A lot of Marvel’s superheroes are based in New York, but you can’t find more all around the world, including Canada! That’s where you’ll meet the members of Alpha Flight, a team often described as the Canadian’s Avengers.
From time to time, Wolverine’s back story was evoked and, in The Uncanny X-Men #120-121 by John Byrne, a new element was introduced, the Alpha Flight team. Their first on-page action was to try to abduct Wolverine to get him back to his home country as the Canadian government had invested in his training and wanted to have him rejoin his original team.
That’s how James MacDonald Hudson (Vindicator, later Guardian), Jean-Paul Beaubier (Northstar), Jeanne-Marie Beaubier (Aurora), Corporal Anne McKenzie (Snowbird), Walter Langowski (Sasquatch), and Michael Twoyoungmen (Shaman) were first introduced to the readers.
John Byrne thought this was a one-off, but Canadian readers and X-Men fans alike loved the concept, and the Alpha Flight team quickly got its own ongoing series that ran from 1983 to 1994. Throughout the year, the team evolved by adding new characters.
After the first volume concluded, the series would come back multiple times and, to this day, is still active.
Alpha Flight Comics Reading Order
Alpha Flight Volume 1
A success for a long time, the first volume of Alpha Flight has however never been fully collected. Nevertheless, Marvel put out an omnibus collecting all of John Byrne’s AF stories, meaning the beginning of the team in the X-Men and in their own book, plus a few crossovers and miniseries of that time.
- Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus
Collects X-Men (1963) #109, #120-121 And #139-140; Incredible Hulk (1968) #272, #313 and Annual #8; Machine Man (1978) #18; Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #83-84; Alpha Flight (1983) #1-29; X-Men and Alpha Flight (1985) #1-2; X-Men/Alpha Flight (1998) #1-2; And Material From Marvel Team-Up Annual #7.
Before that, there was the short-lived Alpha Flight Classic collection, three paperback books that went up to issue #29 only. The introduction of the team was also collected in a separate book:
- X-Men: Alpha Flight
Collects X-Men & Alpha Flight #1-2, X-Men/Alpha Flight (vol. 2) #1-2, X-Men #109, 120–121, 139–140. The second X-Men/Alpha Flight miniseries in this book has to be read later, after Alpha Flight #4. The first one though takes place later, after issue #22. - Alpha Flight Classic – Volume 1
Collects Alpha Flight #1-8. - Alpha Flight Classic – Volume 2
Collects Alpha Flight #9-19 and X-Men #109. - Alpha Flight Classic – Volume 3
Collects Alpha Flight #20-29 and Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #313. After issue #27, Secret Wars II took place and issue #28 is part of the crossover, see reading order for more info. - Alpha Flight #39 is part of the “Under Siege” storyline with Avengers #272 and as such was collected in Avengers Epic Collection: Under Siege.
Beyond that, few issues are available in other collected editions
- Alpha Flight #79-80 are part of the Acts of Vengeance crossover and are collected in Acts of Vengeance: Spider-Man & The X-Men.
- Between Alpha Flight #91 and #92, the Alpha Flight team guest starred in Avengers (1963) #320-324 collected in The Avengers Epic Collection: The Crossing Line.
- Alpha Flight #106 was collected in Astonishing X-Men Vol. 10: Northstar.
- Alpha Flight #110-112, and material from #109 were collected in the Infinity War Omnibus, as part of the Infinity Saga.
- Alpha Flight #124-125, and material from #122-123, 126 were collected in the Infinity Crusade Omnibus, also as part of the Infinity Saga.
- Some members of Alpha Flight joined the ex-teammate in Wolverine #76-77 collected in Wolverine Epic Collection: To the Bone, just before the last orc of their series.
Volume 1 of the Alpha Flight series concluded with issue #130. After that, members of the team occasionally appeared other series, mostly alone or with one other teammate.
Alpha Flight Volume 2
Once again, Marvel failed to properly collect this series. Launched in 1997, this Alpha Flight series was written by Steven Seagle with art by Scott Clark and Duncan Rouleau, and lasted only twenty issues. This was about a new Alpha Flight line-up–with all-new team members (mostly Vindicator and Puck) and old ones–working for the conspiracy-ridden Department H.
After Volume 2 concluded, the original Alpha Team appeared in other series, notably in the Wolverine series.
- Wolverine (1988) #142-143 collected in Wolverine Epic Collection: Shadow of Apocalypse.
- Wolverine (1988) #171-174 collected in Wolverine: Return of Weapon X.
- Uncanny X-Men (1981) #432-434 collected in Uncanny X-Men Vol. 4: The Draco.
Alpha Flight Volume 3
In 2004, Marvel launched the All-New, All-Different Alpha Flight, a series by Scott Lobdell with art by Clayton Henry that only lasted 12 issues. It started with Sasquatch assembling a new team, but old members popped up in the second half of the series.
- Alpha Flight Vol. 1: You Gotta Be Kiddin’ Me
Collects Alpha Flight (vol. 3) #1-6. - Alpha Flight Vol. 2: Waxing Poetic
Collects Alpha Flight (vol. 3) #7-12.
From Alpha to Omega Flight
In 2006, Alpha Flight reappeared in The New Avengers #16-17 to fight their “final battle.” This was the end of the team, but in Civil War: The Initiative, a new iteration of the team called the Omega Flight was assembled featuring Sasquatch, US Agent, Arachne (Julia Carpenter), Talisman, Beta Ray Bill, and Michael Pointer who became the new Guardian.
- The New Avengers Vol. 4: The Collective
Collects New Avengers (2004) #16-20 - Civil War: The Initiative #1 collected in Civil War: Marvel Universe
- Omega Flight: Alpha to Omega
Collects Omega Flight #1-5 and material from Civil War: Choosing Sides. - Weapon Omega
Collects material from Marvel Comics Presents (2007) #1-12 and Civil War: The Initiative One-Shot.
Alpha Flight Volume 4
During the “Chaos War” storyline, Snowbird, Aurora, Northstar, and Sasquatch are back as well as their resurrected dead teammates Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman and Marrina Smallwood.
- Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1 collected in Chaos War: X-Men.
- Chaos War
Collects Chaos War #1-5. Alpha Flight appears in #4-5.
A few months later, during the events of the Fear Itself crossover event, the reformed Alpha Flight team got a new series by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, but it lasted only 8 issues.
- Alpha Flight by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente Vol. 1: The Complete Series
Collects Alpha Flight (2011) #0.1 and #1-4. - Alpha Flight (2011) #5-8.
Once the series ended, Alpha Flight appeared in Astonishing X-Men #51 for Northstar’s wedding. Then, the team helped Red Hulk when the Mayan Gods appeared on Earth, and then The X-Men to contain an outbreak of Wendigos.
- Astonishing X-Men Vol. 10: Northstar.
Collects Astonishing X-Men (2004) #48-51, Alpha Flight (1983) #106 and material from Nation X #2. - Red Hulk: Mayan Rule
Collects Hulk (2008) #53-57. - Amazing X-Men Vol. 2: World War Wendigo
Collects Amazing X-Men #7-12
Captain Marvel & Alpha Flight in Space
Marvel decided to change Alpha Flight into a space program in the pages of the Captain Marvel series. In the Alpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station, the team–Aurora, Puck, and Sasquatch with Captain Marvel and Abigail Brand–became Earth’s line of defense against extraterrestrial menaces.
- Captain Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Hero Vol. 5
Collects Captain Marvel (2016) #1-10. The second half of the book is tied to the Civil War II crossover event. - The Mighty Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Alien Nation
Collects The Mighty Captain Marvel vol. 1 #0-4. - Secret Empire
Collects Secret Empire #0-9, Free Comic Book Day 2017 Defenders #1 - The Mighty Captain Marvel Vol. 2: Band of Sisters
Collects The Mighty Captain Marvel #5-9. - The Mighty Captain Marvel Vol. 3: Dark Origins
Collects The Mighty Captain Marvel #10-14 (renumbered as Captain Marvel #125–129). - Champions Vol. 4: Northern Lights
Collects Champions (2016) #19-21 and Infinity Countdown: Champions #1-2.
Alpha Flight Volume 5
Forget Space, the original lineup of Alpha Flight is back. Guardian, Aurora, Northstar, Snowbird, Sasquatch, Puck, and Marrina revived Canada’s top superhero team in 2019 with a one-shot.
- Alpha Flight: True North #1 collected in Legends of Marvel: X-Men.
During the Krakoa era/Fall of X, Guardian, Puck, Snowbird, and Shaman are sent on a mission that pits them against Aurora, Northstar, Nemesis, and Fang.
- Alpha Flight: Divided We Stand
Collects Alpha Flight (vol. 5) #1-5.