“Yesterday’s” Comic> Blade Runner adaptation #2

This is how every “is Deckard a replicant” debate ends up.

Blade Runner #2

Marvel Comics (November, 1982)

Rachel helps Deckard take out Leon and the two grow a lot closer. However, she’s been added to the target count since she’s disappeared. Deckard’s investigation leads him to one of the designers, J.F. Sebastian, who suffers from advanced aging. Unfortunately, Pris, another of the Nexus Six, already met up with him last issue (I would have mentioned it but there was so much to bring up) and she’s just introduced him to Roy. With Sebastian’s help, Roy meets Tyrel, head of the corporation that makes the replicants, and kills both of them while Deckard is forced to kill Pris. This leads to a final fight for Roy and Deckard and Rachel run away together to live out the rest of Rachel’s days in peace.

What they got right: The same as the previous issue. The art is great, the adaptation is as faithful as space and format change allows, and the story is interesting.

What they got wrong: The same narration issue I had only this time it’s Deckard’s narration that feels unnecessary compared to the omniscient narrator. Plus, and this is on the movie, why did Bryant immediately put Rachel on the “bad people” list just because she disappeared? I know replicants have little to no rights but that’s jumping the gun, isn’t it? And sadly, the scene that looks like Deckard is forcing himself on Rachel remains, only slightly less creepy (but not enough) thanks to the dialog.

Other notes: I’ve seen the movie once and while I would watch it again if the situation arose, it’s not one I’ve been drawn to own, so there most likely won’t be a review of the film in my future. So I’ll put my stance on the “is Deckard a replicant” debate here, although the comic doesn’t seem to take a position. To me Deckard would be more interesting if he’s a human who began to see replicants as more than “skin jobs” but as people, the result of man playing god. (We do get that even in the comic in the discussion between Tyrel and Roy Batty, done well by Goodwin.) I feel it would be cheapened if Deckard was a replicant himself since it just means one replicant fell for another. It might as well be Heartbeeps at that point.

Recommendation: Again, I would recommend getting the movie since now we have home video. If you had some extra money I wouldn’t talk you out of getting these two issues, though. It’s still a good story.

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