Guardian Propaganda Poster

While we wait to see how Guardian made out against the Wendigo in Amazing X-Men #8, let's take a look at a little piece of art I acquired recently.

I was drawn to this print right away, if only for its war poster style.

I only know the artist as "Jason T" on Twitter (I've been on his Facebook page as well, but for the life of me I can't remember his full name).  He has several other prints of Guardian, at least one of which involves Heather as well.  Get a hold of him if you're interested in getting a little decoration for your comics area. The man is quite accommodating.

And speaking of guest-appearances earlier, it doesn't seem as though Guardian will appear in a coming issue of Deadpool after all.  The Alpha Flight team that will be featured will be the early 90's one from prior to one of Mac's many resurrections, so no go.

Hopefully he plays a significant part in the X-Men books then, but I could see it being similar to "Mayan Prophecy" Hulk story from a couple of years ago.  Guardian was most prominent in the first part, but far less so in later issues.  We'll have to see.

Double Dose of Guardian in September

Marvel revealed their September 2014 solicitations this morning.

To begin, World War Wendigo continues in Amazing X-Men #11 (part four of five) and finally the members of Alpha Flight that are involved get a little cover love, Guardian included.

Mild love, mind you, but love nonetheless.

Something that was a bit more surprising was a mention of Alpha Flight in the solicitation for Deadpool #34.

DEADPOOL #34
BRIAN POSEHN & GERRY DUGGAN (W) • SCOTT KOBLISH (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
SPECIAL 3D Motion VARIANT COVER BY MARK BROOKS
• Flashback to the 90’s as we learn the darkest secret of Deadpool’s past!
• See the events Deadpool’s friends learned about it Original Sin FIRST HAND!
• Guest-Starring 90’s Sabretooth, 90’s Alpha Flight, and 90’s artwork!
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$4.99

Argh...I hate Deadpool...

This does beg the question though...Which Alpha Flight's appearance and if so, which Guardian will we see?

We should get some Guardian content.  Despite his many absences from the Marvel Universe over the years, odds are pretty good if it's 90's Alpha Flight.

Guardian wasn't around much early in that decade.  The android version of the character died (or something) in 1991 but he returned ('cause that's what he does) in the series' final story arc, entitled "No Future" in the summer of 1994.

Team members popped up in other books from time to time until a second volume of Alpha Flight hit shelves in the summer of 1997.  And that one looked designed to fit in with what was considered hot at the time.

Gadzooks...You younger readers may not believe this, but at one time, that was actually considered pretty cool...

Now that's the cloned, or de-aged, version of Guardian.  "Mac Classic" didn't return until the following year.

But the story of Guardian being cloned, de-aged and shot into space to be later miraculously, randomly found by Sasquatch in the North Pole is so ludicrous that I can't imagine a comedic book like Deadpool avoiding it.  And because Alpha Flight resembled the typical 90's book most in that series, I'm guessing that that's the version we'll get.

I may not care for Deadpool, but the book will have my curiosity come September.

Guardian in Amazing X-Men #8!

It was pretty well confirmed weeks ago that Guardian would be included in Alpha Flight's guest appearance in Amazing X-Men, but the degree of exposure couldn't be determined until today.  I only saw him in one panel in the preview material that I'd been able to find but I'm pleased to see that he was involved in several pages and that he looked pretty sharp.

Hey, we can add Ed McGuinness to the short list of writer who can actually draw a maple leaf properly on this suit.

The solicitation for this issue made reference to an old friend of Wolverine's being missing.  Based on the ending of the 2011 Alpha Flight mini series, I assumed it would be Guardian's estranged wife, Heather.  But it seems that at some point the two reconciled to a certain degree. Heather explains to Wolverine that she and Mac split after a bad argument and haven't talked in two days.  He went on a mission for Department H a couple of days prior and has yet to return.  The rest of his involvement is told in semi-flashback as Wolverine pieces together what's gone on.

The Wendigo Wars will run for five issues.  Alpha Flight presumably will be in all of them (they are confirmed for parts two and three thus far) and that means more Guardian, unless he's gone and died again. It'll be great to have him on a regular basis again at least temporarily and while some of the Alpha Flight content seemed inconsistent, Mac himself seems to be in pretty good hands at the moment.

Amazing X-Men 8 preview

Some anticipated good news was recently confirmed.

The solicitation for Amazing X-Men #8 indicated that Alpha Flight would appear in some capacity in the book, but the cover did not reveal which members.

This June, fan-favorite X-writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost join blockbuster artist Ed McGuinness for an all-new arc of Marvel mutant mayhem in AMAZING X-MEN #8! 

Though Nightcrawler has returned to them, there is no rest for the X-Men. A return trip to Canada leads Wolverine to a hairy situation as the search for a missing friend brings him face to face with a horde of bloodthirsty Wendigo! 

One Wendigo is enough to stop even the strongest heroes dead in their tracks. What hope to the X-Men have against an entire army?  Even the combined strength of  the X-Men and guest stars Alpha Flight may still not be enough to stop the coming assault! 

Don’t miss both teams prepare for battle as the pulse-pounding new ‘World War Wendigo’ arc kicks off this June in AMAZING X-MEN #8!

There was no reason to doubt that Guardian would be included, really.  He was still the leader of Alpha Flight when they last appeared in Hulk's Mayan Prophecy storyline.  Still, you never know what can happen off-panel (Avengers 16 reference) but the preview art below makes it official.

Oh dear.

That almost looks like a variant cover, but I haven't been able to find confirmation either way as to whether that's the case. I also don't know how many issues the story runs for, but it may not matter.  The solicitation for #9, obviously the second part of the arc, refers to "members of Alpha Flight" being involved.  So it may be that some of the characters from the first issue do not appear in part two.  It's possible that Guardian is not among them.

We'll have to see, but for now I'll be satisfied to have Guardian on active, present-day duty in almost two years.

Wolverine / Cable: Guts and Glory

Guardian doesn't appear in the book below, but James MacDonald Hudson does.

In Guardian's early appearances, right up to his first "death" in Alpha Flight #12, he seemed like a decent guy.  Sure, he was considred the antagonist when he twice attempted to recover Wolverine for the Canadian government, but he clearly wasn't evil, he was just a good little soldier doing his job. In fact, he was doing a job he didn't really want.

But from time to time, that hasn't been enough.  Writers have, on occasion, painted Mac as being so concerned with making Department H work that he would make highly questionable decisions for any shred of success.

This is such a book.

Guts and Glory has a publishing date of October 1999, as if the exaggerated musculature and huge-ass firearms weren't enough of a clue that it came out in the 90's.  As stated on the cover above, Stephen Platt provided the pencils with seven (??!!!) credited inkers completing the art.

The story takes place prior to Alpha Flight really becoming a thing.  Wolverine appears to be the only official agent at this point.  He is in "Northern Canada" (that covers a lot of ground, doesn't it?) enjoying a cigar after getting laid (I'm serious) when Mac interrupts his afterglow.

The "disturbance" is caused by a big bastard called D'Von Kray who followed Cable through time to kick his ass. Wolverine takes him out in no time and Department H hauls him in. To what end?  Well...

Sure.  He wiped out Moose Jaw, but we'll just give him Canadian citizenship so he can be in Alpha Flight. 

But sure enough, just a week later...

That was one intense week of research!

As if you need me to tell you, D'Von Kray escapes and heads for the States to give Cable a good whuppin'. Wolverine is able to track him and the two heroes work together to take him down and...well...that's pretty much it.

As much as I dislike the notion that Mac might have done some pretty lousy things in order to keep his program going, I can't discount that it's happened a number of times in his history (always in flashback, mind you).  I suppose it's not outrageous that when the possibility of the department being dropped presented itself, Mac may have taken an "the ends justify the means" approach for the greater good, but it clashes with his personality as it was displayed by Chris Clarement in the early New X-Men books and by John Byrne in the first dozen Alpha Flight issues.