There have been several different iterations of heroic teams within the Marvel Universe. From the Avengers to the Champions and more. While the main teams tend to take place in the United States, there is one team that has become Canada’s premiere Marvel team. That team is known as Alpha Flight.
Many fans know that Wolverine is one of the most recognizable Canadian born heroes of the Marvel Universe, but Alpha Flight has become a Canadian staple in the comics. From Puck and Guardian to Aurora and Sasquatch, Alpha Flight is a premiere squad of heroes, and being a hero means having a number of villains. Here are the ten most powerful Alpha Flight villains, ranked.
10 Great Beasts
The first foe that the Alpha Flight team is notorious for is that of the Great Beasts. Introduced during the 24-issue run of Alpha Flight by John Byrne, the Great Beasts were antagonists of the team and also appeared in several Marvel events, from the Chaos War storyline to the Secret Invasion and more.
There have been several of the Great Beasts in Alpha Flight’s career. There is Tundra, the first beast to appear who fights Alpha Flight using his connection to the land itself. Also Neooqtoq the Ravager, the deadliest of the Great Beasts, whom Snow Bird assumes it’s shape to battle the Skrull God’s army during Secret Invasion.
9 Wendigo
This foe of Alpha Flight is a consistent problem, as the villain is a curse of the Northern Canadian Woods. Wendigo is a creature created whenever a person commits an act of cannibalism in the woods. First seen battling the Hulk, the Wendigo has also battled Wolverine and of course Alpha Flight.
One notable case that Alpha Flight took on was when a college professor named Georges Baptise became the Wendigo, forcing Wolverine and members of Alpha Flight to fight him until Shaman was able to cure him. Only one person at a time was able to become Wendigo, but packs of the creatures have since been spotted.
8 Bedlam
There tends to be a trend where heroes often inadvertently create new villains. Whether it be a former friend or love interest who felt spurned by the hero, or a small time criminal who became a villain after an attempt to help them. One example of this in Alpha Flight’s career was the villain Bedlam.
Otherwise known as small time criminal William Nowlan, and later The Brain Blast, Bedlam was found to have the potential for superpowers by Guardian, and Bedlam agreed to undergo experimentation to activate the powers. Attempting to create more heroes, the experiment worked, but Bedlam still had a criminal outlook on life. Using his psionic powers, he has become a foe for Alpha Flight.
7 Caliber
The next villain to face Alpha Flight over the years is Caliber. Real name Quinn Pullman, Caliber made his debut in a big way in the pages of Alpha Flight. His first attack on the team came when he took the entire city of Vancouver hostage and threatened to take the lives of the city’s citizens if his demands were not met.
This led to Alpha Flight stepping in. Caliber’s weapons managed to hurt Sasquatch, but he recovered enough to land a punch to Caliber’s face, ending his threat with ease. He would appear again later, freed from prison by Delphine Courtney.
6 Deadly Ernest
One villain with a very unique origin story in Alpha Flight’s history has to be Deadly Ernest. Otherwise known as Ernest St. Ives, the villain was a French soldier during WWI when he was thrown into a shell hole filled with the toxic and deadly mustard gas used during the war.
When Death herself came for him, he refused to go with her. Angry he rejected her, she instead cursed him with the “Death Touch,” which turned his left hand deadly. Allowing him to end anyone’s life instantly with a touch, Ernest became Deadly Ernest, rising to become the head of a crime syndicate in Montreal.
5 Pestilence
One of the more dangerous foes that Alpha Flight faced during their career was Pestilence. Once known as F.R. Crozier, Pestilence was a member of the infamous expedition to the Northern Passage in 1845 by famed explorer Sir Jonathan Franklin in the Arctic. After the ships became stuck in the ice and Jonathan left to find help, never to return, Crozier led the remaining crew away.
Taking an elixir to keep him in suspended animation until the weather warmed up, his crew thought he’d passed on and buried him, leaving him to slowly go insane for nearly 150 years. Upon the birth of Snowbird’s child, Alpha Flight encountered Pestilence, becoming a notorious Alpha Flight villain.
4 Pink Pearl
One of the more unique foes the heroes of Alpha Flight faced over the years had to be Pink Pearl, aka Pearl Gross. Once a member of a circus troupe, the large woman turned to a life of crime, determined to become a terrorist and take over the circus she once ran with.
Attempting to bomb the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada, Alpha Flight stopped her plot. She has increased strength, durability, and agility thanks to her large size, and is a brilliant criminal mind. She later joined the Shadow Council’s version of the Masters of Evil.
3 Omega Flight
When teams like Alpha Flight come along, there is an inevitable moment in their history when a team of supervillains get together to stop the heroes in their tracks. One such team of adversaries for Alpha Flight is Omega Flight. The villainous team has had several iterations. While the last two iterations have been heroic in nature, the first two were created with the sole purpose of destroying Alpha Flight.
The first team was led by Jerome Jaxon, the former boss of Guardian who sought revenge against him, blaming Guardian for him losing his job. A second team was created by the team’s nemesis Master of the World later on.
2 Gilded Lady
One powerful foe the team has faced time and again in their adventures has to be the Gilded Lily. Otherwise known as Lillian von Loont, Gilded Lily was a renowned and powerful alchemist who studied under Fantastic Four villain Diablo, who was also a renowned and evil alchemist himself.
Originally seen in a golden mask, golden gloves, and a fur coat that covered her entire body all the way to her feet, Gilded Lily is believed to have lived for a very long time, with her makeup on her mask and her own style being fashioned in a 1920’s era look.
1 Master Of The World
The most powerful villain Alpha Flight has ever faced has to be their longtime nemesis, the Master of the World. Born over 40,000 years ago, the former caveman named Eshu was captured by an alien ship from the people known as the Plodex. Experimented on for thousands of years, Eshu’s intellect grew and he eventually tapped into the ship’s systems.
Luring Alpha Flight to the ship, he battled the team along with Namor the Sub-Mariner and Invisible Woman, until his ship exploded and he escaped. With a genius level intellect, advanced combat suit with alien weaponry, and superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability, Eshu now goes by the Master of the World.