Alpha Flight Annual #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAlpha Flight Annual #2 serves as the sole first appearance of four Marvel characters — the team Alpha Prime and its three members: Avian, Crag, and Primate — making it the only issue in the entire Alpha Flight run dedicated to introducing an entirely new Savage Land-based super-group. The story also ties directly into the aftermath of Terminus's destruction of the Savage Land (as depicted in Avengers #257), weaving the Annual into the broader tapestry of late-1980s Marvel continuity. For Heather Hudson's character arc as Vindicator, the issue is a standout survival story that tests her leadership instincts without the safety net of her suit or her regular teammates. It remains the definitive showcase of Bill Mantlo's Vindicator — stripped down, resourceful, and forging something new from the wreckage of a shattered prehistoric world.
In "The Fire Inside!", Alpha Flight races to the South Pole to rescue a scientist, only to find their mission complicated by Vindicator’s sudden loss of memory. Stranded in the Savage Land, she forms an unlikely alliance with outcasts before reclaiming her past and being rescued by her teammates. Written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by June Brigman, with inks by Bob McLeod and colors by Bob Sharen, this 1987 annual features a striking cover by Kevin Nowlan.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Bill Mantlo, who had taken over the Alpha Flight series from founding writer-artist John Byrne with issue #29, scripted the Annual as part of his long continuous run on the title (roughly issues #29–66 and both Annuals). June Brigman, who had penciled several issues of the regular series during the same period, provided the pencils, with Bob McLeod on inks and Bob Sharen on colors — the same core production team that handled adjacent issues. The issue was released with a cover date of December 1987 (on-sale August 25, 1987) under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, with Carl Potts serving as the issue's editor. The cover art was provided by Kevin Nowlan. The Annual was long available only in single-issue form, but was finally collected in Marvel's 2026 hardcover Alpha Flight by Mantlo & Lee Omnibus alongside the main series run and the first Annual.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First and (to date) only appearance of Alpha Prime, the Savage Land misfit team formed by Vindicator (Heather Hudson), comprising Avian, Crag, and Primate — all making their debuts here.
- Story title: 'The Fire Inside!' — written by Bill Mantlo, penciled by June Brigman, inked by Bob McLeod, colored by Bob Sharen, lettered by Janice Chiang, edited by Carl Potts.
- The plot directly references and follows on from Terminus's destruction of the Savage Land, first depicted in Avengers #257.
- Vindicator is separated from Alpha Flight, loses her memory, and is stranded powerless in an underground region of the Savage Land where she organizes Avian, Crag, and Primate into a defensive team.
- The three Alpha Prime members (Avian, Crag, Primate) are depicted as Neanderthal-stock natives mutated by geothermal gases released after Terminus devastated their environment, making them outcasts within their own tribe.
- Sasquatch (Walter Langkowski) and Box (Madison Jeffries) serve as the main Alpha Flight perspective characters searching for the missing Vindicator.
- Most original Alpha Flight members — Aurora, Guardian, Marrina, Northstar, Puck, Shaman, Snowbird — appear only in flashback, reflecting the team's dramatically reduced active roster at this point in Mantlo's run.
- The issue was first collected in the Alpha Flight by Mantlo & Lee Omnibus (Marvel, released January 7, 2026), alongside Alpha Flight #30–70 and Annual #1.
Cast · 18 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Alpha Flight is at the South Pole to save a scientist, but Vindicator loses her memory and in the Savage Land makes some outcasts into a new team. Later, she regains her memory, and is rescued by her teammates in Alpha Flight.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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