so how could they be shown wearing those costumes?

Also, Marrina wasn't in Alpha Flight back then. She was certainly in Beta Flight, but maybe Mac is showing Logan everyone in Dept H.

Ok and this must be after Northstar joined up but maybe he's just not shown on this set of screens.

But I still can't understand when it is supposed to take place.

Love,
rplass

[mos_def]

Fred,
we are not worthy to have your feel for Alpha Flight. Its good that you are around and will definitely pick this up

[varo]

that is definitely kyle bottom right hand corner. i'm thinking this is taking place soon after first flight. mac must have been working on a list of recruits.

[Loki]

Who's bottom right, is that Walter? Doesn't look exactly like Clayton's Walter. It could be Kyle, dunno.

When does this story take place? The costumes are confusing the continuity for me. Snowbird, Shaman and Aurora were still wearing their Gamma Flight costumes in that flashback in AF #92, and Logan had already left Dept H. by then, so how could they be shown wearing those costumes?

Also, Marrina wasn't in Alpha Flight back then. She was certainly in Beta Flight, but maybe Mac is showing Logan everyone in Dept H.

Ok and this must be after Northstar joined up but maybe he's just not shown on this set of screens.

But I still can't understand when it is supposed to take place.

Love,
rplass
I can handle these - first, it is Kyle. Walter didn't get his powers until after Wolverine left, so he wouldn't be an available field operative.

Second, the screens are showing all the available individuals in Dept H, they've not been split into the separate teams yet. The First Flight disaster showed the need to do that, but it still took a little while for the decision as to who went to what team, and in a crisis like this they just gave Wolverine his choice.

On the costumes - we know from First Flight that Snowbird had her full costume, but we saw in the AF #92 fb that she reverted to a training costume. Same deal - the others had their costumes, but they also had training costumes for when not in the field, and those who got assigned into Beta and Gamma after the decision was made as to who went where presumably got told to stick to the training costumes.

As for Northstar, maybe he isn't a member yet - there's at least a small gap between Aurora joining and them recruiting her brother. Or maybe there's not space to fit everyone on the one screen (maybe the screen is giving scrolling options, but since we are watching a static frame we don't get to see that), or maybe he simply wasn't fully inducted yet. If he had agreed to join at this point, there's the time between agreeing to join and actually joining - remember, Dept H was government run, and we all know what bureaucracies are like.

[Loki]

that is definitely kyle bottom right hand corner. i'm thinking this is taking place soon after first flight. mac must have been working on a list of recruits.

Yup, it's not long at all after First Flight, hence Groundhog and St. Elmo still being on the screens, albeit with qualifiers regarding their status listed. If it had been a longer period, they wouldn't be shown on a screen depicting operatives available to Wolverine.

[varo]

i got to give fred a ton of credit for this isuue, not to many people (besides us around here) even remember first flight, let along reference it.

thanks for the info loki.

now when is joe q going to announce the new ongoing alpha flight with the originals written by fred and drawn clayton?

the cats out of the bag, we all saw it on wikepedia, so it must be true 8)

[Fred Van Lente]

On the costumes - we know from First Flight that Snowbird had her full costume, but we saw in the AF #92 fb that she reverted to a training costume. Same deal - the others had their costumes, but they also had training costumes for when not in the field, and those who got assigned into Beta and Gamma after the decision was made as to who went where presumably got told to stick to the training costumes.

And, c'mon, it's not like those training costumes are the most attractive things in the world. It's "First Class," people! We're tryin' to make new AF fans, here! 8)

[rplass]

On the costumes - we know from First Flight that Snowbird had her full costume, but we saw in the AF #92 fb that she reverted to a training costume.

Are you sure aout that? Snowbird was either naked :shock: or in her Gamma Flight (training costume) in the Alpha Flight Special. I believe that the 1st time we see Snowbird's costume was in UXM #121. Of course she could have it all along and just chosen to wear the training costume while training and on the 1st mission.


As for Northstar, maybe he isn't a member yet - there's at least a small gap between Aurora joining and them recruiting her brother.

Yeah, it's not exactly clear how long after Aurora was recruited that Northstar joined, except that we know it was at least two months, according to Mac (ref. AF# 10). But then they were in training for a year, according to JP's thought bubble in Dr. Bassom's office (ref. AF#7).

So maybe this takes place during the two months between or he's already joined but on the next screen and Mac hasn't scrolled down yet.

Love,
rplass

[Loki]

On the costumes - we know from First Flight that Snowbird had her full costume, but we saw in the AF #92 fb that she reverted to a training costume.

Are you sure aout that? Snowbird was either naked :shock: or in her Gamma Flight (training costume) in the Alpha Flight Special. I believe that the 1st time we see Snowbird's costume was in UXM #121. Of course she could have it all along and just chosen to wear the training costume while training and on the 1st mission.
Sorry, you are right. I should know better than to go from memory. The explanation remains valid though.



As for Northstar, maybe he isn't a member yet - there's at least a small gap between Aurora joining and them recruiting her brother.

Yeah, it's not exactly clear how long after Aurora was recruited that Northstar joined, except that we know it was at least two months, according to Mac (ref. AF# 10). But then they were in training for a year, according to JP's thought bubble in Dr. Bassom's office (ref. AF#7).

So maybe this takes place during the two months between or he's already joined but on the next screen and Mac hasn't scrolled down yet.

Yes, it could easily take place during the two months - it's clear enough from the preview pages that the partners Logan is being offered aren't strictly speaking ready for the field, but that needs must...

[cmdrkoenig67]

I'm not so concerned with costume continuity, as I am with actual story continuity....When exactly, is this story supposed to fit into X-Men continuity? Just how many encounters are the All New, All Different X-men supposed to have had with Alpha Flight?

Dana

[rplass]

Here is a list of contact between Alpha Flight and X-Men pre-AF#1

UXM#109 (debut of Weapon Alpha)
UXM#120-1 (debut of the team in Calgary)
UXM #139-140 (1/2 the team fights the Wendigo with Wolverine and Nightcrawler).

The Hulk Amnesty (IH #277-279) took place before AF#1, but there wasn't much contact between the X-Men and Alpha Flight.

Contest of Champions (1st series, issues 1-3) also took place sometime before AF#1, but again, not much contact.

That's all I could find. Any others?

[DelBubs]

There's also X-Men/Alpha Flight limited vol 2. I would put this somewhere around the Wendigo story in UXM 139-140.

[rplass]

Yar, the X-Men/Alpha Flight v2 limited series takes place somewhere between AF#4 and AF#8. I was restricting my list to chronological events before AF #1.

Love,
rplass

[DelBubs]

Yar, the X-Men/Alpha Flight v2 limited series takes place somewhere between AF#4 and AF#8. I was restricting my list to chronological events before AF #1.

Love,
rplass
I thought it was set pre-#1, then with hindsight that can't be the case given Pucks appearence. My bad.

[rplass]

Yeah, I suggested issue #4 because and there was a flashback to The Master. The editor captioned the flashback as events occuring in issue #4.

Love,
rplass

[DelBubs]

One thing that I found good to see was the pic of Stitch, more should have been done with her. Kudo's to Mr Van Lente for including her.

[Mokole]

Agreed. Mr. van Lente seems to have an eye for stories and characters, just doesn't put characters in for the sake of it.

[kozzi24]

I had thought Northstar was the last of the originals to have joined, after Walt turned to Sasquatch.
Looks to be a good story!

[Trewqp]

well im gonna try and pick up 1-4 this wednesday at the comic shop,
so whats this series about?
bah it has wolverine in it, so its got to be decent :)

[Mokole]

It fills in Wolverine stories that haven't been told, like his time in Alpha Flight and before/after Weapon X, etc.

Welcome Trewq!

[-K-M-]

As mentioned it tells untold stories, and the first 8 issues take place between Uncanny X-Men #138-150

[cmdrkoenig67]

Thank Mungi!

If this takes place between #'s138 and 140, then Northstar is already a member of AF, since the entire team has already met and fought the X-Men in Calgary. I don't get why they are showing Betas and Gammas mixed in with the Alphans?...Especially if the B's and G's need more training and are not field-ready, they would not be up for the choosing.

Dana

[-K-M-]

Also here's where I got that tidbit:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139483

[Phil]

Thank Mungi!

If this takes place between #'s138 and 140, then Northstar is already a member of AF, since the entire team has already met and fought the X-Men in Calgary. I don't get why they are showing Betas and Gammas mixed in with the Alphans?...Especially if the B's and G's need more training and are not field-ready, they would not be up for the choosing.

Dana

I'm guessing that the preview page we've seen is a flashback to when Wolverine was still working for Dept.H so pre GSX-Men #1, and that the bulk of the issue will be in the #138-150 mark.

[Loki]

Thank Mungi!

If this takes place between #'s138 and 140, then Northstar is already a member of AF, since the entire team has already met and fought the X-Men in Calgary. I don't get why they are showing Betas and Gammas mixed in with the Alphans?...Especially if the B's and G's need more training and are not field-ready, they would not be up for the choosing.

Dana

I'm guessing that the preview page we've seen is a flashback to when Wolverine was still working for Dept.H so pre GSX-Men #1.

Yes.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Thank Mungi!

If this takes place between #'s138 and 140, then Northstar is already a member of AF, since the entire team has already met and fought the X-Men in Calgary. I don't get why they are showing Betas and Gammas mixed in with the Alphans?...Especially if the B's and G's need more training and are not field-ready, they would not be up for the choosing.

Dana

I'm guessing that the preview page we've seen is a flashback to when Wolverine was still working for Dept.H so pre GSX-Men #1.

Yes.

Ah (and I just noticed Wolvie's costume in the pic, duh! me)...Thanks guys.

Dana

[Trewqp]

i never knew that alpha flight fought the x-men... :oops:
but i know they tryed to get wolverine and failed.
guess im also going to have to buy this comic as well.

[rplass]

So, totally random... I picked up a Wolverine One-Shot tonight called, "Wolverine: Killing Made Simple" and I'm reading it, going along, nice story, second story is horror-style, not my thing, whatever, then all of a sudden, I'm reading Wolverine: First Class #5! I was completely shocked. Apparently, there's a preview at the end of this comic containing the cover art, plus 7 pages. Weird thing is that the one-shot has a publication date of Oct 2008 and WFC#5 has a publication date of Sep 2008. Anyway, it was a nice surprise, didn't even know it was there!

Love,
rplass