One of "Firefly's" most captivating charms was its ability to spin cliches on their heads; Zack Whedon follows this tradition with an equally charming play on the notion of heroism, saving our big damn heroes' grand first appearance until almost halfway through the issue. Whedon carefully builds the crew's reputation by focusing on both the public and the Alliance's reactions to the Miranda disaster, before he cleverly underscores the disparity between who they really are and who the public thinks they are.
In doing so, he simultaneously provides a great platform to quickly and organically recap the events of the movie while presenting the widespread effects of Miranda's revelation.
These large-scale protests also manage to capture a vibe not unlike the Occupy Movement and the Edward Snowden information leak, whereas newscaster Stan's words come uncomfortably close to a certain biased news station in his ideologies. This way, Whedon links fictional events back to real ones for an added dimension of relatability.
Likewise, Whedon deftly handles the dialogue between each character. He employs a great deal of wordplay as newscasters Stan and Audrey banter back and forth about the legitimacy of the Miranda broadwave, ultimately implementing an authentic political overtone to the discussion. What's more, Whedon truly captures the essence of established characters like Mal and Kaylee by using their jargon and dialect to its fullest extent without it seeming overbearing.
He provides enough of a balance between character moments and humor to keep the story moving quickly, tantalizing fans by building off of moments left hanging at the end of the film. With this mix of characters both new and old, Whedon throws in a fascinating new character who ties it all together in the form of Bea, who -- in the space of only a few pages -- becomes a compelling, passionate, and endearing personality.
When working with characters new to the "Firefly" universe, Jeanty has a style both beautiful and diverse. For all the issue's crowded scenes, no two characters look alike; his figure work is expressive, distinct and lovely, especially when his panels center on a character's face. Additionally, he shines through his attention to sprawling landscapes, keeping small details from the pattern in Serenity's kitchen and cockpit to deep space to busy market places.
Suddenly, Inara comes in, announcing that they have a problem. It's Bea's ship. To the surprise of the crew, Jayne's voice comes over the radio. The two ships then dock with each other as Jayne and Bea come over to Serenity. Mal asks about the complement of her ship, to which she answers twelve.
Mal orders Kaylee to close the bay and unmoor Serenity. Bea then explains that she wants to recruit him to the New Resistance. Mal bluntly refuses, stating that his enemies would pay handsomely for his whereabouts and between Bea's crew and Jayne, most likely someone ran their mouth, allowing their ship to be tailed.
While Bea insists they weren't followed, on her ship, Jubal exits out the airlock, having slaughtered her crew and planted a bomb. Once he's aboard Serenity , Bea's ship explodes. Serenity then flees the scene. Zoe wakes up to find an Alliance officer, introducing himself as Rodgers, standing over her. He wants to know where Serenity is, but he knows that she wouldn't betray her friends.
He then tells her that once she's healthy enough to travel, he's gonna dump her on a prison planet where her friends won't find her nor will she ever see Emma again. Back on Serenity , Mal talks with Jayne, who asks if he can help rescue Zoe. Mal plainly says he can't trust him because he took money over loyalty to the crew and tells him that first chance they get they'll drop him someplace safe.
As the crew retire for the evening, Jubal infiltrates the med bay and looms over a comatose River. Deep in River's subconscious mind, she is a gigantic observer as she views her memories of the Academy, where she rediscovers the inhumane experiments performed on her and other children before fast forwarding to the part where Simon rescues her.
In reality, River starts to scream in her sleep. Simon attempts to comfort her only for Jubal to sneak up behind him and knock him out. Kaylee witnesses this from a distance. In Mal's cabin, Inara expresses her concern about their food shortage, especially with Jayne and Bea in their company. Mal assures her there are rations in her old shuttle but Inara insists that they can't run forever. Mal goes to the cockpit to find one ration bar, before Jubal sneaks up on him, reminding him he put him in space, before knocking him out.
In the galley, Bea laments how much she wasted trying to find Mal. Jayne assures her that Mal has principles and advises her to prey on those.
He also adds that he himself is a sharpshooter. He then expresses his sympathy for the loss of her crew. As he returns to his room, he berates himself for telling Bea how good he is at killing people. As soon as he climbs down the ladder, Jubal sneaks into the galley. Bea mistakes him for one of the crew, which he takes advantage of to bind her.
Down in the cargo hold, Jubal has Mal, Simon and Bea captive. Mal demands to know where Inara is. Jubal says that he locked both her and Jayne in their rooms. He then asks where Shepherd Book and Wash are. Mal tells him they're dead and mentions that Zoe was captured.
Jubal then notes that there is one person he's missing. Then suddenly, Kaylee clocks him with a wrench. When Jubal comes to, Kaylee has him wrapped in chains. She then threatens to torture him as she brings a pair of pliers close to his eye, before refraining, revealing that she only wanted to make him wet himself.
Later, in the galley, Simon asks what River saw while she was under. She reveals that there are other children like herself who were experimented on and they must be rescued. However, Mal says that rescuing Zoe should be their priority. River reasons that it'd be easier if they had ten of her.
Mal talks with Inara in the cockpit, the latter reasoning that raiding the lab where River was being held captive could allow them to restock and gain contraband to sell. However, Mal reminds her that they must find the facility first and that means recruiting someone who knows how the Alliance thinks. Inara doesn't like his idea but says that if it's to save Zoe, it justifies a lot.
Meanwhile, Zoe is brought to a desert prison colony. She meets her new cellmate, who tells her that no one escapes. However, Zoe optimistically declares that she will escape. On a snowy planet, Mal scales a mountain to a cabin at the top, where he finds the Operative who pursued Serenity previously. The Operative assumes that Mal had come to kill him, but when told he needs his help, the Operative is happy to provide.
There is silence amongst the entire crew as Mal and the Operative walk onboard. Jayne later asks Mal if he can kill the Operative after they've rescued Zoe. Mal doesn't advise it, as he barely survived the last two times he tangled with him.
Also, Mal may want to kill him. Jayne insists in drawing straws. The crew assembles to discuss how to infiltrate the Alliance facility. Because of Simon's successful caper with River, the Operative himself beefed up security. He then explains that all ships will be scanned and identified upon approaching the facility, thus they cannot use Serenity.
Instead, they'll need a passenger shuttle and a security clearance code. The Operative can cover the latter while Bea supplies the former with her New Resistance contacts. When asked how sure she is the New Resistance will help, she says that if Mal, a war hero, turns up, they'll be happy to contribute.
Off to the side, Kaylee confides her uncertainty having the Operative on the ship, but Inara reasons that Mal is doing what's necessary to save Zoe. Meanwhile, Zoe learns from One-Eye the layout of the prison. It's an open-air prison. If anyone tries to run, either the desert or the inmates will kill them. Zoe then spots another one-eyed prisoner picking on another and swiftly beats him.
Everyone, excluding Kaylee, Simon, Inara and Emma then set off on their mission. When they arrive at the facility, they encounter no resistance until they notice another shuttle touching down, with the two other Operatives inside.
The allied Operative tells Mal and company to go on ahead. Racing through the facility with River as their guide, they reach a wall, which Jayne blows through with Vera.
On the other side, they find a scientist who recognizes River. The Operative confronts one of his former compatriots, Denon , telling him that Kalista should've come in his place, as he's no match for him.
The Operatives then clash. Back inside, the scientist shows River the other test subjects in stasis, whom he claims were inferior to her.
One of the test subjects awakens, with a murderous look on her face. The female test subject attacks Mal and company, single handedly trouncing them. Stabbed in the neck, Mal tells Bea to run as he is punched in the nose. A flashback reveals that the big red button was once part of Serenity helm, installed by Wash, to link both docked shuttles. In another flashback, it turns out that before heading out, Mal had Kaylee remove the device and rig it to bring Serenity to his location, figuring that the mission may go south.
In the present, Mal regains consciousness and hits the big red button. He then fills a syringe with a sedative, which he passes to River, enabling her to sedate her opponent. Outside, the Operative decapitates Denon, remarking that he did not die a good death. As Bea rejoins him, the female Operative steps out, at which he tells Bea to surrender.
As Rodgers and a squad of soldiers step out of the shuttle, the Operative tells the female Operative that he wants an honourable death. Suddenly, Serenity appears overhead and from it spills a hoard of browncoats, who overwhelm the Alliance forces and take Rodgers captive. The female Operative flees as Mal and company exit the building with the unconscious supersoldier. Once Serenity is clear of the facility, Simon tends to the injured while their prisoners are restrained.
Bea tells Rodgers that Mal will decide his fate. Rodgers laughs and says that he's their true leader. He reveals that the New Resistance had the advantage of disorganization but now that that's gone, the Alliance has targeted all NR cells hours ago, leaving the complement of Serenity as all that remains. Mal then emerges from the crowd, declaring that's going to change.
He faces down Rodgers, stating that as much as he wants to avoid the Alliance, they aren't keen to let him be. Knocking him down, Mal demands to know where Zoe is. When Rodgers refuses, Mal suggests he think of his answer, as River steps forward. Zoe wraps her bloodied hand as One-Eye remarks that she's getting a reputation amongst the inmates.
However, she does warn that she may have beaten three today, the number of attackers will increase until they finally get her. Zoe says that she won't remain long, claiming her friends will come for her, though One-Eye is skeptical.
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