Marvel's Next Major Threat Is The Team Nobody Cares About
Warning: spoilers ahead for Empyre: Avengers Aftermath!
In an epilogue issue to Marvel's Empyre, the director of Alpha Flight is not happy. While the heroes of Earth, the Skrull, and the Kree celebrate the end of the war with the invading Cotati (as well as the wedding of the Space King), Abigail Brand is hardly feeling celebratory. In the reception and festivities aboard the Space King's ship, Brand has some choice words for Captain Marvel, forcing Carol to face a hard truth and teasing a rough future ahead for the Marvel Universe.
While Alpha Flight were originally a little-known team of heroes based in Canada, the organization has since been revamped and re-tasked to replace SWORD as Earth's defense against threats from space. For a while, Captain Marvel was in charge of the global initiative, before handing the reins over to Brand, who was formerly in charge of SWORD. Together, the two heroes are Earth's authority in space, and they're looking to change the status quo...
In Avengers Aftermath from writer Al Ewing and artist Valerio Schiti, spirits are high. The day is won, the Earth is saved, the sun didn't explode, and the universe will no longer be threatened by the Cotati and their death blossoms. To top it off, Space King Dorrek VIII married Wiccan, so it's time to party. Alpha Flight's Abigail Brand, however, goes right up to Captain Marvel to share her anger that they were left out of the loop, and the conversation that follows may spell trouble.
Carol tries to explain why the Avengers didn't inform Alpha Flight about the Cotati's cloaked presence on the moon from the beginning (they thought they were allies), but Brand slaps Carol, showing just how mad she is. Alpha Flight should have known about them regardless. Instead, the A-list Avengers made the call to keep it a secret and keep the world's experts out of the loop. Brand is furious, reminding Carol that Alpha Flight is not a back-up plan to be sidelined. She leaves the party, saying that if Alpha Flight remains an afterthought, it doesn't work, so she quits as its leader. However, the issue ends showing a glimpse into the future, revealing Brand in a new role with a new team, saving the Space King from an unknown but clearly disastrous threat.
If Brand's new look and uniform are any indication, it seems as though she'll be bringing an all new iteration of SWORD back to the Marvel Universe, with a much more offensive approach than Alpha Flight, thus ensuring that they couldn't possibly be ignored by the top-tier heroes ever again. Brand was actually introduced in 2004's Astonishing X-Men #3, allying with Cyclops' controversial mutant team. With the mutants having founded their own nation on the island of Krakoa, it's possible that the 'X' styling of Brand's logo signals new, non-human benefactors.
Abigail Brand is completely justified in her anger with Captain Marvel and the other heroes. Alpha Flight was supposed to be the first line of defense against interstellar attacks, so how does it look when the latest alien threat was literally camping in their cosmic backyard? It looks as though Marvel fans better be prepared for Brand's new version of SWORD to take center stage with a much larger presence than ever before. One can see the logic on Marvel Comics' part, as the MCU will soon debut their version of SWORD, so while Empyre has resulted in cosmic harmony for now, Brand's ascent may end up being the event's most significant development.
Empyre: Avengers Aftermath #1, from writers Al Ewing and Dan Slott, with interior art by Valerio Schiti and cover art by Jim Cheung is available now.