X-Men #120 (Apr 79): Wanted: Wolverine! Dead or Alive!
Creative Team: Chris Claremont, author; John Byrne, princiler; Terry Austin, inker; Tom Orzechowski, letterer; Glynis Wein, colorist; Roger Stern, editor; Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief
Starting Line Up: Cyclops, Pheonix (DNA), Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Banshee, Storm, Colossus
Guest Stars: Sunfire (cameo), Misty Knight, Colleen Wing
Synopsis: In a war room in Ottowa, James Hudson, formerly known as Weapon Alpha, is briefing Canada's prime minister of the X-Men, which Weapon X, Wolverine, is now a part of. The prime minister demands the return of Weapon X. Hudson summons Alpha Flight. They're a team made up of Canadian mutants, Northstar, Shaman, Snow-Bird, Sasquatch, Aurora, and himself as the re-named Vindicator. Meanwhile, in Japan, the X-Men are leaving. Wolverine has his final goodbye with Mariko Yoshida and reveals his name as Logan for the first time. The private jet the X-Men have chartered run into a storm on their way back to the States. Storm tries to use her power to clean it up, but cannot, meaning it's not natural. The jet is forced to land in Calgary... Alberta, Canada. They're greated by Vindicator, demanding the return of Wolverine. Sasquatch grabs the plane by the wing and prevents their escape. He throws the plan into a nearby hanger. Vindicator searches the wreckage, finds no one was on the plane, but cannot continue the search because of the storm. He orders Shaman to stop it, but it's not his doing. Wolverine explains he was an experiment by the Canadian government to create a super solider, but he went wild and eventually quit, but the government still wants their investment back. Cyclops orders the team to split up and meet later. Nightcrawler teleports through the shadows, but his ambushed by Northstar and Aurora. Cyclops, Colossus, Misty Knight, and the pilots arrive at the rendez-vous, but Cyclops gets worried when no one else shows up. Misty Knight is buying clothes for Storm she'll blend in better, and drug Banshee along. Vindicator uses a Cerebro-like device to locate their mutant signatures and smashes into the store. Banshee tries to stop him using his sonic scream, but the pain causes him to collapse. Storm retaliates instead. Vidicator leaves, not wanting to cause any damage or hurt any by standers. Wolverine is walking the streets looking for "Cracklin' Rosa"'s social club. He's ambushed by Sasquatch. Banshee and Storm arrive at the rendez-vous and tell Cyclops what's happened. He assumes (correctly) that Wolverine and Nightcrawler have been capturesd. And he intends on getting them back.
Yeah, but is it good? I always love a visit to Canada. The first thing that pops right out at me is Wolverine looking for "Crackin' Rosa". The Neil Diamond song is about liquor, not a woman. It's a common mistake. I also love Vindicator not wanting to break anything or scare anyone during a fight. True, he's not actually a villain, but it just seems so damn Canadian and polite. The rest of Alpha Flight doesn't do anything of not yet. That's next issue. And the whole Banshee issue starts to be explored here. Anytime he tries to use his sonic scream, he's in pain. On top of the fact that Banshee is a lot older than the rest of the X-Men (again, we don't know about Wolverine yet), he starts to think about retiring, which is a side of a character I like to see once in a while.
Significata: Weapon Alpha is now known as Vindicator. The rest of Alpha Flight debuts. Wolverine reveals his name as Logan for the first time. Some backstory to Wolverine's involvment with Weapon X is given, but not a lot. Banshee starts to consider giving up the hero life. John A MacDonald off the $10 in a tacky suit is the prime minister of Canada.
