TALISMAN II: Page 5 of 5

Publication Date: 16th Mar 2023
Written By: Peter Luzifer and Daytripper.
Image Work: Peter Luzifer and Gremlin.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY - Page 5

Talisman did not serve on any other subsequent assignment with the heroic Omega Flight team and that team disbanded soon thereafter. Although this left Canada with no national super team to be on hand in case of any trouble, fortunately there was little superhuman activity in Canada during this time. Presumably during this period, Talisman remained on the reservation and, when Alpha Flight did reform, Talisman was not part of the team. She made a brief appearance in the United States, working alongside the team of heroes who attempted to confront the Celestial called Exitar the Executioner, who was preparing to destroy the Earth. [Uncanny Avengers (1st series) #16]

Sometime later, Talisman did rejoin Alpha Flight, though her motives for doing so were unclear. More surprisingly, she had begun a sexual relationship with Puck, a man who is several decades her senior. It was during one such sexual encounter that Talisman convinced Puck to ignore an emergency phone call from Vindicator. Talisman told Puck that she knows he loved Heather, but that she had cried on his shoulder too many times. Little did they know, however, that Vindicator was being attacked by a horde of savage Wendigo. When Puck finally picked up the message Vindicator left for him, Talisman joined him in journeying to Forrest, Ontario, where they met up with Wolverine, who had arrived in Canada at Vindicator's request sometime earlier. A team of X-Men soon arrived on scene, as the Wendigo curse began to rapidly spread across Canada. Having dealt with a Wendigo infestation previously, Talisman had a spell which she could use to stop the spread of the curse. However, during the casting of the spell, Talisman was skewered through her stomach by Wolverine, who, having been bitten by a Wendigo earlier, had transformed into one of the savage creatures. [Amazing X-Men (2nd series) #8-9]

Although she was critically injured by this attack, Talisman was able to inform Puck and the X-Men that they needed to travel to the wound of the mountain where the shadow rests eternal, as they would find “him” there through a cave with an entrance to the Spirit Realm. Luckily for Talisman, new X-Men member Firestar was with the team in Canada, and she cauterized Talisman's wounds. When more members of Alpha Flight arrived on scene, the two teams made a plan and Talisman, along with Puck, was flown to the US / Canadian border by Northstar and Aurora so that she could receive medical attention. Once there, Talisman was connected to life support, before being flown to a hospital in New York for further medical assistance and Puck accompanied her. [Amazing X-Men (2nd series) #10-11] The combined effort of Alpha Flight and the X-Men eventually ended the Wendigo curse, freeing Canada from the wrath of the Great Beasts.

Fortunately, Talisman recovered from her wounds and returned to Alpha Flight, fighting alongside them as one of Canada's Premiere Super Heroes, defending their nation from evil. [Fantastic Four (1st series) #643]

Talisman was among many powerful mystics who gathered at the request of Dr. Strange. The Sorcerer Supreme was currently involved in an inter-dimensional crisis, where the sorcerers supremes of other realities were being murdered. The mysterious enemy was called the Empirikul, and it wasn't just other realities they were assaulting, as they made their way to this reality. Robots with large eye-ball heads launched an assault on the mystics of Earth, and Talisman was at the North Pole when she and her father, Shaman, were attacked. Magic began to disappear from the Earth, so Talisman worked alongside Dr. Strange and the Scarlet Witch, using whatever remnant of magic they could find to keep their enemy at bay. When the mystics had finally gathered the last magic objects on Earth, they armed themselves with weapons to fight back against the Empirikul. The mystics eventually defeated the Empirikul, although it appeared that magic was still “dead.” [Doctor Strange (4th series) #4, 6-10]

Although Alpha Flight had been re-purposed as the Alpha Flight Space Station, several Earth-based Alphans were still active as members of Alpha Flight, occasionally working with their space-based teammates. One such occasion saw Talisman working alongside Snowbird, Captain Marvel, Sasquatch and Puck when the Master of the World was attempting to drain energy from the glaciers of the Arctic to add to his own power. In fact, these energies were directly connected to the goddess known as Sila. This led to a misunderstanding with the young heroes known as the Champions and the teams of heroes fought for some time, until they united to defeat the Master. During this encounter, the energies of the goddess became imbued in a local girl. Talisman seemed to take a particular interest in the girl, who decided to call herself Snowguard. [Champions (2nd series) #20-21]

Talisman was once again summoned by Dr. Strange to assist in another crisis when Galactus the World-Devourer ingested a strange planet that transformed him into a bizarre magic-science hybrid creature. Talisman worked alongside other mystics and cosmic heroes during the all-out assault. [Doctor Strange (5th series) #15-16]

Talisman and Snowbird soon felt a mystical calling to a small coastal settlement. Once there, they found all the townspeople in hiding. A dangerous threat loomed as rotting figures emerged from the shadows and nearly devoured the mystic Alphan. Talisman kept the creatures at bay with a beam of light, while Snowbird discovered the cause of the evils in this place – the madness of Richard Easton, who unknown to her until now was her father. Talisman helped to send her friend's father's spirit to rest, and they cleansed the town of the evil plaguing it. [Alpha Flight: True North #1]

Given her vast powers, Talisman must have become respected by Dr. Strange, as she found herself called on by him more often. Another such occasion occurred on Halloween, when Talisman found herself at Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, assisting in freeing souls and keeping all sorts of creepy creatures at bay on the sacred night. [Doctor Strange Annual (5th series) #1] Most recently, Talisman was approached by Carol Danvers, who was seeking training in the mystic arts. Although she first asked and was refused by Dr. Strange, Talisman similarly declined to train her associate. [Captain Marvel (11th series) #28]

No doubt it will only be a short time before Alpha Flight or the new Dr. Strange call on the immeasurable power of Talisman once again.