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Battlestar Galactica
"The Final Five" Part 1
Battlestar Galactica: The Final
Five #1
Dynamite Entertainment
Writers: Seamus Fahey and David Reed
Pencils: Nigel Raynor
Colors: Iven Nunes
Letters: Simon Bowland
Cover B by Nigel Raynor
2009
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The legend of the Final Five Cylons begins
here.
Read the summary of this issue at the Battlestar Wiki
Notes from the BSG
chronology
This issue takes place 4,000 years before the fall of the Twelve
Colonies.
Didja Know?
Battlestar Galactica: The Final Five is a four-issue
mini-series published by Dynamite Entertainment in 2009.
Co-writer Seamus Fahey was a writer on the fourth season of the
TV series as well, penning the episode
"Faith". He also wrote the
three-issue Starbuck arc of Battlestar Galactica:
Origins (issues 9-11) for Dynamite Entertainment.
Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue
Starbuck
Apollo
13th Tribe Delegate Michael Tigh
Pythia
Woman in Red (Head Six)
Caprican delegate (unnamed)
Magnus Baltar (not fully named until
"The Final Five" Part 2)
Ellen
John Cavil
Didja Notice?
This mini-series opens with its own preamble on the inside front
cover, seemingly there to excuse any continuity errors that may
exist in the story in regards to the origins of the Final Five
Cylons: |
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"There are many legends of the Final Five
Cylons--five of the twelve Cylon humanoid models whose
identity, knowledge, or existence has been lost to the
seven other humanoid Cylon models. And now, we present
an original interpretation of their story..." |
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This issue opens with the death of Starbuck as seen at the end
of "Maelstrom".
In panel 5 of page 2, during the riots on
Kobol 4,000 years ago, the Library of Haephestus is seen. People
are burning books from the library. This may be an allusion to
the Library of Alexandria that existed here on Earth from
roughly the 3rd Century BC to the 3rd Century AD.
The spelling "Haephestus"
seen here may be a misspelling of "Hephaestus" as used here on
Earth, the name of the Greek god of fire, metallurgy, and
carpentry.
On page 3, Michael Tigh visits Maniae Asylum, where he visits
Pythia. In ancient Greek mythology, Maniae was a spirit of
insanity and frenzy.
Michael Tigh is presumably an ancestor of Saul Tigh. Possibly
the name "Michael" is borrowed from that of the actor who played
Saul Tigh, Michael Hogan.
Pythia is revealed to be having visions of a beautiful blonde
woman in a red dress who seems to be the Head Six seen by Baltar
4,000 years later. After Pythia's death, Michael Tigh begins to
have visions of her.
On page 5, the Kobollian courthouse has the banners of the
Twelve Tribes hanging along its outer walls.
In this issue, the Kobollian police force are seen to wear armor
and helmets that look similar to the design of the "modern"
Cylon Centurions.

On page 9, Aurora is said to be the goddess
of the dawn in the Kobollian religion. She is the same in
ancient Roman religion.
Later in the issue, Aurora is said to have loved a
mortal man. This is also true of the Roman goddess.
It's hinted that Head Six is actually Aurora. Though we
don't see Head Six at that moment, Pythia tells Michael, "Aurora
is here with us." Pythia has already seen the woman and Michael
soon will. Also, note that Head Six claimed (though it was
probably just part of her role as faux Caprica Six) to be in
love with the mortal Baltar.
The Thirteenth Tribe's resurrection facility on Kobol has a
design very similar to the Cylon resurrection hubs seen in the
TV episodes. At the end of the issue, the facility is revealed
to actually be a spaceship itself, lifting off from the ground
to escape the rioters who want the lives of the Thirteenth
Tribe.
On page 17, Pythia's handwriting is a little difficult to make
out, but she writes one of her prophecies as, "They will journey
to a distant and unknown star, under the watchful eye of the
One."
There are hints that Pythia will be reincarnated 4,000 years
later as Kara Thrace (Starbuck). From her visions, she tells
Michael, "They all burn. All of them. Dots disappearing into the
sun. And I'm there. A ship...in a storm, I'm lost. I see the
destination. The end point, it's so clear to me. It ends in
fire. On Aurora's wings, at a place called Earth." Her first
three statements seem to be about flying the rag-tag fleet into
the sun in "Daybreak" Part 3.
Her statement,
"A ship...in a storm, I'm lost," may be a reference to Starbuck's
death in the planetary maelstrom in
"Maelstrom" and may explain why we see that scene at the
beginning of this issue.
At the end of the issue, the Thirteenth Tribe designs a
duplicate body for the man John Cavil who gave his life to help
rescue tribe members from the burning building after the suicide
bomber attack. But how were they able to design a body and
download his mind so quickly? Does their resurrection process
differ from that used by the Cylons 4,000
later?
In panel 3 of the last page of the issue, Michael gazes
out a view port of the resurrection ship in space and a
ship that is reminiscent of the Ship of Lights from
BSG70 is seen in space just before he has his first
vision of Head Six. |
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Unknown ship in
this issue |
Ship of Lights
from BSG70 episode
"War of the Gods" Part 1 |
Unanswered Questions
Who is the One in Pythia's
prophecy? The one true God?
Was the eventual Number Six model made 4,000 years later made in the
image of the visions of Aurora seen by Michael Tigh and others?