Who is Northstar, you may ask? Well, Northstar is Jean-Paul Beaubier, super-fast skier. Born in Montreal, Quebec, his parents were killed in a car accident. This incident would cause him to be separated from his twin sister Jeanne-Marie, aka Aurora. The two twins would be raised separately, and it would have affects on both of the twins that still linger today: Northstar would have anger issues, and Aurora would develop dissociative identity disorder.
As a young man, Jean-Paul would discover that he was a mutant, with the power of super-speed. His sister Jeanne-Marie, aka Aurora, is also a speedster. He's faster, but she can run longer. Also, when the twins slap hands, they can create powerful flashes of light.
Northstar is primarily associated with the Canada-based superteam Alpha Flight, but he has also been a member of the X-Men in the past. He's a bit of a pioneer, too. He's one of the first gay characters in mainstream American comics. Also, his wedding to Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X-Men #51 (June 2012), was the first depiction of a same-sex wedding in mainstream comics.
So yeah, Mr. Beaubier has had an interesting life, and has a lot to be proud of. He paved the way for a lot more LGBT+ characters to appear in comics (many of them in Marvel connected to the X-Men). As such, I thought it would be neat to show how he first appeared in comics. Technically, he appeared in issue #120, but that was just a cameo. In this issue, we get to see him in action! So let's take a look at Uncanny X-Men #121!
The cover is a Dave Cockrum, Terry Austin, and Gaspar Saladino piece. And it's a great one! It tells you exactly what you're going to get: A four-alarm brawl between the X-Men and Alpha Flight. I wonder if this was what those guys who wanted a Cold War in Canadian Bacon were hoping for.
"Shoot-Out at the Stampede!"
Writers: Christ Claremont and John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterers: Diana Albers, John Costanza
Editor: Roger Stern
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
Our story begins at the Canadian Stampede, a massive outdoor exhibition. Three of the X-Men (Colossus, Storm, and Cyclops) burst their way in as only they can.
The three race into the fairground, Storm scouting by air while Cyclops and Colossus search on foot. What is going on here? Well, the X-Men were returning home from an adventure in Japan when a freak storm (Storm could not dissipate it, as if it were guided by a will of its own) forced them to land in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When they landed, they encountered a man called Vindicator. As Weapon Alpha, he attacked the X-Men in their own home, in an attempt to retrieve Wolverine for the Canadian government. The X-Men fought him off.
But now, the X-Men were on his turf, and he had some friends backing him up. One of those friends tossed the plane into the hangar. The X-Men made their escape by having Storm bring a blizzard down on their heads, heading into Calgary itself. Vindicator and his allies pursued the X-Men into town. Vindicator himself managed to corner Storm and Banshee in a mall, but got his butt handed to him. However, Nightcrawler and Wolverine weren't so lucky. The two vanished, likely captured.
Naturally, Cyclops vowed to find and rescue his missing teammates. But how? Well, when he flew off, Vindicator left an energy trail. One that Storm can follow. So, with the Windrider playing bloodhound, the group tracked him to the grounds of the Canadian Stampede. Ororo found the two missing X-Men, alone and unconscious on a field. The X-Men press on, fully aware it's likely a trap.
Storm points out that Wolverine is a wanted man. Cyclops reminds her that a) Wolverine isn't a criminal, and B) The Canucklehead resigned from Canadian government service. The X-Men find their missing comrades tied up on a field.
The lights go up, and...
 |
| "*trumpet noise* NOBODY expects the Canadian Inquisition!" |
Meanwhile, Banshee arrives alongside the Daughters of the Dragon: Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. Due to injuries he suffered in X-Men #119 (March 1979), Banshee can't use his sonic powers. However, the man was a former Interpol agent and NYPD officer, so he got other skills. However, what appears to be a wall of solid invisible force has kept the three out.
Cyclops and Vindicator argue over Wolverine. The optic blaster points out that the last time Vindicator attempted to get Wolverine [In X-Men #109 (February 1978)], he almost got a friend of theirs killed. Also, Sasquatch wrecking their plane nearly got them and their pilots killed. Colossus notices that Northstar is moving towards Cyclops...
And with that, the fight begins. Sasquatch punches out Colossus, while Vindicator screamed he didn't want a brawl. But we get one anyway. Sucks to be Vindicator right now. Wolverine and Nightcrawler wake up, revealing they were playing possum. Storm takes to the air, Snowbird chasing after her. Shaman reaches into his magical satchel and pulls out some...wooden statues that come to life.
What are those? Cyclops blasts the wooden statues, which is kind of sad as I can imagine the craftsperson who made them worked very hard on them. Northstar takes him down with a super-fast Mighty Punch to the head. That'll hurt. Nightcrawler engages Aurora. Storm notices that Snowbird is trying to keep her away from the stadium. The weather around the area has become so unstable that she dares not use it as a weapon. Snowbird transforms into a large Arctic owl.
Wolverine notices that the X-Men are having some serious trouble against these guys, despite their recent string of victories against guys like Magneto and Moses Magnum. Shaman reminds him that Alpha Flight has something that the X-Men do not: Teamwork. He then uses his magic bag to summon a wind...but there is a problem. You know that freak storm I mentioned earlier? Well, Shaman used his magical powers to create it so that the X-Men would be forced to land in Calgary. Thing is, when you twist primal natural forces...it makes said forces angry. And when they get mad, it causes problems. Big problems...like the storm going out of control.
By the way, the guy in that panel? That's John Byrne himself. The brawl continues on, with Wolverine trying to engage Vindicator, while Colossus is having trouble against Sasquatch. Cyclops is also having trouble against Northstar, mainly because of his head still ringing thanks to that superfast punch he took from the skier. Colossus is able to get a head up on Sasquatch, thanks to some judo.
Aurora is searching for Nightcrawler, thinking about how she is different from her brother Jean-Paul. You see, Northstar is a fighter at heart. He's been one his entire life. In contrast, Jeanne-Marie is more of a lover...although future stories with her (mainly the first Alpha Flight series) would establish that Aurora's situation is much more complex. Nightcrawler teleports above her and gives her a kiss, which infuriates her.
Wolverine engages Vindicator, and their dialogue exchange hints at their past relationship. Evidently, Vindicator's name is Jimmy, and they were old friends. He and a woman named Heather evidently took him in at some point and helped him rediscover his humanity. This was one of the first major
hints about Wolverine's past.
The storm outside has reached insane levels of power...power enough that even the X-Men and Alpha Flight notice it, and their battle comes to a screeching halt. Storm is stuck in a aerial battle with Snowbird, until she gets a bolt of inspiration. The Kenyan windrider wraps up and captures the demi-goddess in her cape.
Storm has tried to shape a weather pattern like this once in the past. She failed...and nearly died in the process. She takes to the air, and reaches out to the rogue event with her mind and soul. The effort is great, the strain is massive. However, she is able to dissipate the super-storm. She lands on the ground, weakened...but alive. Northstar takes the opportunity and downs her with the same superspeed punch to the back of the head he gave Cyclops. A furious Scott Summers nails the speedster with an optic blast. He gets in the man's face, but Wolverine stops him from turning Northstar's face into hamburger.
Wolverine checked on Ororo. She's alright, just stunned. He decides to surrender, as he feels that this was his fight, and he shouldn't have drawn the X-Men into it. He admits he enjoyed the roughhousing, and things going out of control so fast did not help. Cyclops counters that the X-Men are a team. If Wolverine has a problem, then it's the team's problem. Wolverine appreciates it, but he has no desire to see his teammates take a beating on his behalf.
He agrees to go with Vindicator, on one condition: The X-Men are allowed to return home. Vindicator gives his word. An armored car arrives, and Wolverine is brought into the back of it.
Hours later, the X-Men's plane is heading back to the USA, accompanied by members of the Canadian Air Force. Cyclops weighs his options: Either continue on back to the US, or double back to rescue Wolverine. The X-Men all agree to turn back. Cyclops goes to order the pilot to turn around, but turns out she's got a friend with her in the cockpit.
Yup, our favorite Canucklehead managed to escape and sneak on the plane. But this leaves Cyclops worried. Alpha Flight are going to figure out he escaped. But Wolverine's not worried. He lives life one day at a time, taking it as it comes. Right now, he's in the mood for some drinking and celebrating. Finally, the X-Men are coming home!
This was a good comic. We got to learn a little bit about Canada's Mightiest here, their powers and a bit of personality in some cases. The comic was essentially one big fight scene, but I think it was done very well. I do wish that did get to learn a bit more about the personality of the characters. Maybe a scene of Alpha Flight mobilizing or something, give us a better idea of who they are. I would have liked that.
I did get a good laugh out of Wolverine's escape, though. I wonder how he pulled that off. Byrne's pencils and Terry Austin's inks are great together. The art looks so clean.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend hunting down the 2016 trade paperback X-Men/Alpha Flight. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! See you next time, when we take a look at the debut of Alpha Flight's solo title...
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