Editing Eve of Destruction

{{separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Realm Press}}
{{Comic Data
| image = Eve of Destruction cover.jpg
| title=Eve of Destruction
| series=Realm Press
| issueno=
| episode=
| writer=[[J.C. Vaughn]]
| penciller=[[Matt Busch]]
| inker=Matt Busch
| colorist=Matt Busch
| letterer=[[Mark L. Haynes]]
| editor= [[James A. Kuhoric]]<br/>Mark L. Haynes<br/>J.C. Vaughn
| cover=
| published=December 1999 
| collects=
| collected=
| reprints=
| reprinted=
| isbn=
| prev=
| next=
}}

: ''One of the first comic books from [[Realm Press]] that primarily features the artwork of [[Matt Busch]], in addition to two stories. ''Prelude I'' features the story of Count [[Iblis (alternate)|Iblis]] and his involvement with the [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]] and the destruction of Colonial civilization, while ''Prelude II'' sets up [[Zac (alternate)|Zac]] as an agent for the [[Beings of Light]].''

== Summary == 

=== Prelude I: Nostalgie De La Boue ===

* The prologue to this prelude reads:

: ''It is the seventh millennium of mankind. The human race, descended from the long dead mother world of {{TOS|Kobol}}, now dwells on twelve sister worlds, also known as [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|The Colonies]]. For most of the last one thousand [[yahren]], humanity has been at war with the powerful [[Cylon Alliance]].''

: ''Even as the Colonies were being settled, the seeds of this costly struggle were sown by the malevolent being known as Count [[Iblis (alternate)|Iblis]]. He tricked the Cylon dictator [[Sobekkta]] into betraying his entire living, breathing race and caused them to be replaced by mechanical drones. These relentless, soulless machines are dedicated only to enforcing their order on the galaxy.''

: ''There are, however, forces of [[Beings of Light|Light]] which stand opposed to the forces of Darkness. For his transgressions, Iblis was cursed to live only in death for 7,000 yahren, to only truly know himself and his power in the fleeting moments between a series of miserable, pain-filled lives...''  

* Iblis continues to remember his life and purpose, fleetingly, between moments of death over 7,000 yahren. During one such moment, he fleetingly remembers Milton's saying about being better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven. Before the end of this fleeting moment, the name "[[Baltar (TOS alternate)|Baltar]]" is known to him. 
* During this time, he also sees flashes of the [[Thousand-Yahren War]] up to its end before being reconstituted, ready to reap what he has sown and to bring the humans to one of two ends: subjugation under him, or death in the cold of space. 

=== Prelude II: Daughter of Elysium ===

* The prologue to this prelude reads:

: ''As darkness begins to cloud humanity's future, the agents of Light prepare for the conflict ahead. The crucible that mankind is about to enter will be its most trying since the demise of their home world, Kobol, and the subsequent journey to the present Colonies.''

: ''Their struggle will take place on many different worlds and in the vast reaches of space. It will be carried out in the cockpits of fighter craft, in the dungeons of forgotten backwater planets, and in the dreams of children.''

: ''Warriors, both human and those more than human, must be readied for the fight to come...''

* A young boy (later known to us as [[Zac (alternate)|Zac]]), dressed in a [[Warrior]]'s uniform, dialogues with voice (later known to us as a [[Being of Light]]) in his dreams. When asked if it's everything he wanted to be, the boy replies, "Not everything, but close." 
* The boy is shown {{TOS|Kobol}} and is told that he will visit the planet on a long journey. He recalls an armistice, although he is uncertain what the armistice leads to or what it pertains to. He later questions why they set out from Kobol to settle [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|The Twelve Colonies]], and why they refer to themselves as "The Colonies" 7,000 [[yahren]] later. 
* When dealing with the idea of being cast out, the boy, upon saying that he could never imagine leaving [[Caprica (TOS)|Caprica]] never to return, is told by the voice this: "What you can imagine is not as limited as you might think, and what you will experience is beyond your understanding at this point."  
* The boy then sees various images with his [[Apollo (TOS alternate)|brother]] and [[Athena (TOS alternate)|sister]] on Caprica. The boy is told that his brother goes [[Thousand-Yahren War|to war]] and then learns that he, too, will be a warrior. He sees snippets featuring {{alt|Starbuck|TOS}}, Athena, Apollo and {{alt|Adama|TOS}}, after this he is told that he will be a great warrior that will fly not with ''them'', but with the forces of Light. He is told that his destiny is not what he imagines it to be, but just as noble—and will not remember this encounter until they meet again. Zac is told that he should dream of far away planets and [[Muffit|mechanical daggits]]. 

== Notes == 

* While the series canon has hinted that [[Iblis]] has influenced [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylon]] development ([[Baltar (TOS)|Baltar]] notes that Iblis' voice is the same as the [[Imperious Leader]]'s), the comic asserts that Iblis was the mastermind directly responsible for the present Cylon development and the [[Thousand-Yahren War]].
* ''Prelude II'' lays the groundwork for [[Zac (alternate)|Zac]] to be one of the [[Beings of Light]]. 
* The presence of a mechanical daggit at the end pre-dates the "Muffit II," and should technically not exist given that Doctor [[Wilker]] devised it. Unless Wilker had liberated the designs from another source.
* The title for ''Prelude I'', "[[m-w:nostalgie de la boue|nostalgie de la boue]]" is French and means "yearning for the mud," and is typically used to describe an attraction to what is unworthy, crude, or degrading. 
* The title for ''Prelude II,'' "daughter of Elysium," is from [[w:Friedrich Schiller|Friedrich Schiller]]'s "[[w:Ode to Joy|Ode to Joy]]."
* Aside from the likenesses of the actors who portrayed the characters (i.e. [[Richard Hatch]]'s {{TOS|Apollo}}, [[Dirk Benedict]]'s {{TOS|Starbuck}}, et al.), there are models who were used in the creation of different characters. The book credits them in order of appearance: Ian E. Busch, Justin Riberas, Jacob Riberas, Jessica Busch, Julia Svoboda, Heather Stone (as [[Siress Uri]]), and Natalia Tarnavski.

== Analysis ==

* ''Not yet available.''

== Questions == 

* Will Zac ascend to the same plane of existence that the [[Beings of Light]] inhabit?
* Given the Beings of Light's inability to interact with the real world, what do they have in mind for Zac?

== Official Statements == 

* ''Not yet available.''

== Related imagery ==

<gallery mode="slideshow">
File:Eve of Destruction virgin cover.jpg|The "virgin" version of the artwork used for the cover.
</gallery>

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