With one of their own in danger, the crew of Serenity is now in rescue mission mode. However, they’re one experienced lieutenant short of successfully saving Zoe from Alliance imprisonment. That’s when Captain Mal Reynolds throws a curveball that no one could have seen coming.
When we last left the gang in ‘Serenity: Leaves on the Wind’, Jubal Early returned to revisit some unfinished business that he had on the good ship Serenity. However, when he underestimated Kaylee, the tables were turned on the bounty hunter and we saw a scary side of our favorite mechanic. Meanwhile, with Zoe currently imprisoned, Mal goes in search of another able body to assist in breaking her out. His long journey results in the Operative, the hired gun tasked with taking down Mal and his crew in Joss Whedon’s 2005 film, joining up with Jayne, Inara, and company.
Now, with a new addition to the team, they look to put the recently uncovered information in River’s head to good use by freeing the other girls who were experimented on like she was in the hope that they’d help the crew rescue Zoe. But even with the Operative’s extensive skills and experience with the Alliance, it just isn’t enough to keep this group out of trouble.
Much like Kaylee and Inara, I was certainly skeptical of the Operative joining up with them to save Zoe. I know that the events that played out in ‘Serenity’ may have soured him on the Alliance, but he’s just such a shady dude! Regardless, it was cool to see him work alongside Mal on this mission.
Another cool thing about this issue was seeing the plan come together. We’re reminded of everyone’s part that they play on the ship and even Bea pulls her weight to help out. More than ever, I felt like this comic could have been a limited series. Even in the way that Georges Jeanty drew the scenes, it looked as if this could have all been filmed on a modest budget. Alas, that’s not the hand that we were dealt, but at least there’s still that cinematic element to the artwork that makes it the next best thing.
While I enjoyed the story as a whole, it’s really the little details that made me smile. For starters, the look on Jubal Early’s face when he had been bested once again by this crew was priceless. Definitely a vintage way to get rid of one of their enemies. Then, I noticed that Wash’s toy dinosaurs are still in the cockpit. I don’t think that I’ll ever get over that loss. Finally, Kaylee’s face as she looks at Mal and Inara before they have to part ways for the mission is great. It’s like she’s thinking what we’re all thinking and that is that it’s great to finally see those two together. Of course, they still have their disagreements because they wouldn’t be Mal and Inara without them, but by adding this new layer on their relationship makes me (and probably many other Browncoats) very happy.
Once again, we have gotten another A+ issue of ‘Serenity: Leaves on the Wind’. It’s just like Mal and the gang to find themselves in a trap and now it’ll be very exciting to see how they get themselves out of it. As if one River Tam wasn’t enough, now we’ll get to see how they fair against a whole group of her. I can’t wait!
Final Score:
SERENITY: LEAVES ON THE WIND #4
Written by Zack Whedon
Art by Georges Jeanty, Karl Story, & Laura Martin
Cover by Dan Dos Santos
