As forgetful as this story is, it did have one of my absolute favorite MJ quotes of all time. When Peter tries telling her he is only a hero because Uncle Ben died, she corrects him and says, "You aren't a hero because Ben died, you are a hero because Ben lived." 👌 Perfect.
I think Alpha makes a good one-off story. Spider-man tries to help someone who he assumes to be just like him when he was young BUT it turns out Alpha ends up being the total opposite.
The issue is: They already did that over 20 years prior. Shortly after Peter parted ways with the venom symbiont (but still wore a cloth version of the black costume) he worked as a teacher at his former highschool, and met a young genius boy who was in love with a pretty girl and bullied by the local footballteam. And said kid also turned into Peters complete opposite and almost kills both his bully as well as peter and MJ in his rampage after he got super poweres as well
@@EnerKaizer The ideas are quite similar, but at the same time I doubt most people from 2012 would know about a small story 2 issue story from 1988. Alpha goes in a different direction from Phreak. With Phreak, Peter sees a kid who he was convinced was exactly the same as him, eventually learning that he truly wasn't. He was more bitter and actively sought revenge. With Alpha you have a similar type of origin story though with a different kind of teenage outcast, and it focuses is instead on how Peter seeing how he could of turn out if he never learnt to be responsible. A What If from the 80s actually covered this idea as well with Uncle Ben living though it isn't superhero focused. One's more Peter Parker centred and the other is Spider-Man centred.
Actually, if they want to keep with the trend of corresponding names (sharing the first name Andrew and the last name Maguire), they should have his middle name be Tom Holland’s middle name - which is Stanley.
Most people's knowledge of Spider-Man is mostly frozen in the Bronze Age, though they may recognize Carnage. Actually true of most comics. There is one era most people remember, even if they didn't grow up in that era. The funniest one is Batman, where most people's understanding is either "stuff that only happened in the adaptations/Elseworlds" (Batman slapping Robin), "stuff that happened later but people remember it as pre-Crisis" (In reality, Dick Grayson never dated Barbara Gordon until 1999.), or "stuff that never happened but people somehow remember it" (the Jason Todd poll being overwhelmingly for killing him), which suggests we need to call up Lost Media UA-cam.
Alpha would be a fantastic antagonist or even deuteragonist for Miles if they ever choose to bring him back. They're both mentees of Peter but where they differ is that Miles was always a good kid, he just happened to suffer a loss. Alpha needed to learn a lesson, Miles never really did. A good writer could play on that to make a really interesting storyline, and it would help give Miles a new villain, because iconic villains are something Miles is sorely lacking.
If you’ve read the Big Time series, Alpha being a villain wouldn’t work as he really redeems himself from his douchebag personality. Had it not been for that series, I could see it working, especially after he gets depowered against his will. Plus, you’re totally right that Miles needs more iconic villains.
@@Gemnist98 Miles has no good villains, in my opinion. Prowler (if you count him.) is good. He’s no doc oc or green goblin, but he was a solid villain. Miles is a pretty chill kid, so to put him up against a egotistical asshole like Alpha, could work. They are pretty much complete opposites (in movies and tv.£
if told in right way it can be good foil story of teenage kid getting superpower but not learning about responsibility...but who am I kidding,we all know Sony will butcher it...
I love this video, but you got one thing wrong. Andrew Maguire was not an unpopular kid in his first appearance; he was completely ignored, wasn't part of any clubs, implied he didn't have any friends, and it implied that his parents neglected him. That was a key difference between him and Peter Parker, and I wish they had focused on their part; it would've been a great storyline that revealed his jerk behavior and lack of attachment to his parents because they neglected him.
@@pious83 He only became unpopular after he lost his powers and was a jerk to people with them. Before that it’s implied that he was invisible to his classmates.
@@pious83 Peter was "unpopular" in the form of everyone knowing that he was massive nerd and loser. But Andrew however, they didn’t even know he existed.
Alpha could be reworked as an antagonist. When Peter took away his powers he held a grudge and that grudge grew larger as his time as a hero kept everyone away. Eventually he creates something to replicate his old powers and becomes a brutal and reckless crime fighter, upon meeting spiderman he would immediately tries to kill him. He would fight spiderman on sight but he would never actively look for him and as years go by and he matures he slowly sees the error of his ways he becomes less brutal, and tries to minimize any damages slowly but surely becoming a true hero or surrender himself to the cops.
Honestly, I would bing Alpha back through an easy way: Have him be the one to restore Franklin Richard's powers. That the "Parker Particles" help kickstart Franklin's powers back and while not back completely, it would come back over time aloowing Franklin to do more and feeling invigorated. At the same tie, it would give Franklin a friend his age and would be intriuging to see Andrew and Franklin bounce off one another regarding trying to use great power and help one another out
I actually do like Alpha as a character, and besides the Superior Spider-Man and the energy monster parts I actually did like Big Time. His supporting cast in Big Time was pretty good and the crime boss worked for me. Plus I think that now Miles is around and people are more accepting of the idea that Peter could be a mentor, I think Andy would work as a contrast to Miles and I personally like the idea of a hero having to mentor someone who’s more powerful than them as traditional sidekicks are less powerful than the main hero.
I remember when my comic shop was like “hey did you hear Spider-Man is getting a sidekick?” And I said um no? And then it was just a mini-series where he helped a powered kid and got revisited less than a handful of times. It was an OK mini-series but hyping him as Spidey’s new sidekick was a big exaggeration that never materialized. When I heard I assumed it meant he would appear regularly in the main series but no, just a mini where they part ways at the end.
@@pizzapower3166 I wouldn’t call it just Teen Titans without the charm. I would call it social issues without nuance mixed with a charmless Teen Titans. Mark Wade (the writer of the first volume of Champions) is not well equipped to talk about some of the social issues brought up in the comic. So many of the early issues of Champions try to discuss the shortcomings of our current society and how teens should speak out about the problems, but it just feels like a PSA that’s trying to be hip with the kids. Also, I swear that I once read an interview with some Marvel writer that said that Champions is only being published so they can keep the trademark. Ps. I find it weird how the Champions make a big deal about going global, when in the 3rd or 4th issue that go into another country and try to help stop the apartheid.
I think this is why I'm typically more of a DC guy. They're more successful at having a second generation of heroes that have to grow up in the shadows of these perfect ideals and it also allows the first generation to have a new challenge, trying to teach these kids to be better than they were. Not to say there aren't young heroes in Marvel but I think DC is just better at it
I remember when Alpha first appeared, and I thought "Man, dude's a whole toolbox." But now that I know he was supposed to be a one off character in a big-sized issue, it all clicks now. Kind of like that one issue Flash Thompson became Spider-man.
this feels like a story that could benefit from an adaptation that reworks the original concept that slott intended, making him a villain and downplaying his powers to make him less broken. with venom as an anti-hero that is in good terms with peter, a different funhouse mirror antagonist would be welcome if done right.
This reminds me of Gotham Girl from Batman. The idea of a more powerful super being mentored by a less another super that's less powerful but older and wiser sounds so interesting to me.
I feel like Alpha could be interesting, since his power set is basically Ultra Boy from the Legion of Super-Heroes with a couple of extra power options, but I think he'd do well with a team of some sort. That way he could be developed into a character instead of a plot device/impetus.
"...or they become part of the X-Men." I just almost choked on my coffee. 😂😂 It's almost painful how true that is. Honestly, I never heard of this character, but 2012 was a time when I stopped reading comics, because I was still pissed off with Marvel with what they did with the X-Men during the early 2000's. But again, this is one of the reasons I love your content so much, Drake. You do pick out some of the more obscure stories, characters, topics, etc. It makes you stand out from the other comic UA-camrs in my opinion. I get to learn something new, because even when it is a topic I already know about, you always seem to find some little factoid I didn't know before, but you're not condescending about it. And considering how a lot of the comic fandom can be online, that's refreshing. (Still salty that my car decided to just have problem after problem so I couldn't see you at a con but maybe one day! 😥) P.S. When the new Daredevil series comes out, maybe we can get to know a little bit more about Kingpin's zombie ninja army?... Not gonna lie, that piqued my interest.
@@69Kazeshini Less so with X-Men than the Avengers, New Warriors, Power Pack. Most of the kids from New Mutants to generation X to Bendis UXM, are very much alive and well.
@@69Kazeshini It reminds me of one of Drake's videos about Miles--that whenever they try something new, they just backpedal or try to bury it instead of working out the kinks, if it is not immediately deemed a success.
Honestly, I like Alpha. Make no mistake, he deserved to lose his powers. To be fair, part of Peter’s development into a superhero was the result of having Aunt May and Uncle Ben, hence why Peter was so motivated to do good after his irresponsible actions got his uncle killed. Even if one of Alpha’s parents died, let alone by something he could have prevented, I doubt it would have a similar effect on him. Also I wouldn’t mind if he did return alongside Clash as I think it could lead to an interesting story if handled with care.
Alpha didn’t work but the thread that connects both stories could be interesting. We have seen plenty of characters become heroes either because of personal benefit or to preform a type of justice. But I don’t think we have gotten a popular character who became a hero for fame, only for the reality of heroism to bring them back down to earth. Going from an “early Booster Gold” to a “Spider-Man” through the trauma of heroics.
They should bring Alpha back BECAUSE Peter is mentoring Miles right now. Peter could see him as his greatest mistake, what happens when you teach someone to rely too much on their powers instead of their humanity. Of course they'd have to iron out Peter's actual feelings about Alpha, I don't feel like resentment is in his character, but I still think they could work together.
Alpha Big Time really made me want to see where he goes next, I generally love redemption arcs from being an asshole as opposed to villain (on that note Eric O'Grady is like my 10th favorite Marvel hero).
I know it’s all about the Scott Lang these days, but I’m genuinely surprised no one has bothered to resurrect Eric O’Grady (outside of LMDs, of course). Even Hank Pym has been dead for a really long period of time.
They definitely could’ve done some things better, but at the same time it seems Alpha was kinda misunderstood if people thought he was gonna be the next Robin or something. Even though that wasn’t really the intention.
one interesting idea could be him getting so down about what he has become he resigns himself to death an instead of being dead he becomes hyper a source of energy that terraforms a vest area that Parker researches while looking for a way to wake Alpha up from stasis piece by piece getting to communicate with Alpha an people who start to miss the boy who Alpha once was become members of the research team
I enjoyed the video, because I only heard heresay about Alpha, but it was never explained beyond that: I could see a storyline with the premise of self doubt/anxiety/pit-o-deppression and Alpha's just trying to figure out what to do with his life and powers
I remember when this was coming out in real time, the growing hype around him, and the fallout... He's gonna one of those characters that probably won't even be adapted as a joke character in comedy comic, show or game, because they are much better characters who do then Sam thing as Alpha, but better in every way.
Honestly I wouldn’t mind alpha showing up again but this time as a potential villain for peter and miles. Mostly Miles tbh cause he needs a good rogue gallery and what better foe to go against than a former peter Parker protege against the next in line for the Spider-Man mantle in 616.....just my 2 cents🤷🏾♂️
With powers that strong, I think it would make a lot more sense for Alpha to constantly butt heads with Captain Marvel than show up literally every other hero around him.
Alpha and Omega beginning and end, first and last. Omega in the X-Men is the last power designation because there is nothing beyond it. Alpha means literally number 1. As in there is no designator above it. Its just bad terminology and inconsistence across Marvel. Marvel does this with Multiverse and Omniverse as well.
I think it could be really great if they used him as an "uncle ben" character for someone to take his place, it wold tie him with all the Spider-Man mythos and develope him in a self sacrifice for a new character to be a hero inspired by someone that screw up and make ecery thing possible to save at least one more person after pushing himself with everything, it wouldn't be anything amazing but would do a great extended origin story for him replacement (maybe a tom somwthing)
I remember that being the first comic I ever got. And I loved Alpha as the concept he was. I thought the ending with majority of the Parker Particles out of him and just residual energy left he'd become a villain at a later date. Got me hooked on comics quick
I love seeing videos like this. I feel like I know more about Spider-Man than the average fan(favorite character and mild obsession) but I love seeing stuff like this where I got to learn one more thing
So his abilities were like that of the Imperial Guard's Smasher. I'm actually happy Marvel forgot about Parker Particles more so than Alpha's disappearance. Also, oddly enough he's character type shows up in the New X-men as Hellion who is kind of beloved.
Alpha only really stuck with me because that era of Spider-Man was when I was first getting into comics. Well, that and how greatly I disliked Alpha as a character. The door is open for him to reappear, in spite of how little anyone wants him to. If I were to bring him back, it probably wouldn't be as a main protagonist. He hasn't quite got the depth to hold a book of his own. Maybe as a side character or someone to fill out a team book. There is potential in having the team's powerhouse be the rookie kid starter. A role reversal of sorts. Fitting given Alpha started out as a twist on a classic story. Also, get him a better costume. That green and black leotard is the blandest thing I've ever seen. There is an actual symbol that stands for alpha. Could've incorporated it easy. And maybe try on a cape. Capes work for powerhouses. Blue Marvel won't wear his anymore and I'm starting to miss it.
I remember reading this when it first came out and I KNEW this kid wasn’t gonna last. Always thought he’d make a great villain but then he’d just basically be Speedball after CW
I think it didn’t work cuz spider man is not really meant to have a sidekick. Yes he has legacy character like his daughter and miles but spider man doesn’t need a “canary” someone to look to when you need to make certain decisions that lays in morality. Spider-Man in the sense his own canary and knows how to put everyone well being in consideration and not about completing the mission
Also Peter had A LOT of other young people he inspired. There was Mattie Franklin one of the Spider-Women who ended up dying and then there was Steel Spider. Just like Steel Spider was later repurposed into a Red Hood like Character, Alpha can be repurposed as well
Spiderman has one sidekick that's not really a sidekick, Miles Morales He's a good Spiderman that can even handle his own fights, but when he joins forces with Peter they're unstoppable
Okay, but only being able to use one power at a time is a rad as hell twist on that power set, and could force some really creative uses of it if they were willing to commit to the bit. Because functionally, he only has *one* of those powers at any given time. Limitations are what leads to the most interesting stories, after all (either imposed by the power system or by the characters’ own internal compass.) Personally, I’d strip out the energy blasts so he had no ranged combat options. Honestly, seems like a character with potential? There’s always something interesting to me about characters whose own moral compasses are a bit skewed, but who *want* to do the right thing anyway. Plus, I feel like we could do with more coming of age redemption stories which show that even though changing yourself at any point is hard, the person you are in high school is not going to be who you are forever. Your brain wasn’t finished developing, your hormones were nuts, and you didn’t have as much experience/context. How did that one post put it? “You weren’t irredeemable, you were 15.” Marvel did a pretty good job doing that with Flash Thompson, but I still think we need more stories like that.
It's possible alpha could show in the college spider-man trilogy, I mean he could be a spider-man fanboy who gains power, then loses them at the end after saving peter.
I liked the idea of alpha, where you have a "god" being humbled and taught to become the hero the word needs by someone way more down to earth, showing the struggles and pains of the normal people and how to help people, the main issue is they definitely did not want alpha to be a real hero.
Alpha worked as a good "Peter without the Ben" parallel, but it's obvious that's all he was really meant to be. Just a quick one-off story was what he was designed to be, simple as that.
The only reason I recognize this guy is because in the amazing spider man 2 when you entered the comic book shop there would be a card board cut out of him.
I always felt that Miles Morales was Spider-Man’s sidekick seeing how in a lot of adaptations like Spiderverse and Spiderman Games, Peter Parker is the one always teaching Miles Morales how to use his powers. Here’s my head canon of Marvel Sidekicks Kate Bishop, sidekick to Hawkeye X-23, sidekick to Wolverine Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp, sidekick to Antman/Yellow Jacket Iron Patriot/War Machine, sidekick to Iron Man Agent Bob, sidekick to Deadpool Bucky/Winter Soldier, sidekick to Captain America Kamala, sidekick to Ms. Marvel
The irony that Spider-Man had affected TWO egoistic superpowered characters that had begun humbling their previous point of view and only ONE of them got the success that the other could've thrived from is p sad. NGL I feel like...Alpha COULD be a fantastic retooled character like, one of the few equivalents to Nightwing w/ DC, a character who started as an accessory to another but eventually became a mainstay and respected on his own.
I would have never thought about this again for the rest of my life if I didnt see this video, I remember him vividly but at the same time I must have blocked him out of my memory
"Andrew Mcguire" ... (lowers my head, removes my glasses and starts massaging my temple with one middle finger) *inhales* okay (glasses back on). proceed.
I’d love to see andy come back but instead of becoming a super villain he should be trying to earn peters trust back and show that he genuinely wants to be a hero he has loads of potential and I think they should explore it Also his middle name needs to be Tom
I'm noticing a pattern of comic fans always HATING any change to the status quo of their favorite series until the change is reverted and then they retrospectively look back fondly or at least neutrally. Alpha is a prime example of that.
I'll admit, I made my own Spider-Man sidekick, and it's basically mix of Spider-Man and Robin the sidekick version is called Spider-mite, and the solo hero version is called Mouse-Spider
![DC's Failed Spider-Man Ripoff [Sideways]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3FtrCcznFsM/mqdefault.jpg)
![DC's Failed Spider-Man Ripoff [Sideways]](/img/tr.png)
As forgetful as this story is, it did have one of my absolute favorite MJ quotes of all time.
When Peter tries telling her he is only a hero because Uncle Ben died, she corrects him and says, "You aren't a hero because Ben died, you are a hero because Ben lived."
👌 Perfect.
Honestly, best part of the whole book
@@ComicDrake can you do a video about the connection between adamantium and captain America shield?
Damn, that hits hard.
Quote deserves the chef’s kiss
...now Ben Dover
I think Alpha makes a good one-off story. Spider-man tries to help someone who he assumes to be just like him when he was young BUT it turns out Alpha ends up being the total opposite.
There is nothing opposite about it, young Peter Parker was a dick
That kind of reminds me of Phreak from a much earlier story, except that goes down differently.
The issue is: They already did that over 20 years prior. Shortly after Peter parted ways with the venom symbiont (but still wore a cloth version of the black costume) he worked as a teacher at his former highschool, and met a young genius boy who was in love with a pretty girl and bullied by the local footballteam. And said kid also turned into Peters complete opposite and almost kills both his bully as well as peter and MJ in his rampage after he got super poweres as well
@@EnerKaizer The ideas are quite similar, but at the same time I doubt most people from 2012 would know about a small story 2 issue story from 1988.
Alpha goes in a different direction from Phreak. With Phreak, Peter sees a kid who he was convinced was exactly the same as him, eventually learning that he truly wasn't. He was more bitter and actively sought revenge.
With Alpha you have a similar type of origin story though with a different kind of teenage outcast, and it focuses is instead on how Peter seeing how he could of turn out if he never learnt to be responsible. A What If from the 80s actually covered this idea as well with Uncle Ben living though it isn't superhero focused.
One's more Peter Parker centred and the other is Spider-Man centred.
Jesus Christ the good lord loves you my friends :" )
Even if his middle name isn't Thomas, he might have relatives in Holland.
Actually, if they want to keep with the trend of corresponding names (sharing the first name Andrew and the last name Maguire), they should have his middle name be Tom
Holland’s middle name - which is Stanley.
@@Gemnist98 damn
I can't believe that most people don't know there is a Spider-Man chatacter called "Andrew Maguire".
Nice PFP
It's you again lol
That isn’t common knowledge sybau
Most people's knowledge of Spider-Man is mostly frozen in the Bronze Age, though they may recognize Carnage.
Actually true of most comics. There is one era most people remember, even if they didn't grow up in that era.
The funniest one is Batman, where most people's understanding is either "stuff that only happened in the adaptations/Elseworlds" (Batman slapping Robin), "stuff that happened later but people remember it as pre-Crisis" (In reality, Dick Grayson never dated Barbara Gordon until 1999.), or "stuff that never happened but people somehow remember it" (the Jason Todd poll being overwhelmingly for killing him), which suggests we need to call up Lost Media UA-cam.
His real superhero name should've been Holland Tom
Alpha would be a fantastic antagonist or even deuteragonist for Miles if they ever choose to bring him back. They're both mentees of Peter but where they differ is that Miles was always a good kid, he just happened to suffer a loss. Alpha needed to learn a lesson, Miles never really did. A good writer could play on that to make a really interesting storyline, and it would help give Miles a new villain, because iconic villains are something Miles is sorely lacking.
If you’ve read the Big Time series, Alpha being a villain wouldn’t work as he really redeems himself from his douchebag personality. Had it not been for that series, I could see it working, especially after he gets depowered against his will. Plus, you’re totally right that Miles needs more iconic villains.
@@Gemnist98 Miles has no good villains, in my opinion. Prowler (if you count him.) is good. He’s no doc oc or green goblin, but he was a solid villain. Miles is a pretty chill kid, so to put him up against a egotistical asshole like Alpha, could work. They are pretty much complete opposites (in movies and tv.£
@@thegoldenmask2051 I wonder if they're going to push The Spot as being a Miles villain after Across the Spider-Verse comes out
@@NintenSegaPlay I’ve always seen potential in spot, so that could happen
@@thegoldenmask2051 prowler is great in spider verse and terrible everywhere else
I'm calling it now, Sony will consider making an Alpha film, nobody asked for.
it's sad that I could see that happening
i almost commenting that.
#itsAlphinTime
they’ll make a thousand random spin off films before doing a Spider-Man 2099 film
if told in right way it can be good foil story of teenage kid getting superpower but not learning about responsibility...but who am I kidding,we all know Sony will butcher it...
The next movie, after Kraven...
I actually think if Alpha went off the deep end and turned into an anti-hero or just straight up evil he'd be a good character to pit Miles against.
Let's turn Alpha into Jason Todd.
@@modmaker7617 YEAAAAAAAH!
I love this video, but you got one thing wrong. Andrew Maguire was not an unpopular kid in his first appearance; he was completely ignored, wasn't part of any clubs, implied he didn't have any friends, and it implied that his parents neglected him. That was a key difference between him and Peter Parker, and I wish they had focused on their part; it would've been a great storyline that revealed his jerk behavior and lack of attachment to his parents because they neglected him.
So, implied parental neglect aside, he was just as "unpopular" as Parker was in his debut? Therefore, Drake was correct.
@@pious83 He only became unpopular after he lost his powers and was a jerk to people with them. Before that it’s implied that he was invisible to his classmates.
@@CMR324
Sounds pretty similar
@@mikemorro140 at least Peter was bullied
@@pious83 Peter was "unpopular" in the form of everyone knowing that he was massive nerd and loser. But Andrew however, they didn’t even know he existed.
Some Sony executive is probably watching this video and thinking "We should really make a movie about this kid...."
Alpha could be reworked as an antagonist. When Peter took away his powers he held a grudge and that grudge grew larger as his time as a hero kept everyone away. Eventually he creates something to replicate his old powers and becomes a brutal and reckless crime fighter, upon meeting spiderman he would immediately tries to kill him. He would fight spiderman on sight but he would never actively look for him and as years go by and he matures he slowly sees the error of his ways he becomes less brutal, and tries to minimize any damages slowly but surely becoming a true hero or surrender himself to the cops.
Honestly, I would bing Alpha back through an easy way: Have him be the one to restore Franklin Richard's powers. That the "Parker Particles" help kickstart Franklin's powers back and while not back completely, it would come back over time aloowing Franklin to do more and feeling invigorated. At the same tie, it would give Franklin a friend his age and would be intriuging to see Andrew and Franklin bounce off one another regarding trying to use great power and help one another out
Best comment
I really wish we could see Alpha and Miles interact to see his perspective on being spider-man's first "sidekick"
Miles is not a sidekick, but you tried.
You know what i meant, bro
I actually do like Alpha as a character, and besides the Superior Spider-Man and the energy monster parts I actually did like Big Time. His supporting cast in Big Time was pretty good and the crime boss worked for me. Plus I think that now Miles is around and people are more accepting of the idea that Peter could be a mentor, I think Andy would work as a contrast to Miles and I personally like the idea of a hero having to mentor someone who’s more powerful than them as traditional sidekicks are less powerful than the main hero.
Can't Miles beat Peter I a fight sometimes ?
I remember when my comic shop was like “hey did you hear Spider-Man is getting a sidekick?” And I said um no? And then it was just a mini-series where he helped a powered kid and got revisited less than a handful of times. It was an OK mini-series but hyping him as Spidey’s new sidekick was a big exaggeration that never materialized. When I heard I assumed it meant he would appear regularly in the main series but no, just a mini where they part ways at the end.
With Champions being the “teenage” team up book, I’m shocked Alpha has not made an appearance
Ah, yes. "Champions". Teen Titans minus the charm.
@@pizzapower3166 I wouldn’t call it just Teen Titans without the charm. I would call it social issues without nuance mixed with a charmless Teen Titans. Mark Wade (the writer of the first volume of Champions) is not well equipped to talk about some of the social issues brought up in the comic. So many of the early issues of Champions try to discuss the shortcomings of our current society and how teens should speak out about the problems, but it just feels like a PSA that’s trying to be hip with the kids. Also, I swear that I once read an interview with some Marvel writer that said that Champions is only being published so they can keep the trademark.
Ps. I find it weird how the Champions make a big deal about going global, when in the 3rd or 4th issue that go into another country and try to help stop the apartheid.
@@dallasgrey4247 The name itself turns me off.
He actually has a cameo appearance in one of the last Young Avengers Vol 2 books. That’s… his only appearance since the Big Time miniseries.
Yep
I think this is why I'm typically more of a DC guy. They're more successful at having a second generation of heroes that have to grow up in the shadows of these perfect ideals and it also allows the first generation to have a new challenge, trying to teach these kids to be better than they were. Not to say there aren't young heroes in Marvel but I think DC is just better at it
ur right the robins, KF, Artemis, both superboys, red arrow the list goes on they are great character with interesting stories
exactlyyy
More of a DC fan? Same here
I remember when Alpha first appeared, and I thought "Man, dude's a whole toolbox." But now that I know he was supposed to be a one off character in a big-sized issue, it all clicks now. Kind of like that one issue Flash Thompson became Spider-man.
this feels like a story that could benefit from an adaptation that reworks the original concept that slott intended, making him a villain and downplaying his powers to make him less broken. with venom as an anti-hero that is in good terms with peter, a different funhouse mirror antagonist would be welcome if done right.
>That one time Spider-Man got a sidekick named Alpha
Sony executives: WRITE THAT DOWN! WRITE THAT DOWN!!!
This reminds me of Gotham Girl from Batman. The idea of a more powerful super being mentored by a less another super that's less powerful but older and wiser sounds so interesting to me.
I feel like Alpha could be interesting, since his power set is basically Ultra Boy from the Legion of Super-Heroes with a couple of extra power options, but I think he'd do well with a team of some sort. That way he could be developed into a character instead of a plot device/impetus.
"...or they become part of the X-Men."
I just almost choked on my coffee. 😂😂
It's almost painful how true that is.
Honestly, I never heard of this character, but 2012 was a time when I stopped reading comics, because I was still pissed off with Marvel with what they did with the X-Men during the early 2000's.
But again, this is one of the reasons I love your content so much, Drake. You do pick out some of the more obscure stories, characters, topics, etc. It makes you stand out from the other comic UA-camrs in my opinion. I get to learn something new, because even when it is a topic I already know about, you always seem to find some little factoid I didn't know before, but you're not condescending about it. And considering how a lot of the comic fandom can be online, that's refreshing.
(Still salty that my car decided to just have problem after problem so I couldn't see you at a con but maybe one day! 😥)
P.S. When the new Daredevil series comes out, maybe we can get to know a little bit more about Kingpin's zombie ninja army?... Not gonna lie, that piqued my interest.
So true. Seen it far too many times as a long term X-Men fan. No one else in Marvel has as many "next generation" characters as X-Men.
@@pious83 TRUTH!
And then marvel just kills off the "next generation" characters but keep the old guard alive to maintain the status quo.
@@69Kazeshini Less so with X-Men than the Avengers, New Warriors, Power Pack. Most of the kids from New Mutants to generation X to Bendis UXM, are very much alive and well.
@@69Kazeshini It reminds me of one of Drake's videos about Miles--that whenever they try something new, they just backpedal or try to bury it instead of working out the kinks, if it is not immediately deemed a success.
Honestly, I like Alpha. Make no mistake, he deserved to lose his powers. To be fair, part of Peter’s development into a superhero was the result of having Aunt May and Uncle Ben, hence why Peter was so motivated to do good after his irresponsible actions got his uncle killed. Even if one of Alpha’s parents died, let alone by something he could have prevented, I doubt it would have a similar effect on him. Also I wouldn’t mind if he did return alongside Clash as I think it could lead to an interesting story if handled with care.
Alpha didn’t work but the thread that connects both stories could be interesting.
We have seen plenty of characters become heroes either because of personal benefit or to preform a type of justice.
But I don’t think we have gotten a popular character who became a hero for fame, only for the reality of heroism to bring them back down to earth.
Going from an “early Booster Gold” to a “Spider-Man” through the trauma of heroics.
They should bring Alpha back BECAUSE Peter is mentoring Miles right now. Peter could see him as his greatest mistake, what happens when you teach someone to rely too much on their powers instead of their humanity. Of course they'd have to iron out Peter's actual feelings about Alpha, I don't feel like resentment is in his character, but I still think they could work together.
Alpha Big Time really made me want to see where he goes next, I generally love redemption arcs from being an asshole as opposed to villain (on that note Eric O'Grady is like my 10th favorite Marvel hero).
Eric O'Grady is the only Antman I enjoy reading.
I know it’s all about the Scott Lang these days, but I’m genuinely surprised no one has bothered to resurrect Eric O’Grady (outside of LMDs, of course). Even Hank Pym has been dead for a really long period of time.
They definitely could’ve done some things better, but at the same time it seems Alpha was kinda misunderstood if people thought he was gonna be the next Robin or something. Even though that wasn’t really the intention.
one interesting idea could be him getting so down about what he has become he resigns himself to death an instead of being dead he becomes hyper a source of energy that terraforms a vest area that Parker researches while looking for a way to wake Alpha up from stasis piece by piece getting to communicate with Alpha an people who start to miss the boy who Alpha once was become members of the research team
I enjoyed the video, because I only heard heresay about Alpha, but it was never explained beyond that: I could see a storyline with the premise of self doubt/anxiety/pit-o-deppression and Alpha's just trying to figure out what to do with his life and powers
I remember when this was coming out in real time, the growing hype around him, and the fallout... He's gonna one of those characters that probably won't even be adapted as a joke character in comedy comic, show or game, because they are much better characters who do then Sam thing as Alpha, but better in every way.
Honestly I wouldn’t mind alpha showing up again but this time as a potential villain for peter and miles. Mostly Miles tbh cause he needs a good rogue gallery and what better foe to go against than a former peter Parker protege against the next in line for the Spider-Man mantle in 616.....just my 2 cents🤷🏾♂️
With powers that strong, I think it would make a lot more sense for Alpha to constantly butt heads with Captain Marvel than show up literally every other hero around him.
His powers being a 1 at a time thing has the potential to have really interesting choreography
I wouldn't be surprised if the kid became a super villian later if they ever bring him back.
Ridiculous of Reed not to know that ‘Alpha’ was already a power level designation, one below ‘Omega’ at that.
Alpha and Omega beginning and end, first and last. Omega in the X-Men is the last power designation because there is nothing beyond it. Alpha means literally number 1. As in there is no designator above it. Its just bad terminology and inconsistence across Marvel. Marvel does this with Multiverse and Omniverse as well.
I think it could be really great if they used him as an "uncle ben" character for someone to take his place, it wold tie him with all the Spider-Man mythos and develope him in a self sacrifice for a new character to be a hero inspired by someone that screw up and make ecery thing possible to save at least one more person after pushing himself with everything, it wouldn't be anything amazing but would do a great extended origin story for him replacement (maybe a tom somwthing)
Spider-Man having a sidekick sounds pretty cool actually. Tho that was kind of already Miles Morales’ role.
I remember that being the first comic I ever got. And I loved Alpha as the concept he was. I thought the ending with majority of the Parker Particles out of him and just residual energy left he'd become a villain at a later date. Got me hooked on comics quick
I love seeing videos like this. I feel like I know more about Spider-Man than the average fan(favorite character and mild obsession) but I love seeing stuff like this where I got to learn one more thing
Dan Slott's run was such a fever dream at times, giving Peter a sidekick, making him a billionaire, and whatever tf Clone Conspiracy was
I love the amount of research you put into your videos
So…Peter rediscovered the particles that gave Speedball his powers and named them Parker Particles….
"Completely bombarded by Park Particles" giggity
See I want to bring him back but make him a side kick to Superior Spider-Man in his own city
I can't wait for Peter Parker's adopted son-turned-hero: Tobey Garfield
This dude really coulda became Homelander
One thing's for sure...ComicDrake doesn't need a sidekick.
So his abilities were like that of the Imperial Guard's Smasher. I'm actually happy Marvel forgot about Parker Particles more so than Alpha's disappearance. Also, oddly enough he's character type shows up in the New X-men as Hellion who is kind of beloved.
Alpha only really stuck with me because that era of Spider-Man was when I was first getting into comics. Well, that and how greatly I disliked Alpha as a character.
The door is open for him to reappear, in spite of how little anyone wants him to. If I were to bring him back, it probably wouldn't be as a main protagonist. He hasn't quite got the depth to hold a book of his own. Maybe as a side character or someone to fill out a team book. There is potential in having the team's powerhouse be the rookie kid starter. A role reversal of sorts. Fitting given Alpha started out as a twist on a classic story. Also, get him a better costume. That green and black leotard is the blandest thing I've ever seen. There is an actual symbol that stands for alpha. Could've incorporated it easy. And maybe try on a cape. Capes work for powerhouses. Blue Marvel won't wear his anymore and I'm starting to miss it.
Slotts only regret. Slotts entire spiderman run is everyone's regret
I remember reading this when it first came out and I KNEW this kid wasn’t gonna last. Always thought he’d make a great villain but then he’d just basically be Speedball after CW
with a few adjustments I think alpha could work really well
I think it didn’t work cuz spider man is not really meant to have a sidekick. Yes he has legacy character like his daughter and miles but spider man doesn’t need a “canary” someone to look to when you need to make certain decisions that lays in morality. Spider-Man in the sense his own canary and knows how to put everyone well being in consideration and not about completing the mission
Spider-man’s best sidekick would always be another Spider-Man. And even Miles has his own story and stuff
Also Peter had A LOT of other young people he inspired. There was Mattie Franklin one of the Spider-Women who ended up dying and then there was Steel Spider. Just like Steel Spider was later repurposed into a Red Hood like Character, Alpha can be repurposed as well
Spiderman has one sidekick that's not really a sidekick, Miles Morales
He's a good Spiderman that can even handle his own fights, but when he joins forces with Peter they're unstoppable
What about Daredevils short lived (literally) sidekick - Blindspot
Okay, but only being able to use one power at a time is a rad as hell twist on that power set, and could force some really creative uses of it if they were willing to commit to the bit. Because functionally, he only has *one* of those powers at any given time. Limitations are what leads to the most interesting stories, after all (either imposed by the power system or by the characters’ own internal compass.) Personally, I’d strip out the energy blasts so he had no ranged combat options.
Honestly, seems like a character with potential? There’s always something interesting to me about characters whose own moral compasses are a bit skewed, but who *want* to do the right thing anyway. Plus, I feel like we could do with more coming of age redemption stories which show that even though changing yourself at any point is hard, the person you are in high school is not going to be who you are forever. Your brain wasn’t finished developing, your hormones were nuts, and you didn’t have as much experience/context. How did that one post put it? “You weren’t irredeemable, you were 15.”
Marvel did a pretty good job doing that with Flash Thompson, but I still think we need more stories like that.
I hope Mcu and Sony can work together to make new origin Alpha and powers
why do i only remember him as the guy who had the cardboard in stan lees comic store in the tasm 2 tie in game 😭
I have a feeling we'll see him come back and treated like Speedball.
bruh 💀 the fact that he says "There. I fixed it for you." just like a true twitter user, lol
They can always make him a villain for Miles.
he'd probably come back as a villian jealous of Miles or something
How funny! I just finished reading the original Alpha storyline yesterday!
It's possible alpha could show in the college spider-man trilogy, I mean he could be a spider-man fanboy who gains power, then loses them at the end after saving peter.
it's the guy from the comic store in The amazing Spider-Man 2 game
I liked the idea of alpha, where you have a "god" being humbled and taught to become the hero the word needs by someone way more down to earth, showing the struggles and pains of the normal people and how to help people, the main issue is they definitely did not want alpha to be a real hero.
Alpha worked as a good "Peter without the Ben" parallel, but it's obvious that's all he was really meant to be. Just a quick one-off story was what he was designed to be, simple as that.
Love the Kingdom of hearts scroll tone
Spider-Man has a sidekick, and their name is Harry Osborn, the New Green Goblin
Just the oher day is was thinking that Alpha would be a great rival/villian for Miles.
I bet one day this character is gonna come back as villain for spider-man.
This is the type of character that mcu will use and either make it 100x times better or worse
They could bring alpha back as a villain for miles
That'd be awesome
Maybe Alpha could come back as a Miles villain?
The only reason I recognize this guy is because in the amazing spider man 2 when you entered the comic book shop there would be a card board cut out of him.
So that's who that cardboard cutout in the TASM 2 game was.
I always felt that Miles Morales was Spider-Man’s sidekick seeing how in a lot of adaptations like Spiderverse and Spiderman Games, Peter Parker is the one always teaching Miles Morales how to use his powers.
Here’s my head canon of Marvel Sidekicks
Kate Bishop, sidekick to Hawkeye
X-23, sidekick to Wolverine
Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp, sidekick to Antman/Yellow Jacket
Iron Patriot/War Machine, sidekick to Iron Man
Agent Bob, sidekick to Deadpool
Bucky/Winter Soldier, sidekick to Captain America
Kamala, sidekick to Ms. Marvel
Would be cool if they made Alpha become a villain that fights against miles morales
Alpha is Parker's answer to Buddy from the Incredibles
The irony that Spider-Man had affected TWO egoistic superpowered characters that had begun humbling their previous point of view and only ONE of them got the success that the other could've thrived from is p sad. NGL I feel like...Alpha COULD be a fantastic retooled character like, one of the few equivalents to Nightwing w/ DC, a character who started as an accessory to another but eventually became a mainstay and respected on his own.
Marvel does have a significant amount of sidekicks
I love how you use kh menu sounds
Mock my words in a couple a years sonys gonna look at this and be like make him into a movie
I would have never thought about this again for the rest of my life if I didnt see this video, I remember him vividly but at the same time I must have blocked him out of my memory
honestly sounds like a pretty cool spidey story
I know him as the character in the comic shop in the TASM2 game. I didn't even know he was a real character.
The only sidekick Spider-Man needs is Spider-bite
Not once have I ever seen a Spider-Man fan think that this character was going to be the next Robin. That was just the media saying that.
Id love to see him return for just a page just to see his middle name is Tom
"Andrew Mcguire"
...
(lowers my head, removes my glasses and starts massaging my temple with one middle finger)
*inhales* okay (glasses back on). proceed.
"Yeah it's pretty boring and extremely generic"
Bruh I would kill to have ONE of those powers.
XD
You say the chances are bad, but he'll be back. Everything in comics always comes back because comics do not forget, even if its 30 years from now.
I’d love to see andy come back but instead of becoming a super villain he should be trying to earn peters trust back and show that he genuinely wants to be a hero he has loads of potential and I think they should explore it
Also his middle name needs to be Tom
A.T.M would be some funny initials
He feels like something marvel would do in the 90's
I'm noticing a pattern of comic fans always HATING any change to the status quo of their favorite series until the change is reverted and then they retrospectively look back fondly or at least neutrally. Alpha is a prime example of that.
There have been a couple spider-girl sidekicks. It usually doesn't end well.
I'll admit, I made my own Spider-Man sidekick, and it's basically mix of Spider-Man and Robin
the sidekick version is called Spider-mite, and the solo hero version is called Mouse-Spider