Guardian (Marvel Comics)

Guardian
Guardian on the partial cover to Alpha Flight (vol. 1) #89. Art by Jim Lee.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The X-Men #109 (February, 1978)
Created by	John Byrne
In-story information
Alter ego	James MacDonald Hudson
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Team affiliations	Alpha Flight Beta Flight Department H Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Notable aliases	Weapon Alpha, Vindicator, Jamie, Jimmy, Mac, Jimmy Hudson, Dr. Hudson, Antiguard, Major Maple-Leaf
Abilities	Physical attributes enhanced to peak of human potential Flight Personal force field Ability to fire energy blasts

Guardian (James Hudson), also known as Weapon Alpha and Vindicator, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by John Byrne, the character made his first appearance in The X-Men #109 (February 1978) which was co-plotted by Byrne and his long-time collaborator Chris Claremont. He was designed to be the Canadian equivalent of Captain America, hence his costume markings are modeled after the Canadian flag. Guardian is often confused with Captain Canuck, another Canadian-themed superhero with similar costume and superpowers. The character is the leader of Alpha Flight.

James MacDonald Hudson was born in London, Ontario,Canada. He is a leading petrochemical engineer and scientist for the Am-Can Corporation developing a powered exoskeleton suit. When he learns that his work will be used for American military purposes, Hudson raids his workplace, steals the prototype suit and destroys the plans. He leaves the suit to be recovered (albeit without the vital control helmet, which he built before coming to the company) and fully expects to be sued and arrested for his actions.

However, Hudson's girlfriend, Heather MacNeil, uses political connections in the Canadian government to persuade Am-Can to waive the charges against him. As a result, Department H is formed, a secret branch of the Canadian Department of National Defence, and Hudson is named as head of operations. Inspired by the debut of the Fantastic Four, James Hudson planned to create a superhero team for Canada. He started out with a prototype superhero team called The Flight which had Wolverine as one of its members.