5.) The Time He Was Revealed To Be Half-Elf…
Let me state for the record that I am a fan of the writing of Bill Mantlo. Though he occasionally over-reached the scope of the characters, Bill did wonderful things with dozens of Marvel characters, and was responsible for at least the framework of most of the moments on this list. That said, when Northstar started showing symptoms of a strange illness during his run, it seemed clear that Bill was hinting that Jean-Paul had contracted AIDS, and the unfortunate implications ran wild. Of course, the (reportedly editorially-mandated) denouement of that story went somewhere ENTIRELY different…
There are two schools of thought on this one. Some people say, with good reason, that it’s the “jump the shark” moment not only for Northstar, but for Alpha Flight in general. I, on the other hand, kind of liked it when it came out back in the day, feeling that, if nothing else, it was a fascinating way for the character to exit the team. The story was retconned away as another lie from the Prince of Lies, and the Beaubier twins are no longer considered to be half-elven, much to Orem’s delight, but it is to date the only explanation for Northstar’s pointed ears.
4.) The Time He Completely Defanged Mutant Angst…
The X-Men, as a concept, naturally gravitate towards somberness and ennui, and around the time of House of M, things got doubly weird. When Illyana Rasputin was transported into a literal hell by Reverend Stryker’s Traveling Revival Show and Anti-Mutant Army Of Doom, Cannonball angstily began assembling a team of mutants to save her. When he came to recruit the mutant speedster, Northstar had this to say…
I absolutely love this moment. Northstar has lost as many comrades as Cannonball (some of them he has lost MULTIPLE times), has seen as much death and mutilation as anyone this side of Phoenix herself, and yet he still matter-of-factly slaps down Cannoball’s BS while preparing to join the mission anyway. It’s a perfectly thumbnail study of what makes Northstar fun and unique…
3.) The Time One Of His Teammates Got Lippy…
As often happens with the X-Men, there came a day where they simply ran out of mutants. Some were lost in time, some were lost in limbo, and it was all-you-can-eat sprinkles day at the Westchester TCBY, leading Jean Grey to have to assemble an all-new, all-different group of X-Men. (This, by the way, is BEFORE Jean-Paul’s official recruitment in #6, above.) Unfortunately, one of her recruits is Paulie Provenzano, a walking Italian stereotype, a New York goombah who discounts Northstar as “a limp-wristed little maple-leaf.” Northstar’s anger is palpable, but then Paulie makes it worse by offering to compare powers…
This ragtag bunch of mutants gets the job done (c’mon, you knew they would) long enough for Cyclops and Wolverine to finish their hot-fudge sundaes, but you have to admire (within the violent confines of a super-hero book, mind you) Northstar’s refusal to take abuse from Pauly Walnuts…
2.) The Times He Showed How Important His Family Is…
Northstar and his sister Aurora were part of Alpha Flight in their very first appearances, but the depths of their relationship go further than was ever hinted at there. Indeed, most of the times that Jean-Paul turns off his acerbic exterior are moments that involve his twin, and woe be to anyone (even a giant gamma-powered monster or two) who threaten her well-being.
Some people have likened Northstar to Quicksilver, another white-haired super-speedster with a beloved twin, but unlike Pietro, Northstar has two things going for him. One, he doesn’t tend to flip out and turn evil every twenty issues, and more importantly, his caring for his sister comes across as genuine filial love rather than a slightly-creepy Freudian possessiveness. Northstar tries to understand his sister, to help her, and is willing to sacrifice nearly anything to keep her happy and safe. There’s a reason why the Beaubier twins work best together, and it’s not just the matching costumes…
1.) The Way He Feels About Kyle…
Northstar’s current notoriety in comics circles comes from his impending wedding, and the fact that he is going to be marrying Kyle, his long-time beau. Jean-Paul has been seeing him for nearly 3 years (that’s almost a decade in Marvel-Time, or possibly half-an-hour… It’s not always clear.) Originally introduced as his business manager, their relationship has evolved over the past three years, and it was Kyle’s seeming betrayal during the recent Alpha Flight mini that brought Jean-Paul back together with his old comrades-in-arms. But the real kicker for me is how incredibly awesome/cute Northstar is when he’s in love…
It’s nice to see something close to a normal relationship in comics (especially in an X-book) and it’s clear that Northstar has mellowed thanks to his new fiance, while maintaining his amusing better-than-you attitude and lack of patience for stupidity.
So, Faithful Spoilerites, it’s your turn to play. What awesome Northstar moments have I missed? Is he better as an X-Man or a member of Alpha Flight? And how in the world can he wear some of those outrageous rags?
7 Comments
Could we get on model here? I could almost swear that all 10 of those pics are different heroes.
He’s got white hair and pointy ears, that’s the best you can hope for…
Noooooo, Northstar has black hair and pointy ears. The white was only ever the ‘shine’ without it being blue-black like every other black-haired person in comics.
Great article! I’m glad someone out there is putting a third dimension to the character instead of tripping over the wedding again and again. Nice job and very enjoyable read!
I have two favorite Northstar moments.
1. The look on his face when Rogue kisses him (X-Men and Alpha Flight mini).
2. When Mimic and Northstar were hanging out after fighting the Hulk and Northstar let Mimic copy his flight powers (Exiles #6). It’s one panel but I love it.
Yeah, I totally should have included the moment with The Mimic under the “men in his life.” It’s a great moment, especially when Mimic realizes that Northstar thinks he’s hitting on him.
This just came across my Tumblr dash the other day. Interesting list here; I like that you managed to hit on just about every period of Northstar’s history (and the ones you didn’t were best forgotten anyway).
So far as the follow-up questions go, I much prefer Northstar with the X-Men simply because he was all but strong-armed onto Alpha Flight and was never very happy there. For Aurora, Alpha Flight represented freedom, but for Northstar, it was a disruption of his life at best and risked getting his mentally unstable sister killed at worst. By contrast, he was able to find a purpose of his own with the X-Men and their students. He was there because he wanted to be, not because he was obligated to be.
With regard to moments you missed and why I disagree with a couple of your choices, I put up a post here:
http://northstarfan.tumblr.com/post/76373411967/top-ten-top-ten-northstar-moments
Don’t worry, I played fair. There’s nothing there that wouldn’t have been around when your list first went up. ;)
Either way, thanks for writing this. It’s a fun and useful reference.