"Old School" Battlestar Galactica #4 (Dynamite) Writer: Greg Pak Art: Nigel Raynor Colors: David Curiel Letters: Simon Bowland Cover B: Nigel Raynor 2006

Adama uses the old-model Cylon Centurions they’ve found to flush out the Earth Protectorate.

Read the story summary at the Battlestar Wiki

Didja Know?

The issues of this series were untitled. I assigned the title "Old School" due to the use of the "old school" Cylon Centurions in this issue who are still loyal to the humans of the Colonies. 

Characters appearing or mentioned in this story

Commander Adama

Starbuck

Helo

Caprica-Valerii

Head Six

Baltar

President Roslin

Lt. Gaeta

Billy Keikeya

Earth Protectorate

Zak (Returner, mentioned only, deceased)

Apollo

Colonel Tigh

Ellen Tigh

Captain Valerii (identified in "Dualities")

Didja Notice?

On page 2, Commander Adama realizes that the Cylon Centurions piloting the old school Raiders approaching the fleet are a Caprican brigade that served the colony during the Third Colonial War. Adama mentioned that the space debris field the fleet entered in "Bringing Back the Dead" was from a battle of the "Third Colonial Conflict".

On page 3, Head Six tells Baltar to hide, and he asks "How on Earth can I hide from you, my imaginary friend?" It seems odd that he would use the phrase "how on Earth"...but, then again, maybe it is an indication that the myth of Earth is so widespread in the Colonies that it has worked its way into Colonial idioms.

On page 9, Caprica-Valerii tells Commander Adama that "you" killed the Returner Zak. But the Returner Zak actually sacrificed himself to save Starbuck in "The Only Good Cylon".

Tests reveal that parasites from bonoa eggs can provide a form of inoculation against the Returner virus. Bonoa are apparently a creature in southern Caprica that lays eggs which are used by people as food.

On page 14, Head Six claims to Baltar that the antebellum centurion mistook him for a Cylon because it was able to detect her presence. Again, she is not really a Cylon, so how could it detect her? Later in the issue, an antebellum centurion also detects Caprica-Valerii as a Cylon, which seems to confirm that they are able to detect the humanoid Cylon. But, if so, why do they not detect that Colonel Tigh, Chief Tyrol, and Ellen Tigh are Cylons (as revealed as members of the Final Five later on, in Season Four)? Of course, when this comic was written, the Final Five Cylons had not been revealed yet.

On page 16, Gaeta reveals that he has recently been in a romantic relationship with a woman. In Season Four, he is revealed to, at that time, to be involved in a relationship with a man, Lt. Louis Hoshi. So, it would seem that Gaeta is bisexual.

Unanswered Questions

How was Caprica-Valerii able to resurrect in another Number Eight body that was already active and bypass the resurrection tank? This seems to be a huge flaw in the story, according to how Cylon resurrection technology works in the TV series.