First Appearance
Jean-Paul Baubier, a.k.a. Northstar, made his debut as a member of Alpha Flight on the final page of X-Men #120. Created by John Byrne and Chris Claremont, the mutant was gifted with super speed, flight, and blinding light generated when in contact with his sister, Aurora.
Northstar, like the other members of Alpha Flight, was ill-defined in terms of any personal traits as he, like the rest of the team, existed only to fight the X-Men at that point.
X-Men #120 and X-Men #121 – Northstar’s first full appearance – are much sought-after issues. Besides their prominence as Claremont/Byrne issues of X-Men, Alpha Flight’s first appearance has always made them desirable issues. Based on recent sales, X-Men #120 has begun to climb once more, with the 30-day average for a 9.6 graded copy rising to $950 and coming close to the one-year average of $960, this after dropping to a 90-day average of $848.
X-Men #121, however, continues to drop in value as can be seen from the one-year average in the 9.6 grade of $421, the 90-day average of $343, and the 30-day average of $311.
First Cover Appearance
Northstar made his next appearance – and his first cover appearance – in, of all comics, Machine Man #18. There are only 76 graded copies in the CGC census - more a testament to its lack of desirability rather than any perceived rarity. So ill-conceived is the cover that Northstar’s hair is improperly colored blonde.
A 9.8 graded copy (which hasn’t sold in more than a year) can likely be had for less than the latest sale of $150, and lower grades can be found for half of that or less. It’s a shame that Northstar’s first cover is on what few would disagree is a terrible comic.
Northstar Develops a Personality
When John Byrne finally caved to pressure in 1983 and created an Alpha Flight comic book series, one of his first tasks was to develop who the characters actually were. For Northstar, Byrne chose to make him the first gay superhero. Unfortunately, due to editorial policy and restrictions set in place by the Comics Code Authority, Byrne wasn’t able to offer up much more than subtle and implied hints regarding Northstar’s sexual orientation. While much of this is cringeworthy when read today, in the 1980s it was cutting edge to have a character that most readers understood to be gay, even if it was never overtly stated.
Northstar Comes Out
In a comic that was big news in 1992, Northstar, after many years, let the world know that he was gay in the pages of Alpha Flight #106. Of course, it’s 1990s Marvel; so, this is handled with the subtlety of an atomic explosion. Nevertheless, the issue sold out at the time and received a second printing.
Nowadays, the issue has been climbing somewhat, as evidenced by the sale of a 9.8 on eBay for $105, the first sale over $100 in six months.
First Solo Issue
Did you know that Northstar had his own mini-series? I didn’t until doing research for this article. The sands of time have clearly erased my memory of this one. According to Comichron, Northstar #1 ranked #80 of all comics released in February 1994.
As might be expected, there are no graded copies of this comic - or any of the subsequent issues for that matter - in the CGC census. A full ungraded set of the entire four-issue mini-series is currently available on eBay for just $5. For $5, it might be worth a shot to pick it up.
Northstar Gets Married
Besides being the first gay superhero, Northstar also was one of the celebrants in the first same-sex wedding to be shown in superhero comics. This took place when Jean-Paul married Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X-Men #51.
While there are a healthy number of copies in the CGC census – 125 for what is essentially a modern run filler issue – no graded copy has ever sold for more than $74. This issue is also quite plentiful in cheap bins at shops and shows.
Final Analysis
Are you a Northstar fan? What do you think of his place in comic book history? Let us know below.
