The Guest Star:
      Sasquatch

The Villain:
      Ranark the Ravager

Guest Shots:
      Mr. Fantastic; Giant-Man; Human Torch; Invisible Girl; Shaman

The Set Up:
      Giant-Man is unconscious on a table in Reed's lab, being examined. After a quick recap of the events of the last issue or two, and a quick showdown with an insensitive Human Torch, Ben returns to the lab, where Reed tells him not much can be done. He does suggest a Canadian scientist be consulted for help: Dr. Walter Langkwoski, also known to us as Sasquatch. Ben jumps in a jet, and heads for Montreal. In Montreal, Ben finds out that Dr. Langkowski is on a field trip to Alberta (maybe he should have called ahead!), and so Ben heads for Alberta.
     Dr. Langkowski and Michael Twoyoungmen (Shaman) are on a pilgrimage in the mountains of Alberta, where Shaman has been finding some "grim portents" implying mystic troubles ahead. He soon finds a revealed cave with etchings from centuries past, and proceeds to investigate while Walter returns to camp for some equipment. While he's at camp, Ben's jet lands nearby, and Walter wonders if the Thing and the Fantastic Four could be the threat Shaman was expecting.
     Walter changes into Sasquatch, and goes to meet the Thing. The two are still in the process of sounding each other out when Shaman opens the wrong urn, releasing Ranark the Ravager, a native American spirit who'd been imprisoned for centuries. The release creates an earthquake, causing Sasquatch to lose his footing and fall towards Ben. Ben interprets this as an attack, and so Sasquatch and the Thing begin an epic battle in the forest while back in the cave a mostly helpless Shaman faces Ranark...

Clobberin' Time?:
      Nope.

Petunia's Patch:
      And again, nope.

Things of Interest:
      I do like Ben's line to Sasquatch in the last panel on page 19. "Sheesh! Yer bigger, stronger, talk better'n me and played pro ball! There must be something I can beat ya at!"
     This two-parter is very early on in the existence of Alpha Flight- prior to this they had a Vindicator only appearance in the X-Men (#109) and then two team appearances in the X-Men (#120-121 & #139-140). They also appeared as a team in Machine Man #18, and Sasquatch appeared solo in Incredible Hulk Annual #8. There was also a throwaway one-panel Guardian appearance in Fantastic Four #220. In any case, this is one one of Alpha Flight's first half-dozen or so appearances.
     This issue and next issue are respectively the first and last ever appearances of Ranark the Ravager. On a mad whim, I wrote a write-up of Ranark for the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Feel free to go browse around over there, though its not spoiler-free...