Heroes, Pt. 1

## Chronological Order

***Heroes, Pt. 1*** is the first part of a two-part episode known as ***Heroes*** and the third issue of Season 2.5 of *The Orville* published by Dark Horse Comics. Talla Keyali returns to a primitive species she studied as an ensign after a quantum reactor is discovered on the planet.

*Heroes, Pt. 1* was written by David A. Goodman, executive producer for the show, drawn by David Cabeza, and colored by Michael Atiyeh.

The issue was released on November 4, 2020.

## Plot

In the year 2416 on the fourth planet of HR 5070, Aki reads a story of Xandia, hero of the Okudum, to Ensign Talla Keyali. Talla is a guest in Aki's home, but she cuts Aki's story short by saying she needs to leave.

On board the USS *Wilson* in orbit over the planet, the Captain Al Mosley asks Talla why the Okudum are so physically similar to the Xelayans. Talla admits that the two species are not similar, neither in culture nor in strength, though she repeats a theory that the two share a common ancestor. The topic shifts to deposits of dysonium found on the planet. Talla opposes any mining operations, as they would be too disruptive.

Five years later, Talla serves as Chief of Security aboard the USS *Orville*, now in orbit over the same planet. Talla is flummoxed by recent news that the primitive Okudum have developed a quantum reactor. Captain Ed Mercer decides to send an away team consisting of himself, Talla, Doctor Claire Finn, and Chief Engineer John LaMarr. Now that the Okudum have achieved faster-than-light travel, prohibitions against cultural contamination no longer apply; nevertheless, they agree to don head coverings to mask their alien features.

The away team cloaks their shuttlecraft and does a low pass of the planet's surface. The find the village Talla visited years ago, as well as a space ship and "some kind of mining operation." Scanners reveal the people below to be Nazh, not Okudum. Ed sends Talla and Claire to find Aki's family, while he and John will approach the space ship.

In the village, Talla and Claire stop several Nazh from harassing an Okudum woman drawing water from a well. The woman is Aki, who has grown up. Meanwhile, Ed and John find Okudum slaves in a pit mining dysonium by hand.

Aki takes the two to her home, where her mother explains that the Nazh arrived a year ago - they killed the Okudum leaders who resisted and forced the rest to work in the mine. Her father is sick from mining dysonium, but warns that if Ilis, the foreman, finds them, he will enslave them as well.

Several Nazh spot Ed and John, but the scurry back to their shuttle and re-cloak. Talla and Claire decide to leave, and Aki gives Talla her children's book on Xandia. The Nazh who pursued Ed and John report to Ilis that they followed foot prints that seemed to end in the middle of nowhere. Ilis concludes that they may have "meddlers."

The team returns to the Orville, and the senior staff consult Admiral Perry. Perry sympathizes but says that the Okudum are not in the Planetary Union, and interference might be seen as an act of war by the Nazh. He cuts short Talla and Ed's attempt to reason and orders the ship to Rochelle for a new mission. Once Perry leaves, some of the team wonder if they should break Perry's orders or at the very least contact the Nazh directly. Ed disagrees and says "we can't always be the heroes," provoking Talla to shout and break the Briefing Room table.

Later, Claire and John find Talla reading Aki's book in the Mess Hall. Xandia freed the Okudum from a military dictatorship, she says, which gives her an idea. Talla requests several days' leave for herself, Claire, and John. Ed suspects something, but instead of asking questions, wishes her a good trip.

On the planet, several Nazh break into Aki's home and grab her ill father for his shift at the mine. They slap Aki away when she attempts to intervene, but Talla - dressed as Xandia - appears "in the flesh."

## Production

Executive producer originally created the story for *Heroes* during writing meetings for Season 1. Back then, Goodman envisioned Alara Kitan's unparalleled strength to make her a "superhero" on an alien planet, but showrunner Seth MacFarlane rejected the idea. When Dark Horse Comics began making comics of *The Orville*, Goodman retrieved his old idea. "I'm a big *Zorro* fan," he recalled. "And Jessica Szohr was over the moon [when she learned] she would be a comic-book Zorro."

All Okudum clothing was based on African styles. Nazh clothing and weapons were based on French and Spanish uniforms from the 18th century, especially the soldiers depicted in the television series *Zorro*. When designing Ed, John, Talla, and Claire's clothing for the planet's surface, Cabeza made them blue, light orange, red, and blue-green respectively to subtly remind readers of their Planetary Union uniforms.

In promotional interviews, Goodman who called the script "a barn-burner" focusing on Chief of Security Talla Keyali. At the Mainframe Comic Con in April 26, 2020, Goodman stated that David Cabeza was working on the art for the issue. Cabeza stated that "circumstances" (likely referring to the lockdown in Spain due to Covid-19) had made work on this issue more difficult than on *Launch Day*.

## Trivia

* While Talla talks to Captain Al Mosley and First Officer Barrett on the bridge of the USS *Wilson*, an officer in the background has a screen display of Epsilon 2.
* The Okudum's sun, HR 5070, is an actual star located 69.57 light years from Earth, and can be seen in the night sky.
* Writer David A. Goodman has stated that characters in the comics were based on actual people.
	+ Xandia is widely considered to be modeled after the fictional hero Zorro, especially as depicted in the movie *The Mask of Zorro*, and Catwoman.
	+ Mosley resembles Yaphet Kotto (interestingly, Lieutenant Yaphit was named after Kotto).
	+ Barrett resembles Sigourney Weaver, especially in the *Alien* franchise.
* The issue thanks Seth MacFarlane, science adviser André Bormanis, executive producers Brannon Braga and Jason Clark, writer Gerry Duggan of Marvel Comics, digital effects supervisor Brandon Fayette, production secretary Rahne Keith, Joy Fehily (who manages MacFarlane and Fuzzy Door Productions), publicist Cassy Brewer (who works with Fehily), Sheri Conn of The Consultancy Project, and executive director Carol Roeder of 20th Century Fox.

### Timeline

* The episode opens in the year 2416.
	+ Talla spent only a few days during her mission to the Okudum.
* The Nazh arrive in 2420 and enslave the Okudum.
* The rest of the episode takes place in the year 2421.

## Mistakes

* The USS *Wilson* has one quantum ring as part of its quantum drive. As the Wilson is a Science-class vessel, it is supposed to have two rings.
* The Shuttle Bay is incorrectly written 'Shuttlebay.'

## Cast

Despite being credited, Second Officer Bortus makes no appearance in this issue.

### Main Cast

* Capt. Ed Mercer
* Cmdr. Kelly Grayson
* Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr
* Lt. Talla Keyali
* Dr. Claire Finn
* Lt. Gordon Malloy
* Isaac

### Special Guest Cast

* Aki
* Ilis

### Recurring Cast

* Admiral Perry
* Al Mosley
* Barrett
* Aki's Mother
* Aki's Father
* Harassing Nazh #1
* Nazh #2
* Nazh #3
* Nazh #4

### Guest Cast

* General
* Harassing Nazh #2
* Nazh #1

## References

1. ↑ David A. Goodman, Executive Producer and Writer. Quantum Drive. May 10, 2022.
2. ↑ @kashinorei. "Okudum Ed! All these designs were done trying to give some African vibe to them. Not an easy task to design costumes for #theorville #comics after seeing what #josephporro designed for the tv series
Top with upwards arrow above
! @DarkHorseComics
@DavidAGoodman
#sethmacfarlane". Twitter. Nov. 12, 2020.
3. ↑ @kashinorei. "Nazh soldier. I tried to design a futuristic XVIIIth european soldier uniform, like the ones the bad guys had in the old Zorro TV show. A little bit of french/spanish uniform of that era here, also in the gun @DarkHorseComics @DavidAGoodman". Twitter. Nov. 22, 2020.
4. ↑ @kashinorei. "More designs from #theorville #comics Heroes, part 1. Okudum John and Claire. So Ed is in blue, Talla in red, John in orange and Claire in green, just like their respective Planetary Union uniforms. @DarkHorseComics
@DavidAGoodman
#sethmacfarlane". Twitter. Nov. 13, 2020.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mainframe Comic Con | Sunday | Part 2. Chuck Load of Comics. April 26, 2020.
6. ↑ HR 5070. The Sky Live. Last accessed Nov. 4, 2020.
7. ↑ Mainframe Comic Con | Sunday | Part 2. Chuck Load of Comics. April 26, 2020.