‘Blade Runner Origins #12’ Review (Titan Comics)
Written by K Perkins, Mellow Brown | Art by Fernando Dagnino | Published by Titan Comics
So, here we are. The final issue in the book that promised to show us the origins of the Blade Runner unit. It’s been quite the ride getting here. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure how the story, set in 2009, of LAPD Detective Cal Moreaux investigating a suicide would tie neatly into the events leading up to the original film a decade later. I shouldn’t have worried. Events led, as they always do with Tyrell Corporation, into murders, illegal operations, unwise Replicant tech, and a whole lot of death and destruction. Stuff we love of course. A good story needs a good villain after all. Last issue saw the sacrifice that would lead events down the road we now know happened, and Cal is looking like both the hero and victim.
Nia’s sacrifice, pretending to be a Replicant threat so Cal could be the hero and get the public acclaim, has led to a growing Replicant underground developing. Still young, small, and under-resourced, but a way for Replicants to hide and, hopefully, escape into new lives. Tyrell Corporation’s response is to control the narrative, to assure the public that although most Replicants are safe and reliable, they will actively seek out and ‘retire’ rogue Replicants. To that end, welcome the new LAPD Blade Runner Unit, and the very first Blade Runner, Cal Moreaux. From the start it’s clear the Blade Runners are not really an independent unit of the police force, but overseen and funded by Tyrell.
Although in public Stahl, Tyrell’s spokesperson, and Cal are on the same side, behind doors the two hate each other. Cal still intends to take her down for all the stuff she’s done, while Stahl thinks as his immediate boss she can keep an eye on him, even control him. Something’s got to give. Cal, of course, is playing both sides. He’s still in contact with Asa, helping the underground, but advises them things are going to get harder now with this Unit on their tails. Cal, though, thinks he’s in a position to keep an eye on Stahl rather than the other way round, her superiors listen to him and as long as they do Cal can keep a control on things. There is a real sense here from Perkins and Brown that everyone is on a hamster wheel, a whole lot of effort required for next to no reward.
The heart to heart between Asa and Cal on the building roof is beautifully done, raw emotion and passion spilling over from both. Cal is doing what he must, walking the path his sister chose for him, Asa saving as many as possible, before the probable ‘retirement’ in the future. I liked the introduction of the Voight-Kampff Machine too, another nod to a staple of that first film, but giving it a new wrinkle. Cal wants his own, one with which to test Blade Runner applicants, to try and make sure that only the right kind of people get through the process to join the unit. Then, one day in the future, it can all be brought crashing down. Maybe.
Will Cal Moreaux, the first Blade Runner, control the Blade Runners, or will the Blade Runners ultimately consume him? Time will tell. That’s a story for another day.
A nice send off for a solid 12-part maxiseries. This was essentially an epilogue to the story we have been following. Perkins and Brown tied up some small plot threads that were still dangling from their story and established firm links with the world of Blade Runner yet to come. It was a smooth ride, and Cal always rides that line where he’s never quite heroic enough to be the true hero of the piece, but has the intent to do what he thinks is right. Arrogant perhaps, but very loyal to his sister and her cause. Did he rise above the Blade Runners, or get consumed by them? Dagnino’s art throughout is excellent, always reliable on layouts and composition, and always packs a punch with the emotional scenes. Fine moody colours by Marco Lesko too.
12 issues didn’t seem enough in the end, there seems plenty more story to be told, but I guess a good series is like a Replicant.
It always wants more life.
