Cranpax Core is pretty intense until we actually find out what's going on.
WRITTEN BY
No specific credit.
PLOT
The Scorpio responds to a call for assistance from the planet Savgard, whose independence is threatened by the Federation's desire for their mysterious Cranpax Core, an ancient repository of all knowledge in the universe. However, the crew's visit becomes perilous when Avon's singlemindedness results in the death of their contact's father...
ANALYSIS
The opening sequence of the Scorpio blazing through the canyons of Savgard was fantastic, it had a great energy and pace to it, what with the crew constantly bickering just as they're one step away from being blown out of the sky. Classic stuff. Love the artwork as well - the use of shadow is particularly great in this one, and as a whole it feels dynamic and exciting.
I greatly enjoyed the explosive encounter with the Federation base - it's cool to see Orac proven to be somewhat fallible on occasion, just to add to the realism a little. And the way it comes back into the story later was really cool. The fact that the crew's own actions bite them in the backside is, once again, very classic Blake's 7. So I really have no complaints about the first half.
The problem is that once we find out about the nature of the Cranpax Core and what really happened at the Federation base, things quickly become very predictable, not to say pedestrian. There's very little consequences to Avon's actions despite it being a major plot point. It's just an excuse to show the grey morality of the character. But it feels like something we've done (many times) before, and much better. As for the Core itself, it's a strangely fantastical concept. It reminded me of stories like Dawn Of The Gods and Rescue, which had a fairytale aspect to them. I like both of those episodes, but here, it just seemed a bit tonally inconsistent, given the action-adventure vibe that permeates the rest of the comic. I know the writer probably just thought to use the Core as a McGuffin, but he could've easily used something a little less flamboyant than "the entire knowledge of the universe".
Although, now that I think of it, the fact that Orac absorbs this knowledge does provide a handy explanation for why it took them a long while to locate Blake...
CHARACTERS
Speaking of Blake, Avon is in full rebel mode throughout the story. The crew do profit from this venture, but his motivations are to "support those who have chosen to stand against the Federation and defend what is rightfully theirs". He sees a Federation base and pretty much rampages through it like a frenzied bull for no clear reason other than it's a Federation base. It's the most heroic depiction of the character you can imagine. You could literally strike out the name 'Avon' and replace it with 'Blake', and it would work. Well, aside from the obligatory crankiness.
Amusingly, even though Vila(and the rebels) seem to assume that he's there only for the sake of the Core, just about his every action suggests otherwise - we see Avon trying to evacuate the doomed rebels before they can be wiped out, apologise for the accidental death of their friends during his attack on the base and most tellingly of all, he states his intention to put the Core to use against the Federation. For a character that once advocated abandoning Blake on the premise that he intended to waste treasures on an unwinnable war, it's just an amazing turn-around. I absolutely love the way the franchise has shown them to be two sides of the same coin.
Not counting a few early arguments with Tarrant on the subject of piloting, the only other relevant member of the crew is Vila, and he's plainly there just so Avon can have someone to exposit to, with a few quips here and there. He can't even be bothered to listen to Avon's description of the planet's freedom fighting inhabitants, and merely demands to know what they're there to gain. True to form as ever.
On Savgard, we meet Incanta, who appears to be a love interest from Avon's past... I think? She's a very beautiful woman and they're clearly very familiar, but it's left too vague for my tastes. It's worth noting that as far as the television series goes, all of the people we've encountered from Avon's past have been either Grants or criminal scum like Tynus and Keiller. So there's definitely potential there to explore what might've been Avon's earliest days, perhaps even before the cynicism set in(although Incanta seems familiar with that attribute as well). Here, the nature of their relationship is left entirely unexplained, which is more than a little frustrating.
NOTES
- This comic was originally published in the Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly issue 11.
- The first few pages where Avon demands some risky maneuvers out of Tarrant and justifies it with the danger of being caught by the Federation were very reminiscent of Stardrive, where Avon's warped logic got them in trouble as well.
- "Scabby electronic rat" is probably my favourite thing that Vila has called Orac.
- Despite my critique of the nature of the Cranpax Core, I do like seeing Avon emphasize knowledge as inherently valuable, as he would in the early days before brute force became the norm.
- Having the crew only learn of their mission once they're already in the middle of doing it is more than a little silly, but I suppose I can forgive it given the truncated length of the comic.
- I'm impressed by how much Tarrant is willing to trust Avon, to the point where his obedience outweighs his own piloting instincts.
- Judging from the dialogue, Tarrant has no way of telling what's in front of the ship without looking out of the main view screen. That's a major design flaw if you asked me.
- Today I learned that "pasting" is a synonym for beating.
INFORMATION!
- Vila's first theory as to what the Scorpio crew are after is minerals, specifically gold, which of course they tried to steal in the episode Gold.
- When Avon announces that he and Vila will meet the Savgard rebels, the latter squeaks "Uhh, not again?!". It's probably just him moaning in general, but the previous comic Prey did feature Avon and Vila getting into trouble on their own, so...
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