CORKY

Real Name: Corky (if it's a first or last name has never been revealed)

Identity/Class: Human civilian

Occupation: Bar owner

Group Membership: His staff (waitress Mary and unrevealed others; formerly Eugene Judd)

Affiliations: Alpha Flight (Madison Jeffries, Northstar/Jean-Paul Beaubier, Puck/Eugene Milton Judd, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Weapon Omega/Kyle Gibny, Windshear/Colin Hume), John Byrne

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: Unrevealed

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Corky's Tavern in Toronto, Canada

First Appearance: Alpha Flight I#1 (August, 1983)

Powers/Abilities: Corky possesses no superhuman powers. He is an experienced restaurateur and a skilled bartender who after years on the job knows exactly when customers have had too much or are about to cause trouble. Good natured and easy going, he could sometimes be a bit dense to the obvious.

Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 175 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:

(Alpha Flight I#1 - BTS) - Corky opened a bar in one of Toronto's less than reputable neighborhoods. Christening the establishment Corky's Tavern, he welcomed everyone as long as they behaved themselves. To ensure this, he always had a bouncer on hand.  At one point, Corky hired the dwarf Eugene Milton Judd to serve as the tavern's bouncer. Despite his lack of stature, Judd performed his duties admirably.

(Alpha Flight I#1) - Corky asked Judd to help out his waitress Mary, who was being harrassed by some rowdy customers after they had a liquid lunch too many. Judd set them straight by forcefully throwing the first one out on to the street and knocking the other unconscious. At that moment, the Alpha Flight call signal implanted in his skull went off. Overjoyed that he finally got called into action and not explaining where he was going, Judd left a startled Corky behind as he cartwheeled away.

(Alpha Flight I#105) - Several years later, Corky met Puck again when he and the other male members of Alpha Flight picked Corky's Tavern to celebrate Madison Jeffries' bachelor party. Recognizing his former bouncer, a surprised Corky asked Judd where he'd been all this time. Judd revealed his secret identity, which was greeted by Corky and the other people at the bar, including John Byrne, as a big joke. While Byrne asked the ticked off Judd if he could arrange a date with Aurora, Corky confessed he was actually the Thing... but only on weekends.

   A few minutes after that, a desperate, penniless man came into Corky's Tavern and tried to rob the place at gun point. The men of Alpha Flight easily disarmed him and when they learned how the shotgun of the alleged robber wasn't even loaded, they decided to help him out. Sasquatch, using his status as a government-peace-keeping-officer made arrangements with Corky to take full responsibility for the man's perceived crimes. Corky happily agreed to let the robber go, with his blessings. As Puck and the others were leaving, Corky rushed after him to apologize for laughing at Judd's confession about being an Alphan. Corky then followed that up with asking him if he could get him an 8x10 picture of Guardian (Heather Hudson). Not getting an answer (or a photo), Corky watched the severely peeved off Judd waltz off into the night.

Comments: Created by John Byrne

Having Corky make a comeback a good nine years after his first appearance in Alpha Flight's premiere issue was a nice nod to established continuity on the part of Scott Lobdell. In Alpha Flight I#61, the team visits a bar Puck used to work at, owned by a man who looks remarkably similar to Corky. However, it's doubtful this is Corky or his tavern. The layout of the place is considerably different from the one seen earlier and Puck was supposed to have been a bartender, instead of a bouncer. The staff also seemed aware of his dual identity as an Alphan.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Corky should not be confused with:

• Corky Franklin of the Quentin Carnival, father of Circus of Crime's Clown (Eliot Franklin) @ Ghost Rider II#64
• Any other Corky characters or tavern owners
  

Corky's Tavern

Corky's place of business was a tavern located in one of Toronto's less fashionable neighborhoods. Opening before noon every day, the crowd would often get rowdy well before happy hour. For a while, Corky could count on dimunitive bouncer Eugene Milton Judd to keep his staff and his guests out of trouble. The tavern later hosted Madison Jeffries' bachelor party, attended by all the male members of Alpha Flight, including former bouncer Puck.