Brook Marlowe was a Los Angeles Blade Runner who was active in the late 2020s and early 2030s.
Biography[]
One evening, Marlowe went to a local bar, where he found fellow Blade Runner Joseph, who had failed to retire a target he had identified a week prior. Upon asking Joseph about this, Marlowe correctly figured out that the target was Selene, a singer at the bar that Joseph had romantic feelings for. Disgusted, Marlowe gave Joseph an ultimatum that if he did not retire her that night, Marlowe would do it himself. Before leaving, Marlowe told Selene that her next song would be her last. Soon after, in an alleyway, Marlowe watched as Joseph kissed Selene.[1] Feeling that Joseph was too driven by emotions to carry out the retirement, Marlowe took the opportunity to shoot Selene, killing her.[2]
In 2029, Aahna Ashina was told she would be partnered with Marlowe if she failed to turn up leads in her pursuit of Yotun. Their sergeant, Esper – who suspected Ash of helping replicants – later assigned Marlowe to investigate her.[3]
Marlowe went to the scene of a break-in to Alice Leopold's vault, a call that Ash was responding to. Seeing Ash confronting Pekka, Marlowe retired Pekka, insisting on his job to retire replicants upon detection. Ash then pursued Pekka's accomplice and Marlowe followed. The chase was unsuccessful and given the opportunity to talk to Ash, he told her of Esper's concern for her performance, which was notably worse than it once had been. Ash blamed this on false reports of replicants and told Marlowe that Esper need not worry about her. Ash then took off in her spinner alone, though Marlowe continued to tail her.[4]
He later arrived at Ash's apartment, paying a young girl to lure out Ash's partner, the replicant Freysa Sadeghpour. This allowed him to hold her at gunpoint and usher her into the apartment so he could demand all of the information pertaining to their replicant activism. Believing that Marlowe would retire her regardless, Freysa neglected to provide any useful information, aside from the fact that she and Ash were lovers. Insinuating that he could endanger Ash's life, he decided that they would wait until Ash returned to the apartment. Soon, Freysa managed to clutch Marlowe by the throat and he revealed to her that his superiors already knew of Ash's pro-replicant activities.[5]
In October 2032, Marlowe boarded a bus where a replicant rode, set on leaving the city. However, once Marlowe commented on the replicant's fight the previous evening, the replicant ran, crashing through the bus windshield. Marlowe wielded a shotgun and shot the replicant once before leaving the bus, then once more, killing him. Marlowe then lit a cigar and reported the incident.[6]
Later, Chief Earl Grant contacted Marlowe, requesting assistance in the department's pursuit of the replicant Elle, known only to them as Black Lotus, and disclosed that she was a replicant, a fact unknown to anyone else. Marlowe took off to join the hunt, but when Grant said they had the target surrounded by a SWAT team, Marlowe went elsewhere, insisting his help was not needed.[6]
Soon after, he went to Joseph's apartment, where policemen had him handcuffed. After briefly remarking on his old friend's current situation, he told the officers to free Joseph and that they would find nothing of interest in his apartment. Upon returning to his spinner, Marlowe was called by Chief Grant, who ordered him to the Grants' apartment.[7]
Marlowe arrived shortly after the Grants had been killed and he pursued Elle through the apartment, advising Officer Alani Davis to stay out of the way. He stalked and fought Elle through the apartment into the kitchen, where his shotgun fired into the wall, opening a gas line. Elle used this opportunity to cause an explosion, which launched her out of the building. Briefly incapacitated by the blast, Marlowe got to his feet and dragged Davis to safety.[7]
Marlowe later sat in his spinner outside of a diner, examining photos of Elle, wondering where she came from. He then took off and soon confronted Elle at the Wallace Corporation's aviary. After hunting her through the aviary's greenery, Marlowe dodged an attempted slash by Elle's sword, and the two engaged in close-quarters. Marlowe eventually gained the upper hand and prepared to execute her, but was stopped by a shot to his shoulder, which gave Elle the opportunity to escape. Marlowe looked for his shooter and smiled when he saw that it was Joseph.[8]
Later, as he sat in his spinner, Marlowe received a call from Joseph, who wished to tell him about Black Lotus.[9] He soon made his way to Joseph's apartment, disapproving of the fact that Joseph had again become emotionally attached to a replicant. Upon Marlowe asking where Elle was, Joseph drew a gun and shot at Marlowe. The two exchanged gunfire from the apartment into the atrium, where the two exchanged words, with Joseph pointing out Marlowe's apparent lack of emotion, and Marlowe saying that Joseph's emotionally-driven personality made him a poor Blade Runner. Soon, Marlowe hit Joseph in the shoulder and his target tried to escape in an elevator. However, Marlowe caught up to him and the two fought hand-to-hand until Marlowe went to retrieve his gun. As Joseph ascended to the roof, Marlowe fired several shots at the elevator.[2]
Marlowe followed Joseph to the rooftop and again exchanged gunfire, with Marlowe hitting Joseph several times. After Joseph crawled to the edge of the building, Marlowe made his way over to find that he was gone. Marlowe briefly believed Joseph had jumped off the building, but was then ambushed by him. The two fought again until Joseph picked up Marlowe's shotgun, shooting him until he was thrown through a skylight into the building's atrium. Marlowe fell to his death, landing on the ground floor.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
Marlowe made his debut in the ninth issue of Blade Runner 2029. He also appears in Blade Runner: Black Lotus, voiced in English by Josh Duhamel and in Japanese by Taiten Kusunoki.
References[]
- ↑ Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "Clair de Lune"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "Artificial Souls"
- ↑ Blade Runner 2029 #9
- ↑ Blade Runner 2029 #10
- ↑ Blade Runner 2029 #11
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "Pressure"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "The Persistence of Memory"
- ↑ Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "Free Will"
- ↑ Blade Runner: Black Lotus – "All the Best Memories"