Puck Part 48: Alpha Flight #50 (September, 1987)

Puck heads north to Ungava Bay with the team in search for a cure for Aurora, Northstar…and himself.

I have this issue.

Judd returns to the place where Loki once offered both Alpha Flight and the X-Men the fire-fountain - a gift of power at the cost of creativity and magic. Aurora’s gone mad, and Northstar is dying. Judd, meanwhile, is thinking of trying to cure himself of Black Raazer in order to offer himself to Heather. The team finds the fountain’s location and its source, but when the fountain is reignited, it is made of black light instead of the original white. Dark elves attack, and Judd helps fight them off, but is knocked into the fire-fountain. As he falls, he is cured of his dwarfism. The price, however, is the release of Black Raazer once more. Vindicator, Box, Sasquatch and a cured Northstar fight back the elves and Black Raazer long enough to seal the fire-fountain, but both Puck and Aurora are left on the other side. The team returns home to mourn their losses. As Loki looks on, They Who Sit Above In Shadow appear, ready to pass judgement on him for breaking his promise to leave humanity alone. Loki quickly shows them that he transported Judd to Tibet, a land most dear in his memory, to spend the rest of his days.

Notes of Interest:

1) Judd is returned to his full height and proper age when Black Raazer is released.

2) We learn that Judd began his soldier of fortune career in Tibet, and if it wasn’t for Black Raazer he may never have stopped.

3) Judd sees this as an opportunity to start a new life, releases his feelings for Heather, and is actually grateful to be there.

WTF? Moment: First of all, I have to give credit to writer Bill Mantlo. I know I’ve been complaining over the last 20 issues or so about his minimal use of Judd other than as a pining, angst-driven guy who couldn’t accept the fact that the object of his affections didn’t feel the same way towards him. Mantlo could have easily dumped Judd from the title any number of ways and he doesn’t. He takes the time to tie in plot points from the X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover, frees Judd from the pain of Black Raazer and brings Judd back to his original height and age. Plus, making Loki the one who transports him back to Tibet to spend the rest of his days opens the door for possible strings to be attached to that prize. I tip my hat and give my thanks to Mantlo for allowing Judd to leave the book in such a dignified manner.

WTF? Moment #2: Can someone explain to me why Judd has to wear a jacket and mittens when he has a thermal version of his suit somewhere in the Omniship?

WTF? Moment #3: A personal note – I could have stopped reading Alpha Flight at this point and been perfectly happy with how things ended. But this was 1987, I was fifteen years old with allowance to burn, and I was hooked. I am proud to say that Alpha Flight was the first series I worked to own every issue of, and it is that level of commitment which drew me to continue collecting other titles. Not every issue is a winner, and some are downright terrible, but my interest grew as these characters evolved and changed over time. But there is a Shark Moment, a Point of No Return; that inescapable story or artwork or whatever that eventually pulled me out of that suspension of disbelief. My point is that while I could stop documenting Judd’s appearances in the Marvel Universe here, I won’t, because I didn’t stop reading then. I’ll let you know when I’m done with Judd, and yes…it will be before the series ended.