Flight of fancy: Scott Lobdell, writer of the relaunched Alpha Flight, thinks the idea of a superhero team leader is just silly:

"... I have always had a problem with the whole concept of a super hero team 'leader'. I know there's always been long running debates about who is a better team leader, CYCLOPS or STORM -- and that HAWKEYE and CAPTAIN AMERICA still seem to be butting cowls forty years after AVENGERS #16 as two who should lead -- but the whole point of a leader among a super hero team always struck me as being a bit absurd. A bit high school.

"Let's be serious, if a team of super heroes shows up at a burning building with people trapped inside, does anyone really need for the 'LEADER' to shout 'SUPERSPEED MAN, go in get any people trapped inside! WEATHER MANIPULATING PERSON, use your weather manipulating power to summon storm clouds to put out the fire! STRONG GAL, use your strength to keep the building from toppling over on those FIREMEN!' Umm... no. No one needs to hear that - and no super hero worth their salt needs to be told how to function as a group to their best advantage."

He doesn't seem to have as much of a problem with a big orange Sasquatch fighting evil ...