Blade Runner Origins is a comic book series by Titan Comics, written by Mike Johnson, K. Perkins, and Mellow Brown. Set ten years before Blade Runner, the series follows LAPD Detective Cal Moreaux's investigation of an apparent suicide by a Tyrell Corporation bioengineer.
The series launched on March 10, 2021.[1]
Contents
Plot[]
In 2007, soldiers Cal Moreaux and Avery are engaged in a firefight during the siege of Kalanthia. Provided by Tyrell Corporation with a box "if all else fails," Avery goes to open it as Moreaux clears a hallway, asking Avery to thank Tyrell for him. As he clears the hallway, Moreaux hears a hissing noise and returns to find everyone in the room dead, except for a pair of individuals, one of whom says "you're welcome."
In 2009, at a Los Angeles hospital, Moreaux – now a Los Angeles Police Department detective – sits at the bedside of his sister, Nia, who is alive but otherwise unresponsive.
Moreaux goes to the LAPD precinct, where he is given a case concerning the apparent suicide of Lydia Kine, a Tyrell engineer. Moreaux travels to the corporation's headquarters, where he is the first non-Tyrell employee allowed inside. He is taken to the scene of Kine's death, where he meets Kine's assistant, Effie Koropey, who had discovered the body. He attempts to question Effie, but they are interrupted by Ilora Stahl, who was hand-picked by Eldon Tyrell to answer any questions for the LAPD. Stahl tells Moreaux that any details relevant to the investigation have already been sent to the LAPD, but states her belief that Moreaux's skills would be put to better use working for Tyrell.
Moreaux goes to La Plume Savage, where he tells his friend Divina about the situation. Divina tries to discourage him from being employed by Tyrell, for his sister's sake. Returning to his apartment, he runs into Marcus, the brother of Lydia Kine, who insists that his sister's death was not by suicide, and that the company is covering up the truth. Moreaux notices someone lurking in the shadows, attempting to push a large crate over on Marcus. Moreaux pushes Marcus away and takes him inside his apartment to safety. He receives a phone call from Effie, who informs him that the night Lydia Kine died, a Nexus-5 prototype escaped.
Eventually, Moreaux and Marcus flee from the apartment. Meanwhile, Effie attempts to check Kine's files, only to learn from Stahl that Kine had destroyed all of her files prior to her death. Before leaving, Stahl requests any information Kine might have shared with Effie.
At the precinct, Moreaux examines Kine's body in the morgue. Much to Sergeant Gutman's displeasure, Moreaux expresses his doubts that the death was by suicide, due to Kine's broken vertebrae not being consistent with injuries typically caused by a noose. After leaving the morgue, he finds that Marcus has been taken away from the station by Tyrell personnel. En route from the precinct, the spinner containing Stahl and Marcus is attacked by someone who escapes the wreckage seemingly unscathed.
Moreaux goes to Nemo's Diner in the slums to meet with Effie. Effie confides in him that Tyrell continuously demanded upgrades to the Nexus-5 model, despite initially believing production would stop at the Nexus-4. Among these upgrades resulted in a common obsession, that of a desire for optimization. Moreaux questions why replicants were made to look like humans as Marcus is rescued from the spinner by its attacker.
Stahl ultimately survives the attack upon her spinner and orders a cleanup of the debris. Meanwhile, Marcus and his rescuer – revealed to him as Asa, a living form of his sister Lydia – go to pick up a friend.
After Stahl orders a thorough investigation into the situation, her assistant Osha retrieves her to meet with Eldon Tyrell over video call. At Moreaux's apartment, Effie hears Moreaux talking in his sleep during a troubling dream. Moreaux declines to detail the dream to her. In response, she criticizes his decision to become a policeman, since he contributes to a system that wronged him in the past. He responds to her questioning the point of replicants. While Moreaux wishes to continue tracking the Nexus-5, Effie plans to retrieve a computer folder shared between herself and Lydia that incriminates Tyrell. Moreaux insists that such information will change nothing, and suggests they learn how to eliminate the Nexus-5 first. Disagreeing, Effie leaves, deciding to retrieve the files on her own.
Marcus – troubled by Lydia's previous failure to inform him of her apparent faked death – travels with Asa to a pierogi stand, Asa attempting to regain Marcus' trust by reminiscing about their mother bringing them such food. While there, they witness the stand's replicant cook being assaulted by his owner, but retaliates. Marcus – knowing that Lydia helped design such replicants – is horrified by this and now believing Asa to simply be a simulation of his sister, attempts to leave to inform Moreaux of the situation. Asa stops him, offering to find childhood drawings Lydia made of Asa.
Effie reaches her apartment, where Stahl waits for her, having uncovered information about Lydia's plans of transference. Meanwhile, Moreaux arrives at Lydia's apartment, where he is attacked by a group of men. Asa soon arrives and Moreaux holds him at gunpoint. Moreaux pursues Asa from the apartment to the rooftops, then onto the street. Effie, witnessing the chase, leaves a cab and attempts to stop Moreaux, needing to speak to him.
The pursuit eventually leads into a museum, with Effie now following. Moreaux loses Asa and Effie nearly catches up with him, but is shot by Ilora, who requests Moreaux to eliminate the Nexus-5 within a week and find Marcus Kine. After Ilora leaves, Moreaux – knowing Asa has been somewhere listening – allows Asa to say his goodbyes to Effie. As Asa cradles Effie's body, Moreaux confirms that Asa is Lydia Kine, but not the Nexus-5. The two join forces to assist the citizens of the slums and to take care of the Nexus-5.
Moreaux, Marcus, and Asa go to La Plume Savage, seeking assistance from Divina to keep Marcus safe. Moreaux then goes to Gutman, telling him that he's reached the conclusion that Kine's death was by suicide. Meanwhile, beneath Sector 4-A, two men gain entry to a secret meeting, where they are welcomed to "the revolution."
Moreaux goes to a downtown apartment, which houses a replicant servant, Arnault. Fearing that Arnault may be malfunctioning like other replicants that visited the same market earlier, Moreaux insists on going inside. As Arnault prepares to attack one of the residents, Asa breaks through the window and incapacitates him. Arnault, continuously chanting "why?" is taken from the home to La Plume Savage.
Asa is unable to determine the issue with the replicant, but Divina suggests that perhaps Arnault is suffering from an existential crisis, despite the Nexus-4's lack of existential thought. After Moreaux leaves to clear his head, Arnault eventually expires. Asa later attempts to repair his relationship with Marcus, but makes no progress. Asa and Divina reflect upon the situation.
Moreaux goes to visit Nia, but is interrupted by Stahl. Angrily, he tells her off and she leaves in the elevator, frowning as the doors close. Moreaux then goes to the slums to speak to Lindon, searching for his old flame, Desiree, and is pointed to the bar All Caps. As he speaks to Desiree, he is locked into the room and attacked, in order to send a message to Tyrell.
As the fugitive Nexus-5 makes its way to the wealthy district, Stahl implores Gutman to help cover up such deaths. However, Gutman refuses and asks her to make Moreaux do it. Meanwhile, armed with the same information, Asa surmises to Marcus and Divina that the killer replicant cannot be a Nexus-5, but rather a Nexus-4 "activated" like Arnault had been. Divina suggests that Marcus go with Asa to find the replicant, but he refuses. However, Divina encourages Marcus to come to accept Lydia's new identity, pointing out Asa's bravery in keeping Marcus safe. Marcus runs after Asa to join him.
At the bar, Carlisle attempts to extract information from Moreaux, believing him to have betrayed the slums for Tyrell. Taking a break, Carlisle tosses Moreaux's coat onto him as he goes to speak with Desiree, who shows concern that Carlisle gave his coat back.
Meanwhile, Marcus comes to terms with Asa and questions why Lydia's body had to die. However, he goes unanswered when the two head out onto a fire escape to reach the scene of the rogue replicant's crime. They investigate the apartment as someone lurks within the air vents.
As Desiree speaks to Carlisle about Moreaux when the pair were young, she tells him how he came to place weighted plates inside of his coat in order to use it as a weapon. As she explains this, Moreaux wields his coat, easily disabling his guards before confronting Carlisle and Desiree. Asking Carlisle to leave, he tells Desiree about his investigation, realizing she knows where the replicant is, asking her to take him to it.
At the apartment, Asa begins to explain the necessity for Lydia's death, but the two are attacked by the figure from the vents, which knocks Marcus out of the window. As Asa and the assailant scuffle, two police officers arrive and open fire, the struggle ending in Asa and the assailant both being sent out the window and separated, though Asa is reunited with a safe Marcus.
Desiree debates the value of replicant life as she leads him to see the Nexus-5, which happens to be his sister, Nia. After Lydia Kine transferred Nia's consciousness into a new, replicant body, Nia led a group of replicants in attacking anti-replicant citizens.
Meanwhile, Marcus delivers information to Stahl about Lydia's transference into Asa. Stahl figures that the escape of the Nexus-5 and Lydia's apparent suicide was used as a cover for Asa's own flight. Stahl excuses herself to the Tyrell facility's combat replicant storage, saying she has everything under control.
Moreaux and Asa then confront Nia's group.
Free Comic Book Day Special[]
Moreaux reaches a break-in scene at a laundromat to retrieve a statement from the owner, Ms. Setter. She states that she heard the lone perpetrator break through the front window and went to investigate. This startled the intruder, who fled to the back room. Moreaux investigates the back, finding a replicant woman who chants, "To know is to know! Load of our shackles... weightless hope... flight of freedom... to know is to know..." before apparently dying.
Cover gallery[]
Issue #1[]
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Free Comic Book Day[]
Issue #5[]
Issue #6[]
Issue #7[]
Trailers[]
