Alpha Flight #29

Title: “Cut Bait & Run!”

Writer: Bill Mantlo

Penciller: Mike Mignola

Inker: Gerry Talaoc

Colors: Bob Sharen

Editor: Carl Potts

Hulk smashes Box through the chest and says that he will smash Metal Man for dragging him there. Hulk says that he has made Metal Man scream. Bochs says that he has to remember that he is only mentally and molecularly merged with Box. He says that he isn’t really part of it. He says that he can’t be hurt when Box is damaged, but then wonders if that is really true. Puck tells Jefferies to help reassure Bochs before he starts to panic. Jefferies says that he has warned Bochs about becoming one with the Box. Puck says that he was afraid of this and that Bochs is immobilized. Aurora asks what happened to Walter and if he is inside the Hulk. Puck fears for Aurora as he attacks the Hulk wondering what happened to Walter. Puck tells Bochs to phase out. Bochs says that he doesn’t know if he should or can. He says that there is a hole in his chest where his heart should be. Box starts to fall over on Aurora, but Northstar swoops in and pulls her out of the way. Bochs tells Jefferies to help him and that he doesn’t feel so good. Jefferies says that he is coming. Puck wonders if he has given them enough time. Hulk tells Little Man to hold still so that he can smash him. Jefferies starts to repair the damage to Box’s chest. Aurora starts calling out for Walter. She tells Northstar that her love is lost and that she will never see him again. Northstar realizes that the shock is causing Aurora to slip into her Jean-Marie identity. He thinks to himself that he was worried about something like this happening when she fell in love with Sasquatch. Hulk grabs Puck off his back and throws him. Puck manages to snatch something to stop his flight. Hulk takes another swing at Puck, but Puck dodges. Puck wonders what version of the Hulk they are fighting. Heather asks Puck if he is all right. Puck says that he is fine and tells her to let him deal with the monster. Puck says that this seems like the savage Hulk and not the mindless Hulk. He thinks that is why maybe Langowski is lost, and that if Bruce Banner is inside the Hulk that there would be no room for Walter. Heather watches Puck dodging Hulk’s attacks. She thinks to herself that she is supposed to be the team leader, but without any power or skill of her own. She turns to Shaman and says that they need him. Shaman, is despair, says that he would help if he could, but that his powers work on his faith that he is worthy to wield the magic of his ancestors. He says that his inability to save his daughter has shaken that faith just as it did when his wife died. He says that without faith that he is without power. He says that Puck is in trouble and tries. He sticks his hand into the medicine pouch, but his hand comes out empty. Puck wonders what hope they have of prevailing over the Hulk without Shaman. Hulk throws a ten ton machine into a wall and brings it down on Puck. Hulk sees the outside and says that he is free. He says that he is in a city he doesn’t know, and that he doesn’t want to be there. He says that he has to make his way back to the desert and go home. Hulk says that he will go home or smash this city until it looks like the desert. Heather leaps onto Hulk’s back, but Hulk just keeps on going. Heather calls to Northstar for help.

Northstar is busy with Aurora. He tells her not to grieve. She asks how she can’t grieve. She says that her Walter is dead. She says that he will never hold her in his strong loving arms and kiss her again. She says that he is gone and she loved him so. Northstar says that he knows. Aurora notices that Northstar is also crying.

Heather and Puck are both hanging on the Hulk. Hulk says that this city is too tiny for him, and that he needs room to move and be free. He says that he needs to return to the emptiness of the desert. Hulk leaps into the air knocking Heather and Puck off him. Heather says that the Hulk treated them as if they were less than nothing. She says that he wanted to go to the desert where the Hulk was born, and that she is guessing that means that Walter isn’t inside the Hulk. Puck says that when he sees only sea and their city that he is going to take his rage out on Vancouver. Puck says that Heather is the leader and asks what they do now. Heather says that they can only pick up the pieces and start again. Northstar, holding his sister up, says that she must be joking. He says that if losing their three most powerful team members wasn’t enough then surely the ease with which the Hulk went through them should have convinced her that they should no longer be a team. Heather says that maybe if Northstar and Aurora had helped that maybe they would have stood a chance. Northstar says that Alpha Flight is finished. Aurora says that Northstar doesn’t speak for her. She says that the Hulk killed Walter and that she demands vengeance. Heather, not knowing what really happened, decides to use Aurora’s anger to help galvanize Alpha Flight into acting like a team again. Heather asks Box. Jefferies says that he is working on him. He says that Hulk smashed him good, but that he is a tough little guy. He says that the damage is no problem for a transmutator like him. He tells Bochs that he can phase out. Bochs thanks Jefferies for saving his sanity and quite possibly his life. Jefferies says that he wouldn’t want to make a habit of it. He says that it took a lot out of both of them. Heather asks Bochs if he will help them go after the Hulk. Bochs says that he doesn’t know if he can and that he is scared. He says that he wasn’t hurt physically, but psychologically. He wonders what happens if the robotic parts are scattered to the winds. He says that he could be an even bigger cripple than he is now if he phases out. Bochs decides that he will do it for Guardian. Heather thanks him. Jefferies reminds Bochs of the risk. Bochs phases into Box again and asks what life is without risk. Northstar says that he has as much to avenge as Aurora. He says that if she is in that he is too. Box says that is everyone except Shaman. Shaman says that he has nothing to offer them. Puck asks if Dr. Twoyoungmen has self pity. He asks if Shaman forgot that it wasn’t until he stopped feeling sorry for himself that he found his faith and became Shaman. Heather says to let her try. She tells Shaman that she knows what he is going through. She says that he put his daughter is harm’s way and then couldn’t protect her. She says that she knows he is afraid, but that he can’t let his fear paralyze him. Shaman says that he knows that in his mind, but that his heart has lost its courage. He puts his hand in his pouch and it comes out empty again. Heather says that they will have to stop the Hulk without him. She asks the others if they are ready. Puck rides on Aurora’s back. Northstar carries Heather and Box flies alone. Heather tells them that they have to try and get the Hulk out of the city before knocking him out to keep the damage and injuries to a minimum.

Jefferies asks Shaman if he is staying behind. He says that Shaman is sick inside. He says that he wishes he could put people back together the way he did for Box. He says that he used to know someone that could, but that he is in worse shape than Shaman right now. As he walks out of the room he says that it is too bad. He says that Alpha needs Shaman as bad as Shaman needs them. Shaman thinks to himself that Alpha needs his mystic pouch, but that it is denied him. He says that he has a shaman’s knowledge and that maybe he can call upon the power of another who is similarly attuned. He sends out a psychic summons, but doesn’t wait around to see if there is any response.

Box spots the Hulk first. Hulk shouts that he leapt as high as he could, but that he didn’t see desert. He says that all he could see was sea, trees, and the city of men. The police surround Hulk, but Hulk hits the ground and pulls it up in a wave. The police fly everywhere. One cop calls for the military to come in. Box says that they can call them in if they want to, but that the Calvary is already there. Hulk sees the Metal Man he smashed put back together and flying with midget and friends. Puck peppers Hulk with hits. He tells Aurora and Northstar that Heather wants them to keep Hulk swinging at shadows. As they swoop in and around Hulk, Aurora says that they move as fast as light. Northstar says that he can’t match Hulk’s power, but that maybe a hundred blows at super speed in the same spot will show Hulk that he isn’t alone in having power. Northstar bashes Hulk repeatedly. Hulk says that he felt that. Box hits Hulk once and then again. Hulk says that Metal Man hits hard, but that he hits hardest of all. Hulk presses Box over his head and then swings his legs and smashes his body into a wall. Puck notices that Box’s leg is broken off. Box says that it is no problem. He says that he has already given two limbs to the cause, and that he is still more mobile with one leg than he is in a wheelchair. Box hits Hulk again, but Hulk hits him to the ground. He says that when he knocks Metal Man down that Metal Man will stay down. Hulk rips off Box’s other leg and then punches Box away. Box says that there is a piece of him here and there… it’s him all over. Puck wonders if Box is insane or if there is some new spirit embodying Alpha Flight. Heather tells Aurora and Northstar that it is up to them now. Aurora starts to flare up in light. Aurora says that her light is so intense. She says to imagine how it will be when they join hands. Aurora touches Northstar’s hand, but then suddenly both their powers are gone. Northstar says that it is just like what happened when he pulled her out of Box’s way. He asks what she has done. Aurora says that it was Walter’s experiments. Hulk slams his hands together and sends the two of them flying away. Heather stands alone before the Hulk. Suddenly Snowbird flies in. She says that she received Shaman’s psychic summons and came as soon as she could. Snowbird transforms into Sasquatch form. Hulk says that the color is different, but that he knows her. Snowbird says that Hulk once fought against and beside Sasquatch, but that it was the borrowed shape belonging to the Great Beast Tanaraq. She says that Tanaraq reclaimed it and Langowski vanished body and soul. Hulk says that he doesn’t understand or care, but that if White Fur attacks him that he will fight back. Hulk says that he will fight the whole world. Snowbird says that he may have to. Shells start to go off around Hulk from the approaching military. Hulk says that all he wanted was to go home and find peace. He says that all he got was attacked. Hulk says that he has had enough. He tosses a rock into Snowbird’s Sasquatch form and knocks her down. Hulk leaps away. Snowbird wonders if she could be corrupted by remaining in Tanaraq’s form. She changes into her own form and flies after the Hulk. Hulk leaps closer and closer to America. Snowbird feels her powers waning and decides to let America deal with the monster of its own making. She recalls that Alpha Flight’s duty is to protect the northland.

Snowbird returns to Alpha Flight. Aurora says that they won. Northstar says that he thinks it might be hard to convince Vancouver that this was a victory. Jefferies says that there was plenty of property damage, but no lives were lost. Box says that he will still think about locating another lab in an urban area. Puck says that they did bring the Hulk there and wonders if they are more of a menace than the menaces they exist to fight. Heather says that if they get blamed for this that she is just giving up. Snowbird says that Alpha Flight will never be disbanded. She says that Alpha Flight has fought for Canada countless times, rarely with thanks, and never with assistance. She says that they did so at great cost because they had the power to protect and preserve the land that bore them. She says that when she left she had thought that they had served their purpose, but that she was wrong. She says that the land will always be subject to grave and unguessable perils. She says that they stood firm despite defeat. She says that to give up now would be an insult to those who stand ready to carry the banner of Alpha Flight in the future. A helicopter lands and Gary Cody says that is some speech… and one he has waited a long time to hear. He says that he is there to tell them that they will never have to face an enemy alone again. He says that for once he is the bearer of good news. He says that Department H has been refunded… without limit. Heather says that the government cut the funding. Gary says that things change. He says that the current administration wants to boost Canada’s defenses. Heather asks if they would have a free hand. Gary says yes. She asks if there will no strings attached. Gary says that she has his word. Heather says that this is a whole new ballgame. Northstar says that he doesn’t like it. He asks where they were when they needed their help. Aurora says that Northstar’s antipathy for the government is well known. Jefferies says that maybe they just want to keep an eye on them. Box says to think of the research money. Snowbird asks what James MacDonald Hudson would say. They all say yes. Snowbird says that it is unanimous that Alpha Flight will remain a team. Gary Cody says that he thinks James wanted them to be a family. Heather thinks to herself that it is because of Mac’s memory that they follow her. She says that someday the “kids” will question her being at the head of the table. She wonders what she will do about it.

HULK'S TALE CONTINUES IN INCREDIBLE HULK VOL. 2 #314

Uh the Hulk pretty much slaps Alpha Flight around and leaves... and they consider that a win, eh? Makes sense to me! Anyway, Bill Mantlo is unfamiliar with the characters and it really shows in this issue. They just feel wrong. Likewise with Mignola. His Hulk work looked much more finished... perhaps it was the strain of going from a solo book to having to include all the members of a team book, but the art also just seems off. Neither the writing nor the art is horrendous. They just need more time to click.

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