Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 1

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Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 2 1 An issue of the Dynamite series.
Issue No.	1
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) Photo Cover
Adaptation of
Published	May 15, 2013
Collects
Collected in	Battlestar Galactica Volume 1: Memorial
Reprints
Reprinted as
Pages	32
ISBN	725130204622
Population	0 Survivors
Special	{{{special}}}
Chronology
Previous		Next
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MEMORIAL Part 1! 2013 marks the 35th anniversary of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series and to celebrate Dynamite is launching a brand new series, written by cosmic supremos, Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Legion, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy)! Set in classic BSG continuity, this series celebrates 35 years of epic space opera when, following a surprise Cylon attack, Adama and the crew of the Galactica are forced to deploy Dr Zee's experimental temporal weapons with unexpected results that leave Apollo and Starbuck lost in time and space in an alternate reality with no Galactica and no way of returning home!

Plot

• In Adama's sleep, a recurring nightmare where he relives the death of Zac, the Battle of Cimtar, and his failure to save his wife, Ila, re-runs in his mind. The dream differs, as Ila is executed in front of him by Centurions and Adama himself is forced to watch. He himself begs for death with tearful eyes. He awakens as the Centurion follows through with that threat, drenched in the sweat of his own night terrors.
• Adama views a hologram of his family, from which only three remain: himself, his daughter Athena and his oldest son, Apollo.
• From a ceremonial dais, Adama leads a remembrance that recalls the day of the destruction of their Colonies, which is broadcast throughout The Fleet.
• Finishing his sentiments, Adama overhears a conversation between Apollo, Starbuck and Athena as Apollo voices his wish that Zac should be with them that day. Adama consoles his son, reminding him that the Cylons were to blame for Zac's death, and not Apollo.
• A klaxon sounds, alerting them to an inbound Cylon fleet consisting of multiple basestars, coming out of the very same nebula that the Fleet had been using as a hiding place.
• On the bridge, Adama orders a launch of all Viper and has Galactica turn to face their foe, so as to buy the civilian ships the time needed to entrench themselves further into the safety of the nebula.
• Raiders begin their suicide runs on Galactica, causing extreme damage to the battlestar's main engineering sections.
• Their choices are slim: use the remaining power to flee the engagement and lose its shields, or stay a sitting target with power diverted to its shields and weapons.
• On a holo screen, Doctor Wilker conveys an urgent request from his protege, Zee, who advocates the use of temporal weapons he has been developing. Adama harshly rebukes the plan due to their forbidden nature, but reneges as the battlestar further succumbs to its assailant's attacks.
• In the launch bay, Apollo and Starbuck's Vipers are pulled from their launch tubes. Zee and Wilker arrive and the Warriors are introduced to two modified Vipers, outfitted with prototypes of Zee's temporal warper weapons, much to the Warriors apprehension.
• Instructing them quickly on their limitations and use, Apollo and Starbuck launch in Zee's new starfighters. Much to Zee's chagrin, they use the warpers against a few of the Raiders in their sights; the targets are displaced from existence. Zee directs them to attack the basestars, in the hope that their removal from the timeline would ensure their current attack never took place.
• On the bridge, Adama shares his concerns with Colonel Tigh over the deployment of temporal weapons. While discussing it, a Cylon Raider makes its devastating kamikaze strike, destabilizing the temporal battery and removing Galactica, its other Viper pilots, and their Cylon attackers from the space that surrounds them.
• Left alone are Apollo and Starbuck, whose ships have permitted them to make it through the temporal shift unscathed.

Notes

Publication Releases

• A version of this issue, the Battlestar Galactica #1 Exclusive Subscription Variant, released in May 2013. Per the publisher:

  For comic fans that sign up ahead of time with their comic shop to reserve this issue, you can receive an exclusive Chris Eliopoulos Cute Exclusive cover! This Super Special Subscription Variant is only available for Comic Shop subscribers and limited to INITIAL orders ONLY!

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

  ONLY 25 COPIES IN EXISTENCE! Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, and Dirk Benedict appear as Adama, Apollo, and Starbuck on this super-rare photo variant! 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."
• Furthermore, the events of this comic take place a number of yahrens after the Battle at Galaxy's Edge depicted in "The Hand of God."

Nods

• The inclusion of Zee, based on a character from Galactica 1980, and his temporal weapons are nods to the time warp synthesizer and that angelic wunderkind's stewardship of the "Galacticans," as the survivors had come to identify themselves by that juncture in the story.

Miscellany

• The use of holographic technology aboard Galactica is different than what has been seen in the Original Series, and is a liberty used to contemporize Galactica universe to current science fiction "technologies" seen in other series.
• While Boxey, Muffit, Sheba, and Boomer are briefly present in this issue for Adama's speech during the memorial ceremony, they don't appear again for the rest of this particular five-issue story arc.

Analysis

• Adama suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder from the events relating to and following the Battle of Cimtar, including the loss of his home and loved ones, and the pressures of commanding a caravan of survivors for a world that may very well be the myth of "half drunken star voyagers," as Baltar ascribes them to be in "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II." This is certainly not a new development, as Adama battled these demons briefly in "Saga of a Star World," asking Athena to "take this burden from me" following their arrival at Carillon.
• Apollo continues to blame himself for the loss of Zac, the first casualty leading into the holocaust. Despite Adama's own demons, he consoles his son and assures him that the Cylons were wholly at fault.
• The inclusion of Doctor Zee, a character from Galactica 1980 whose presence is tied with Starbuck's separation from the Fleet in "The Return of Starbuck," is a unique entity spliced from the 1980 canon. His presence and Starbuck's in the same place brings to question this iteration's backstory, and how closely it hues to its canonical inspiration.
• The introduction of temporal weapons creates many great paradoxical far-reaching issues. Superficially speaking, their presence brings to question the possibility of deploying the weapon against the heart of the Cylon Empire itself, or to use it against the enemy who helped in their creation. Further, if one could remove an entire ship, one could also use the weapon on a smaller scale, such as against a singular person, to displace them and their actions from existence.
• The denizens of the Fleet still languish in discomforting and depressing conditions, and their plight is glossed over in this issue. The socio-political implications are typically glossed over, and this issue is no different.

Questions

• What are Doctor Zee's origins?
• How many yahrens have the Fleet been searching for Earth?
• How long have the Colonials known of temporal weapons? Are the Cylons aware of them?
• What are the conditions within the Fleet?

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Following the initial wave of the Cylons' overwhelming offensive, Galactica's choices are summarized by a tech:

  Tech: We're hit hard! Tell the commander he has a choice... use power to flee but lose the shields, or stay put and keep power to the shield and weapons systems. Surely we have to draw the Cylons' fire and buy the Fleet time to escape...

• Apollo shares his thoughts with Wilker regarding Zee:

  Apollo: I know you think highly of Zee, Doctor, but is he really... how can I put this...?

  Wilker: Zee is a strange being, Apollo, an old mind in a young body, and he is thoroughly infuriating. But, in this instance, I believe he may have the only advantage that may save us.

Related Imagery

Covers

• 
  Main Cover
  Art: Alex Ross
• 
  Incentive Cover. Alternate main pencil sketch cover.
  Art: Alex Ross
• 
  Virgin cover.
  Art: Alex Ross
• 
  Subscription Cover "Cute Exclusive"
  Art: Chris Eliopoulos
• 
  Photo cover.
  Promotional photo featuring Richard Hatch, Lorne Greene, and Dirk Benedict (L-R).

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 #1 (web.archive.org backup link)

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