The First 10 Members of Alpha Flight, Ranked by Power

Alpha Flight originally debuted in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #120-121 (1979) by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, and they had a strong connection with Wolverine’s past before he joined the X-Men. It was shown that Alpha Flight was Canada’s official government-sponsored superhero team, led by a hero named Guardian (James Hudson). After the team failed to take Wolverine into custody for the Canadian government, they eventually popped up in their own series in 1983, with John Byrne as the writer and artist. The original team had six founding members, and then over its first run, newcomers joined, and the team developed into one of Marvel’s most popular of the 1980s.

Here is a look at the first 10 members to join Alpha Flight in their early days, all ranked by their power levels.

10) Puck (Eugene Judd)

Puck is a superhero whose real name is Eugene Judd. He wasn’t part of the team when they fought the X-Men, and he made his debut appearance in Alpha Flight #1, making him the second of the two new members who joined at that time. He was originally a giant of a man, but he ended up impaling himself with the cursed Black Blade of Baghdad to trap the sorcerer Black Razer inside his body. This caused him to shrink in stature, but he remains incredibly strong and has magical durability thanks to the Black Blade. He has lasted longer than almost anyone on the team, showing his tenaciousness, but his power is still only elite human strength.

9) Box (Roger Bochs)

The Box armor debuted in Alpha Flight #1 (1983), but Roger Bochs, as a named character, didn’t show up until Alpha Flight #11. Roger is a paraplegic engineer and inventor who designed Box, a robot he initially controlled remotely via a neural-interface helmet from a wheelchair. The Box armor has superhuman strength, durability, energy projection, and can be piloted internally after later upgrades by Madison Jeffries. Box is more powerful than Puck thanks to its firepower and the fact that it is a tech suit and not someone with human flesh.

8) Vindicator (Heather Hudson)

In one of the most shocking moments of the original Alpha Flight comic book series, the team leader, Guardian, died in Alpha Flight #12. His widow, Heather McNeil Hudson, ended up taking his place, wearing his armor and calling herself Vindicator. She debuted in Uncanny X-Men #139 (1980) and became Vindicator in Alpha Flight #32 (1985). Heather had no powers or fighting skills before taking on the armor, but her suit grants supersonic flight, electromagnetic pulse projection, force beams, plasma bolts, and graviton manipulation. She is still powerful since the suit is a fixed, high-end weapons platform. When James was resurrected, Heather became Guardian, and James took on the Vindicator identity.

7) Marrina

Marrina debuted in Alpha Flight #1 as one of the first new members of the team after their X-Men appearances. She is an alien of the Plodex species whose egg landed in the Atlantic 40,000 years ago and was opened prematurely in Newfoundland, causing her to imprint a humanoid female form. She has amphibious physiology and has gills and lungs. She can swim at superhuman speeds, and when her alien DNA takes over, she turns into a feral form with claws that cut through almost anything. She eventually married Namor and became an honorary member of the Avengers.

6) Snowbird (Narya)

Snowbird is Narya, and she made her debut in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979) as a founding member of Alpha Flight. She is an Inuk demigoddess: daughter of a human and Nelvanna, goddess of the Northern Lights; raised by Shaman in the Canadian wilderness under the mortal alias Anne McKenzie. Her powers allow her to transform into any animal native to Canada at any size, with corresponding senses and abilities. She also flies, senses mystical energy, has limited pre- and postcognition, and superhuman strength. However, the one thing that holds her back is that her powers are limited to Canada.

5) Aurora (Jeanne-Marie Beaubier)

Aurora debuted as a founding member of Alpha Flight in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979). She has the same super-speed powers as her twin brother, Northstar. However, in the early days of Alpha Flight comics, she struggled with mental health issues and dealt with dissociative identity disorder, splitting between the strict Catholic Jeanne-Marie persona and the hedonistic Aurora. Her power output is often tied to her mental state. Originally, the twins needed to make contact to be at full power, and Aurora’s mental health struggles made her less stable in fights.

4) Guardian (James Hudson)

Guardian is the founding member of Alpha Flight and the main contact with the Canadian government before they cut funding for the team. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #109 (1978) as Weapon Alpha, then again as Vindicator in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979), and finally Guardian in Alpha Flight #2 (1985). He built his battle suit using technology stolen back from his Am-Can employer to keep it out of military hands. The suit allows supersonic flight (Mach 1), electromagnetic beams, EMP pulses, concussive blasts, plasma bolts, ultrasonic beams, gravitons, and magnetism of metal objects. After his death, he was resurrected and ended up becoming more of a cyborg by integrating with the Quwrlln aliens, which meant he no longer needed the suit to access his powers.

3) Shaman (Michael Twoyoungmen)

Shaman is the mystical member of Alpha Flight, an indigenous former surgeon from Calgary who adapted his shamanic heritage after his wife’s death and joined Department H. Shaman carries the Medicine Pouch, a void-dimension bag that produces magical staves, powders, totems, and objects. If he can imagine an item fitting inside, he can pull it out. Magic is often hard to measure in the Marvel Universe, but his power all depends on what the spirits he calls on will provide for him. However, when he has the spirits on his side, there is little he can’t do.

2) Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier)

Northstar has the same powers as his sister Aurora, but thanks to his long-running actions as a superhero compared to her struggles, he is the more powerful of the siblings. He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979) as a founding member of Alpha Flight, and he is a mutant with super speed, flight, and the ability to project photonic energy blasts. He also holds the distinction of being the first openly gay superhero in mainstream American comics, coming out in Alpha Flight #106. His speed (canonically described as approaching the speed of light) makes him a tier-shift mover.

1) Sasquatch

The most powerful member of Alpha Flight is Sasquatch, who has always been the team’s tank, but he is much more than that concerning his power levels. First appearing in Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979), he is the smartest member of the team. Walter Langkowski is a physicist who tried to recreate Bruce Banner’s gamma experiment, which had a different effect on him. He ended up opening a mystical rift and bonded with the Great Beast Tanaraq, taking on its over 100-ton-strong sasquatch form. When fully possessed by Tanaraq (as has happened repeatedly), Sasquatch’s power output multiplies several times over, with cosmic-scale rampages. He also has a connection to the Green Door of all gamma-mutated heroes and villains. His raw power and durability are on Hulk’s level.

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