Alpha Flight #5
Alpha Flight #5 is the formal arrival of the series' distinctive storytelling identity: a team book that works best when it isn't acting like one. By spotlighting only two members — Puck in a wordly hospital crime caper and Shaman in a sweeping origin flashback — John Byrne signaled that this would be a rotating cast of solo dramas rather than a conventional team roster, a structural experiment rare in mainstream superhero publishing at the time. Equally important, the Shaman backup story introduces Elizabeth Twoyoungmen as a child, planting the seed for the future Talisman and weaving the McNeil family (including a twelve-year-old Heather, the future Vindicator) into Shaman's tragic history, building the interlocking, character-driven continuity that defines Byrne's entire run.
In "What Fools These Mortals Be...", Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen struggles to reconcile his scientific mind with the spiritual legacy of his people, even as his wife's illness forces him to confront the limits of medicine. Written and illustrated by John Byrne, this poignant chapter of Alpha Flight blends personal tragedy with cultural tension, all rendered with Byrne’s sharp storytelling and expressive art. The cover, also by Byrne, captures the emotional weight of a man caught between worlds.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Though reluctant to helm the project, John Byrne wrote, pencilled, and inked Alpha Flight's first 28 issues entirely solo — an extraordinary workload given that he was simultaneously producing Fantastic Four for Marvel at the same time. Issue #5 was edited by Denny O'Neil with Linda Grant as assistant editor and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief, and went on direct sale August 23, 1983 (newsstand September 13), carrying a December 1983 cover date. Byrne's original conception of Puck — presented here as a man with achondroplasia and no mystical powers, in constant physical pain — was later retconned by successor writer Bill Mantlo into a mystical origin involving the sorcerer Black Raazer, a change Byrne publicly contested.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Full creative team: John Byrne (writer, penciller, inker); Andy Yanchus (colorist); Tom Orzechowski (letterer); Denny O'Neil (editor); Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).
- The issue contains two stories: the lead 'What Fools These Mortals Be...' follows Puck alone in a hospital in Fort Albany, Ontario, investigating a drug ring while recovering from wounds inflicted by a feral Marrina in issue #2; the backup 'Deathwatch' is Shaman's full origin story.
- First (chronologically earliest) appearance of Elizabeth Twoyoungmen — shown as a young child estranged from her father after her mother's death — who will later become the superhero Talisman.
- First appearance (introduction) of Katheryn Twoyoungmen, Shaman's wife, who dies of cancer in this story after Shaman fails to save her despite his promise to their daughter Elizabeth.
- Earliest chronological appearance of Heather McNeil (future Vindicator/Guardian), depicted here at approximately twelve years old as a neighbor of the Twoyoungmen family.
- First full in-person appearance of Shaman's grandfather, a Sarcee medicine man; his disembodied skull had appeared earlier in Alpha Flight #1.
- The issue cements Byrne's structural approach to the series: rather than assembling the full team, individual members receive solo or paired spotlight issues — a format unconventional for a mainstream superhero team book in 1983.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times, including: Alpha Flight Classic Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2007); Marvel UK's Secret Wars #12–13 (1985); Superaventuras Marvel #52 (Brazil, 1986); Planeta DeAgostini's Spanish Alpha Flight #4 (1985); and the Alpha Flight by John Byrne Omnibus (Marvel, 2017).
Cast · 9 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Talented doctor Michael Twoyoungmen turns away from the ways of his people, despite the requests from his shaman grandfather. Then he learns that his wife is dying. He devotes all his time to finding a cure, to no avail.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).