Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Start Time?

This latest news has been absconded from AlphaFlight.net (a very good site, by the way) ...

MICHAEL AVON OEMING ANNOUNCES UNCONFIRMED LAUNCH DATE FOR OMEGA FLIGHT
On the "Alpha Waves Forum", Omega Flight writer informed fans of a possible March 07 launch date for the series. .

"I think we are talking (and this is NOT confirmed) March-ish."

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

How Many Canadians?

Here is a quote of interest, for those of you who did not bother to click the link and read the whole interview.

"I can't go into the cast, but needless to say there are Canadians on the team. I get the very distinct impression that Canada laughs at how seriously we US citizens take ourselves. I think that will be an element in the book for sure. Honestly, without knowing who's even in the cast, how could someone even begin to determine the level of 'Canadianism' in it?"
Oeming was also quick to add, "In the long run, I think Canadians will love it because the contrast between Americans and Canadians is the best way to explore both cultures. I understand the knee-jerk reaction to the cast, but I think a few issues in will clear that all up. Why so few Canadians? At this point, there are three on or working with the team, although in the promo image we only see one."


Anybody know what to make of that?
Two things come to mind...
Firstly, if there are three Canadians on or working with the team (we are talking Omega Flight here, for those of you a little slow to catch on...), but we only see one, then who are the other two?
Secondly, if we only see one Canadian in the preview picture, then either (a) that is not Talisman that we see pictured on the far-left, or (b) whoever is in the Guardian suit is not a Canadian!
Anybody have any thoughts or comments?

Monday, November 13, 2006

Nostalgic Pic


A bit of nostalga to hold you over until i can think of something intelligent to blog here.
Vindicator, the original - James "Mac" MacDonald Hudson.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Omega

I have been perusing many internet sites and listening in on informal chats, trying to gain more information on the upcoming (date of publication still officially unrevealed, although early in 2007 is the word on the street) Omega Flight comic book series.

Now, I will be the first to admit that, at 35 years old (nearing 36), I have not followed comics very closely since I was 20 or so, a span of 15 to 16 years. So...i am admittedly 'behind-the-times', so to speak. But, with the announcement of a 'continuation' of my beloved Alpha Flight, i am trying to come up to speed as quickly as possible!

First, this ongoing Civil War thingy. Basically, as i understand it, there are now two sides in the Marvel Universe, with almost all heroes being forced to choose a side. Due to the ramp-up in terrorism and fears of super-powered terrorists loose in the USA, the government down south (yes, I am a Canadian, born and bred! - another reason that i must shout, DON'T SCREW UP MY COUNTRY'S COMIC BOOK!!!) decided to mandatorily tell all super-heroes that they must unmask, reveal their indentities, and register with the government.

Naturally, this has created unrest amongst the super-people, with some for this and some against it. Iron Man (Tony Stark) leads the government forces trying to get super-people to follow this edict, while Captain America (Steve Rogers) leads the fight against it.

Although i believe that the Civil War thingy hasn't officially ended yet, it seems that the government forces, in some sense of the word, are going to 'win' this fight. Some heroes have already 'fled' for Canada, to fight for their freedom there rather than in the USA.

So, Omega Flight has been born. Rising from the dregs/ashes of Alpha Flight (who were killed off in an issue of the New Avengers - more on that later), we have been treated with a one-shot picture of a team of heroes. Not surprisingly, the net is alive with people saying that this is not what Omega Flight will really look like in the end, just at it's very beginning. Be that as it may, here is what the picture reveals (pic already shown in a previous posting of mine)...

So far, apparently one of the main characters will be Beta Ray Bill. For those of you who do not know, Bill is an alien, a super-strong champion of his people, who once beat Thor himself in fair and square combat and who took his enchanted hammer from him and was able to yield it (something though only possible for a god to do). Because Odin (Thor's daddy) found him to be worthy, Bill was given a hammer equal to Thor's, with a built-in enchantment that allowed the surgically(?)-enhanced self-mutated being called Beta Ray Bill to be able to change into his alter-ego (called Bill, i would imagine). Beta Ray Bill, for those who do not know, is bigger than Thor, more muscular, dresses like Thor, and has a face much like a horse's...

Another character will be US Agent. This man, last name Walker (cannot remember his first name right now), was once a replacement for the real Captain America (Steve Rogers), and has always been rather brash and nasty, sometimes brutal, always opinionated and always misunderstood. He has been sent by Iron man to Canada, specifically to be the US liaison with this team. Presumably, he is there to keep an eye on super-beings fleeing to Canada?

Arachne is also a member, apparently, of this team. The info i have on her is this is Jessica Drew, who once went by the name Spider-Woman. However, i was under the impression that she had lost her powers some time ago? Also, i could be wrong, but i heard that she was a government agent who was discovered to be a double-agent, and so she fled to Canada herself to avoid the registration fiasco, etcetera...

Guardian is here too. There has been some major debates as to who is inside the suit, however. Some have suggested that a hero called Omega The Unknown is actually in the suit. Others say that Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, is inside the Guardian suit, and Captain America will be the former Hawkeye (whew! that's confusing!).And only time will tell...

And the last figure appears, most definitely, to be Talisman. From what i have read of what the artist and writer have said, it appears that she is the only person in this picture that was an Alpha-Flight member, so that tells me that Guardian is not the Guardian that everybody in Canada is hoping he is...

There has also been some talk about bringing in another member, possibly, who is also associated with Alpha Flight. Some say this might be Puck. Others suggest Wolverine. Nobody seems too sure.


How will this team operate? From where will they be based? What is their purpose as heroes, and as a team? Who will be the baddies they encounter? What holds B.R.Bill in Canada? Why are there so many non-Canadians on this team? And can a couple of Americans really do a Canadian super-hero team justice?

As for the death of Alpha Flight...

Most of Alpha Flight went off to the Plodex homeworld to deliver some eggs to that planet. While they were gone, Temporal Versions of themselves (pulled from out of the past into the future) set up shop as Alpha Flight, and these were some of the ones involved in the death scene in New Avengers # 16. Um.. let's see if i can make any sense of this at all (it makes my head hurt, Mommy!)...

Members like Talisman, Aurora, and Northstar never had Temporal Copies of themselves made, and they never went into space with the Plodex eggs...
Guardian, Vindicator, Snowbird, Earthmover, and Puck went into space. They have not been seen since (at least, not really)...
Guardian, Vindicator, Snowbird, Shaman, and Puck had Copies made of them. These Copies formed a new Alpha Flight on earth, along with Puck II, Sasquatch (the real one, as in Walter Langkowski; not the real one, as in Bigfoot who died), Yukon Jack, and Major Maple Leaf II (and his horse Thunder)...
Snowbird left the team before New Avengers 16 happened. And Thunder (the horse, the one who had all the powers, not his rider Major Maple Leaf II) joined the League Of Super Pets, and never had a copy made of him...
In New Avengers # 16, "The Collective" is seen to mow down Alpha Flight in seconds, leaving them laying in the snow in or near Alaska. Dead? I think so, but i am not really that sure, as I do not own that comic, nor have I ever seen it myself. As near as I can tell from what others have said, Sasquatch, Major Maple Leaf II, and Puck II, all are dead. And all were the Real versions of themselves. Now, if i understand correctly, if all Alpha Flight members were 'killed' in this issue, then that means that also killed were Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, Puck, Yukon Jack, and all of these except for Yukon Jack were either temporal versions of themselves or were real versions but temporal versions of them still exist somewhere. As well, shouldn't there now be 2 versions of Snowbird still running around, the Temporal Version plus the version that went into space? This seems to leave plenty of leeway for bringing some of them back.

Plus, there is the cloned version of Guardian, and the robot version of Guardian still (as far as I can tell) unaccounted for...

Oh, and also we have Talisman, Aurora, and ( a possibly pyscho crazy killer) Northstar still out there somewhere...

Interesting.

Stay tuned, true Flight believers...