Blade Runner Origins

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]

Plot[edit | edit source]

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 about the situation. His friend 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 his sergeant'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 some living form of his sister Lydia. Marcus reluctantly goes with Lydia to Virgil 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 her to a pierogi stand, Lydia 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 Lydia to simply be a simulation of his sister, attempts to leave to inform Moreaux of the situation. Lydia stops him, offering to find drawings she made of a child of a man called Asa, the form she has now apparently taken.

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. Lydia soon arrives and Moreaux holds her at gunpoint.