Alpha Flight #19
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAlpha Flight #19 is the issue in which Elizabeth Twoyoungmen formally becomes Talisman — reaching into Shaman's medicine pouch to withdraw the Coronet of Enchantment and donning it before the assembled team — making it the first full costumed appearance of one of Marvel's most distinctive Indigenous-Canadian magic-users. The issue also delivers the full dramatic origin of Ranaq the Devourer, the Great Beast whose long-buried skull had been driving events since issue #14, with the story resolving via a rare closed-time-loop structure: Alpha Flight travels to 1884 Calgary not to change history but to complete a cycle that has already happened, a storytelling device uncommon in mainstream superhero comics of the era. Together, the Talisman debut and the Great Beasts mythology gave John Byrne's run a thematic backbone rooted in Indigenous spiritual tradition and Canadian geography, distinguishing the series from nearly every other Marvel team book of its time. The issue stands as the pivot point between Elizabeth's introductory arc (begun in #5) and her tenure as a full Alpha Flight member.
In "Turn Again, Turn Again, Time in Thy Flight...", Elizabeth—recognized by Snowbird as the promised one—uncovers a mysterious coronet in her father’s medicine bag, transforming her into Talisman upon donning it. With the team now united by destiny, Alpha Flight journeys 100 years into the past to face the ancient threat of the great beast Ranaq. Written and illustrated by John Byrne, with cover art by Byrne, this pivotal issue marks a bold leap in time and identity, all rendered in Byrne’s signature style and vivid colors by Andy Yanchus.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Alpha Flight #19 was written, pencilled, and inked entirely by John Byrne — with Keith Williams providing background inks only — under the editorship of Denny O'Neil, with Jim Shooter serving as Editor-in-Chief. It was released on October 30, 1984, carrying a February 1985 cover date, and was produced during the period when Byrne was sole creative force on the title. Byrne had introduced Elizabeth Twoyoungmen as a supporting character back in Alpha Flight #5 (December 1983) and built toward her transformation across more than a dozen issues; the Great Beasts themselves were conceived by Byrne as the series' primary mythological threat and served as antagonists throughout his entire 28-issue run. The issue was produced in both a Direct Market edition and a Newsstand edition, as well as a Canadian price variant.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First full appearance of Talisman (Elizabeth Twoyoungmen in costume with the Coronet of Enchantment); Elizabeth had debuted in civilian form in Alpha Flight #5 (December 1983).
- First appearance of the Talisman of Power (the Coronet/Circlet of Enchantment) as a named, functional artifact.
- Full origin story of Ranaq the Devourer, one of the Great Beasts; Ranaq first appeared (partially) in Alpha Flight #18, with this issue completing the account set in 1884 Calgary.
- The story's title is 'Turn Again, Turn Again, Time in Thy Flight…' — an unusual closed-time-loop plot in which Alpha Flight (Shaman, Puck, Snowbird, and the newly-transformed Talisman) travel back to 1884 to participate in the very events they were already trying to solve in the present.
- Written, pencilled, and inked by John Byrne (background inks by Keith Williams); colored by Andy Yanchus; lettered by Rick Parker; edited by Denny O'Neil; Jim Shooter was Editor-in-Chief.
- Snowbird coins the name 'Talisman' for Elizabeth at the issue's close, noting she will require serious training for her new powers.
- Heather McNeil Hudson (Vindicator) appears but does not travel back in time with the others — she remains in the present.
- The issue was collected in Alpha Flight Classic Vol. 2 (Marvel, 2011), which reprints Alpha Flight #9–19 and X-Men #109, and is also included in the John Byrne Omnibus (Marvel, 2017).
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Recognized as the promised one by Snowbird, Elizabeth is compelled to reach into her father's medicine bag and removes a coronet which transforms her into Talisman when she places it on her head. Alpha Flight then travels 100 years into the past to confront the great beast Ranaq.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
Key issues in Alpha Flight
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