Serenity: Better Days

From The Firefly and Serenity Database

Comics
Serenity: Better Days

Publication date	March 12, 2008
Published by	Dark Horse Comics
Includes Original Comics	1–3
Creative Team
Written by	Joss Whedon Brett Matthews
Penciller(s)	Will Conrad
Colorist(s)	Michelle Madsen
Cover artist(s)	Adam Hughes
Timeline
previous "Objects in Space"	next Those Left Behind

Serenity: Better Days is a three-issue comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The first issue was released on March 12, 2008. The series explores some plotlines that the Firefly TV series was originally to explore. The series is written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, with Will Conrad doing the art and Adam Hughes doing the covers. The colorist is Michelle Madsen. It takes place before Serenity: Those Left Behind and the film Serenity.^[1], but after "Objects in Space". Serenity: Better Days #3 is scheduled for release on May 14, 2008.

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Prologue

"After the Earth was used up, we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying."

[edit] Issue 1

A demonstration is held before a large group of people of an armed tactical drone. Meanwhile, Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew are engaging in a heist of ancient artworks. As they attempt to flee with the art, their truck is confronted by the drone, which chases them across the busy highways of an unnamed planet, exchanging weapons fire with Reynolds' crew. As this is happening, the chase and firefight is monitored by the man giving the demonstration. The thieves narrowly manage to escape the drone, which they manage to deactivate and steal as well. Meanwhile, Inara Serra is engaged with a customer named Ephraim Sanda—who she fantasizes is Mal. Reynolds' crew show the drone to the potential buyer, who is disappointed that it is missing its logic core.Mal informs the buyer that he can have the core once he gets paid. The buyer does not have the money, but says he knows where a large amount can be located, and will direct Reynolds to it if they agree to send him a logic core afterwards. The money is underneath a large Buddha statue in a temple. The crew journeys to the temple, and takes the money. In counting it, Reynolds realizes that it is far more than they were told, and is dumbstruck with the realization that they are now rich.

[edit] Issue 2

The crew heads off to Pelorum, a luxurious resort planet, where they rent out a suite that costs 1,000 credits a night. Each crew member regales the others with their personal fantasies of how they wish their lives would change if they each had limitless wealth. Meanwhile, Ephraim prepares his men to take down Reynolds. At the same time, the operator of the tactical drone tortures Reynolds' buyer for his role in trafficking the drone, pulling out all of his teeth, a practice run of what he intends to do to Reynolds. Because the drone was designed to expel microscopic tracking beacons in the event of unexpected shutdown or failure, he has tracked Reynolds and his crew to Pelorum. Reynolds and Zoe detect the arrival of Sanda's ship, and identify Sanda, who is en route to Inara's shuttle. Reynolds journeys to the shuttle, and is surprised to see Simon Tam emerge from it. He is then knocked unconscious from an unseen assailant.

[edit] Issue 3

It is revealed that the unseen assailant is Sanda, who then ties Mal up and beats him, thinking him to be a Dust Devil. Zoe later investigates Inara's shuttle, and notices the signs of the struggle nearby that alerts her to what has happened to Reynolds. She informs the rest of the crew that the Dust Devil that Sanda is looking for is her, as she was one of the soldiers who kept on fighting, thinking themselves "peacemakers". She broadcasts an open message for Sanda to hear, informing of the location at which she will surrender to him, hoping to lure him into an ambush. Just after Sanda arrives with Malcolm and some men, Sanda's ship is blown up by the Tactical Drone , who has appeared to exact revenge on Reynolds. Reynolds' crew and Sanda's fight off the Tactical Drone together. After the Tactical Drone is defeated, Sanda allows Reynolds and his crew to depart, but Reynolds then learns that Sanda's men stole the money from Serenity. Inara, observing that Reynolds is neither surprised nor concerned about the loss of the money, suggests that unlike the others, Reynolds is already living out his fantasy, and that it would be threatened if the rest of his crew suddenly became rich enough to go off in their own directions. Reynolds responds that he simply accepts where he is in life and that it "ain't a place of wishes".

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Characters

[edit] Events

[edit] Locations

Pelorum

[edit] Organizations and titles

[edit] Memorable quotes

Jayne: Buy some shoes. (Gives a Monk a stack of money and walks away)
Monk: The Hero of Canton... He's real!

Wash: We're away clean. Swept a few knots all around and the cortex for any bulletins and no one is listening to me, are they?

Jayne: What's so gorram funny?
Book: The outfit
Zoe: The crew
Wash: The "Radiant Cobb"?
Jayne: That's my mama's name!

Inara: We haven't heard from you yet, River...
(The next panel involves River's dream with many odditys including a giant fish in a suit and fairies)
Zoe: Well, now MINE's taken.