Original: The captain of the crew of Serenity is Malcolm '' Mal '' Reynolds ( Nathan Fillion ) and the episode '' Serenity '' establishes that the captain and his first mate Zoe Washburne ( Gina Torres ) are veteran '' Browncoats '' of the Unification War , a failed attempt by the outlying worlds to resist the Alliance 's assertion of control .
Simplified: The captain of the crew of Serenity is Malcolm '' Mal '' Reynolds ( Nathan Fillion ) . The episode '' Serenity '' shows that the captain and his first mate Zoe Washburne ( Gina Torres ) are veteran '' Browncoats '' of the civil war .