BLADE RUNNER: ORIGINS #12 – Review

BLADE RUNNER: ORIGINS #12, from Titan Comics on June 8th, 2022, brings the series to a close with a talk between Asa and Det. Cal Moreaux about the present and the future.

The Details

• Written By: K. Perkins, Mellow Brown
• Art By: Fernando Dagnino
• Colors By: Marco Lesko
• Letters By: Jim Campbell
• Cover Art By: Veronica Fish (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: June 8, 2022

Was It Good?

This is it! This is it, Blade Runner fans! This is the final issue where all the insinuations, hidden motivations, and connections are finally tied up in one neat little package. Do Perkins and Brown end the series on a high note? Not exactly.

The highlight of this issue is a series of strong emotional goodbyes for the assortment of characters as they strike out on their separate paths. Asa takes center stage by leading the escaped replicants to a new home, saying farewell to Effie, Marcus, and Cal, and taking on a new mission that plays directly into the Blade Runner source material.

Cal has his poignant moments as well. His formal inauguration as the first Blade Runner means living a dual life of putting on a public display of strength to quell fears while secretly working to bring down the corruption from the inside. For all the struggles Cal endured over this series, you sympathize with him knowing how hard a road he’s destined to walk.

There are two main down points of this finale. First and most frustrating, there is no proper resolution to the open question surrounding why Dr. Kine chose to put her mind in a replicant’s body, a body that looks like an imaginary character her brother dreamed up when he was a boy. There was a point mid-series where Brown and Mellow seem to hint that Dr. Kine’s transference is a roundabout statement on transgenderism, but the thought was never fully formed, and using the likeness of a young boy’s imaginary concoction makes the allegory uncomfortable if that was the goal.

The second down point is the lack of resolution in the conflict with Ilora Stahl. This dialog-heavy issue (truly, there’s no action. It’s all talking.), ends with an “I’ll get her someday.” When an arc stretches over twelve issues, leaving the central conflict unresolved is a disappointment of the highest order. Measuring this issue on a pure satisfaction level, it’s a letdown.

Daginino’s art, however, is pure satisfaction from start to finish. Every page is a pristine example of detective noir mood and drama. Deep, dark shadows play up the mystery, and Dagnino shows deft mastery of subtle movement. A tilt of the head and a sideways glance communicate volumes in this issue.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

The penultimate issue had some big moments heading into the finale. Find out what they are first by reading our BLADE RUNNER: ORIGINS #11 review.

We begin with Asa and Divina bringing in more refugee replicants. They talk about a permanent home when favors and resources grow thin. Later, Asa secretly drops off a research diary in Marcus’s home while he’s not there. When he finds the diary, it reveals details of his sister’s research in creating the Asa body.

Later, Ilora Stahl holds a succession of press conferences announcing the creation of the Blade Runner position and Cal Moreaux’s acceptance as the first to hold it. Afterward, Cal cautions Ilora about going too far in publicly spinning a positive collaboration between them. He lets her know he intends to bring her down.

Later still, Cal and Asa privately meet. Cal explains the Tyrrell Corporation has created a device to detect rogue replicants. There’s no hope of destroying the device as Tyrell will only make more, so Cal gives Asa an assignment to create a device that will detect Blade Runner candidates with the right spirit to what’s right, not what Tyrell orders them to do. We conclude the issue with everyone going their separate ways.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.

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