From: Dwayne MacKinnon <[910252 m] at [dragon.acadiau.ca]>
Subject: DMK's Guide to Alpha Flight (Part 1 of 3)
To: [n s pace] at [sd.cts.com]
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995 00:32:26 -0400 (AST)
Mime-Version: 1.0


ALPHA FLIGHT
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120
Creator: John Byrne (Credit for the team name goes to Chris Claremont)

The roster (as of X-Factor #116), includes:
Aurora, Box IV, Diamond Lil, Guardian II, Northstar, Puck, Sasquatch, Shaman,
Vindicator, Windshear. <See individual entries>

Past members: Box I, Marrina, Snowbird, Wild Child. <See individual entries>

Associates: Nemesis, Wyre <See individual entries>

Note: The Beta Flight member known as Talisman was originally a member of 
Alpha. She was relegated to Beta while recouperating from certain injuries.
<See TALISMAN>

Alpha Flight began as the dream of one man: James MacDonald Hudson. <See
VINDICATOR> In conjunction with the Canadian Federal Government, he created
Department H <See DEPARTMENT H>, a top-secret branch of the Department of
National Defense (DND). Working with the government, Hudson recruited a
team of superhumanly capable operatives to defend Canada.
     Alpha's relationship with the government has never been particulary
smooth. At the current time, the team is under suspension, and super-human
protection duties are being carried out by Department K, a branch of the
Canadian Military. <See DEPARTMENT K, WEAPON P.R.I.M.E>



ALPHA PRIME
First Appearance: Alpha Flight Annual #2
Creator: Bill Mantlo

Alpha Prime was a team of Savage Land mutates formed by Vindicator II while
mostly amnesiac. <See GUARDIAN II> The team consisted of Crag, a rock-like
being of incredible strength; Avian, a woman posessing wings like those
of a pterodactyl and the ability to fly and Primate, an ape-like man with
considerable strength and agility. The team has never appeared again.






AURIC
Real Name: Zhao Tang
Group Affiliation: Gamma Flight
First Appearance: The Agent GN
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #121
Creator: Unknown

Zhao Tang and his sister Jhimon were [I believe, I'm working from memory, bear
with me -C] originally from Hong Kong. They were presumably living in Canada
due to the imminent reposession of that area by the Chinese. Apparently they
had some involvement in an earlier Marvel effort called The Agent GN, but
I have no knowledge of the contents of said book.
     It is also unknown how Jhimon and Zhao came to be inducted into Gamma
Flight. However, they served to the best of their ability [considering that
their commanders were being influenced by an ancient source of great evil]
until Gamma Flight was disbanded by the federal government.
     Shortly thereafter the two were kidnapped by the enigmatic being known
as the Sphinx. Zhao died while being experimented on by the Sphinx' scientists.
     However, Zhao's consciousness now inhabits a composite being made up of
himself, his sister and a scientist that was investigating the site of the
Sphinx' base. (The base was destroyed by Spider-Man along with the New 
Warriors.)
     Zhao Tang posessed the ability to fly along with the ability to shoot
beams of intense heat from his eyes. The source of his abilities is unknown,
so [knowing Marvel] he was probably a mutant.

 




AURORA
Real Name: Aurora 
Legal Identity: Jeanne-Marie Beaubier
Group Affiliation: Alpha Flight
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120
Origin: Alpha Flight #9
Creator: John Byrne

Aurora is a split personality of Jeanne-Marie Beaubier. <See JEANNE-MARIE> 
Beaubier's split-personalities came about as a result of harsh physical and
mental abuse at a Catholic boarding school. Although the Aurora personality
has undergone several changes over the years, as a rule it is much more
uninhibited than the Jeanne-Marie personality. For years the Aurora person-
ality acted as a member of Alpha Flight while the Jeanne-Marie personality
had nothing to do with the team; this has changed in the recent past.
     Aurora posesses numerous super-human abilities. For a full description,
please see the Jeanne-Marie entry. 

     


BEDLAM, THE BRAIN-BLAST
Real Name: Unknown
Group Affiliation: The Derangers
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #52
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #53
Origin: Alpha Flight #52
Creator: Bill Mantlo

Bedlam was a convicted murderer sitting in a Nova Scotia prison when he
was found by James MacDonald Hudson using a device that located people 
with latent mutant powers. As Hudson was at the time being pressured for
results with his "super-powers" program, Hudson had the prisoner released
and worked on causing the prisoner's powers to manifest themselves. Needless
to say though, a psychotic with super-powers is still a psychotic... the man
attacked and was barely defeated by Hudson. <See VINDICATOR>
     Years later Bedlam was released from captivity by Cary Cody, Alpha's
liason with the federal government. Cody's reward was to be rendered brain
dead by Bedlam's telepathic powers. Bedlam then proceeded to gather the
super-humans known as the Derangers, create a base of operations in the
Canadian artic and kidnap Alpha Flight. <See DERANGERS>
     Bedlam instigated a fight between Alpha and the Derangers. During the
battle he was defeated and killed by Heather Hudson. <See GUARDIAN II>
     [Compiler's notes: Bedlam was part of Bill Mantlo's campaign to make
James Hudson into an EXTREMELY flawed human being. Let's look at it this
way: I find it hard to believe that James Hudson as written by John Byrne
would EVER have anything to do with a murderer like Bedlam. (Alpha #52
makes it PERFECTLY clear that Bedlam was EXTRAORDINARILY nasty.) True,
Byrne gave Puck a rather checkered past, but not anything like this. Mantlo
even tried to set Hudson up as being the party responsible for Wolverine's
adamantium skeleton. He also tried to make it look like Hudson planned his
honeymoon so that he and Heather would find Wolverine and Heather could be
used to calm the beast-man down. Nice, eh? (Note: It was established in
Alpha #53, by Bedlam, that Jimmy Hudson had absolutely nothing to do with
Wolverine's skeleton. I think Claremont might've stepped on Mantlo's neck
about it, but that's just an opinion I can't verify.)
      Like quite a bit of Mantlo's continuity, I prefer to ignore Bedlam.
However, since Laura Dean and Goblyn are still part of Alpha Flight
Bedlam can't be completely cast aside.]




BETA FLIGHT: 
First Appearance: (Mention): Alpha Flight #1
First Appearance: (Current Incarnation): Alpha Flight #112
Creator: John Byrne (original concept) Simon Furman (current incarnation)

Beta Flight began as a training division in the original Department H. 
<See DEPARTMENT H> It was revived along with H when H was refunded by 
the Canadian government. Recently however, Beta Flight has become
an associate team of adventurers to Alpha, although Alpha remains the
"first tier" team. Alpha Flight member Windshear acts as a "mentor" to the
team.

Roster (As of Alpha Flight #130): Goblyn, Manikin, Pathway, Persuasion,
Talisman, Windshear (mentor), Witchfire. 

Member in Training: Feedback

Past Members: Box I, Flashback, Marrina, Puck. 

<See individual entries for all of the above.>




BOX I
Real Name: Roger Bochs
Other Aliases: Omega
Group Affiliation: Former member of Alpha Flight and Beta Flight
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #11
Final Appearance: Alpha Flight #49
Creator: John Byrne

Roger Bochs was a paraplegic who lost both of his legs just above the knee.
 Bochs, however, was a genius inventor who created an extremely powerful 
robot he called Box (a pun on his last name.) Box was created with the help 
of James MacDonald Hudson; it is unknown how Bochs came to Hudson's attention 
or when Bochs began his involvement with Hudson's Department H. 
<See VINDICATOR, DEPARTMENT H> 
     Like most of Beta  & Gamma Flights, Bochs was approached by Delphine
Courtney, a robotic representative of Jerome "Jerry" Jaxon. Jaxon was
forming a group of super-human operatives with one objective: the death of
James MacDonald Hudson. Jaxon called this group Omega Flight. <See OMEGA
FLIGHT> Bochs agreed, but intended to infiltrate the group and betray it.
     Jaxon realized this and seized control of the psychometric
helmet that Bochs used to operate his creation. Using the helmet Jaxon
battled Hudson as Box, and seemingly brought about Hudson's death. Jaxon
himself was killed by feedback from the helmet when Hudson destroyed the
original Box robot. <See BOX II>
     Some months later Bochs was still upset at the fact that Jaxon and
his robot Courtney had seemingly gotten away in the confusion. (Bochs was
unaware of Jaxon's death.) He was determined to take revenge for the death
of a man he considered a friend. To this end he contacted the mutant member
of Gamma Flight named Madison Jeffries. <See BOX IV> Together Jeffries
and Bochs recreated the Box robot, stronger and better than before. They
also designed it so that only Roger Bochs would be able to control it, by
"phasing in" and becoming part of the robot.
     Bochs eventually hooked up with Alpha Flight when Talisman gave a mystic
call to her father from the site known as the Eye of the World; Talisman
only meant to call her father, Shaman, but ended up summoning everyone in
Canada with a positive connection to the team. <See SHAMAN, TALISMAN> Bochs
ended up giving up posession of the Box robot to allow it to hold the soul
of Walter Langkowski, whose Sasquatch form had recently been killed to 
prevent one of the Great Beasts from roaming the Earth. <See SASQUATCH,
GREAT BEASTS>
     Bochs reclaimed his robot after Langkowski sent his soul into the
void known as the Crossroads of Reality. He then went on to serve in Alpha
with distinction. However, as time went by he developed mental problems and
eventually cracked completely after new legs given him by the being known
as Scramble rotted away. <See SCRAMBLE, THE MIXED-UP MAN> Bochs and Scramble
merged into the composite being known as Omega. After Bochs partially came
to his senses Scramble lobotomized him; both Bochs and Scramble were killed
by Madison Jeffries when Jeffries decided he couldn't risk them escaping
from imprisonment.
     The Box robot was made of a "living" metal whose composition is now
known only to Madison Jeffries (or perhaps possibly James MacDonald Hudson 
as well.) The metal is capable of housing a human life-force indefinitely.
It is presumably this capability of the metal that made "phasing in" to the
robot possible. The robot posessed great super-human strength, had flight 
capability and was outfitted with a wide array of sensors.




BOX II
Real Name: Jerome "Jerry" Jaxon
Group Affiliation: Omega Flight
First Apearance: Alpha Flight #2
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #12
Creator: John Byrne

Jerome "Jerry" Jaxon was James Hudson's superior in the AmCan Petroleum
Corp. where Hudson worked. <See VINDICATOR> Jaxon also had a personal
secretary named Heather McNeil. <See GUARDIAN II> It was Jaxon who arranged
the sale of Hudson's exploratory super-suit to the American military, and
it was Jaxon on whom the brunt of executive displeasure fell when Hudson
stole the helmet that made operation of the suit possible.
    After the theft Jaxon's life fell apart. First he lost his job. Then his 
wife left him, taking their child with her. Blackilisted by Am-Can, Jaxon
was unable to find work, and he quickly slipped into poverty. In despair he 
attempted to end his life. He could not succeed even in that much, however:
discovered by a rent-seeking landlady he was rescued. There were lasting
effects though: he lost the use of his legs.
     Jaxon continued to live his life in despair until the first public
appearance of the hero known originally as Vindicator. Jaxon quickly
realized that Vindicator's abilities matched those created by Hudson's suit.
On impulse he contacted the headquarters of the Department of National
Defence in Ottawa and asked to speak to Hudson. His suspicions were 
confirmed when Hudson eventually picked up the line.
     Now obsessed with revenge, Jaxon used his contacts in the petroleum
industry to arrange a meeting with executives of Roxxon Oil, an American
firm with a rather dubious reputation. Jaxon convinced the firm that 
posession of Hudson's armor would be of benefit to them, and in return
Roxxon gave Jaxon the resources to gain his revenge. 
     Using a robot known as Delphine Courtney as his "legs" Jaxon recruited
the team of operatives that became known as Omega Flight. It is still unknown
as to how Jaxon discovered his operatives' identities. Jaxon himself fought
alongside Omega in their first confrontation with Alpha Flight using the
Box robot created by Roger Bochs. Jerry Jaxon was killed by feedback from the
robot's control helmet when the robot was destroyed by Hudson.
<See OMEGA FLIGHT>



BOX III
<See SASQUATCH>


BOX IV
Real Name: Madison Jeffries
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #16
Group Affiliation: Alpha Flight, former member of Gamma Flight
Creator: John Byrne

It is unknown when Madison Jeffries became involved with James Hudson's
Department H, or how Jeffries came to Hudson's attention. What is known is
that Jeffries was a member of the second tier training team known as Gamma
Flight when Department H was originally disbanded by the Canadian gov't.
It is also known that Jeffries was romantically involved with fellow Gamma
member Lillian Crawly, a.k.a. Diamond Lil.
<See VINDICATOR, DEPARTMENT H, GAMMA FLIGHT, DIAMOND LIL>
     Jeffries was contacted by former Beta Flight member Roger Bochs when
Bochs was in the process of redesigning his Box robot. <See BOX I> Jeffries
was responsible for the actual building of the new robot and he tagged along
with Bochs when Bochs eventually hooked up with Alpha Flight. Jeffries was
present in the parking lot of the West Edmonton Mall after Alpha's second
encounter with Omega Flight. Using his powers Jeffries was able to single-
handedly defeat the retreating Omegans. <See OMEGA FLIGHT>
     Jeffries remained with Alpha as a resident machinesmith and mechanic
until Roger Bochs succumbed to his growing mental problems. When Bochs
finally snapped it was Jeffries who defeated him by using his powers to 
kick Bochs out of the Box robot. Jeffries then took possession of the robot
for himself.
     During battle with the composite creature known as Omega, Jeffries
discovered that he could use his abilities to reshape the Box robot into
any form he desired. After the battle ended he decided to kill the insane
creature rather than risk it escaping activity. <See SCRAMBLE, THE MIXED-UP
MAN>
     Jeffries has served Alpha capably ever since. Although he was romanti-
cally linked with Heather Hudson for a time, he eventually revived his
romance with Lil Crawly and the two are now married. <See GUARDIAN II> 
Jeffries and his wife are currently reserve members of Alpha.
     Madison Jeffries is a mutant with the ability to manipulate metal,
glass and plastic. He is able to manipulate these substances down to the
atomic level. He principally uses his abilities to alter the form and 
capabilities of the Box robot. While his brother was alive, Madison was
able to psychically sense the presence of Lionel Jeffries within an
undetermined radius.



CHINA FORCE
First Appearance (in the Shadows): Alpha Flight #64
First full Appearance (Named): Alpha Flight #69
Creator: Unknown. Their cameo appearances were written by Mantlo, and their
         full appearance by James D. Hudnall.

Roster (as of Alpha Flight #69): Ox, Rabbit, Rat, Snake
Former members (as of 1994 X-Force annual): Dog, Horse, Jade Dragon, Monkey
<See JADE DRAGON>

China Force first appeared doing an Alpha Flight circa X-Men #120 imitation.
That is, they were  in Canada looking to reclaim a wayward team-mate, the
Jade Dragon.
    While in Canada, the team was tricked into fighting Alpha Flight by the
mind-manipulating powers of the Dreaqueen. <See DREAMQUEEN> Alpha defeated
the team and Flight member Laura Dean <See PATHWAY> opened a teleportational
gateway that returned China Force home.
     Recently the team popped up again in a story in the 1994 X-Force annual.
By that time Jade Dragon had left the team, and there were other roster 
changes as well. [However, I neglected to review the X-Force annual when 
creating this entry. Sorry. :) - C.]



DEADLY ERNEST
Real Name: Ernest St. Ives
Group Affiliation: None
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #7 
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #31
Creator: John Byrne

Ernest St. Ives was a soldier in France during World War I when mustard gas
filled the trench he was in. However, St. Ives had an unusally strong
power of will and ended up successfully rejecting death. He soon discovered
however that his victory had come at a price: the touch of his bare hands 
had become as deadly as death's own touch. Two of the earliest victims of
this weird ability were a soldier who helped him out of the trench and
his own wife.
     St. Ives eventually came to terms with his ability, and even began to
enjoy it. Effectively immortal, he lived for decades and accumulated great
power. However he found himself in conflict with the Alpha Flight members
Northstar and Aurora when he attempted to cheat Northstar's old friend
Raymonde Belmonde out of his cafe. St. Ives ended up killing Belmonde
with his "death touch," and took Aurora captive. <See AURORA, NORTHSTAR>
     St. Ives had mistaken Aurora for Belmonde's daughter, Danielle, who
was a partner in the scheme to take over the cafe. He treated her with
all due respect. In the meantime Northstar had tracked down St. Ives to
his home and there encountered the mysterious woman known only as Nemesis.
<See NEMESIS I> In the ensuing altercation Nemesis hacked St. Ives to pieces.
     Strangely enough, St. Ives apparently did not die from that encounter,
although Nemesis had claimed her sword was capable of killing him. The 
pieces of St. Ives' "corpse" were transferred to a Montreal hospital for
examination. This hospital also housed the man known as Scramble, and
during an escape attempt Scramble reassembled St. Ives' corpse. St. Ives
then proceeded to walk away. <See SCRAMBLE, THE MIXED-UP MAN>
     This led to a second confrontation with Alpha Flight, in which St. Ives
succeeded in killing most of the Flight and taking Heather Hudson hostage.
<See GUARDIAN II> Nemesis succeeded in keeping the Flight alive using life
force from St. Ives' previous victims. She apparently picked up this life 
force in her last encounter with St. Ives. The sword itself she gave to Puck, 
who used it to successfully kill St. Ives this time around. <See PUCK>
      Ernest St. Ives was virtually immortal [I say virtually because he
was able to be killed... :) -C] and posessed the ability to "turn people
off like a light switch" with a touch of one of his bare hands.
      [Compiler's notes: Mantlo's bringing St. Ives back made NO sense.
Why should Nemesis' sword kill him the second time and not the first?
Sheesh...]
 
     
     




DEPARTMENT H
     Department H was originally a top secret branch of the Department of
National Defence named after its top employee: James MacDonald Hudson. <See
VINDICATOR> Using H's resources James Hudson refined the set of armor that
he eventually came to wear, and also recruited the other super-human beings
that came to form Alpha Flight.
     H was disbanded by the Federal gov't for financial reasons. [An eminently
Canadian thing to do. Trust me. :) - Compiler] However in recent years H was
refunded when Alpha Flight once again accepted government sponsorship. Its
current purpose is to provide support and logistics for Alpha Flight, and
this is typified by the new Gamma Flight, which is H's research, design and
support staff.


DEPARTMENT K
     Department K is a secret branch of the Canadian military operating out
of Newfoundland. It's primary purpose is as a base of operations for the
military super-team know as Weapon: P.R.I.M.E. It is rumoured that K has
secret links to the American C.I.A. Current commander of Department K is
one General Jeremy C. Clarke. <See WEAPON: P.R.I.M.E>
     [Compiler's notes: K sprung out of what I consider to be Rob Liefeld's
extreme lack of creativity. K stands for Kane, the latest "Weapon X". I
understand that past issues of Wolverine have cemented K's relationship with
the Weapon X program, but I dropped Wolverine a long time ago. If anyone
wants to forward me the details, I *MIGHT* incorporate them.
       It should be noted that Fabian Nicieza made K a bit more interesting
by making General Clarke an old nemesis of Jimmy Hudson with a friendship
to one Major Chasen. (He who first appeared with Wolverine chopping off his
tie in Giant-Size X-Men #1)]
       As a closing note: Alpha Flight had their first experience with
Department K in Alpha #117, when they encountered the latest Weapon X.
Alpha did not officially become aware of K's existence until the Northstar
Limited Series.



DERANGERS
First Appearance (Cameos): Alpha Flight #48
                 (As a team): Alpha Flight #53
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #53
Creator: Bill Mantlo

Roster:  Breakdown, Freakout, Janus,  Laura Dean/Goblyn*

(* At the time, Dean only used her superhuman powers to switch places with
her animalistic sister. <See GOBLYN, PATHWAY>)

The Derangers were a group of super-human patients/prisoners of Lionel
Jeffries at his New Life Clinic. <See SCRAMBLE, THE MIXED-UP MAN> During
Alpha Flight's last encounter with Scramble these beings escaped. Later
they were somehow captured and placed under mental control by the being
known as Bedlam. <See BEDLAM, THE BRAIN-BLAST> Under Bedlam's mental
control they fought Alpha Flight, and all except Dean and Goblyn were 
killed.
     The Derangers included Breakdown, a housewife suffering from a mental
breakdown who gained the ability to explode her body and reform it; Freakout,
a former heavy metal rock musician who ended up burning out the pain
centers of his brain with drug abuse and was a berserker; and Janus, an
artist who gained the ability to split himself into two duplicates of
himself.




DIAMOND LIL
Real Name: Lillian Crawly
Other Aliases: "Creepy" Crawly
Group Affiliation: Alpha Flight, former member of Gamma and Omega Flights
Legal Status: Citizen of Canada with a criminal record; pardoned by
              the Canadian Federal Government
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #11
Creator: John Byrne

Absolutely nothing is known of Lillian Crawly's past before she became 
involved with Department H. <See DEPARTMENT H> The only thing known about
her time with H before its original shutdown is that she was a member of
the second tier training team called Gamma Flight and that she was 
romantically involved for a time with fellow member Madison Jeffries.
<See BOX IV>
     Crawly, like most members of Beta and Gamma Flights was recruited by
Jerry Jaxon into the criminal organization Omega Flight. <See BOX II, OMEGA
FLIGHT> Crawly was present for both of the original Omega's confrontations
with Alpha. 
     During a period of time when Alpha was operating under the auspices of
the municipal government in Edmonton, Alberta, the Federal government
decided to create another super-team to take their place, this one much
more under government control. To form this team, which was to be a new
Gamma Flight, the government released Crawly and her fellow Omegan known
as Wild Child and pardoned them both. <See GAMMA FLIGHT, WILD CHILD>
     However, after her release Crawly decided to look up her old flame
Jeffries, and ended up accompanying Alpha Flight on their journey through
a variety of mystical dimensions at the hands of the Sorcerer. <See LLAN
THE SORCERER>
     After their return to Earth Crawly stayed with Alpha rather than
joining Gamma. Eventually she and Madison Jeffries rekindled their romance,
and the two are now married. [Compiler's note: It is unknown whether or not
Crawly took Jeffries' name after the ceremony; hence her name is listed as
above.] Crawly and her husband are currently reserve members of Alpha.
     [Compiler's Note: Judging from information gathered from the Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition, Diamond Lil served as the
basis for the Next Men character eventually given the code name White
Diamond.]
     Diamond Lil posesses superhuman strength and an extreme degree of
resistence to injury. Her skin has been characterized as being "diamond
hard"; indeed at one time extreme measures were necessary to do a biopsy
of a possible cancer tumor. Even Lil's hair shares this resistance to
damage; she has in at least one encounter employed one of her hairs as a
garrotte.  The source of Lil's abilities is unknown; she is presumably a 
mutant.



DREAMQUEEN
Real Name: Inapplicable
Group Affiliation: None
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #56
Creator: Bill Mantlo

The creature known only as the Dreamqueen is the daughter of the cosmic
being known as Nightmare, and an unnamed Succubus. Like all her kind, the
child was born by taking over the body of the mother, effectively killing
her.
     The Dreamqueen was born in a dimensional backwater where she was capable
of influencing the surroundings by sheer force of will. This amused her for
a few centuries until she grew bored. It was then that a Native American
[Canadian :) - C] shaman stumbled upon her realm while on a astral quest
for his "sky gods." The shaman was seeking help to end a drought. The 
Dreamqueen, excited at the thought of getting out of her dimensional prison,
gave the shaman directions on how to create a relic she said would help
him. In reality the device would enable the Dreamqueen to influence the
shaman's people and eventually form a gate to Earth. The plan was thwarted
by Nightmare, who informed a brave as to what needed to be done.
      In recent years the Dreamqueen's solitude was interrupted by the
creature known only as Goblyn. <See GOBLYN> Curious about this creature
that she had not created, the 'queen enabled it to survive. Eventually
she caused Goblyn to drag Alpha Flight accross the dimensions to her realm.
There a massive fight ensued, as the 'queen sought to force Alpha to 
bring her back to Earth.
      At the time the former Alphan known as Puck was in Tibet, looking to
find a way to other dimensions in search of adventure. <See PUCK> The High
Lama that he sought out offered him a choice to travel to the dimension that
currently housed his former friends. Out of a sense of duty Puck agreed.
The opening of the dimensional portal returned Alpha to Earth, along with
the Dreamqueen. 
     On Earth the 'queen could only rearrange people's perceptions of
reality, not the reality itself. Puck realized this, and was able to
use mental discipline to walk right through the 'queen's Dream Demons
and battle the 'queen herself. Alpha then succeeded in pushing the 'queen
through the portal and back to her realm. Puck was forced through as well.
     Before she left, however, the 'queen "seeded" Alpha Flight with mystic
energy that allowed her to strongly influence them. In time, this energy
also allowed the 'queen to create another gate to Earth. She left Puck
behind in her realm. The 'queen proceeded to Edmonton, Alberta and from 
there she started spreading her influence accross the world.
    The Dreamqueen was finally defeated by Alpha Flight and Laura Dean
opened a portal that sent the 'queen to ANOTHER dimensional backwater; this
one was even further from Earth. <See PATHWAY>
     The Dreamqueen has appeared twice since. First when Laura Dean 
accidentally used her powers to transport most of Beta Flight to the dimension
she sent the 'queen. This occured as Dean was awaking from a coma. <See BETA
FLIGHT>
     On the second occasion it became apparent that the 'queen has learned
to, like her father, touch the sleep of mortal men. She has done so on two
occasions.
     The Dreamqueen is capable of rearranging the submatter that makes up
her current dimension of residence. She is unable to do this on Earth,
however. She is also capable of creating illusions so realistic that people
believe them to be reality. Finally, the Dreamqueen has recently developed the
ability to touch the dreams of Earth people from her current dimension.
At the time she first demonstrated this ability she also demonstrated an
ability for prophecy.


FIRST FLIGHT
     In recent years Scott Lobdell released an Alpha Flight special that
talked about their first mission, back before the team even had a name.
This mission was led [Of course - Compiler] by Wolverine. It introed
a couple of members that have too little known about them for individual
entries, but I'm trying to be complete with this little [Hah] project.

Members with Individual entries: Snowbird, Smart Alec

Members Without: Stitch, a small scale telekinetic with mental problems
(a form of autism.) 
                 St. Elmo, a man who claimed to be the personification
of the Northern Lights. 
                 Sean Bernard, a detective framed for murder who
was drafted to wear an early version of James Hudson's exploratory armor:
codenamed Groundhog.

     St. Elmo died absorbing the force of a nuclear explosion during that
mission. Bernard quit. However, it has yet to be revealed whatever became
of Stitch.
     Where First Flight has impacted on the history of more established
characters it is noted in their individual histories.



FEEDBACK
Real Name: Albert Louis
Group Affiliation: Probationary member of Beta Flight (still in training)
First Appearance: Alpha Flight # 118
Creator: Simon Furman

Albert Louis was living a fairly ordinary life in Halifax, Nova Scotia when
he became a target for a group of "super-human hunters" known as the
Hardliners. Louis managed to use his powers to escape from them during
their first encounter; subsequently he went on the run. Eventually he ended
up in Toronto, Ontario and sought the protection of Alpha Flight. As of Alpha
Flight #130 Louis was undergoing training in the use of his super-human
abilities as a member of Beta Flight. <See BETA FLIGHT>
     Feedback is capable of generating man-shaped fields of intense electricty.
He sometimes extends the "arm" of these fields for an electrical "punch" or
will release the entire field at once which then walks around at his mental
direction. Guardian [in one of Furman's worst moments, IMHO - C] termed these
fields his "shock troopers." The maximum number of fields he is able to
create at once is unknown; he has been shown producing four at one time 
however. How long it takes him to recharge after his energy store is depleted 
is also currently unknown. In the "dream" story in Alpha Flight #128 Feedback 
was shown as being capable of absorbing lightning generated by his teammate 
Talisman to create his shock troopers. The source of Feedback's abilities is 
unknown, so he's presumably a mutant. [This is Marvel, after all - C]




FLASHBACK
Real Name: Unknown [I checked. Like Wild Child's, Byrne never mentioned it.]
Group Affiliation: Former member of Beta and Omega Flights
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #11
Last Appearance: Alpha Flight #28
Creator: John Byrne

Absolutely nothing is known of the history of the man called Flashback
before he became involved with Department H. <See DEPARTMENT H> However
he was a member of the first-tier training tean called Beta Flight when
H went under for the first time.
     Flashback was recruited, like most other members of Beta and Gamma,
by the robot named Delphine Courtney for Jerry Jaxon's Omega Flight. <See
BOX II, OMEGA FLIGHT> Flashback was present for both of the original Omega's
encounters with Alpha Flight, and during the second one tragedy struck.
     As Omega was retreating from the West Edmonton Mall they were confronted
by Madison Jeffries. <See BOX IV> Jeffries created a robot out of a car to
battle Omega. As the robot was swinging a punch at "Courtney" who at the
time was disguised as the then-believed-dead Guardian, "Courtney" grabbed one
of Flashback's duplicates and shoved it in the way. The robot's metal fist
stabbed the duplicate in the chest, killing it. <See VINDICATOR>
     As Flashback's "duplicates" were all versions of himself pulled from
a future point of the timestream, the current Flashback quickly realized
that he was going to die at some point in the not-too distant future. He
went rather mad at that point.
     It was revealed by Diamond Lil shortly before Alpha's first encounter
with the new Gamma Flight that Flashback had disappeared from prison. It is
probably safe to assume [but hey, this is Marvel, so don't count on it] 
that he was pulled back in time to the encounter at the West Edmonton Mall
and killed there.
     Flashback was a mutant whose power was to create "temporal duplicates" of 
himself, by pulling back future versions of himself. Interestingly enough, the 
process changed the polarity of the colors on his costume. (White to black and 
black to white.) 
     [Compiler's Note: It is interesting to note that the man believed to be
Flashback who was shown briefly in Generation Next #1 looks absolutely
NOTHING like Byrne's version of Flashback in Civvies.]




GAMMA FLIGHT
First Appearance (Mention): Alpha Flight #1
                 (Last incarnation as a super-team): Alpha Flight #76
Last Appearance as a super-team: Alpha Flight #90
Creator (Original): John Byrne
        (Last version): James D. Hudnall

Gamma Flight started out as the second tier training team in James Hudson's
Department H. <See VINDICATOR, DEPARTMENT H> However it, like H, was disbanded
by the Canadian government.
     In recent times Alpha Flight operated temporarily as guests of the
municipal government in Edmonton, Alberta. During this time the Federal gov't
began creating a new super-team to take Alpha's place on the national stage;
a team quite firmly under government control. To this end it bestowed the
sword of the woman known only as Nemesis to a new operative and freed the
Omega Flight members named Wild Child and Diamond Lil. It completed the roster 
with Asian dissidents Jhimon and Zhao Tang and a previously unknown mystic
called Witchfire. However, Lil ended up joining Alpha Flight instead.
      Unknown to the government they were being influenced by the being known
as Llan the Sorcerer into forming this new team. <See LLAN THE SORCERER> Llan
desired conflit between super-humans in Canada to further his plans. After an
investigation into the "Sorcerer affair" Canada disbanded Gamma Flight. The
name is now used to collectively refer to the research, design and support
staff at the new Department H.

Roster (Original): Diamond Lil, Maddison Jeffries, Smart Alec, Wild Child
       (Last): Auric, Nemesis II, Silver, Wild Child, Witchfire 

<See individual entries. Look under BOX IV for Jeffries.> 


GILDED LILY
Real Name: Lillian von Loont
Group Affiliation: Onetime partner of Diablo
First Appearance: Alpha Flight #20
Final Appearance: Alpha Flight Annual #1
Creator: John Byrne

     The woman known as Gilded Lily was widowed in a carriage crash near
the castle of the alchemist Esteban Diablo. The alchemist's servants
nursed her back to health, and she and Diablo soon became lovers. The
alchemist also began teaching her the secrets of his lore.
     However, the local villagers rose in rebellion, and Diablo was sealed
in a well before he had taught her the secret of his immortality. Nonethe-
less, using her own experiments, she found a way to prolong her life. She
proceeded to gain revenge on the ringleaders of the plot to betray her
beloved, sealing each man in a casing of gold that made them immortal,
but prevented them from moving.
     In recent years, the Alphan known as Sasquatch came to inherit Lily's
home on Tamarind Island off British Columbia. <See SASQUATCH> Apparently
Langkowski was a descendant of a close relative of one of the men Lily
married and then trapped. Unknown to himself or the authorities, Lily
was still alive, and still living in the house. She captured Langkowski's
companion Aurora and told the girl her story. <See AURORA> She also trapped 
Langkowski in a golden sheath, which he escaped by transforming into his 
beastial alter-ego. 
     During the following fight, Sasquatch snatched away Lily's protective
face-mask, and Lily proceeded to crumble into dust. The house was also
destroyed. 
     However, due to the potions that she had doused herself with all her
life, Lily's spirit survived, and came to posess the new house that
the Canadian government built on the site to house Alpha Flight. Lily
then proceeded to free her one-time lover Diablo and attempted to take
Aurora's body as a new physical form. The attempt failed, and Lily's
spirit was at last destroyed.
     Gilded Lily was an alchemist second only to Diablo, her mentor.



GOBLYN
Group Affiliation: Beta Flight, former member of the Derangers
First Appearance (appeared): Alpha Flight #48 (named): Alpha Flight #53
Creator: Bill Mantlo

Goblyn [Who has no real name... according to legal records she was never
born - C] had the extreme misfortune of developing obvious mutations while
still in utero. The reason this was unfortunate was because her parents
were mutant hating bigots. The parents decided to attempt to use radiation
to kill the mutated child, while saving her twin sister, who was apparently
not a mutant. 
     During the procedure the apparently normal child of the two seemingly
moved to protect her twin and then the mutated twin vanished. The parents
happily concluded that the radiation had vaporized the "monster,"  and later
they gave birth to a "normal" baby girl, named Laura. Neither belief was
true.
     Instead, the truth was that the "normal" girl, Laura had somehow
instinctively activated her OWN mutant power while in the womb and
created an interdimensional portal. <See PATHWAY> This portal sent Goblyn
to the inerdimensional realm of the being called the Dreamqueen. <See
DREAMQUEEN> There, she somehow survived.
     Laura first appeared at the New Life Clinic, the base of Lionel
Jeffries, aka Scramble, the Mixed-Up Man. <See SCRAMBLE, THE MIXED-UP
MAN> It is unknown what she was doing there. However, she was apparently
a captive. She and three fellow prisoners escaped while Alpha Flight was
confronting the now obviously insane Jeffries.
     Laura then appeared as part of the Derangers, made up of herself
and Scramble's other prisoners. <See DERANGERS> This "team" was put
together by Bedlam, an insane creature with mental powers. <See BEDLAM,
The BRAIN-BLAST> [Compilers Note: It should be obvious by now that Mantlo
was fond of melodramatic names. I mean, look at Scramble and Bedlam, will
ya?] Bedlam forced these creatures and Alpha Flight to fight each other.
Laura used her powers to switch places with Goblyn, seemingly transforming
herself. 
      After the fight, Goblyn was "adopted" by Alpha Flight, despite
misgivings. She has since made great progress in "civilizing" herself;
it is obvious that her nature is actually quite gentle and that any
ferociousness resulted from her lack of upbringing. For a time Goblyn
and Laura left the team and lived with Kara Kilgrave and her mother.
<See PERSUASION>
       Just what super-human capabilities Goblyn posesses has never been
stated outright. She appears to be swifter than normal, and posesses
extremely sharp claws. She is also quite agile. It is worthwhile to note
that whenever Kara Kilgrave has attempted to use her mind-controlling
powers on Goblyn, a mind-link has been formed instead. 




GREAT BEASTS
First Mention: Alpha Flight #1
First Appearance as a group: Alpha Flight #24
Creator: John Byrne

The Great Beasts are ancient enemies of the Earth. Millenia ago they 
battled the gods of the Artic, and the gods succeeded in forcing the
beasts behind a mystic barrier. However, the beast called Tundra was able
to shift events so that the gods were trapped as well, in their own realm.
    In recent years the Beasts began to break free of their imprisonment.
Their chief foe upon the Earth was Narya, daughter of Nelvanna of the
Northern Lights. <See SNOWBIRD> The first to appear was the beast Tundra.
Then came the one known as Kolomaq, associated with the winter snows.
After that came Ranaq the Devourer. All of these Snowbird fought. But for
the last... Tanaraq. This was because Snowbird had not realized that her
friend and team-mate Sasquatch actually had the form of a Great Beast...
<See SASQUATCH>
    After defeating Tanaraq (and in the process slaying Langkowski's
physical form) Snowbird and her team-mates in Alpha Flight entered the
other-dimensional home of the Beasts and defeated them. [Hey, you want more
details? Pick up Alpha Flight #24 :) - C]
    The Beasts have appeared twice since then: In the Artic and at a court
hearing into Sasquatch's money. The second appearance was an illusion
caused by the Dreamqueen, however.
     [Once again, Mantlo didn't let a measly thing like Death get in the
way of a good story. <SARCASM OFF> His resurrection of Somon in Alpha Flight
#55 made no sense whatsoever except as "I need a villain for this one."
For another example, see DEADLY ERNEST. - C]
     The Beasts had widespread powers. I'll list each one and their 
specialties...

Kariooq: The Corruptor. Specialized in decay. Hated ice.
Kolomaq: Associated with winter storms.
Ranaq: The Devourer. Weakest of the Beasts, he required a host body.
Somon: The Artificer. The head honcho, he controlled the others.
Tanaraq: Big, strong, orange furry guy. Looked kinda familiar. :)
Tolomaq: The Fire Beast. 'Nuff said. 
Tundra: *HUGE* and controlled the local landscape.