Firefly Kills Off a Member of the Serenity Crew

By Jamie Lovett

Another member of Serenity's crew has left Firefly's 'verse. SPOILERS follow for All-New Firefly: Big Damn Finale #1 by David M. Booher, Simona Di Gianfelice, Francesco Segal, and Jim Campbell. All-New Firefly: Big Damn Finale #1 brings the story of All-New Firefly, Boom Studios' follow-up to its previous ongoing Firefly series (which contained some wild surprises of its own), to its end. Both series continued the Serenity crew's story past what fans saw in the Serenity movie. Big changes have occurred, including the addition of Leonard Chang Benitez to the crew and Malcolm's Reynolds departure from the ship, returning later only as support for Serenity's new captain, Kaylee Frye.

But All-New Firefly has primarily concerned itself with digging into Jayne Cobb's character. The series has included flashbacks to Jayne's childhood on Sycorax before he left to make his way as a mercenary in the Black. That life caught up with him when his brother, Mattie, tracks him down with Owen Cobb, Jayne's near-adult son, alongside him.

Predictably, Jayne didn't take the news that he's a father with much grace, but he's been trying to do better. By the start of this issue, he and Owen had had a moment of bonding on Earth-That-Was that helped them understand each other. When it came time for Serenity and the Cobb family to go their separate ways, Jayne offered Owen his iconic hat to keep him warm back on Sycorax, a sign of how he'd matured throughout the course of the series.

But this chapter of the Firefly saga comes to a tragic end. Upon attempting to leave, Mattie and Owen's ship bumps into a stick bomb that latches onto the ship's hull and shuts down its systems. Introduced earlier in the series, the bombs will count down to explosion quickly after becoming unstuck from whatever they've latched onto.

Before anyone can tell him otherwise, Jayne grabs a spacesuit and heads out into the Black. The plan is to remove the stick bomb and throw it toward some dropped cargo, hoping it'll attach to a new target. The plan seems to be working until the bomb takes a turn and sticks itself onto Jayne's suit. Left with no way to disarm the bomb or get rid of it without puncturing his suit, Jayne drifts away, far enough o keep both ships safe, and then goes out like a star.

The issue ends with Jayne's funeral, and with Mal offering Owen an invitation to join Serenity's crew. Owen makes it clear that he's not interested in being the crew's Jayne Cobb replacement, and Mal makes it clear that they only want him to be who he is. Thus, Owen agrees to take his father's place aboard Serenity.

What's next for Firefly is unclear. All-New Firefly: Big Damn Finale #1 brings All-New Firefly to its end, and Boom Studios hasn't solicited any future Firefly titles through at least February. If this is the end of the road, it sure is a downer note to go out on.

All-New Firefly: Big Damn Finale #1 is on sale now.

Trending Now: