• WTF Wednesdays #002

    Welcome to 'WTF (What The Flight) Wednesdays', an occasional column for the site!

    Whilst we're all huge fans of Alpha Flight there have been some moments in the team's history that we can all agree have been confusing, contradictory, extremely out of character or just quite frankly bizarre.
    Instead of locking these skeletons away in the closet this column revisits those moments and proudly displays them in all their glory!


    Today we journey back to the Golden Era of Alpha Flight; November 1984.
    John Byrne was just over a year into the title he never wanted to make, that had set sales ablaze and created a new generation of fans.

    The issue in question is Alpha Flight #18 wherein Shaman fights a new terrifying foe:


    Now, we can all agree that this is a pretty terrifying looking enemy, and certainly not one you'd expect to make this column, however the next panel confirms it's origins...


    That's right; scrambled eggs!

    Earlier in the issue we see the female victim in the comfort of her own home, blissfully unaware that her culinary delight is possessed by mystical energies!



    Yet Shaman is not surprised by this at all:


    Of course - obvious!

    The evil eggs are easily beaten by the mystical powerhouse that is Michael Twoyoungmen and remains one of the most bizarre, memorable & unique moments of Alpha history; a definite Byrne quirk.


    If you've got a suggestion for a fitting appearance you'd like to see in a future column PM or e-mail me: phil@alphaflight.net
    .
    Comments 7 Comments
    1. Le Messor's Avatar
      Le Messor -
      That's a great issue. Sooo weird.
    1. Sypes's Avatar
      Sypes -
      I may be outside of others on this, but those kind of issues to me are wasted... what do we get out of this? Filler issues, like TV shows have filler episodes. Meh
    1. Phil's Avatar
      Phil -
      It could well be argued that the majority of issues 2-10 of Byrne's run were filler.

      For me it was that individual-ness that made the team so special.
    1. Le Messor's Avatar
      Le Messor -
      There was a time once when the phrase 'filler episode' meant nothing.
      There are still people around - not in the majority, I think and I admit - who like each story to be its own thing and not part of some ongoing arc. It gives each episode / issue its own distinctive flavour.

      'course, the best stuff combines both styles: ongoing stories with distinctive chapters.

      ~ Le Messor
      "Always be smarter than the people who hire you."
      ~ Lena Horne, in interview, 1985
    1. Chris's Avatar
      Chris -
      Filler? I love the Byrne issues that featured just a couple of characters. For me that's what made AF stand out from other books/teams. They weren't your typical super team that sat around a table in their costumes in a mansion waiting for a super villain to attack.
      They felt like real people with real problems. Well that is until Mantlo took over and turned it into a typical team book.
    1. Sypes's Avatar
      Sypes -
      Don't get me wrong, I loved (and still love) the individual-ness of the issues. I thought we learned so much more about the characters than by doing overall arcs where most heroes are just standing around or fighting. However, not sure I got much from Shaman fighting some eggs....
    1. Le Messor's Avatar
      Le Messor -
      I got a great new recipe!