Well, it wasn't a big shock, but Comic Book Resources just confirmed that the Alphan to "join" the X-men in 508 is...Northstar. At least he is back in the limelight and slated to play a major role. Hopefully Aurora will show up at some point!
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Well, it wasn't a big shock, but Comic Book Resources just confirmed that the Alphan to "join" the X-men in 508 is...Northstar. At least he is back in the limelight and slated to play a major role. Hopefully Aurora will show up at some point!
No spoiler space, it's in the thread title.
Yeah, Jeffries and Aurora are there too... except Jeanne-Marie's the COO of Northstar Snowsports, uh, ok, nice hat though!
I'm happy about Northstar joining, but NOT happy about the Alpha Flight insult. Completely unnecessary, and disrespectful... who does he think killed them, a small puppy? Damn, unless it's Matt Fraction trying too hard to give the guy a chip on his shoulder about his Alpha Flight membership. What was he thinking, that Alpha Flight fans would be all, "haha, yeah, they're dead, what a riot! knee-slap, knee-slap, guffaw, guffaw?" Terrible.
I really hope we don't get more quips like that from him.
Oh and JP's finally got an SO, some dude, no name. I think it's the first time we actually see him in a relationship, with a tiny bit of playful sexytalk nonetheless...
Collect the Wolverine appreciation cover, if you can find it. It's all "Logan van Gogh"
Love,
rplass
rplass, you have the issue, I take it. I thought the stuff was on CBR.
Yes, I made a rare Wednesday night dash to the LCS. I don't usually go on Wednesdays but I had some time tonight.
Wow, that 508 thread on CBR is absolutely brutal. They really ripped apart this issue, very tough. I'm glad we are all so nice here :)
Love,
rplass
So the title is no longer called "The Uncanny X-Men" instead, "The Uncanny Canucks"?!
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
"thats embarassing even for me, and i used to be part of alpha flight"
so i've now dropped iron man and uncanny from my pull list.
matt fraction is 2 years removed from being a clerk in a comic book store and he's gonna disrespect them.
unreal the cockiness going on over at marvel these days, bunch of writers with no respect.
That comment irked me, but then again Northstar was never really a huge fan of Alpha Flight to begin with.
this is true guys. for the early run, Northstar only purpose was his sister. He couldnt care less but softened up later in the series. Once he joined the XMen to teach finances, X-writers fell in love with the dude and it seems to me, a mainstay on the series. I got that feel in AoA. You could see the strong love for the characters even though they werent XMen
Wolverine, Northstar, Jeffries, Aurora, Weapon Omega. Diamond Lil and Persuassion Radius made some cameos. I kind of wish Walt joined the Avengers since there are no one else up in Canada
I like seeing my Alphans. If all these X-writers keep dipping Alpha characters, shouldnt this signal to Joe Q that they have a strong character base
I could understand if Northstar was a new character who had a brief tenure with AF. The comments would reinforce that he didn't like Alpha and that he's a bit of a dick, but he's not new. I guess the comments should be expected when it comes to Marvels treatment and perception of AF.
I've also heard that they eat babies as well.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=20846
Psylocke wasn’t the only established character Fraction brought back in “Uncanny” #508. He also had Wolverine go and recruit former Alpha Flight member Northstar to join the ranks of the X-Men. And like Psylocke, there were a number of reasons why Fraction wanted to make Northstar a cast member in “Uncanny.” “With the exception of Surge, who’s kind of young and a little inexperienced, they don’t really have a lot of speed on the ground and when I wrote the ‘SFX’ arc and had a guy on a Ducati bike out-racing all of them, I felt if I were Cyclops I’d recognize that as a deficiency. They really needed some speed, so I thought let’s bring in Northstar to remedy that,” Fraction explained. “So he was a strategic get, but I also like the character a lot. I like the idea of bringing him in and secondarily I like what character says about the book right now.”
Fraction finds Northstar especially compelling because of the character’s lack of self-doubt. “He’s extremely confident in who he is and what he can do. Having someone positive and assertive is kind of nice in a team full of people wracked with angst and self-doubt. And to write a guy who believes in himself supremely is a lot of fun. It’s not Namor-like arrogance, it’s just Northstar’s biggest fan is himself. I think he earns that in this story. He’s got a lot of great moments.
“Plus there’s a reason why I wanted him to be in the extreme sports milieu when we see him in this issue. It’s seems like he’d be an adrenalin junkie and that would be the kind of thing he’d be into. I also want to exploit that and have that, in, of being famous. And I like that he’s an unapologetic, out-of-the-closet gay man. That’s great to write too.”
Hmmmmmm....Just how many times does Northstar have to "join" the X-Men, this will be the third time he's been "recruited"...Isn't he a member already? Jean was the first to ask him to join, then Prof X and now Wolverine?
He was used pretty well the first time out, unevenly the second time he was a member...I'm curious to how he'll be used by Fraction (I doubt even Jean Paul would make such a nasty comment about the people he worked with for years, though).
Sheesh!
Dana
Yeah, I agree. Especially since AF members he served a lot of time with are dead unless he doesn't know that thought Wolverine does. And to boot Wolvie doesn't stick up for AF's memory and he was supposed to be so close to Mac, Heather, Puck and Shaman.Quote:
Originally Posted by cmdrkoenig67
Poor characterization so far but we'll see where this goes. Perhaps the idea was the put some Alphans on the team so when the X-Men come across the Dark X-Men, the take a piece out of Pointer for what he's done.
Are we absolutely sure that is Pointer?Quote:
Perhaps the idea was the put some Alphans on the team so when the X-Men come across the Dark X-Men, the take a piece out of Pointer for what he's done.
The reason i say this is, the more i look at the pictures, the more i think it looks a bit like a sickle on his uniform. Maybe a Russian mutant of some sort?
I dunno, i'm just saying...i am not completely convinced that it is Pointer. For all we know, Mailman Mike is still happily pretending to be a Canadian somewhere...
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by DelBubs
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. :D :roll: :wink: :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Flightpath07
Then again...
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
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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha Fan
Love,
rplass
You get to see more of Northstar in this ish...
http://www.newsarama.com/php/multime....php?aid=27525
{northstar}
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
i dont think that was meant to be taken literally.
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
Ah, this week's OHOTMU A-Z Hardcover #8 reveals that his boyfriend's name is Kyle. Hi, Kyle!Quote:
Originally Posted by rplass
Love,
rplass
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...
:D :D :D :D :D
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!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha Fan
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.
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
Excellent post Flightpath.
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
:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:Quote:
Originally Posted by DelBubs
Tanx.
Ok back to the thread... Northstar appears in issue #511, previews below:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...759&disp=table
Love,
rplass
I clicked the link you posted and that is some poor, clunky writing. Sad.
7 pages, one panel he makes it into.Quote:
Originally Posted by rplass
Hmmph. Have to keep reminding myself, "this is Marvel." They probably only put him on the team, to kill him and replace him with his killer or something.
:evil:
As I've said elsewhere...The "real" X-Men will always get the spotlight (Wolverine, Cyclops, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, etc...) over newbie X-Members, unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flightpath07
Dana
I've been finding the writing in X-Men decent actually. Good structure, nice story telling; not too much dwelling on the battle. That's what kills the series for me, I think, when I don't read it. I want to read about people who happen to save the world a lot, not a bunch of battles.
It's Fraction's handling of AF characters that makes me want to <oh look, a distraction> until his eyes are <hey, shiny!> and they need a doctor to get it out!
- Le Messor
Xander: For what its worth--
Principal Snyder: It's worth nothing, Harris. Whatever comes out of your mouth is a meaningless waste of breath. An airborne toxic event.
Xander: Well, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to be so honest with me. And I can only hope that one day I'm in a position to be that honest with you.
Northstar's quick cameo appearance in issue #510 is being reprinted, along with a reprint for #511, and he appears on the cover (missing that red X insignia on his chest, whatever):
2nd Printing issue #510
2nd Printing issue #511
Love,
rplass