If We can't be free, at least we can be cheap

The Thor Lettering Of John Workman

for New Scientist

Daredevil vs. Prophet.

• THE SERIES? It’s back. • JON AND SUZE? Also back. • THE BANK? MUST BE TAKEN DOWN. • THIS ARC? THE LAST. Gasp! • BULLET LISTS? How do you turn them off in Microsoft Word The highly anticipated return of the #1 New York Times bestselling humor/romance series SEX CRIMINALS kicks off its final story arc.

Alpha Flight #10 - John Byrne (1984) Ah, yes. The Northstar origin short, AKA “James MacDonald Hudson and The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Sales Pitch”. The hint regarding Jean-Paul’s homosexuality this time around is pretty straight forward: he’s not interested in women. What I find more interesting is where that takes the scene when the exchange is read in-context. Just about everyone else in Alpha Flight has Mac come to them about joining the team or gets the offer on neutral ground, and it’s always framed in terms of there being some benefit to the recruit. The Beaubier twins are the exceptions. Aurora is brought in by Wolverine, but still always sees AF as a rescue from the drudgery and abuse of Madame DuPont’s. Jean-Paul, however, gets a summons to Parliament Hill, where he’s met by an underling. He’s then escorted to Mac’s office in the super-secret Dept H section below the building. Mac then brings up Jean-Paul’s recently-revealed heritage (note that despite “recently” being two months prior, the fact that JP has a sister has been withheld), questioning his choice to accept it so quickly. Basically, everything Mac does seems designed to make Jean-Paul feel at a disadvantage going in. (Bravo to the speedster for zero fucks given, tho’.) Then he reveals just how much digging he’s been doing into Jean-Paul’s past and pairs it with an offer that has no question mark in it – it’s an “I want” not “would you?” Essentially, Mac’s approach is to make it clear that he has all the power in this encounter, he lets Jean-Paul know he has the means to out him as a mutant and end his career, then he makes his pitch. Putting all that together, “…the women don’t seem to have interested you overmuch” comes across less as an idle observation and more as added pressure. Mac wouldn’t need to out Jean-Paul as both gay and a mutant, as either one would sink him, but given how Mac has been stacking the odds in his favor, he probably wouldn’t be above dropping a hint about just how thoroughly he’s done his research. So it’s a small wonder that Jean-Paul blows him off without evidencing the slightest bit of interest in Alpha Flight before Aurora comes into the picture. Why in the world would he want to work for someone who had just no-so-subtly threatened to out him on multiple fronts? Now, I don’t think that’s how Byrne intended this scene to be read. He thought that Mac was boring (hence killing him off within a year of the series’ launch), but seems to present him as the well-meaning heroic sort, and heroes don’t go in for blackmail. Northstar is probably intended to come off looking the worse of the two for being unpleasant and self-interested. But as a queer reader, I remember that my reaction after reading through this story a couple of times was, “JFC, did Hudson just threaten to out Northstar if he didn’t join up?! No wonder he has a chip on his shoulder.” So yeah, between that and Mac’s decisions about Aurora joining the team, I usually give Mac Hudson’s overall leadership capabilities some serious side-eye.

ETA: Adding commentary from genuine Canadian @becausedragonage because cultural context:

Essentially, Mac’s approach is to make it clear that he has all the power in this encounter, he lets Jean-Paul know he has the means to out him as a mutant and end his career, then he makes his pitch

 This is so right. There is an excellent possibility that Byrne did mean for that to come across though.

Byrne wrote this in the aftermath of the patriation and amending of our constitution where Quebec was (most likely) excluded from key negotiations that provided the final draft. The relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada was at the forefront of Canadian consciousness and that relationship had often been a shitty and oppressive one for Quebec. Since confederation, ‘proper’ Anglophone Protestant Canada had often viewed Roman Catholic Quebec with contempt and outright hate, and the province was often treated like a lesser partner.

So James summons the French-Canadian to Ottawa, denies him the dignity of a fair offer he gave all the English-speaking Canucks, gives him a lecture that belittles JPs accomplishments, and then makes it clear Jean-Paul needs to prove his worth to him and to Canada. Blech. It’s Canadian Anglo/Franco relations writ small.

So maybe Byrne intentionally reflected that dynamic?

Of course, Byrne could honestly been of the view that James WAS being well-meaning and heroic. But if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean any of the above is isn’t still a part of the scene as Byrne might have been subject to a lot of the same prejudices many anglophone Canadians have regarding Quebec and those from Quebec.

Not quite sure where I’m going with this except to say that you’re reading of James as dishing out threats is spot on. He’s an ass.

Such a shame he didn’t stay dead.

IG: maxwittert

T: waxmitert