The Marvel Legends Alpha Flight six-figure set just landed on my door and I want to dig into it more than anything! But, I also know that I’m going to need to set aside some serious time to do that, so today’s not-at-all random pick for Marvel Monday is another member of Alpha Flight, who just so happened to be released in the X-Men heavy Wendigo Wave.

Yes, it’s James Hudson… Guardian… Weapon Alpha… and leader of Alpha Flight! And I promise to try to be as sensitive to my brothers from The North as possible during this review. Because why shouldn’t Canada have its own team of National Superheroes! And in any case, any character coming from the prolific pen of John Byrne has me on board 100%. As you can see, this is a pretty crowded package, and poor Guardian is being pushed off to the side by the significant bulk of the BAF torso and tail. Let’s get him out of there before he’s crushed.

Guardian proves that you don’t need the stars and stripes on your flag for it to inspire a great looking costume! Seriously, I love this suit! It’s pulled off here with beautiful pearlescent white plastic and some vibrant red paint. The lines are pretty crisp, especially around the prominent maple leaf on his chest, and other than some unpainted pins on his inner right knee, he’s just gorgeous. And sure, it’s obvious that when it comes to sculpting, Guardian is one of this wave’s budget figures, as the entire suit from the neck down is achieved by coloring alone, but I got no problem with that!

The new sculpting shows up above the neckline, and what we got is pretty damn good. The pearlescent tight-fitting cowl only reveals the lower half of Hudson’s face, and it’s advertising one of the biggest scowls I’ve ever seen on a Canadian before. Hey, I live in Florida and a lot of them vacation down here and all the ones I’ve met seem like lovely, happy people. I calls it like I sees it. Guardian, on the other hand, looks like he’s ready to put someone’s head through a wall.

I’m happy to see that articulation in The Great White North is the same as it is down here. Guardian sports rotating hinges in his shoulders and wrists, double-hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. His legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs and lower legs, double-hinged knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. There’s a swivel in the waist, an ab-crunch hinge in the chest, and the neck is both hinged and ball jointed.

So, there isn’t a whole lot else for me to say, other than Guardian is another great example of simplicity of perfection, and what the wizards at Hasbro can do with just some new coloring and a new head. I can still remember the bitterness of getting Aurora and Northstar in the 3 3/4-inch Universe line and then nothing more after that. And that was before Legends became as prolific as it is. I never even dreamed of getting the whole Apha Flight team in Legends, and yet here I am trying to find the time to review them all. We truly live in a wonderful age!