The archive is now updated through yesterday's entry. If you need to look up something from Ape-ril, it's covered! As for Eh-pril, am I to take it by the lack of response that my readers hate Canada? I mean, yeah, they spell everything wrong and they like moose a little too much, but Baby Jesus weeps when you don't reply.

Anyway, Eh-pril continues today with the biggest little Canadian of them all!

4/28/07

118. Puck



Even his logo is hairy.

Puck was a member of the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight. Yes, they just killed him off or something. I'm not worried about it; Puck is so awesome, he'll be back one day.

The man is a three-and-a-half feet tall, 90-year old acrobatic superhero with so much body hair, he never needs to wear a coat. Also, he's named after a hockey puck, because all Canadians love hockey. (This just makes me want to see superheroes based on curling and maple syrup).

Once a soldier of fortune (and one of Hemingway's favorite bullfighters) who stood seven feet tall, Eugene Milton Judd (great name) stole a mystic artifact he shouldn't have and was transformed into his immortal little-person-y self. (This origin went against creator John Byrne's original plans. Byrney wanted Puck to be a regular--pardon if this is offensive--midget, constantly in pain because of the condition of his stature. Somebody changed this along the way and we got his mystical origin). He eventually joined up with Alpha Flight, lasting through most of its incarnations. At some point, he sired a daughter who became the second Puck.



Don't worry, they got around to giving him pants.

Puck is super-agile, super-fast (he can apparently run 115 miles per hour, which would be the coolest thing to see in person), super-strong and tough, and all that super-stuff. What really counts is that he's a damn nice guy who is smart and fun and cool to have around. He's definitely my favorite member of Alpha Flight. I normally don't care about that team, but Puck deserves to be honored as one of comics' greatest Canadians.

A detailed Puck history can be found at Alphanex. And hey, there's even a website devoted entirely to Puck. Who would've thought?

Question for the readers! Who wins in a fight: Puck or Oberon?