Issue 83 - Northstar

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

06/10/20 • 72 min

For Pride Month, we head north of the border to talk Northstar with Dr. Goku from GuardiansMH! A fascinating episode that covers impulse control, linguistic history, and how to handle trauma! Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

Intro
- Intro Dr. Goku, talk about Guardians
- New patron - Angela
- Shoutout to FriGay the 13th - Andrew & Matty cover horror films & topics with a LGBTQ perspective - frigay13.com
Background (10:17)
- Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in Uncanny X-Men #120 (April 1979)
- Jean-Paul Beaubier and his twin sister Jeanne-Marie are born to French Canadian parents in Montreal, but his parents die in a car crash and the twins are separated
- Shortly thereafter, his adoptive parents are killed
- Despite this tragedy, he becomes a champion skier until his mutant powers manifest in puberty - flight, durability, and super speed
- Later joins the Quebec separatist movement, but renounces their terrorist tactics
- He joins Alpha Flight, where he’s reunited with Jeanne-Marie
- Working with his sister sours their relationship, and they are estranged for some time - they reconcile after fighting a villain that required the full force of Alpha Flight
- After finding an HIV positive baby abandoned in a dumpster, he reveals himself as a homosexual to fight for HIV prevention
- Recruited to the X-Men by Jean Grey to help save Professor X from Magneto, who imprisoned him on Genosha - later becomes a teacher at the Xavier Institute
- Killed by a brainwashed Wolverine, and ends up resurrected by HYDRA, who brainwash him and his sister - they’re both mentally repaired by the X-Men
- Returns to sports, using his invulnerability to become an extreme sports star
- After the Mauraders brainwash the X-Men and kidnap his boyfriend Kyle, he realizes life is short and he doesn’t want to waste it, so he marries Kyle
- Currently living on Krakoa with other mutants - no word on Kyle
Issues (25:02)
- Impulsive and hot headed, seems to be a recurring theme among speedsters
- Related to that, tends to be a bit of an extremist, especially in his youth (29:27)
- Uses his personal, private information to advance a larger cause - potential for significant interpersonal conflicts (35:50)
Break (47:21)
- Plugs for Sips Suds & Smokes, and We're All Mad Here, plus Chris Claremont
Treatment (49:21)
- In-universe - Slow down and work on impulse control
- Out of universe - (52:00)
Skit (60:09)
Ending (66:57)
- Recommended reading: Alpha Flight #106, Astonishing X-Men #51
- Next episodes: Erica Schultz interview about Forgotten Home, Raphael, Support systems in comics