Alliance (1982) Review

 

Alliance is a concoction of previously used plot points, but utilised in a dynamic and fun way. 

WRITTEN BY

Ken Armstrong, who is more whipped for stories than Terry Nation.

PLOT

Avon partners with the warlord Cowan to rob a Federation convoy of an experimental superweapon, the Atomic Star Cannon. However, when the Scorpio is damaged during the heist, Cowan betrays the crew and steals the weapon for himself, leaving Avon to plot his revenge... 

ANALYSIS

I'm not sure if Ken Armstrong was suffering from burn-out or not, but I do feel like his ideas for Series D-based stories are starting to run out of steam. So that even when something is as well-written as this, there's a kind of inevitable exhaustion, because I've just seen it all before. 

Once again, Avon is trying and failing to put together an alliance (Warlord, Treachery, The Golden Book, Blood On His Hands, The Trap), there's a superweapon that could change the fate of the galaxy (Orbit, Interception), there's a black hole that the ship nearly falls into (Dawn of the Gods, The Flying Bomb, Games). Short stories do not suffer as much from this, since they still have enough of a word count to flesh things out and provide enough twists and emotional attachment to characters for us not to care about a retread. At least in theory. But when it comes to comics, relying on these old tropes is really shining a light on the shallowness of the Blake's 7 format. Because at the heart of it, the series is merely pulp entertainment. Its cast and crew elevated it above that, but still. Practically everything that gives it a greater meaning is accidental. Nobody predicted that Gareth Thomas would leave or that Paul Darrow would reinvent his performance near the end. It's not narrative television as we understand it now, but an anthology disguised as a narrative. 

Anyway, where I'm going with all this is that I enjoyed the hijinks, but I am getting really sick of seeing the same things done over and over again, without any sense of progression or accomplishment. I want to see more emotional stories like Sacrifice - that one hit a peak that all the other comics have failed to even come close to. Or even some madcap nonsense like Autona... Planet of Lies!, which was at least memorable in its daftness and didn't feel like another greatest hits jumble. 

CHARACTERS

There's not all that much to say, given the action-oriented focus. Gowan (or Cowan - the name changes halfway through) is your regular sleazy oppurtunist who fancies himself the next president of the galaxy. It's perhaps noteworthy that he does this by allying with other oppressed criminals. Given how high profile Blake became, it's not surprising to see the disreputable turn freedom fighting into an industry of sorts, taking advantage of the needy to further their own interests. 

Avon is his predictably surly self. Keeping with the vicious Series D characterisation, he murders Gowan/Cowan not out of necessity, but as a personal vendetta. "Nobody cheats Avon..." he purrs, gunning the man down. It's clear that he's learned the value of a fierce reputation. Or his judgment is blurred by emotions again, either is possible. 

Vila actually has a rather charmed time, successfully destroying all the Federation pursuit ships and enjoying a nice cuddle with Tarrant afterwards. It's rare to see the two on such good terms, so I appreciated that. There's a fascinating moment towards the end, where he has to teleport the crew out from certain death. Due to the distance making it impossible, Vila comes up with the idea of narrowing the teleport beam(again showing off his unsung intellect), which does enable him to bring one person, who then grabs onto the others, thus tagging them along. 

It's never specified whether he knew whom he would teleport, but it's Avon. And I'd like to think that he did know. That at a moment of crisis, Vila chose to rescue Avon above the others. It's a neat touch, given the history between the two and what would eventually happen to them in Orbit.

NOTES

• This comic was published in the Blake's 7 Marvel Monthly issue 13.
• Gowan/Cowan compliments the Scorpio's weapons systems, much like Avon did in The Golden Book. Again, I have to wonder what exactly they're referring to, as the show never implied the ship had extraordinary armaments. It was only the stardrive that made it special. 
• The artist has drawn the Liberator teleport effect instead of the Scorpio one. 
• Apparently, the Atomic Star Cannon works like the red matter in 2009's Star Trek movie, as it turns planets into black holes. Somehow. 
•  As much as I enjoy the good-humored resolution, the fact that Tarrant and Vila just manage to restore power all on their own at the last second despite the entire story being based on the Scorpio suffering a failure that demands assistance is very contrived. 
• What was Gowan/Cowan planning to do with the weapon anyway? I mean, conquer the universe, yeah, but I mean when Avon had killed all his guards. Was he going to try and take Avon with him by blasting inside his own ship?

INFORMATION!

• The Federation ship carrying the Atomic Star Cannon is labelled "Pangal Transport". Pangal was an officer who escaped the Federation in Renegade. 

BEST QUOTE AVON QUOTE

"You'll have to do better next time, Vila!" - Avon, after being rescued from a black hole by the former's quick thinking.

CONCLUSION

Pulpy pulp.