Alpha Flight (1st series) # 1 Issue Date: August 1983 Story Title: Tundra !

Staff: John Byrne (writer, artist), Andy Yanchus (colors), Joe Rosen (letters), Denny O'Neil (editor), Jim Shooter (editor in chief) Brief Description: James MacDonald Hudson, a.k.a. Vindicator, contemplates the Canadian governments recent letting go of Alpha Flight. Governmental liaison Gary Cody interrupts, an d offers any support that he can give, as Vindicator decides that even without t he team he will continue to fight for Canada. In Quebec, Olympic skier, Jean-Pau l Beaubier arrives to visit his twin sister Jeanne-Marie at the school where she works and lives. After some small talk the two get into a heated argument about Jeanne-Marie s unwillingness at facing up to who she really is Aurora. Meanwhil e, an aging man, slightly deranged, carves a humanoid shape into the Northwest t undra, and begins an ancient spell. In his medical practice, Dr. Michael Twoyoun gmen picks up on the spell after being sent a mystic signal by his long-dead gra ndfather, likewise does Snowbird who is flying across the land. Vindicator arriv es at his flat where he lives with his wife, Heather McNeil Hudson. They are con tacted by Gary Cody, who advises them to turn on the television. The couple watc h strange happenings at Resolute Bay. Much to Heather s annoyance Vindicator fli es off to investigate, reminding her that there is no Alpha Flight any more. Hea ther, not content to let her husband go off alone, contacts other members of Alp ha Flight by sending out the signal. Puck and Marrina, members of Beta Flight wh o were about to be moved up to Alpha Flight receive the signal, just like Alpha Flight veterans Sasquatch, Aurora and Northstar. They all try to make their way to Resolute Bay as quickly as they can. Aurora and Northstar have no trouble fly ing, while Marrina easily can swim the distance. Sasquatch organizes himself an army helicopter, only Puck has problems getting a transportation, as he is not r ecognized as Alpha Flight member. Snowbird arrives first and seeing a huge figur e consisting of the land itself, she realizes that her opponent is Tundra, one o f the Great Beasts, her sworn enemies. She is joined by Vindicator and Shaman, b ut neither can really harm the Beast. When Sasquatch arrives, he can at least ha rm Tundra by ripping out some of its mass, but he is easily dealt with. Flying ar ound Tundra at superspeed, the mutant twins come up with a way to further harm t he Beast. Shaman explains that Tundra consists of the land and has to be defeate d by erosion, so he creates a rain storm, but there is not enough water in the a rea. This changes when Marrina arrives on a spout of water, which Shaman takes c ontrol of and unleashes on Tundra, thus washing him away. Back at the Hudson s h ome, Alpha Flight decide to remain together even without the funding or support of the government. Puck soon joins them and tells them not to change the name , as he always wanted to be part of Alpha Flight. The others agree and as Sasquatc h and Puck get into a little fight, Heather wonders if this is such a good idea. .. Full Synopsis: James MacDonald Hudson stands alone in the top secret complex beneath Parliament Hill, and ponders over the recent disbanding of Alpha Flight by the Canadian go vernment. He recalls their last battle with the Wendigo in which he, Snowbird an d Shaman teamed up with Wolverine and Nightcrawler of the X-Men. He wonders what will happen, not only to the members of Alpha Flight, but their training groups , Beta Flight and the raw recruits Gamma Flight. Gary Cody, Alpha Flights governm ental liaison, arrives and reminds Hudson that the power is being switched off s oon. However he also offers to keep in touch with Hudson, as an unofficial liais on. Vindicator reminds Cody that he will still be there to serve his country, af ter all he has nothing else to do, and departs, wondering if Captain America eve r had problems like this.

Two thousand miles Northwest. An elderly and seemingly mad man sits outside his tent. A small fire dwindling and belongings scattered around. The man is obsesse d with death and thinks to himself about those who have laughed at him. He arise s and begins to carve a shape into the snow - an enormous shape, one that resemb les a humanoid figure. With his task partly completed he returns to his camp and retrieves an ancient metal headband, places it upon his head, and it begins, as magic swirls in the air. The Sarcee Reserve, just outside of Calgary Alberta. In his office, Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen sits at his desk - but is suddenly startled by subtle mystic signal from his grandfather. Knowing some trouble stirs, as his grandfathers spirit on ly contacts him when modern science cannot be a match for the peril, Shaman open s a box, with his grandfathers skull inside it. He waits to be spoken to. LaValle, Quebec, more specifically, Madame Dupont s School for girls. Jeanne-Mar ie Beaubier walks through the quiet old school, when she is mobbed by schoolgirl s, asking if the rumors regarding her famous brother s visit were true. As if on cue, Jean-Paul Beaubier, famous Olympic skier, arrives in a sports car. It is h e who then becomes the center of attention as the schoolgirls bombard him with q uestions. Jean-Paul mentions to his sister the two s recent adventure in New Yor k with the Machine Man, but Jeanne-Marie quiets him and leads him away from the schoolgirls to her room. On the way they are stopped by Sister Anne, a nun who reminds Jeanne-Marie of th e rules regarding men in her quarters. Jeanne-Marie replies: This is not a man I mean of course he is a man, but he is also my brother. The nun apologizes and t he siblings enter Jeanne-Marie s room. Northstar asks Jeanne-Marie why in the tw o weeks since Alpha Flights disbanding she has not left the school to live with him. Jeanne-Marie replies by saying that she is home, with the nuns who raised h er. Jean-Paul tells her this is not a home, but a prison. Someone with such a fr ee spirit as her should not be caged, nor should she hide her mutant powers. Jea nne-Marie disagrees, should she use her powers as Northstar does, for personal g ain? Northstar angrily tells her that one should use any gifts they are given to their fullest. Jeanne-Marie tells him he is cheating, but Jean-Paul tells her i t is she who is cheating by hiding behind reading glasses she does not even need . Jean-Paul tells his sister that he has no love for James Hudson, other than the fact that it was he who reunited the twins and set Aurora free, and that she sho uldn t be denied. Jeanne-Marie angrily remarks: Deny her? I hate her ! She is a d evil, a foul imp who uses me. She is perverse ! Jean-Paul drags his sister in fro nt of a mirror and tells her that Aurora is her true face as Northstar is his. J eanne-Marie is no contest for Northstar, though she knows the words he speaks ar e true and that he is concerned for her. She passes out. Northstar contemplates: What could be greater harm, than which you do yourself ?. He curses Hudson for br inging them back together, when all they can do is fight, and he curses the gove rnment for closing down Department H, for while he hates Alpha Flight in general , he fears Aurora can have no life without it. 138 Laurier Drive, Ottawa, the flat of James and Heather Hudson. Heather waters her plants after neglecting them for some time, when Vindicator flies through an open window. They talk about Hudson s last day at Parliament Hill before cracki ng a joke about getting married. How about ten years ago next Thursday ? The phone rings and it is Gary Cody who suggests the Hudsons turn on the television. The scene they see is of Resolute Bay, where a brilliant light, which scientists hav e confirmed not to be a manifestation of the Northern Lights, is visible. The Hu dsons learn it started about forty minutes ago, though no one knows for sure wha t is happening. Vindicator tells Heather that he is going to investigate. Heathe r suggests he contact Snowbird or Shaman, as it is more their field of expertise

. She really thinks he should contact the rest of Alpha Flight. As he leaves the same way he came in, James tells his wife that there is no Alpha Flight. Not one to sit by idle, Heather pulls back a book from a bookcase, opening a sec ret room. Computer cards that hold the signal to contact the rest of Alpha Fligh t, as well as cards with Beta, Gamma and potential recruits lay scattered on the floor. Heather searches through for the gold-edged Alpha Flight cards in doing so discovers two whom she has never met, labeled Puck and Marrina. She realizes they must have been Beta Flight members who were ready to move up to Alpha Fligh t had they not been disbanded. She inserts the cards into the computer: So as of now you re all officially active ! Toronto, Corky s Tavern, in a run down part of town. Mary, the waitress, is bein g hassled by two drunks. The barman asks Eugene Milton Judd if he will do someth ing about it. The short man agrees to, and tells the revelers to lay off. The me n just laugh at him - until he easily knocks the two of them out. Suddenly a mic roscopic implant within his skull is activated - Puck has received the Alpha sig nal. Ecstatic he rushes out of the bar and cartwheels down the street. Newfoundland. A lone figure stands on the rough edge of the ocean staring out, u ntil someone shouting startles her. The strange yellow skinned woman turns aroun d and realizes it is Dan Smallwood. He rushes up to her bringing her a brooch, h e tells her he thinks there has been a signal. Marrina is puzzled as she thought Alpha Flight was no more, but agrees something must be amiss as the stone still pulses. She strips off her clothes revealing a green swimsuit of sorts undernea th, and dives into the rugged ocean. While Dan looks on, worried about what may happen to her, and what he would do if something did. The Great Forests of Northern British Columbia. Dr. Walter Langkowski enjoys a p astime hiking, when he receives the signal also. A former grid-iron star he acts instinctively charging forward, stripping his clothes as he goes, and begins th e transformation - from man into monster Sasquatch. The doctor also thinks to hi mself how painless this recent transformation was, that his body chemistry must finally be adapting. Resolute Bay. An Ookpik (arctic owl) flies through the sky, however, as the bird moves closer to the strange lights that swirl above the shape on the ground, it too changes shape, into that of a beautiful female humanoid shape, though not t he creatures true form. She is Snowbird, her metamorphic powers are but one of ma ny gifts the demi-goddess possesses. Snowbird invokes her mother, Nelvanna, to g ive her the strength she will need to battle here, as she senses the energies of her ancient enemy. Narya worries as she realizes the strange shape on the groun d will become Tundra, the Great Beast who imprisoned the Northern Gods beyond Ea rth s realm. If they could not stop Tundra, how could she? Snowbird observes the human agent, whose decayed form lays scarred into the landscape, and whose life -force has been consumed, igniting the spark that will give soul to the Beast. I t begins. The rough shape that was drawn into the land begins to rise, out of th e tundra that it is. It arises, enormous, and curses its ancient enemies. Meanwhile the captain of the Weather ship, Tango Delta Nine, discusses, with a c rewmate, a sudden anomaly that appeared on the radar - moving at eight hundred k nots. The captain is in disbelief - no ship could move that fast. His crewman re plies saying that it is not a ship, but organic...."It" is in fact Marrina. She moves through the ice cold depths with ease, and though her speed is extremely f ast, she turns up at a 90 degree angle and leaves the ocean - on a water spout, which towers above the Tango Delta Nine. Northstar and Aurora are flying en route to Resolute Bay. Aurora wants to play g ames with her brother and go faster, but Northstar tells her to conserve her str ength, as they do not know what lies ahead. Aurora tells her brother that he is

too cautious and that she must be allowed to fly and be free. Northstar calls he r Jeanne-Marie - and Aurora reminds him not to call her that - she is Aurora, no t Jeanne-Marie. Northstar tells her she is a puzzle within puzzles and she tells him that he is never content. Jean-Paul asks Aurora why must Aurora and JeanneMarie treat each other as strangers? Northstar and Jean-Paul are one and the sam e. She replies by telling him because it pleases us to do so before flying off and telling him to catch her if he can. Of course he could easily catch Aurora, for while she can fly longer, he can fly faster. Northstar contemplates, and fears that his sister might actually be mad. Mansfield Airbase, twenty miles west of Toronto. Puck approaches the guard, tell ing him he is with Alpha Flight and needs a plane as he is on a priority-1 call. The guard shrugs him off. He has seen pictures of Alpha Flight and Puck was nev er in any of them. Puck flips the guard over, telling him he is called Puck - an d the guard laughs - what kind of name is that? He continues that if Eugene Milt on Judd wants to get in, he needs written clearance. Though he could sneak into the airfield easily, Puck does not want to have to fight the whole base, and sto rms off angrily, still looking for a plane. Back at Resolute Bay, Snowbird reminds herself that she must stop the Beast with in twenty minutes, before its power is fully reawakened. In a language she has n ever spoken, though can speak more easily than English, Snowbird talks to Tundra . Tundra is about to brush Narya off when he recognizes her true stature - that of his sworn enemies. Using his control over creatures of the North he summons m osquitoes to surround Snowbird. Too afraid to use her transmorphic powers (shoul d Tundra wrestle control over her) Narya can only be consumed by the insects. At that time, Vindicator arrives, amazed at the giant Beast made from land. uickly recognizes Snowbird trapped in the black cloud of bugs, and uses his tromagnetic powers (derived from the super powered suit he wears) to create asma funnel, thus Snowbird can escape the mosquitoes. In turn, Tundra hurls s at Hudson, but he is protected by his electromagnetic forcefield. He q elec a pl rock

Shaman arrives, recognizing the Beast, and tries to reason with the mortal mind within - but Tundra is too powerful for him, and proceeds to step on him, intend ing to crush the Indian beneath tons of mass. Shaman barely escapes and understa nds that the mortal man whose spirit gave life to Tundra was weak, for Tundra to wrestle control so easily. Vindicator tries an electromagnetic blast on Tundra - science versus sorcery - a nd the Beast screams. The land echoes in agony, and for one hundred miles around , the land is ripped apart. Snowbird flies by and orders Mac to stop, as Tundra is one with the land, and by attacking it Vindicator may shatter all of Canada. Tundra concurs with the goddess, and to prove he is one with the land - he lumbe rs forward, the earth trembling in his wake, and quadruples in size. Just above Tundra, a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter drops off Sasquatch, who p lummets towards Tundra - something big enough for him to finally test his streng th on. Sasquatch lands on Tundra, who doesn t notice the one ton impact, until S asquatch rips chunks of land out of the Beasts body. Moving quickly, Tundra flic ks Sasquatch away - who is pushed past the mutant twins now arriving. While Auro ra expresses concern for her teammate, Northstar tells her to forget about him. It is now their turn to act, and they do. Flying at super speed around the Beast , landmass slowly starts to crumble away from it. Realizing how long it will take, Vindicator is about to suggest something else u ntil Shaman steps in and tells him that only the forces of natural erosion can s top Tundra. Snowbird warns Shaman to act fast before the Beast can protect itsel f. Summoning mystic forces, Shaman unleashes torrential rain on Tundra, which be gins to wash the giant away. While Vindicator thinks it is working, Shaman tells

him Tundra already replenishes itself, and that there is not enough water in th e air for a second rain. Snowbird sees what looks like a waterspout, but it cant be, as they are miles awa y from any open water. Vindicator notices it too, and also who is responsible fo r the spout. He wonders what Marrina is doing here. He tells Shaman that all the water he needs is there, and flies towards the waterspout. The twins realize th at a diversion is needed so that Tundra does not see it. They link hands, and th e most brilliant light floods the entire land. Hudson pulls Marrina from the spout and Shaman casts a spell again, "grabbing ho ld" of Marrina s waterspout, and floods Tundra with it...ending its control over the land, as it is dissolved. A small salty lake is formed where the Beast stood , and it slowly seeps into the ground. At the bottom of the new body of water, t he madman is sinking in the mud. (twelve hours later) 138A Laurier Drive. The Hudsons landlady, Francois complains to her husband Georg es about all the strange visitors the Hudsons are receiving. He shrugs her off, after all, they pay their rent on time. Upstairs, in the Hudsons flat, Heather t ells Mac that she isn t happy with Aurora being here, but she can stay as long a s she stops making goo-goo eyes at James. He replies by telling her to be patien t with Aurora, as she is...troubled. The join the others in the living room. Dr. Langkowski tells James that they have an announcement. As the heroes work we ll together, they have decided to stay together, even without the support of the government. Vindicator is very surprised, especially by Northstar, who will sta y, but mainly because Aurora is in the team. Snowbird tells Hudson that some ser ious organization is needed, and that they were lucky Marrina showed up. Marrina asks if there is a place for her on the team, and Hudson tells her she was read y, there will always be room. Heather suggests the team change its name, to assert its independence. Hudson ag rees, as with no more Beta or Gamma Flight s it makes no sense to call them selv es Alpha. However he thinks their American cousins have taken all the good names . Suddenly a knock on the door - it is Puck! Hudson asks if he got the call too? Puck replies he was ready, wasn t he? Hudson agrees, and tells him to come in a nd meet the others, that they were just trying to decide upon a new name - when Puck tells him he want to be in ALPHA FLIGHT. Walter picks up Puck by the neck a nd agrees that Alpha Flight is a fine name, and that the team could use a mascot ...Puck gets offended and begins a fight with Walter, while Heather thinks this is suddenly not such a good idea ... Characters: Aurora / Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, Marrina / Marrina Smallwood, Northstar / Jean-Pa ul Beaubier, Puck / Eugene Milton Judd, Sasquatch / Dr. Walter Langkowski, Shama n / Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen, Snowbird / Anne McKenzie, Vindicator / James Mac MacD onald Hudson (all Alpha Flight) Heather McNeil Hudson, Vindicators wife Gary Cody, Alpha Flights governmental liaison Dan Smallwood, Marrina s adopted brother Georges and Francois, the Hudson s landowners Sister Anne, at Madame Dupont s school for girls Barman and waitress Mary, at Corkys Tavern Thomas Crossman, security guard at Mansfield Airbase Captain and crewmate of the Tango Delta Nine Revelers

Richard Easton Tundra In flashbacks : Shaman, Snowbird, Vindicator (all Alpha Flight) Nightcrawler, Wolverine (both XMen) Wendigo Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister In illustrative image / thought panel : Aurora, Northstar, Sasquatch, Shaman, Snowbird (all Alpha Flight) Box, Flashback, Marrina, Puck (all Beta Flight) Diamond Lil, Madison Jeffries, Smart Alec, Wild Child (all Gamma Flight) Notes: This is the first appearance of Puck and Marrina, as well as Gary Cody and Dan S mallwood, who will become supporting characters. It is also the first appearance of Tundra, who is only one of seven Great Beasts. An illustrative image shows the line-ups of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Flight shortly before Department H closing down. Besides those that make up Alpha Flight at th e end of this story, they are unnamed and do not even appear in this issue. Flas hback, Box, Diamond Lil, Wild Child, Madison Jeffries and Smart Alec are introdu ced over the next 10-15 issues. Vindicator, Snowbird and Shaman teamed up with the X-Men s Wolverine and Nightcr awler to battle the Wendigo in Uncanny X-Men #139-140. In the aftermath of that battle, Alpha Flight was officially disbanded. Northstar and Aurora s adventure in New York occurred in Machine Man #18. The hints are already there and the following issues fully establish that Aurora has a multiple personality disorder. Jeanne-Marie, aside from being Aurora s real name, is someone who dislikes Alpha Flight and using her powers, though she is able to. "Aurora" is the opposite, she is mostly carefree and loves using her po wers. She and thinks Jeanne-Marie is a waif, while Jeanne-Marie calls Aurora a t ramp. Dan Smallwood is Marrinas adoptive brother. This revelation is made over the next few issues that also deal with Marrinas origin. Puck s codename in part refers to a hockey puck, but it s actual intention was t o be connected to Shakespeare s character Puck from A Midsummer Nights Dream. Snowbird is Narya s codename. Anne McKenzie is Snowbirds civilian alias, used fo r her duties as an R.C.M.P. officer (she was given this role to help her adjust to mortal life), though she hardly uses this name and is seldom referred to by i t. Narya has no last name. Shaman arrived at Resolute Bay by means of his levitation. He can not fly, only levitate horizontally or vertically. It is unknown why he did not just teleport to the battle, possibly because of mystical interference. The man who summoned Tundra is none other than Richard Easton, an archeologist w ho is actually the father of Snowbird (her mortal side). Snowbird does not think of herself as having a father, and never learned of Easton s existence. Had she known he was her father in no way would she have considered him one after raisi ng a Great Beast. Snowbirds origin was revealed in the backstories of Alpha Fligh t (1st series) #7-8. Eastons meeting with the Northern Gods is shown here also. This Issue has been reprinted in:

Alpha Flight Classic, Vol. 1 (Trade Paperback) Issue Summary written by: Daytripper (Steven Bishop)