Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 3

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Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #3 An issue of the Dynamite series.
Issue No.	3
Writer(s)	Tony Lee
Illustrator(s)	{{{illustrator}}}
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)	Eman Casallos
Colorist(s)	Davi Correia (pages); Adriano Lucas (cover)
Letterer(s)	Joshua Cozine
Editor(s)
Collection Design	{{{designer}}}
Cover Artist(s)	Sean Chen
Adaptation of
Published	January 2014
Collects
Collected in	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck
Reprints
Reprinted as
Pages	{{{pages}}}
ISBN	725130209306
Population	0 Survivors
Special	{{{special}}}
Chronology
Previous		Next
Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 2	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #3	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 4
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

Summary

The origin of Lt. Starbuck continues, told by #1 New York Times best-selling author Tony Lee! Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Starbuck is forced on the run with only Apollo by his side, while Adama gains help against Osiris from a trader named Baltar...

Plot

As with the previous installment, this issue is set entirely two yahrens before the attack at Cimtar.

Notes

Nods

• This is the "first" time that Starbuck would be set up for a murder to protect the misdeeds of a Cylon traitor by their aide. The "second" time would occur during the events of "Murder on the Rising Star," wherein Karibdis (yet another aide) set up Starbuck in the hopes of evading detection as a traitor. In both instances, a certain someone would be the one to assist Starbuck in clearing his name.
• The story told by Starbuck at the beginning of this installment is a direct nod to the pivotal scene from the first Star Wars film where Luke Skywalker manually fires proton torpedoes to destroy the Death Star.

Errata

• As with other entries in the Dynamite Entertainment comics, a mix of Re-Imagined Series and Original Series terminologies occurs:
  • The backgrounds of the Viper bay on battlestar Galactica are those of the hangar deck from the Re-imagined Series.
  • The Warrior uniforms feature shoulder patches on both shoulders, but it should only appear on the right shoulder on Warrior uniforms.
  • The Vipers depicted are visually more in line with the Re-imagined Series Mark II Viper than the Original Series counterpart.
  • Civilians wear contemporary clothing (modern suits with ties, vests, tank tops, red dresses, t-shirts) as opposed to the distinct Egyptian-esque clothing designed by Jean-Pierre Dorleac.
• When the black shirts arrest Starbuck, he is drawn with McKintosh's pendant around his neck. However, following his incarceration in the Aeries detention cells, he tells Apollo that he left the pendant in his Viper—even though it is still around his neck in the last panel of page 3.
• As established in "Murder on the Rising Star," murder trials held 10 centars following the entry of the accused's plea. This does not occur here.

Analysis

• Starbuck's drunken bouts of self-pity and gregarious womanizing recur many times in the course of this comic, which only serve to cause problems for him later on. This is in keeping with the character's depiction in the series proper, including "Murder on the Rising Star" (where Starbuck is framed for the murder of a rival) and "Take the Celestra" (where Starbuck is foiled by a mutinous ex-girlfriend).
• The Colonial Military continues its poor discipline standards, and nepotism abounds with the same family unit serving aboard one battlestar—Zac, Apollo, and Athena, all under the command of their father, Adama.
• Apollo and Adama's preferential treatment of Starbuck—particularly when other pilots would have been drummed out of the service for similar derelictions of duty—clearly lead to degradation of operational discipline and military effectiveness.
• The treasonous motives of both Osiris and Diana are not in any way fleshed out, in keeping with the tradition of established story telling in the series proper. There is a vague insinuation of power acquisition, and perhaps it could be argued that the Cylons also agreed to spare Osiris' colony of Aeries (assuming that the Cylons gave them the same deal as the one they gave Baltar), but is is paper-thin as motivation.
• McKintosh's data chip and corresponding pendant, first featured in Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 1, serve as either a continual McGuffin or a Chekhov's Gun. In fact, one could say that the name of "McKintosh" is a nod to that particular point.

Questions

• Why would anyone betray their homeworlds to the Cylons?
• Were either Osiris or Diana involved with future sneak attacks, such as those that took the lives of Starbuck's foster parents?

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Starbuck tells a group of pyramid players a tall-tale during a game:

  Starbuck: And then I was yelling "Fire the Missiles!" but their target system was fracked—so ol' Starbuck here had to fire it into the exhaust vent himself—

  Jolly: You're so full of crap, Starbuck!

Gallery

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  Colorized cover.

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  Page 1

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  Page 2

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  Page 3

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  Page 4

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  Page 5

External links

• Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #3 at Dynamite Entertainment

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