Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 2

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This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Dynamite Comics separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 2 An issue of the Dynamite series.
Issue No.	2
Writer(s)	Dan Abnett Andy Lanning
Illustrator(s)	Cezar Razek
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)	{{{inker}}}
Colorist(s)	Vinicius Townsend
Letterer(s)	Simon Bowland
Editor(s)
Collection Design	{{{designer}}}
Cover Artist(s)	Alex Ross (Main Cover and Variants) Chris Eliopoulos (Subscription Cover)
Adaptation of
Published	{{{published}}}
Collects
Collected in	Battlestar Galactica Volume 1: Memorial
Reprints
Reprinted as
Pages	32
ISBN	725130204622
Population	0 Survivors
Special	{{{special}}}
Chronology
Previous		Next
Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #1	Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 2	Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #3
Purchase
Available at BOOKSAMILLION.COM - Purchase
Available at Amazon.com – [[amazon:{{{amazon}}}|Purchase]]
Available at Amazon.co.uk – Purchase
Available at Things From Another World - Purchase

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series, by the industry's premiere cosmic writers, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (Legion, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy)! After a brutal Cylon attack, Apollo and Starbuck are lost in time and space, and the Battlestar Galactica has been erased from existence! In a reality without Galactica... the Cylon's [sic] rule supreme! How will the legendary Viper pilots get back?

Plot

• Apollo and Starbuck's Temporal Vipers are swept up in a temporal storm.
• They nearly ram into Galactica as it quickly appears from nowhere, but do not die from impact as the battlestar disappears from view again.
• As the storm dissipates, Apollo tells Starbuck his belief that they likely were to blame for the full on time-warp, and proceed on the assumption that Galactica and the Fleet were merely shifted.
• They search the area grid-by-grid, finding nothing but misspent hours of fuel.
• After the negative search, Apollo believes that they may have seen a time mirage of Galactica at the moment of its destruction, frozen in space-time.
• Starbuck focuses on more immediate concerns, finding a Q-Cache in their charts, #2702. The duo makes their way there to resupply and refuel.
• Unbeknownst to them, they are detected by Baltifer, who orders Raiders to pursue and retrieve the two unique Vipers.
• The hypergiant of the system where #2702 is located throws off sensor distortions, allowing the Raiders to overtake the Vipers without early warning.
• After an initial battle, Apollo finds himself out of power for weapons and minimal fuel; Starbuck uses his remaining power to distract the Cylons from pursuing Apollo.
• Starbuck is hit, and a Raider locks Starbuck's Viper in a tractor field, while Cylons pursue Apollo around the hypergiant. Apollo uses said hypergiant to slingshot, so he has the chance of reaching #2702; his pursuers are dispatched by the hypergiant's plasma flares.
• Apollo crash-lands on the planetoid in a shallow sea of methane soup, and makes his way to the cache. He discovers that the identification mark reads #7202, but before he can enter he finds himself surrounded by laser fire.
• Starbuck awakens just as the Viper is dragged into the basestar's hangar bay, and Starbuck surrenders with some jocular remarks as tech spiders crawl over the craft.
• Starbuck is taken to a large chamber of holding cells, in which other humans are kept. He is shoved into another cell with a rotund, heavily bearded man smoking a fumarello who refuses to give his name.
• Outside of the Q-Cache, Apollo finds a laser pistol pointed at his head by a bald-shaven, muscular male with Cylon Centurion vambraces and gauntlets, surrounded by other humans wearing a melange of Cylon armor components and Warrior clothing.
• Apollo is bound and brought into the facility to be seated in the command chair repurposed from the top command deck of a battlestar's core command, presented to no one other than a scarred version of his own father.

Notes

Publication Releases

• A version of this issue, the Battlestar Galactica #2 Exclusive Subscription Variant, released in June 2013. Per the publisher:

  For comic fans that reserve a copy ahead of time with their comic shop, you can receive an exclusive Chris Eliopoulos Cute Exclusive cover! Only available for comic shop subscribers, this super-special variant is limited to initial orders!

  • Note: Dynamite Entertainment's website features the wrong cover image, repeating Issue #1's "cute cover" instead of Issue #2's (see below).

• Only 25 copies of a "High-End 'Photo' Ultra-Limited" variant of this issue were released in June 2013. Per the publisher:

  ONLY 25 COPIES IN EXISTENCE! Alex Ross loves the classic BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, as we clearly tell from his depiction of Lt. Athena on this rare variant cover featuring virgin art! Ships bagged and boarded with a Dynamite Certificate of Authenticity.

Timeline

• The comic deliberately uses Adama's facial hair as a "hallway between full beard of 1980 and clean shaven BSG," further noting that they've been "musing the years they've been forced to roam the galaxy, forever hunted by the relentless, merciless Cylons."
• The presence of an alternate Adama's facial hair also indicates that the same amount of time has passed in the alternate reality that Apollo and Starbuck find themselves in.

Nods

• Children resistance fighters are also seen in "The Young Lords," who also utilize guerrilla warfare against the Cylons.

Errata

• Apollo and Starbuck's helmets only have one light bar at the top of the face opening; the typical Warrior helmet has two, one at the top of the opening, and one on the bottom.

Analysis

• Alternate realities are a common trope in science fiction, and one used to illustrate a "what if?" scenario. In this particular case, it appears that the use of Zee's temporal weapons created a divergent reality where the Cylons reign supreme, and various known characters are changed by different events given that the last battlestar never existed.
• It is in this issue that the story arc is that of an "alternate reality episode", where the only two people to know of a time change would be the ones who helped caused it as their crafts were properly shielded.
• The extent of the changes are not shown, however the key components are laid out beginning in this issue, and explored in the three subsequent issues to follow. As such, much of this issue is set up where Apollo assumes the role of "Mr. Exposition," explaining their situation to Starbuck—assuming the temporary role of the reader's surrogate—for the first half of the issue. In the last half of the issue, following Starbuck and Apollo's separation over Cache, both "fish out of (temporal) water" characters become the reader's surrogate.
• The presence of Adama with scars on the left side of his scalp is a visual trope used to differentiate this Adama from the one Apollo knew.
• The presence of Boomer, who is not formally introduced until Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 #3, is a nod to the "Bald, Black Leader Guy" trope prevalent in science fiction, showing a thematically rougher and darker side of a science fiction story. (See: Benjamin Sisko of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.) Perhaps not so ironically, Boomer is the only dark-skinned male depicted, perhaps an unintentional, subconscious nod to token minority of the colorist.

Questions

• What happened to Galactica? (Answer)
• Who or what is Baltifer? (Answer)
• Who is the bald man who escorts Apollo to see "the boss"? (Answer)
• Is "the boss" Apollo's father? (Answer)

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Apollo and Starbuck discuss the missing Galactica:

  Apollo: From the sensor picture we're gathering, I think that Galactica we saw was a mirage. A time mirage. You understand? An image of Galactica at the moment of its destruction frozen in distorted space-time.

  Starbuck: So is Galactica destroyed? Or did we manage to wipe it from the time-stream? Or is that the same fracking thing?

• Starbuck and his Temporal Viper are captured by Cylons:

  Centurion: Step out of the craft or be expunged.

  Starbuck: Okay, I'm steppin', I'm steppin'... See? How cooperative is this, huh?

  Starbuck: (as he's lead away) So, where are we going? To see something nice? To meet someone important? By the way, I wouldn't let your tech drones play with the hardware on my ship. Very dangerous, very unreliable blowing-a-hole-through-time stuff there...

• Apollo is captured by Colonial Resistance fighters on the surface of the planetoid:

  Boomer: Sit down. The boss wants a chat.

  Apollo: The boss?

  Adama: That would be me.

  Boomer: This guy came here in a Viper. He knew where the cache was. Got to be a Cylon trick. Look, they couldn't even get his uniform right.

  Apollo: No... that's not possible... father!?!

Related Imagery

Covers

• 
  Main Cover
  Art: Alex Ross
• 
  Incentive Cover. Alternate main pencil sketch cover.
  Art: Alex Ross
• 
  Subscription Cover "Cute Exclusive"
  Art: Chris Eliopoulos
• 
  Incentive Cover "Cute Exclusive" with Re-imagined Series "Battlestar Galactica" title logo
  Art: Chris Eliopoulos
• 
  Virgin art cover.
  Used in the 25 "ultra rare" versions that were printed.

Preview Pages

Please Note: These are used for promotional purposes by the publisher, and are provided here in the same vein.

• 
  Page 1
• 
  Page 2
• 
  Page 3
• 
  Page 4
• 
  Page 5

External links

• Dynamite.com: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #2 (web.archive.org backup link)

 

Re-imagined Series definition: slang for a certain piece of Cylon equipment; Silas Nash names this piece as something to be avoided when briefing Coker Fasjovik and William Adama ^{(TRS: "Blood and Chrome")}

Original Series definition: an all-purpose term for Colonial soldier and Viper pilot (see: Warrior)

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.