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"A Higher Purpose"
Battlestar Galactica: Origins #1 (Dynamite)
Writer: Kevin Fahey
Pencils: Jonathan Lau
Cover A: Jonathan Lau
2007 |
From
humble beginnings on Aerilon, Gaius Baltar rises to power within
the Colonial Ministry of Defense.
Read the story summary of this issue at the Battlestar Wiki
Notes from the BSG
chronology
This story takes place
mostly on Caprica two years before the fall of the Colonies.
Some flashback scenes to Baltar's youth take place on his
homeworld of Aerilon an unrevealed number of years before.
Didja Know?
Battlestar Galactica: Origins
was an 11-issue mini-series published by Dynamite
Entertainment, covering the origins of several characters of
BSG2000. Issues 1-4 feature Gaius Baltar rising to prominence in
Caprican computer science before the Fall of the Twelve
Colonies.
This issue reveals that Baltar is a fan of professional
pyramid, appreciating it as a game of true skill and
intellect and mastery of hand-eye coordination.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this story
Gaius Baltar
Bernard Baltar (Gaius' brother)
Gaius' girlfriend (unnamed)
Dr. Amorak
Samuel T. Anders
Caprica
Six
D'Anna Biers
Number Three
Number Eight
Miller's daughter (mentioned only)
Admiral Nagala
Captain Atticus Rourke
President Richard Adar
Verheiden
Vanessa Baltar (Gaius and Bernard's mother)
Didja Notice?
On page 2, young Gaius finds an old destroyed Cylon in the
fields near his family's farm on Aerilon. It is a model not
previously seen.
On pages 3-6, Baltar and his girlfriend are enjoying a game of
pyramid, the Caprica City Buccaneers (mistakenly spelled
"Buckaneers" here) versus the Picon Panthers (a couple Picon fan
signs are just barely discernible in the background of panel 3 on
page 3). Since the caption says they're on Caprica, they must be
at the Buccaneers home stadium, Atlas Arena, though the
depiction of it does not look particularly like the one seen in
episodes of Caprica; but then, this is about 50 years
later, so the stadium may have been rebuilt since then (not to
mention that this comic was published a couple of years before
Caprica
aired on Syfy). In
"Gods & Monsters" Part 3, Anders refers to the Buccaneers'
stadium as "New Atlas Arena".
On page 3, panel 4, a Buccaneers fan is seen waving a Caprican
flag.
On page 4, Dr. Amorak introduces Baltar to Caprica Six with a
human name, but we as readers don't get to hear it. Dr. Amarak
(note a slight spelling difference) is later mentioned as being
aboard the Olympic Carrier in "33", but is not seen;
Baltar is then worried that Amarak will be able to out him as a
traitor to humanity. Presumably, it is meant to be the same
person.
When Baltar's girlfriend complains he's not paying any attention
to her at the game, he leads her away and she continues to
mutter, regarding the beautiful Caprica Six, "I bet her breasts
aren't even real." Ironically, in a way, none of Six is real
since she's a Cylon, not a human!
The two female Cylons with Caprica Six on page 7 are a Number
Eight
and a Number Three. In episodes of BSG2000, Boomer (and later,
Athena) is a Number Eight model Cylon as well. A Number Three
appears as journalist D'Anna Biers in episodes of BSG2000.
The computer used by Baltar on page 9 looks similar to an
Apple iMac
G3.
In the flashback on page 9, Baltar pulls out an application form
for Caprica University. Notice that, among other items, it asks
for a Social Security number. I guess Caprica uses Social
Security just like the United States!
On page 10, Amorak is on his cell phone and mentions a meeting
with Admiral Nagala tomorrow. Nagala will later be presumed dead
aboard his flagship Atlantia when it is destroyed above
Virgon during the fall of the Twelve Colonies.
When Amorak is tailed into an alleyway on page 11, he seems to
recognize at least one of his two pursuers. Notice in panel 7,
that the shadows of the two on the pavement look like they are
probably Caprica Six and the Number Eight.
On page 12, Baltar is reading a copy of the Caprican Times.
The headline on the front page reads "Top Politicians Vanish -
Top Government Scientists and Military Officials Continue to
Disappear". The sports page headline reads "Anders Leads Bucks
to Another Victory".
On page 13, notice that Baltar has a framed schematic of a
BSG70-style battlestar hanging on his office wall.
Captain Rourke tells Baltar that, with the disappearance of Dr.
Amorak, he is now being promoted to director of the Command
Navigation Program project and that President Adar has an
intense interest in the project. The Command Navigation Program
is the operating system that is installed in most Vipers,
Raptors, and battlestars by the time of the Cylon attack on the
Twelve Colonies and which has been compromised by the Cylons.
Adar is still the President of the Twelve Colonies at the time
of the Cylon attack in "Humanity's Children".
One of the farm workers in the flashback scene on page 14 is
named Verheiden. This is probably a reference by the writer to
Mark Verheiden, a fellow comic book writer and writer on several
episodes of BSG2000.
On page 17, panel 6, Gaius has a poster on his bedroom wall that
may be of the Cyrannus system, where the Twelve Colonies reside
orbiting four suns.
As Baltar and Six make love on page 20, notice that Six has a
slight red line glowing along her spine, just as occurs when
they make love in
"Humanity's Children".
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