Finally…Omega Flight #1

In 1983, Alpha Flight exploded onto the comic scene. With the first 28 issues written and drawn by the famous (and often infamous) John Byrne, Alpha Flight was stocked with archetypal (and perhaps stereotypical) pan-Canadian characters. The first incarnation of the series lasted a respectable 130 issues, and was wildly popular on both sides of the 49^th parallel. Unfortunately, fans saw diminishing returns with the next two volumes – the second volume lasted 20 issues, while the third volume only lasted 12 issues (and was widely considered to have been written by a pack of mentally challenged wild monkeys who had lived off of a steady diet of bad acid for the course of the entire series). For years, Alpha Flight fans hoped that Marvel would revisit the team, and give it the kind of tender loving care that it so richly deserved. However, their hopes were dashed when the entire lineup of the original Alpha flight (and a good portion of the both the second and third volume teams) were abruptly and unceremoniously wacked by Brian Bendis in New Avengers #16 (and off panel no less). Suffice it to say that the RCMP immediately issued orders for the arrest (and humiliating body cavity search) when Bendis next stepped foot on Canadian soil.

It wasn’t long, however, before Marvel started leaking details of the next generation of Alpha Flight. But this new series was, as the PR machine proudly stated, “not your father’s flight.” It wasn’t even Alpha Flight – it was Omega Flight. This new Flight would be written by Michael Avon Oeming (Cross Bronx, Thor: Blood Oath, Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill) and artist Scott Kolins (Beyond!, The Flash, Thor: Blood Oath). During the months that followed, Omega Flight was downgraded from an ongoing series to a 5 issue mini-series – much to the disappointment of the Alpha Flight fan community.

The day has finally come, and Omega Flight #1, in all of its mini-series glory, has hit the shelves. Spinning out of the pages of Civil War, Omega Flight takes place in a Canada where super powered villains, fleeing the 50 state S.H.I.E.L.D. initiative south of the border, are running amuck in the great white north. Acutely aware that they no longer have the protection of Alpha Flight, the Canadian government forms the new generation of Alpha Flight: Omega Flight. At first glance, the lineup of Omega Flight isn’t what one might expect. The team is anchored by Walter Langowski, whose superhero alter ego Sasquatch has been a central figure in all incarnations of Alpha Flight. The rest of the team is made up of Talisman (daughter of the slain Shaman), Arachne (who has been given the option of having outstanding charges dropped in exchange for her participation on the team), U.S. Agent (who was sent to Canada by Tony Stark as a S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison to Omega Flight in Civil War: Choosing Sides), Beta Ray Bill (an alien with Thor-like powers), and a new Guardian – who, in a strange twist of storytelling, is Michael Pointer, the mutant who, as a host of The Collective, was responsible for the death of the original Alpha Flight team at the hands of Brian Bendis in New Avengers #16. While this first issue doesn’t feature the full team’s roster, the chemistry between the team members that do appear is excellent. The scenes between Talisman and Sasquatch shows the kind of love that you would expect from members of the same extended (albeit super powered) family.

There is no doubt that Omega Flight #1 is a love letter to long suffering Alpha Flight fans. It not only speaks to the death of the original Alpha Flight, but It’s also densely packed with references (sometimes obscure) to the original Alpha Flight series.

For an American, Oeming has a decent grasp of Canadian culture and geography. Decent enough that many Canadian Alpha Flight fans will grudgingly admit to saying “dude, if we can’t have an actual Canadian writing this, Oeming will do.”

Oeming’s writing is quite polished. He shows himself quite capable of writing fluid and snappy dialog. He also does an excellent job of characterization. In fact, I think that his characterization is so good that it will keep non Alpha Flight fans coming back to Omega Flight.

While not in the category of many of Marvel’s other more rockstar-like artists, Kolins does a respectable job. In fact, his pencil work is very reminiscent of the art that graced the pages of the first Alpha Flight series. The best example of this is Kolins’ rendering of Sasquatch – which is so close to Byrne’s original character design that one might swear that he’s channeling Byrne himself.

In the final analysis, I think that Omega Flight #1 has two overall problems. First off, the pace of the book seems oddly slow for a 5 issue mini-series. This is most likely a result of the fact that the series was originally written as an ongoing, and was not re-written when Marvel abruptly downgraded it to a miniseries. The second problem is that while fanboys (and girls) will think that the densely packed Alpha Flight references are awesome, non-fans will most likely get a little lost. In the grand scheme of things, this second complaint is not that big of a thing as the main storyline of the book is solid. The main Alpha Flight references exist on a level below the main storyline, and don’t interfere too much with the main storyline.

So, in the final analysis, Omega Flight, despite some slight problems, is definitely worth picking up. Beyond being the spiritual successor to Alpha Flight (and therefore a must read for original Alpha Flight fans), it’s a nice addition to Marvel’s post Civil War Initiative story.