"Starbuck" Part 3 Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #3 (Dynamite) Written by Tony Lee Illustrated by Eman Casallos Cover by Sean Chen 2014

Starbuck is framed and accused of murder by Councilor Osiris.

Story Summary

As this issue opens, Starbuck's pyramid game is interrupted by MPs, who arrest him under suspicion of the murder of his ex-lover Kandi Trieste. Of course, he's been framed, with the actual murder having been committed by Councilor Osiris' daughter, Diana. After Starbuck's arrest, Baltar sees his chance for a spot at the Quorom's table and makes a deal to help Apollo free his friend.

Apollo breaks Starbuck out of custody with Baltar's help. They seek out McKintosh's ship for answers as to the information on the damaged data stick. They find the ship with its crew dead, including McKintosh, killed by a Cylon landing force. A hologram of McKintosh triggered by Starbuck's data stick reveals that Osiris was the one who dropped the defense net over Umbra for the Cylon attack all those years ago. Apollo transmits the incriminating data on Osiris to his father on the Galactica. As the duo leaves the drifting ship in their Vipers, they are attacked by Cylon Raiders, but Jolly and Zac are on flight training and zoom in to the rescue.

Meanwhile, Diana kidnaps Athena with Cylon help, in order for Osiris to hold her life in exchange for Adama's cooperation in destroying the incriminating data. Adama pretends to play along, but then leads a Viper squadron to the location where Athena is being held by Cylon centurions, at an old tylium mine on the ice moon of Thrace.

CONTINTUED IN BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: STARBUCK #4

Didja Know?

Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck was a four-issue mini-series published by Dynamite Entertainment.

Didja Notice?  

On page 1, panel 1, Starbuck is telling a story to his card-playing buddies, ending with, "And I was yelling, 'Fire the missiles!' but their targeting system was fracked--so ol' Starbuck here had to fire it into the exhaust vent himself--" This may be a reference by writer Tony Lee to Star Wars: A New Hope, in which Luke Skywalker fires a proton torpedo into an exhaust port of the Death Star with his targeting computer turned off.

Page 2 reveals one of Starbuck's former girls, Kandi (introduced in "Starbuck" Part 2), to have a last name, Trieste. It's unusual for characters in BSG70 to have two names, though it has become a bit more common in stories written after BSG2000, such as "Behind Enemy Lines" and the Dynamite mini-series reimagination of Galactica 1980.

Starbuck is framed and falsely accused of murder in this issue and last. The same thing occurs in the TV episode "Murder on the Rising Star".

As Starbuck is arrested under suspicion for the murder of Kandi, one of the officers tells him his DNA was found on a whiskey glass and a fumarello. This is the first mention of whiskey in the BSG universe; usually Colonial beverages have less Earth-like names.

The arresting officers' jackets have name patches identifying one as Kalb and the other possibly as Napolitano (the second is partially obscured).

In his holding cell on page 3, Starbuck tells Apollo the only good piece of luck in his arrest is that at least he left the pendant in his Viper. But he's wearing the pendant as he says it!

As Adama meets with Osiris on page 4, panel 1, the edge of Osiris' desk can be seen through Adama's head!

On page 8, as Starbuck and Apollo make their escape from the Aerian hub, Starbuck states that he thinks the pendant links with McKintosh's ship's locator. What makes him think that? It was never stated in the previous chapters. 

On page 10, the character of Councilor Romo looks as if he may be based on the lawyer character of Romo Lampkin from BSG2000.
Councilor Romo	Romo Lampkin from BSG2000

Page 11 suggests that Adama and Baltar are meeting for the first time outside the council chambers. But the two of them were seen to be classmates at the Academy in one of Adama's memories in the memory machine in "All Things Past and Present" and their past at the Academy together is also mentioned in Surrender the Galactica. For continuity's sake, the reader can imagine that Adama is a bit more confrontational with Baltar here, knowing his weasely ways.

As he and Apollo approach McKintosh's ship on page 12, Starbuck remarks, "...I've got a bad feeling about this..." This may be an homage by the writer to the Star Wars saga, which frequently has characters use this phrase (or a variant thereof). Starbuck also says it in "Search for Sanctuary" Part 1.

On page 13, McKintosh's holo-image explains that Osiris was responsible for dropping the defense net over Umbra over thirty yahrens ago. But at the time of this story, the Colonial yahren 7348, the Umbra attack was only 24 yahrens ago.

As Athena watches surveillance footage of Kandi's murder on page 17, a number set on the bottom of the screen looks like an Earth date, 10/11/2079.

Baltar learns that Osiris' Cylon allies are holding the kidnapped Athena in an old tylium mine on the ice moon of Thrace. In BSG2000, Starbuck's real name was Kara Thrace.

At the end of this issue, Colonel Adama pilots a Viper, the first time (chronologically) we see him do so. He rarely does so in the later stories, as he has higher duties as the commander of the Galactica and the fleet. He does fly a Viper though in Surrender the Galactica and in Part 4 of Dynamite Entertainment's Galactica 1980 mini-series.