Firefly: How Brand New ‘Verse Introduces Serenity’s Next Generation
Twenty years since the events of Serenity, what are some of the biggest changes that occur in Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse?
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse #1 by Josh Lee Gordon, Fabiana Mascolo, Lucia DiGiarmarino, and Jim Campbell, on sale now.
Firefly: Brand New ‘Verse #1 teases all the little ways that the universe of Firefly has – and hasn’t changed – since the events of Serenity, including introducing the largely brand new crew of the Serenity.
Twenty years have passed since the events of Serenity shifted the Firefly universe into a new direction. But it turns out that the timeline hasn’t changed all that much. In that time, Zöe Alleyne Washburne has taken command of the titular Serenity ship. The Firefly-class freighter has seen better days, but even after two decades it still flies straight and true through the universe. She has a three-person crew — however, none of them are the friends she previously flew with in the original series. Instead, the crew is composed of Emma, Zöe’s daughter with Wash who was conceived shortly before his death at the hands of Reavers during the chaos of Serenity’s third-act. They’re also joined by mechanic Lu Bao, who is quite close with Emma, and the peaceful Salo, who provides gentle music for the crew.
Emma has grown into a spirited but defiant young woman, eager to take her mother’s place as captain of the ship she’s always known. Since the events of Serenity, most of the former crew has seemingly gone their own ways and found their own paths in life. The Alliance survived the drama caused by the public revelation that they had accidentally created the Reaver scourge and subsequently covered it up. It’s even hinted by Lu that the Alliance did something proactive about the Reavers, suggesting that they were all wiped out in some way by the Alliance. It’s hinted repeatedly that the previous captain, Mal Reynolds, was an element in Emma’s life growing up, as she still refers to him as her “Uncle Mal.” However, Mal doesn’t appear in the issue in any real capacity, leaving his fate a mystery.
The only other former member of the crew who makes an appearance in the issue is Inara, who previously traveled the universe aboard the Serenity as a Companion. Now living planet-side in a religious-like setting, Zöe visits her old friend and shares a cup of tea with her, learning that Inara has risen in the ranks of her order to be named a Priestess. She also confirms that, while it’s been some time since they’ve seen each other, the two of them are always friends and that she’ll help the new crew of the Serenity in any way she can. This results in the crew getting info on a possible job to rob a Blue Sun ship, which confirms that the Blue Sun Corporation has always survived in the two decades that have passed since the events of Serenity.
Discovering a mysterious woman hidden within storage, it appears that the new crew of the Serenity is about to experience their own version of discovering River Tam. While the fates of the rest of the surviving crew (River Tam, Simon Tam, Kaylee Frye, and Jayne Cobb) aren’t revealed in this issue, it’s likely they’ll encounter the new Serenity in due time, especially if this young woman ends up having some kind of deeper connection to River. Still, history seems to be repeating itself for the moment on the Serenity‘s latest flight, as a mysterious young woman seems set to guide the ship’s very immediate future.
Original article at CBR.
This article has been reproduced for archive purposes.
