“TROUBLE IN TRIPLICATE!”
Part IV: Border Disputes!
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: The Mimic is abducted, making another member of the X-Men to disappear! Cobalt Man fights off Whiplash and Rampage, with the help of Hercules and Ghost Rider! The Angel decides to take a trip to Canada to investigate the Mimic issue, taking the Beast and Wonder Man with his group of the Champions to help with the investigation!
Theme Music: “Closer to the Heart” By Rush
Angel looks down, taking silent note of the countryside beneath them, as the Champions C-Craft soars over the border separating the United States and Canada. He has already cleared their departure from the United States with SHIELD and some other selective agencies, so he knows there will be no opposition—at least from that side of the border.
Seated beside him in the co-pilot’s chair, the Beast looks on with interest. “Are you sure it was a good idea to not notify the Canadian authorities that we were coming?” the Beast asks.
“Probably not,” the Angel responds, “but, then, I think we’d be in hot water either way. I want to examine this situation, and find out if Mimic is still alive. Either the Canadians had something to do with this, or they will think we did. Either way, notifying the authorities there may not work too well for us.”
“Point taken,” the Beast responds, nodding as Angel simply re-affirms the thought process he went through about the whole situation to begin with. “I’m glad we were able to get up with Bobby and Natasha before we left, anyway. It’ll be good to have Bobby on this mission. I’m sure he wants to get to the bottom of this as much as we do.”
“Yeah,” the Angel responds, as the C-Craft soars deeper into Canadian territory, “but I really wish I could have gotten up with Hercules and Ghost Rider. We don’t know what we’re up against, and we could use their power…although we hopefully won’t be needing it.”
“Don’t short-change Simon in the power department,” the Beast replies, realizing that they are moving swiftly to their destination, “he’s taken on some pretty tough customers. I think we have plenty of power here to give any threat a run for their money.”
“I’m glad to have you both with us,” the Angel responds. “I don’t know why I couldn’t reach Ghost Rider and Hercules.”
“Did you check the nearest brothel?” the Beast asks with a disarming smile. The Angel merely shakes his head. It’s taken some getting used to for Warren, who was long accustomed to hearing the Beast rattle off multi-syllable words, suddenly become a comedian.
# # # # # # # # # #
Theme Music: “Rock and Roll All Night” By Kiss
Speaking of Hercules and Ghost Rider (or at least Johnny Blaze), we merely have to turn our attention down the street from their recent battle with Rampage and Whiplash to discover their location. The two Champions are seated around a large oak table at a bar that Johnny has been known to frequent, along with Cobalt Man.
“A flagon of thy finest mead!” Hercules calls out to the bar tender. “And some sustenance as well! My compatriots and I hath a recent victory to celebrate, and ‘tis the prince of power will fund the celebration!”
“Yeah, sure, big guy,” the bar tender responds. He’s read the papers, and knows it’s best to stay on the Olympian’s good side, if possible.
“Uh,” Cobalt Man responds carefully, “I wasn’t really planning on…”
“Nonsense!” Hercules responds. “Warriors must always follow a battle with a meal worthy of their mettle. Do not sell thyself short, friend!”
“Don’t argue with Hercules,” Johnny comments, placing his hand on Cobalt Man’s metallic shoulder. “Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
A waiter brings them each large mugs filled with beer, and places a gallon on the table for them to refill their glasses. He also places a large plate overflowing with seasoned wings.
“What food is this?” Hercules calls out, looking at the small wings. “’Tis bones with no meat! We could eat several plates without it e’en reaching our stomachs! Seek they to insult Hercules?”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Johnny mediates. “We’ll have our drinks and snacks here. We can eat later.”
“Thy words flow with wisdom, friend Johnny!” Hercules responds. “Let us drink, and speak of battles. And, Cobalt Man, I would learn more of thee. Thy attire is like Iron Man’s, but I suspect thy story is thine own.”
“I suppose you could say that,” Cobalt Man replies with a nod, thinking of where to start his story. He is finding himself more relaxed around the two men, and enjoying being around other super-heroes more than he would have realized.
# # # # # # # # # #
♪ Theme Music: “You Keep on Moving” By Deep Purple ♪
Deep in the uninhabited forests of Quebec, a log cabin sits, elevated from the valley beneath it, but still having mountains tower behind it. Pine trees line the woods around the cabin, which has a small deck leading out from its front, acting as a kind of porch. However, the log cabin shows signs of neglect, as overgrowth stretches towards the deck, and around the perimeter of the cabin.
The Angel and Beast guide the C-Craft to a landing near the cabin, as the Beast nods in agreement at the location.
“Man, Beast!” the Angel remarks. I thought you said it was just over the border!”
“That depends on the way you go in,” the Beast responds with a wide smile. “Does it matter?”
“Other than several hundred miles of Canadian territory,” the Angel responds, “I suppose not.”
Getting out of the aircraft, Black Goliath, Iceman, Darkstar, Wonder Man, Bucky Barnes, the Black Widow, the Angel, Dazzler, and the Beast look around, inspecting their surroundings.
“Couldn’t they have waited until April or May to bring us up to this cold place?” Dazzler asks flatly, noting the covering of snow on the pine trees, as well as the mountains around them. Although it is bitterly cold, there is no snow directly beneath their feet at the moment.
“What we’re doing may not take too long,” the Beast responds curtly, shaking his head at her remark. “Pardon us for being unable to control when our mad villains abduct corpses of our friends.”
“Take it easy, Hank,” Bobby replies, placing his hand on the Beast’s furry shoulder. “She’s just trying to lighten the mood. You’ve got to admit, this whole thing is pretty morbid. I mean, we pretty much grew up fighting Calvin, then kind of befriending him—although Calvin wasn’t the type to let anyone come close. Now, we’re going to investigate someone stealing his body. I’d rather be back in L.A., fighting Griffin or some other crazy super-villain…wouldn’t you?”
The Angel looks over at Bucky Barnes, who is in his old Bucky uniform. “I’m surprised to see you wearing your old duds,” Angel remarks.
“Yeah,” Bucky replies with a quiet nod. “I guess I’m still trying to decide on an identity. I’m no communist, and can’t associate myself with the Winter Soldier—although most of that period is a fuzzy blur.”
“That’s likely a blessing, James,” Black Widow adds, sliding her hand around his back in a comforting way.
“I suspect so,” Bucky responds. “Anyway, this is the only other costume I have, the only other identity I know.”
“I can understand where you’re coming from,” the Angel replies. “We went through a lot of different costume changes after we were allowed to have our own costumes back in the X-Men days. At least I did. I guess I was looking for my own place in life at the time.” He smiles a disarming smile. “But, I guess for you, it’s a bit different, isn’t it?”
Bucky pushes the Angel back and falls back himself, grabbing Black Widow around the waist and leaping a few feet away, with the Widow in tow. As he does so, a beam of pure energy strikes the very spot where he and the Angel had been talking a split-second earlier, singeing the ground.
“I thought you’d lost your mind for a minute there, but…what was that?!” the Angel asks rhetorically, as they each look up from where the blast originated. As they do, they see six figures. Vindicator hovers over them, his fist clenched, with energy radiating from it. On either side of him are Northstar and Aurora, the latter running her hand along his bicep. Snowbird and Talisman are on the ground a short distance away, while Sasquatch towers over them.
“We’re Alpha Flight,” Vindicator responds sharply. “And we’re here to arrest you and detain you for violating Canadian airspace.”
“Is that your way of getting our attention?!” the Angel exclaims, gesturing towards the still-smoldering ground. “That could have burned our skin off!”
“Who is this guy?” Iceman asks.
“His name’s Vindicator,” the Angel responds. “He fought the X-Men a couple of weeks ago*. I didn’t know he had friends, though.”
[*Or, as we like to call it, Uncanny X-Men #109.]
“You’re with the X-Men?” Vindicator asks. “I didn’t see you when I paid them a visit recently.”
“No,” the Beast responds, stepping forward, with Wonder Man directly behind him, “but we stay in touch. Now, what’s this all about?”
“The fact that they’re associated with the X-Men just clinches it!” Northstar says, his eyes seething with anger. “Plus, they have at least two spies with them. We know all we need to know.”
“My brother likely has a hot date with one of his female admirers,” Aurora remarks. “They surround him at his appearances.” Northstar merely smiles at his sister, in silent acknowledgment of her suggestion.
“My brother likely has a hot date with one of his female admirers,” Aurora remarks. “They surround him at his appearances.” Northstar merely smiles at his sister, in silent acknowledgment of her suggestion.
“Look,” the Angel offers, “I’m sure we can…”
Before he can finish his sentence, however, a black and white blur slams into him, driving him back to the ground. He barely had time to see movement and roll with Northstar’s blow to prevent an instant knock-out.
Dazzler, shocked to see her boyfriend struck without warning, uses the sounds of the nature around her to send a laser blast at Northstar, striking him in the chest and sending him flying back into a tree, stunning him. “Angel wanted to avoid conflict, and you did this to him?”
“She’s right!” Wonder Man calls out, slamming his fist into Sasquatch, and sending him tumbling back. “We’re not here to be anyone’s punching bags!” He turns back to the Beast, who is even now helping Angel to his feet. “Beast, you and Angel find what we’re here for. We’ll hold things down here!”
“You heard the man, Warren,” Beast remarks, as he and Angel rush up to the cabin. “Let’s find out what happened and get out of here.”
“I’m with you on that,” Angel responds, taking to the air just above the bouncing Beast, “we’ve had our share of international incidents lately.”
In a blur or rapid movement, Aurora streaks down, striking Dazzler and sending her tumbling onto the ground. “You need to learn, my dear, that you do not come into one’s home and start shooting,” she admonishes the Dazzler. “Some of us take exception to that!”
“Let’s see how well you fly,” Darkstar comments, gesturing towards Aurora, creating a dark force all around her so thick that she cannot see, “when you cannot see where you are going.” A resounding THUD indicates that Aurora has slammed into a tree.
Snowbird rushes forward, her body transforming almost instantly into a giant polar bear. She leaps at Black Goliath, who is clearly surprised by the attack. He defends himself against her slashing claws by grabbing her upper arms and flipping her over his head, where she lands on the ground behind them. She quickly rises to her feet, rushing Black Goliath once again.
“She’s obviously a shape-shifter,” Black Goliath silently considers, as he ducks under a slashing motion from the giant polar bear. “And much more determined than any polar bear I’m aware of. Most bears will retreat if flipped like that. I wonder how sentient she remains while in her bear form.” Distracted by his own thoughts, Black Goliath misses the next blow, which cuts him across his chest, ripping into his costume and surprising him back into the combat. “That’s what I get for not paying attention!”
Bucky and Black Widow leap towards the polar bear in unison, each kicking the bear in opposite sides, kicking the bear in each of its kidneys. The bear roars back, in a mixture of anger and pain, its arms flailing about. Bucky and Black Widow land on the ground perfectly, preparing to defend themselves, if necessary.
Black Goliath uses the opportunity they presented him to slam an upper cut into the bear’s jaw, jerking its head back violently and sending it to towards the ground, fighting unconsciousness. The blow prevents Snowbird from keeping her shape. She falls towards the ground, fighting to retain consciousness in her human form. Black Widow leaps into the air, spinning in mid-air, and using the momentum to kick Snowbird in the face, knocking her out!
“We didn’t come up here to fight your group,” Iceman explains, as he sends out ice shards at Vindicator, who uses his energy to blast them.
“You violated the airspace of a sovereign country,” Vindicator contradicts the Champion, as he sends out energy blasts of his own, only to see Iceman quickly erect an ice shield to block his blasts, “and you brought two spies into our country. I don’t know why you’re here, but you need to be de-briefed properly, at the very least.”
“I don’t think so!” Bucky exclaims, leaping into the air and tackling Vindicator around the waist, driving him to the ground. He twists his body around to ensure that it is Vindicator, complete with his body armor, who hits the ground and absorbs the full impact of their fall. “I can give you all the debriefing you need. We’re here to figure out who stole the body of their friend. Once we find out what’s going on, we’ll be glad to leave this place.”
“We work for the government,” Vindicator responds, gritting his teeth momentarily to suppress the pain in his back from the fall. “I should think you, of all people, can appreciatethat!” So saying, he gestures towards Bucky, sending out an energy discharge at the hero, who does back-flips out of the way, carefully avoiding repeated blasts of energy. “Damn!” Vindicator thinks to himself. “He’s just as good as they say he is!”
Shaman opens up his bag and spreads some dust through the air around Iceman’s ice shield. The air bursts into flames and starts to melt the ice shield.
The Beast and Angel arrive at an unmarked grave, dug some time earlier by the Beast himself. When they find the location, they are surprised to see that it has caved in, with dirt spread within and without the grave.
“This is it,” the Beast remarks, pointing down to the collapsed grave. “And it looks like we were right on target.”
Kneeling down, the Angel looks into the grave, pulling away some dirt. “There’s no body in there,” he agrees. “But, who would have taken his body? And why?”
“We’ve got to find all of that out, to be sure,” the Beast nods in agreement, as he waves a small Geiger-type counter, which beeps in low frequency as he moves it across the grave.
“What are you finding out, Hank?” Angel asks.
“The last time I saw Calvin alive,” the Beast explains, “he was super-radiated with gamma rays. I see that the grave itself is still radiated.” He pulls back, moving the Geiger counter on either side of the grave. “I’m trying to figure out if he was pulled out of the grave, or if he walked out.”
“Walked out?!” Angel asks incredulously.
“We’ve see all kinds of things in this business,” Hank responds, as he walks to the right, the Geiger counter beeping loudly once again. “People we thought dead mysteriously came back to life. One thing I can tell already—he did get out of the grave, whether on his own or with someone helping him. And he went this way.”
The ground shakes around them, and they see Sasquatch sailing through the air, his body slamming into—and through—a series of trees, as Wonder Man leaps after him. “Looks like Wondy’s keeping busy,” the Beast comments with a wide smile. It is only a momentary distraction, and he continues tracking the likely path that the Mimic took a short while earlier.
“Look, Hank!” the Angel exclaims, pointing to large footprints clearly visible on the ground in front of them. There are several prints together. “Do those footprints look familiar?”
“I do!” Hank excitedly responds. “And, by judging from the indentation in the soil, it is clear that they were made by the Mimic, not someone carrying him! That can only mean…Mimic is alive!”
“Great,” Angel responds. “But we still don’t know who has him.”
“Maybe not,” the Beast replies. “But I think we have the means to trace him.”
“Okay,” the Angel nods in understanding. “We just need to wrap things up here and do what we’ve got to do.”
The Angel and the Beast rush over to Vindicator, who is squaring off against Bucky. “Vindicator!” Angel calls out. “Let’s put a stop to this unnecessary conflict.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to come in?” Vindicator asks.
“Call off your team and we’ll discuss it,” Angel returns.
After Vindicator calls off his team, the two teams stand facing each other, waiting to see what will happen next. Vindicator turns to the Angel. “All right,” Vindicator comments. “We need to take you and your team to Ottawa to handle this.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Black Widow interjects. “Call your government operatives and I think you’ll find that we’re free to go.”
“What?!” Vindicator exclaims. “That’s not possible. They sent us out here to stop you.”
Aurora walks back from the small aircraft that brought most of the members to this remote location. She has a grim look on her face. “I just got off the line with Ottawa,” she remarks. “They are right.”
“I’m not sure how you pulled that off,” Vindicator comments. “But, the next time you violate our airspace, and our sovereignty, things won’t end so quickly.”
“We can cross that bridge when we get to it,” the Angel responds, as he motions for his team to get back into the C-Craft. He and Black Widow are the last to enter the ship.
“It’s amazing what a call to Nick Fury can do,” she muses. Angel looks on and nods quietly, as they take their places in the ship and prepare to leave Canada.
NEXT ISSUE: So, who is capturing the old X-Men members and why? Hercules and Ghost Rider join the investigation. What about Ares? And be ready for a surprise appearance by some guest-stars. All in 1970’s Champions #13!
CABLES OF CHAMPIONS
Here it is, the 12th issue of 70’s Champions. The 70’s had some great characters, and Alpha Flight was an interesting group at the time, before the later changes and upheavals to the team. From a continuity standpoint, note that this story takes place after Vindicator first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #109. In fact, it takes place a short time after that issue. It takes place before the whole team had appeared completely. They were alluded to in Uncanny X-Men #109 and didn’t appear as a team until Uncanny X-Men #120, eleven issues later.
The early appearances of the team featured a lot of conflict between a Canadian-run team and an American team. At least part of that was national, although certainly the X-Men and Alpha Flight had a major point of contention in that Alpha Flight thought it had a right to bring Wolverine back to Canada. Angel, the Beast, and Iceman’s connection to the X-Men wouldn’t put them in a good light before Alpha Flight, and some of that was evident in this story. The nationalistic conflicts dealing with Alpha Flight actually continued well into the 1980’s.
Alpha Flight is an interesting team, particularly at this point in their history, and they would be a lot of fun to write at this point in their continuity. I like the original team, before the changes that Byrne made to the team and individual characters during the run on the title. This appearance represents the team as they were written and understood to be at that time. So any changes to the characters that came later aren’t a part of continuity here.
Be on the lookout for more appearances of 70’s characters. If there is a specific group or character from that time period (especially if they were unique to that time period) and I’ll try to fit them in. In the meantime, strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.
-Jeff Melton
Part IV: Border Disputes!
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: The Mimic is abducted, making another member of the X-Men to disappear! Cobalt Man fights off Whiplash and Rampage, with the help of Hercules and Ghost Rider! The Angel decides to take a trip to Canada to investigate the Mimic issue, taking the Beast and Wonder Man with his group of the Champions to help with the investigation!
Theme Music: “Closer to the Heart” By Rush
Angel looks down, taking silent note of the countryside beneath them, as the Champions C-Craft soars over the border separating the United States and Canada. He has already cleared their departure from the United States with SHIELD and some other selective agencies, so he knows there will be no opposition—at least from that side of the border.
Seated beside him in the co-pilot’s chair, the Beast looks on with interest. “Are you sure it was a good idea to not notify the Canadian authorities that we were coming?” the Beast asks.
“Probably not,” the Angel responds, “but, then, I think we’d be in hot water either way. I want to examine this situation, and find out if Mimic is still alive. Either the Canadians had something to do with this, or they will think we did. Either way, notifying the authorities there may not work too well for us.”
“Point taken,” the Beast responds, nodding as Angel simply re-affirms the thought process he went through about the whole situation to begin with. “I’m glad we were able to get up with Bobby and Natasha before we left, anyway. It’ll be good to have Bobby on this mission. I’m sure he wants to get to the bottom of this as much as we do.”
“Yeah,” the Angel responds, as the C-Craft soars deeper into Canadian territory, “but I really wish I could have gotten up with Hercules and Ghost Rider. We don’t know what we’re up against, and we could use their power…although we hopefully won’t be needing it.”
“Don’t short-change Simon in the power department,” the Beast replies, realizing that they are moving swiftly to their destination, “he’s taken on some pretty tough customers. I think we have plenty of power here to give any threat a run for their money.”
“I’m glad to have you both with us,” the Angel responds. “I don’t know why I couldn’t reach Ghost Rider and Hercules.”
“Did you check the nearest brothel?” the Beast asks with a disarming smile. The Angel merely shakes his head. It’s taken some getting used to for Warren, who was long accustomed to hearing the Beast rattle off multi-syllable words, suddenly become a comedian.
# # # # # # # # # #
Theme Music: “Rock and Roll All Night” By Kiss
Speaking of Hercules and Ghost Rider (or at least Johnny Blaze), we merely have to turn our attention down the street from their recent battle with Rampage and Whiplash to discover their location. The two Champions are seated around a large oak table at a bar that Johnny has been known to frequent, along with Cobalt Man.
“A flagon of thy finest mead!” Hercules calls out to the bar tender. “And some sustenance as well! My compatriots and I hath a recent victory to celebrate, and ‘tis the prince of power will fund the celebration!”
“Yeah, sure, big guy,” the bar tender responds. He’s read the papers, and knows it’s best to stay on the Olympian’s good side, if possible.
“Uh,” Cobalt Man responds carefully, “I wasn’t really planning on…”
“Nonsense!” Hercules responds. “Warriors must always follow a battle with a meal worthy of their mettle. Do not sell thyself short, friend!”
“Don’t argue with Hercules,” Johnny comments, placing his hand on Cobalt Man’s metallic shoulder. “Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
A waiter brings them each large mugs filled with beer, and places a gallon on the table for them to refill their glasses. He also places a large plate overflowing with seasoned wings.
“What food is this?” Hercules calls out, looking at the small wings. “’Tis bones with no meat! We could eat several plates without it e’en reaching our stomachs! Seek they to insult Hercules?”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Johnny mediates. “We’ll have our drinks and snacks here. We can eat later.”
“Thy words flow with wisdom, friend Johnny!” Hercules responds. “Let us drink, and speak of battles. And, Cobalt Man, I would learn more of thee. Thy attire is like Iron Man’s, but I suspect thy story is thine own.”
“I suppose you could say that,” Cobalt Man replies with a nod, thinking of where to start his story. He is finding himself more relaxed around the two men, and enjoying being around other super-heroes more than he would have realized.
# # # # # # # # # #
♪ Theme Music: “You Keep on Moving” By Deep Purple ♪
Deep in the uninhabited forests of Quebec, a log cabin sits, elevated from the valley beneath it, but still having mountains tower behind it. Pine trees line the woods around the cabin, which has a small deck leading out from its front, acting as a kind of porch. However, the log cabin shows signs of neglect, as overgrowth stretches towards the deck, and around the perimeter of the cabin.
The Angel and Beast guide the C-Craft to a landing near the cabin, as the Beast nods in agreement at the location.
“Man, Beast!” the Angel remarks. I thought you said it was just over the border!”
“That depends on the way you go in,” the Beast responds with a wide smile. “Does it matter?”
“Other than several hundred miles of Canadian territory,” the Angel responds, “I suppose not.”
Getting out of the aircraft, Black Goliath, Iceman, Darkstar, Wonder Man, Bucky Barnes, the Black Widow, the Angel, Dazzler, and the Beast look around, inspecting their surroundings.
“Couldn’t they have waited until April or May to bring us up to this cold place?” Dazzler asks flatly, noting the covering of snow on the pine trees, as well as the mountains around them. Although it is bitterly cold, there is no snow directly beneath their feet at the moment.
“What we’re doing may not take too long,” the Beast responds curtly, shaking his head at her remark. “Pardon us for being unable to control when our mad villains abduct corpses of our friends.”
“Take it easy, Hank,” Bobby replies, placing his hand on the Beast’s furry shoulder. “She’s just trying to lighten the mood. You’ve got to admit, this whole thing is pretty morbid. I mean, we pretty much grew up fighting Calvin, then kind of befriending him—although Calvin wasn’t the type to let anyone come close. Now, we’re going to investigate someone stealing his body. I’d rather be back in L.A., fighting Griffin or some other crazy super-villain…wouldn’t you?”
The Angel looks over at Bucky Barnes, who is in his old Bucky uniform. “I’m surprised to see you wearing your old duds,” Angel remarks.
“Yeah,” Bucky replies with a quiet nod. “I guess I’m still trying to decide on an identity. I’m no communist, and can’t associate myself with the Winter Soldier—although most of that period is a fuzzy blur.”
“That’s likely a blessing, James,” Black Widow adds, sliding her hand around his back in a comforting way.
“I suspect so,” Bucky responds. “Anyway, this is the only other costume I have, the only other identity I know.”
“I can understand where you’re coming from,” the Angel replies. “We went through a lot of different costume changes after we were allowed to have our own costumes back in the X-Men days. At least I did. I guess I was looking for my own place in life at the time.” He smiles a disarming smile. “But, I guess for you, it’s a bit different, isn’t it?”
Bucky pushes the Angel back and falls back himself, grabbing Black Widow around the waist and leaping a few feet away, with the Widow in tow. As he does so, a beam of pure energy strikes the very spot where he and the Angel had been talking a split-second earlier, singeing the ground.
“I thought you’d lost your mind for a minute there, but…what was that?!” the Angel asks rhetorically, as they each look up from where the blast originated. As they do, they see six figures. Vindicator hovers over them, his fist clenched, with energy radiating from it. On either side of him are Northstar and Aurora, the latter running her hand along his bicep. Snowbird and Talisman are on the ground a short distance away, while Sasquatch towers over them.
“We’re Alpha Flight,” Vindicator responds sharply. “And we’re here to arrest you and detain you for violating Canadian airspace.”
“Is that your way of getting our attention?!” the Angel exclaims, gesturing towards the still-smoldering ground. “That could have burned our skin off!”
“Who is this guy?” Iceman asks.
“His name’s Vindicator,” the Angel responds. “He fought the X-Men a couple of weeks ago*. I didn’t know he had friends, though.”
[*Or, as we like to call it, Uncanny X-Men #109.]
“You’re with the X-Men?” Vindicator asks. “I didn’t see you when I paid them a visit recently.”
“No,” the Beast responds, stepping forward, with Wonder Man directly behind him, “but we stay in touch. Now, what’s this all about?”
“The fact that they’re associated with the X-Men just clinches it!” Northstar says, his eyes seething with anger. “Plus, they have at least two spies with them. We know all we need to know.”
“My brother likely has a hot date with one of his female admirers,” Aurora remarks. “They surround him at his appearances.” Northstar merely smiles at his sister, in silent acknowledgment of her suggestion.
“My brother likely has a hot date with one of his female admirers,” Aurora remarks. “They surround him at his appearances.” Northstar merely smiles at his sister, in silent acknowledgment of her suggestion.
“Look,” the Angel offers, “I’m sure we can…”
Before he can finish his sentence, however, a black and white blur slams into him, driving him back to the ground. He barely had time to see movement and roll with Northstar’s blow to prevent an instant knock-out.
Dazzler, shocked to see her boyfriend struck without warning, uses the sounds of the nature around her to send a laser blast at Northstar, striking him in the chest and sending him flying back into a tree, stunning him. “Angel wanted to avoid conflict, and you did this to him?”
“She’s right!” Wonder Man calls out, slamming his fist into Sasquatch, and sending him tumbling back. “We’re not here to be anyone’s punching bags!” He turns back to the Beast, who is even now helping Angel to his feet. “Beast, you and Angel find what we’re here for. We’ll hold things down here!”
“You heard the man, Warren,” Beast remarks, as he and Angel rush up to the cabin. “Let’s find out what happened and get out of here.”
“I’m with you on that,” Angel responds, taking to the air just above the bouncing Beast, “we’ve had our share of international incidents lately.”
In a blur or rapid movement, Aurora streaks down, striking Dazzler and sending her tumbling onto the ground. “You need to learn, my dear, that you do not come into one’s home and start shooting,” she admonishes the Dazzler. “Some of us take exception to that!”
“Let’s see how well you fly,” Darkstar comments, gesturing towards Aurora, creating a dark force all around her so thick that she cannot see, “when you cannot see where you are going.” A resounding THUD indicates that Aurora has slammed into a tree.
Snowbird rushes forward, her body transforming almost instantly into a giant polar bear. She leaps at Black Goliath, who is clearly surprised by the attack. He defends himself against her slashing claws by grabbing her upper arms and flipping her over his head, where she lands on the ground behind them. She quickly rises to her feet, rushing Black Goliath once again.
“She’s obviously a shape-shifter,” Black Goliath silently considers, as he ducks under a slashing motion from the giant polar bear. “And much more determined than any polar bear I’m aware of. Most bears will retreat if flipped like that. I wonder how sentient she remains while in her bear form.” Distracted by his own thoughts, Black Goliath misses the next blow, which cuts him across his chest, ripping into his costume and surprising him back into the combat. “That’s what I get for not paying attention!”
Bucky and Black Widow leap towards the polar bear in unison, each kicking the bear in opposite sides, kicking the bear in each of its kidneys. The bear roars back, in a mixture of anger and pain, its arms flailing about. Bucky and Black Widow land on the ground perfectly, preparing to defend themselves, if necessary.
Black Goliath uses the opportunity they presented him to slam an upper cut into the bear’s jaw, jerking its head back violently and sending it to towards the ground, fighting unconsciousness. The blow prevents Snowbird from keeping her shape. She falls towards the ground, fighting to retain consciousness in her human form. Black Widow leaps into the air, spinning in mid-air, and using the momentum to kick Snowbird in the face, knocking her out!
“We didn’t come up here to fight your group,” Iceman explains, as he sends out ice shards at Vindicator, who uses his energy to blast them.
“You violated the airspace of a sovereign country,” Vindicator contradicts the Champion, as he sends out energy blasts of his own, only to see Iceman quickly erect an ice shield to block his blasts, “and you brought two spies into our country. I don’t know why you’re here, but you need to be de-briefed properly, at the very least.”
“I don’t think so!” Bucky exclaims, leaping into the air and tackling Vindicator around the waist, driving him to the ground. He twists his body around to ensure that it is Vindicator, complete with his body armor, who hits the ground and absorbs the full impact of their fall. “I can give you all the debriefing you need. We’re here to figure out who stole the body of their friend. Once we find out what’s going on, we’ll be glad to leave this place.”
“We work for the government,” Vindicator responds, gritting his teeth momentarily to suppress the pain in his back from the fall. “I should think you, of all people, can appreciatethat!” So saying, he gestures towards Bucky, sending out an energy discharge at the hero, who does back-flips out of the way, carefully avoiding repeated blasts of energy. “Damn!” Vindicator thinks to himself. “He’s just as good as they say he is!”
Shaman opens up his bag and spreads some dust through the air around Iceman’s ice shield. The air bursts into flames and starts to melt the ice shield.
The Beast and Angel arrive at an unmarked grave, dug some time earlier by the Beast himself. When they find the location, they are surprised to see that it has caved in, with dirt spread within and without the grave.
“This is it,” the Beast remarks, pointing down to the collapsed grave. “And it looks like we were right on target.”
Kneeling down, the Angel looks into the grave, pulling away some dirt. “There’s no body in there,” he agrees. “But, who would have taken his body? And why?”
“We’ve got to find all of that out, to be sure,” the Beast nods in agreement, as he waves a small Geiger-type counter, which beeps in low frequency as he moves it across the grave.
“What are you finding out, Hank?” Angel asks.
“The last time I saw Calvin alive,” the Beast explains, “he was super-radiated with gamma rays. I see that the grave itself is still radiated.” He pulls back, moving the Geiger counter on either side of the grave. “I’m trying to figure out if he was pulled out of the grave, or if he walked out.”
“Walked out?!” Angel asks incredulously.
“We’ve see all kinds of things in this business,” Hank responds, as he walks to the right, the Geiger counter beeping loudly once again. “People we thought dead mysteriously came back to life. One thing I can tell already—he did get out of the grave, whether on his own or with someone helping him. And he went this way.”
The ground shakes around them, and they see Sasquatch sailing through the air, his body slamming into—and through—a series of trees, as Wonder Man leaps after him. “Looks like Wondy’s keeping busy,” the Beast comments with a wide smile. It is only a momentary distraction, and he continues tracking the likely path that the Mimic took a short while earlier.
“Look, Hank!” the Angel exclaims, pointing to large footprints clearly visible on the ground in front of them. There are several prints together. “Do those footprints look familiar?”
“I do!” Hank excitedly responds. “And, by judging from the indentation in the soil, it is clear that they were made by the Mimic, not someone carrying him! That can only mean…Mimic is alive!”
“Great,” Angel responds. “But we still don’t know who has him.”
“Maybe not,” the Beast replies. “But I think we have the means to trace him.”
“Okay,” the Angel nods in understanding. “We just need to wrap things up here and do what we’ve got to do.”
The Angel and the Beast rush over to Vindicator, who is squaring off against Bucky. “Vindicator!” Angel calls out. “Let’s put a stop to this unnecessary conflict.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to come in?” Vindicator asks.
“Call off your team and we’ll discuss it,” Angel returns.
After Vindicator calls off his team, the two teams stand facing each other, waiting to see what will happen next. Vindicator turns to the Angel. “All right,” Vindicator comments. “We need to take you and your team to Ottawa to handle this.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Black Widow interjects. “Call your government operatives and I think you’ll find that we’re free to go.”
“What?!” Vindicator exclaims. “That’s not possible. They sent us out here to stop you.”
Aurora walks back from the small aircraft that brought most of the members to this remote location. She has a grim look on her face. “I just got off the line with Ottawa,” she remarks. “They are right.”
“I’m not sure how you pulled that off,” Vindicator comments. “But, the next time you violate our airspace, and our sovereignty, things won’t end so quickly.”
“We can cross that bridge when we get to it,” the Angel responds, as he motions for his team to get back into the C-Craft. He and Black Widow are the last to enter the ship.
“It’s amazing what a call to Nick Fury can do,” she muses. Angel looks on and nods quietly, as they take their places in the ship and prepare to leave Canada.
NEXT ISSUE: So, who is capturing the old X-Men members and why? Hercules and Ghost Rider join the investigation. What about Ares? And be ready for a surprise appearance by some guest-stars. All in 1970’s Champions #13!
CABLES OF CHAMPIONS
Here it is, the 12th issue of 70’s Champions. The 70’s had some great characters, and Alpha Flight was an interesting group at the time, before the later changes and upheavals to the team. From a continuity standpoint, note that this story takes place after Vindicator first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #109. In fact, it takes place a short time after that issue. It takes place before the whole team had appeared completely. They were alluded to in Uncanny X-Men #109 and didn’t appear as a team until Uncanny X-Men #120, eleven issues later.
The early appearances of the team featured a lot of conflict between a Canadian-run team and an American team. At least part of that was national, although certainly the X-Men and Alpha Flight had a major point of contention in that Alpha Flight thought it had a right to bring Wolverine back to Canada. Angel, the Beast, and Iceman’s connection to the X-Men wouldn’t put them in a good light before Alpha Flight, and some of that was evident in this story. The nationalistic conflicts dealing with Alpha Flight actually continued well into the 1980’s.
Alpha Flight is an interesting team, particularly at this point in their history, and they would be a lot of fun to write at this point in their continuity. I like the original team, before the changes that Byrne made to the team and individual characters during the run on the title. This appearance represents the team as they were written and understood to be at that time. So any changes to the characters that came later aren’t a part of continuity here.
Be on the lookout for more appearances of 70’s characters. If there is a specific group or character from that time period (especially if they were unique to that time period) and I’ll try to fit them in. In the meantime, strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.
-Jeff Melton