Issue(s): Alpha Flight #9, Alpha Flight #10 (origin back-ups only)
Cover Date: Apr-May 84
Title: "A stranger in my mirror" / "Family ties"
Credits:
John Byrne - Writer
John Byrne - Penciler
John Byrne - Inker

Review/plot:
These are back-up stories providing the origins of Aurora, Northstar, and (separately) Sasquatch. Issue #9 was one of the first comics i ever had. When i first read Aurora's origin, i had no idea who she was, so her "origin" didn't mean a lot to me. And it dealt with some pretty heavy stuff like suicide (Aurora first discovers her flying powers when she tries to jump off a building), religion (Aurora assumes her powers are the result of a miracle, but the strict Nuns that raise her think she's talking blasphemy), and multiple-personality disorder.

So, wow. But her origin also featured a scrappy guy called Wolverine, who seemed pretty damn cool.

Later on, i was convinced for a while that this comic was "worth something" because Wolverine was in it.

Northstar's origin is less complicated. The government figures out that there's an uncanny similarity between famous ski champion Jean-Paul Martin and their new recruit Aurora. They investigate and find that he's been using his mutant powers to cheat in ski competitions, and also that he's a bit of a jerk (and that women don't seem to interest him very much). So they summon him, and when he arrives he isn't at all interested in being recruited until he meets his long lost twin sister.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - origins of Aurora and Northstar. And Wolverine's in it!!!

Chronological Placement Considerations: Since Aurora and Northstar weren't part of the team in Alpha Flight Special #1, it can be assumed that this takes place after that story. That's not definitive, since they just might not have been around, but the Sasquatch origin in issue #11 would logically take place after these, and since Walter Langkowski isn't Sasquatch in Alpha Flight Special #1, it seems safe to assume that all of the back-ups Alpha Flight #9-11 take place after Alpha Flight Special #1. Due to Wolverine's appearance, these stories should still take place before he leaves for the X-Men.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? Y

My Reprint: N/A

A lot of people apparently missed that Byrne was already intending for Jean-Paul to be gay. I also liked the complex background of Aurora although it wasn't always handled well.