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Trevor Thompson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 13 June 2015
Posts: 346
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| Posted: 01 December 2015 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | 1
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Hi guys, I've had a look but I couldn't find the answer anywhere so I'm putting it out to Mr Byrne or you knowledgeable forum members out there. Where does the name Alpha Flight come from?
Thank you, in advance.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132599
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| Posted: 01 December 2015 at 7:14pm | IP Logged | 2
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You'd have to ask Chris. The name was his. Not a big fan of it myself.
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Josh Goldberg
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 October 2005
Location: United States
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| Posted: 01 December 2015 at 8:58pm | IP Logged | 3
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I did not know that. Did you have another name in mind, JB? If so, what was it?Did you give any thought to changing the team's name when they got their own series, as the characters themselves debated doing at the end of the first issue?
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Matt Clouser
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 September 2007
Location: United States
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| Posted: 01 December 2015 at 10:02pm | IP Logged | 4
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While it doesn't answer your question specifically, Alpha Flight #1, page 3 has an illustration of showing Alpha Flight, Beta Flight and Gamma Flight. It explains that that Alpha was Department H's most experienced team, Beta was still in training and Gamma was "raw recruits".
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Lars Sandmark
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 05 October 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 3144
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 4:15am | IP Logged | 5
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The Beta and Gamma named teams were added on by JB but the conception of the name Alpha Flight by Chris Claremont was probably because it sounded cool.
He was interested in airplane names back then so I think that's how we got characters named Corsair and Lockheed. And the SR-71 Blackbird which is a real jet.
(CC's first novel is titled First Flight!)
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Eric Smearman
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Joined: 02 September 2006
Location: United States
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 4:55am | IP Logged | 6
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Always thought "Alpha Flight" sounded Claremont-esque.
BTW: At a comic show at my local library, I picked up a whole bunch of
JB's ALPHA FLIGHT. Really enjoying reading them again.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132599
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 7:01am | IP Logged | 7
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Back when they were fan characters, and I nurtured dreams of publishing my own comics, the team was called "The Canadian Shield," named for a range of ancient mountains that surround Hudson's Bay. And "Vindicator" -- another British airplane name, thanks to Chris -- was called "Guardian", deriving from the line in the national anthem, "
we stand on guard for thee
"*I was told both my names would be "confusing" since Marvel already had a SHIELD and Guardians. For several months Guardian was called "Major Maple Leaf" around the office, until Chris stuck him with a decidedly inappropriate name. What does Canada have to "vindicate"? (Eventually I came up with backstory to explain why Hudson used the name, but even doing a Big Deal story in which he officially took "Guardian" did not cure people of using "Vindicator", as many do to this day.) The ridiculous "Major Maple Leaf" name continued to float around the office, until it attached to a character who was himself rather ridiculous. * My father used to tell the story of how, when he first moved to Canada, he was most puzzled by why Canadians would want to "stand on God."
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15875
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 8:17am | IP Logged | 8
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Yeah, Vindicator sounded cool but didn't fit the character in any way.
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Andrew Bitner
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Joined: 01 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 7512
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 9:07am | IP Logged | 9
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I liked the name, even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense on its own. (As JB later constructed it, with Beta and Gamma Flights, it made a lot more sense retroactively.)
And nowadays "Alpha Flight" is the name of the space-based defense corps operating to keep the world protected from aliens (if I remember correctly). The Canadian team is currently defunct, though its members are alive.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 9:11am | IP Logged | 10
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Yeah, Vindicator sounded cool but didn't fit the character in any way. At the time, I said the name would have been more appropriate for a German superhero.
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Ronald Joseph
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 10:09am | IP Logged | 11
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At the time, I said the name would have been more appropriate for a German superhero.
Instead, we were given...Hauptmann Deutschland! Ugh.
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John Byrne
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| Posted: 02 December 2015 at 10:32am | IP Logged | 12
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First I've heard of Herr Hauptmann, but my spider-sense tells me he's a Gruenwald creation...?
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Topic Closed)
