Master of the World attacks Department H headquarters and is surprised to find a newly re-formed Alpha Flight there to greet him. They fight.
During the battle, the new Guardian and Puck seem to be competing for a leadership role of the team.
The team beats Master back, but he flees.
Guardian and Vindicator give chase, with Heather asking the clone of her husband whether he has memories of their marriage. He says he does, but he’s 19 years old. She’s too old for him.
Very interesting dynamic.
Other character moments include Radius wanting to get it on with Murmur, but his forcefield prevents intimate contact–so there’s kind of a reverse gender Rogue/Gambit thing going on here. There’s also a scene in an orphanage, Hull House, where Eugene worked before Alpha Flight re-formed, and it appears to be a version of Professor X’s School for Gifted Youngsters, only it is a direct line for the government to recruit super powered talent. We get our first look at Lilli Stephens…
…Who has the power to let a frisbee phase through her. Ah. The Kitty Pryde of the team.
There’s also some kind of monster buried at the orphanage, and its hand bursts from the ground at the end of the issue. Spoiler Alert: It’s a “Golden Age” Canadian superhero called Chinook.
Also, some experiments are being done on Sunfire, who appears to be dying from the radiation of his own powers. In the background, the threat of Zodiac looms and two men in shadows continually observe the team throughout.
There is a LOT crammed into this issue, and this book is growing on me–despite that much of it is derivative of X-Men ideas, the characters are interesting enough to pull their own weight, and I like that there are multiple threats–both internal and external–that loom large throughout the issue.