Alpha Flight #28 Review - Secret Wars II

Issue Review
Alpha Flight #28

Direct Market Release Date: July 9, 1985

Credits

Title: Cross-Over
Words & Pictures: John Byrne
Inking Assist: Keith Williams
Colors: Andy Yanchus
Lettering: Rick Parker
Editor: Dennis O'Neil
Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter

Summary

Note: This issue takes place between panels 3 and 4 of Secret Wars II #4 page 17.

Retreating from their battle with Alpha Flight, the members of Omega Flight are stopped by their old teammate, Madison Jeffries. Jeffries uses his mutant ability to manipulate metal to destroy Omega Flight's leader, Delphine Courtney, currently masquerading as James MacDonald Hudson.

Leaving a mechanical construct to keep watch over Omega Flight, Jeffries ventures into West Edmonton Mall, and encounters Alpha Flight, who are wrapping up their encounter with the Beyonder after he rescued Shaman's daughter, Talisman, from the Void. After his departure, Talisman, nearly driven insane from her time in her father's medicine pouch, leashes out in anger towards Alpha Flight, and teleports them to their base in Vancouver.

Late, Walter Langkowski, inhabiting Box since his Sasquatch form was destroyed, tries to pull a new body for himself from another dimension. The team finds a large candidate, and fish it out of the portal to find that it is the Incredible Hulk.

Quotes

Delphine Courtney: Flashback! Get in front! Protect me!!
Flashback: What are you doing?!? DON'T!
SFX: KRAK
Flashback: NO! ohh..No! No..! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!!! He... He's DEAD! Courtney, you've KILLED him!! Bu.. But my future men are all ME from some period yet to come... You've murdered my FUTURE!!

Madison Jeffries: Let's start by rippin' off that Guardian disguise, shall we? Don't bother tryin' to resist me. You know no machine can do that. An that's all you are, isn't it, Courtney? Just another machine. You KILLED the REAL Guardian, Courtney. Killed a man I respected. A man I liked. Now you're gonna pay...

Madison Jeffries: Looks like Flashback's gonna be busy goin' crackers f'r a bit, Lil. As f'r th' rest of you.. sorry, but you're still accomplices to a murder. You gotta take th' fall.
Flashback: I'm dead.. I'm DEAD! Maybe in a DAY, or a week.. or an HOUR....

Commentary

This is John Byrne's last issue of his Alpha Flight title, and it is a part of a larger, inter-title crossover with the Incredible Hulk. Both books were switching creators at this time, with Byrne taking over Mantlo/Mignola's Hulk, and vice versa, and it was decided that the storyline in the two books would intersect for 2 months.

A minor tie in to the larger Secret Wars II saga, this issue takes two pages to show us the resolution of the conflict between the Canadian super team and the Beyonder that took place in Secret Wars II #4. The last half of the book deals with a plot point started in another Secret Wars II crossover, the Incredible Hulk #312. We now see that Alpha Flight was at the other end of the energy searching for a new life form at the Crossroads, that the Beyonder directed towards the Hulk.

Being Canadian, I'm partial to Alpha Flight, and enjoy this issue. Byrne's art is at it's peak here, and Keith Williams' inks give it a feel that gives it a different feel from the Fantastic Four issues of the era.

This issue sees the death of Flashback, who has the power to pull versions of himself from different timelines into battle. Here, he witnesses his future selves' death, and is sent over the edge, which I though was interesting.

Up next...

Secret Wars II continues in Dazzler #40!