Written by: Brain Wood
Art by: Tristan Jones
Publisher: Dark Horse
It’s always wonderful when a spinoff series knows its source material and does everything it can to keep things fresh while also paying homage to what worked. The first issue of Aliens: Defiance opened the door for such a story, pairing an injured space marine with a bunch of Weyland-Yutani battle androids and then flipping all of our expectations over. It was a great first start, and one that’s thankfully continued
The core of Aliens: Defiance #2 is the relationship between Zara Hendricks and the rogue android crew she’s fallen in with. See, in Aliens it was Ripley who distrusted the synthetics (what with that whole business with Ash in Alien). She kept with the space marines, who at least appeared capable of handling anything. In A:D #2, it’s the other way around; the androids don’t like Zara, and space marine or not, they don’t think she’s capable of handling even small tasks.
The problem is, they need her. She has military clearances that WT does not.
It’s a delightful switch and one that puts Zara at a disadvantage that we haven’t seen before. She now has to not only overcome her personal injuries but also the scorn of her fellow crew. There are also plenty of Xenomorphs trying to kill everyone too, so you know, that sucks.
The artwork remains a delight, though I feel like there are less bright colors in this issue when compared to the last one. Still, Tristan makes browns and greys look pretty, and the space-station hallways we see are certainly atmospheric and creepy—though in a different way than what we normally see. Like I said, this comic knows its source material and what to play with.
Really, my only complaint is that Zara is a bit too badass. She was damn near useless in the first issue, making her transition back into battle-hardened space marine seem undeserved. It also kills some of the story dynamic between her and the androids.
Still, badass makes for fun fight sequences, and with her being back on her feet (at least for now), it means bigger obstacles in the future. Oorah!
