Alone Against Alpha Flight!

	"Alone Against Alpha Flight!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Published in	The Transformers issue 18; issue 19; issue 20
First published	18th May, 1985 (part 1); 1st June, 1985 (part 2); 15th June, 1985 (part 3)
Writer	Tom DeFalco
Artist	Steve Ditko
Colours	Nel Yomtov
Letters	Diana Albers
Editor	Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-chief	Jim Shooter

'

"I feel naked without my left arm!"

This article is a stub and is missing information. You can help The Transformers UK Appendix by expanding it.

Synopsis

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Featured characters

Regular cast

Antagonists

Incidentals

Alpha Flight

Delmar Insurance

Sunset Bain/Madam Menace
- Madam Menace's henchmen
  - Santelli
  - Rollins
Miles Brickman
- Goons
Hulk (footage)

Cabby

Canadian government

Department H personnel
- Minister
- Agent K

Quotes

""

—

Notes

Alone Against Alpha Flight! on Marvel Database, an external wiki

Original printing

Machine Man (vol 1) issue 18, December 1980

Crazy credits

Culminating a trend from previous issues, the credits box reads:

Perfidiously produced by: Tom DeFalco -- whose writing is justly slurred Steve Ditko -- an artist absurd! Diana Albers - she letters like a bird! Nel Yomtov - his colours are often blurred! Denny O'Neil - an editor never bestirred! Jolly Jim Shooter - who commands the last word!*
*See! I told you I'd get even with these tiresome turkeys for insulting me in issue 15's credits! -- Shooter

Edits

All but the eighth (final) page of part 1 are printed in black and white. It seems an attempt was made for the third page, but see #Artwork and technical errors.
On the initial splash page, "splendor" is changed to "splendour" in the opening paragraph. Nel Yomtov's "colors" credit is corrected to "colours", and Jim Shooter's sign-off (see above) reads "in issue 15's credits!" rather than the original's "in last issue's credits!"
On page 2, "armorer" becomes "armourer". An attempt is made to mask an error from the U.S. printing using the wrong "it's" by covering the apostrophe with an elongation to the top stroke of the 'T'.
On page 4, Madam Menace's fashion-themed quip about having a "Fall catalog" of designer armaments becomes the comparatively sauceless "full catalogue".
On page 6, the U.S. English spellings of "meters" and "defense" are changed to the ~~British~~ Canadian spellings "metres" and "defence".
Laughable attempts are made to obscure the footnotes on pages 7 and 8, which referred readers to titles and numbers of Marvel U.S. back issues. We say "laughable" because they look like someone scribbled over them with a black pen and didn't quite fill the whole box in.
On page 8, "maneuvers" becomes "manoeuvres".
All of part 2 is printed in black and white.
On the first page, the brand of Sunset Bain's dress is changed (see #Real-life references).
Also on the first page, Eddie's rather unfortunate choice of words – saying that betting on high school girls' badminton matches is "virgin territory" – is changed to "unknown territory".
In the U.S. printing, Sasquatch's cabby responds to his sudden change of mind with the inexplicable "It's pineapple-time again!" The UK printing re-letters this to "It's nutty season again!"
Only the seventh (final) page of part 3 is printed in colour.
On page 6, two instances of "maneuver" again become "manoeuvre".
A footnote clarifying what Machine Man means about his "first meeting" with the Hulk is removed.
On the penultimate page, K's thought bubble of "Alpha Flight must abort Mission: Machine Man!" replaces "abort" with "abandon", necessitating re-lettering "mission" as well.

Artwork and technical errors

U.S. spellings to slip through include "savior", "neutralizing", "computerized", "hypnotized", "authorized", and "jeopardize". In part 2, we have "honor", "artifact" (which is typically "artefact" in British English), "analyze", "armored", two instances of "realize", and "civilization". Part 3 gives us "colorful", "honor" again, and "defenseless" – all in the same speech bubble.
On page 2, a note from "Didactic Denny" clarifies that Machine Man discovered Menace's riverside hideout "last issue", which was true in the U.S. printing – but in the TFUK printing, he actually discovered it two issues ago.
The third page of part 1 is in a sort of half-colour. Comparison with the original U.S. printing reveals that any shade containing yellow is absent from the TFUK reprint, meaning all yellow, green, and orange elements are uncoloured or incorrect.
On page 6, Brickman says he has taken steps to "insure" Machine Man's obliteration. In that context, the word is "ensure".
On the first page of part 2, Madam Menace refers to Machine Man as her "antagonistic automation", in a context where "automaton" would fit better.
Aaron is completely unmasked on the third page of part 2; the ID number on his forehead reads "X 41" instead of "X-51".
On page 5, because of two unfortunate line breaks, the words "identified and classified" are split into "ident fied and class-fied".
"That raging robot is defeating everyone of my marauding mercenaries!" – that's the wrong "every one", Madam Menace.

Continuity errors

Madam Menace's henchmen attempt to clear the pier warehouse hideout, calling it "a liability ever since Machine Man discovered its location!" In truth, Menace deliberately led Machine Man to the warehouse as part of a trap.
Machine Man quips that he weights 8501 pounds – if true, it's hard to imagine how he was dragged back to Peter's apartment in "Xanadu!".

Continuity notes

"Barely a week" has passed since Machine Man first encountered Madam Menace, in "Arms and the Robot!".
Machine Man's fight with the Hulk occurred before "Introducing Machine Man", in Marvel U.S.'s The Incredible Hulk issue 235 to 237 (or Marvel UK's Hulk Comic issues 35 to 40 ). Hulk then encountered Sasquatch The Incredible Hulk Annual #8 (or Marvel UK's Hulk Comic issues 52 to 56 ).
The other half of Alpha Flight is on assignment in Northern Quebec, as seen in The Uncanny X-Men issue 139 and 140 (or Marvel UK's Marvel Super-Heroes issue 396 and issue 397 ).
Machine Man implies having a second encounter with the Hulk, which was being published concurrently (with the U.S. printing, at least) in Marvel Team-Up Annual issue 3.
Machine Man last demonstrated his ability to become a living drill in "Xanadu!".

Real-life references

Gears asks if Peter only wants Aaron so he can be a cover feature on Psychology Today. Gears lies to Aaron that their argument was about whether to watch Love Boat or Masterpiece Theatre (Gears claiming to prefer the latter, more highbrow option).
Brickman hasn't scored well in the primaries, which the TFUK Appendix takes to mean the 1984 Republican Party presidential primaries.
Agent K calls Alpha Flight "Canada's answer to the Avengers!"
In the original printing, Sunset Bain is said to wear a "Mackie original". TFUK edits this to a "Dior original".
A former Brickman goon tells him that this latest scandal would leave him unable to even get elected as Nixon's butler.

Alone Against Alpha Flight!

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