Alpha Flight (and therefore Guardian) cameo in Fantastic Four #643

The images below were revealed exclusively on avclub.com on February 19th.

The book's villain (whose name escapes me now) has unleashed a worldwide invasion of some sort (bear with me, I don't read the book) and we are shown the impact in various parts of the world. Naturally, that means that we get a brief window on Canada and therefore Alpha Flight, and therefore Guardian.

Looks like two-page spread...

...and here's the page with Guardian specifically (third panel, to the left):

Based on the 2-page version, looks like Guardian is getting a save from the wife. Or ex-wife. Who knows anymore?

May as well take the opportunity to display another such occurrence. The partial page below is from the third issue of the Citizen V and the V-Battalion mini series from mid 2002.

Lol...I never really read this book so I didn't really acknowledge that Flag-Smasher is a part of it. Pitabow Comics has spoiled that character for me forever (not that it would have taken an awful lot, since F-S is not particularly accomplished in villainy). Flag-Smasher is a recurring villain in Pitabow's Alpha Flight comic strip and he's not very successful in that, either. Blow up the image below for an example.

Check out more Alpha Flight strips here.

"COMIC LEGEND: Peter David shared photocopied pages of the death sequence in Alpha Flight #12 at a convention before the issue came out."

More than 30 years after Alpha Flight #12 (first volume,  'natch) hit shelves, that book's conclusion is the subject of a "Comic Book Legends Revealed" segment on Comic Book Resources.

As you can piece together from the subject line, writer Peter David is accused of spoiling the end of Alpha Flight #12 in which Guardian dies (for the first time). Read the full report on that claim over at Comic Book Resources.

...retailers at the get together had no idea that the sequence actually indicated that Guardian really died. I know this because when John showed up at the get-together, he looked at the material, screamed at me at the top of his lungs, “How could you be showing this to retailers?!? It gives away the fact that Guardian dies!” and stormed out of the room, slowing only long enough to kick over a standing ashtray on his way out. At which point stunned retailers said, “Guardian DIES?,” started looking at the xeroxes again, and were muttering, “I thought it was just a dream sequence…”

Oh, look, there's another report of John Byrne acting like a complete jackass.

Being that this was before social media, and the moment remains iconic in Marvel history, I think it's safe to say that any concern about "spoilers" was ultimately unfounded.

The surprise death's importance is not based on my personal opinion as a fan of this character, I might add. Comic Book Resources themselves named it the 75th Most Memorable Moment in the publisher's history, behind the death of Captain George Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #90 (and further behind still to "Frog Thor", so draw your own conclusions).

My recollection at the time (bearing in mind I was barely a teenager then) was that most folks thought Northstar would buy it. It seemed unnecessary for the team to have two characters with the same abilities and his sister Aurora was considered the more interesting of the two.

To the best of my knowledge, regardless of what may have been handed out at conventions or any other event, Guardian's demise took the greater majority of folks by surprise, as intended.