Heroes, Pt. 2

## Chronological Order

***Heroes, Pt. 2*** is the second part of a two-part episode known as ***Heroes*** and the fourth issue of Season 2.5 of *The Orville* published by Dark Horse Comics. Chief of Security Talla Keyali, Chief Engineer John LaMarr, and Doctor Claire Finn help the Okudum free themselves from slavery by the Nazh.

*Heroes, Pt. 2* was written by David A. Goodman, executive producer for the show, drawn by David Cabeza, and colored by Michael Atiyeh. Unlike earlier issues of The Orville comics where stories closely resemble episodes of the television show, *Heroes, Pt. 1* and *Pt. 2* mimics a traditional superhero story. The issue is notable for a dark message at the conclusion that challenges the utopic vision of the show.

## Plot

Several Nazh shoot at Chief of Security Talla Keyali, dressed as Xandia and leaping through the air with her sabre drawn. The Nazh's rifle fire strikes her.

In a brief flashback to twenty-seven hours prior, Chief Engineer John LaMarr and Doctor Claire Finn meet in Talla's quarters. John has manufactured Talla's disguise out of Moclan body armor that can withstand Nazh weapons fire and a sword out of hull plating that "can cut through almost anything."

Back to Talla leaping through the air, she lands easily on the ground, having taken no damage from the Nazh rifles, and slices cleanly through their weapons with her blade. With her extreme Xelayan, she effortlessly overpowers them and orders them to leave the planet. Her work now complete, Talla tells Aki to take care of her father, then leaves by leaping far into the air, leaving Aki and her parents stunned. Aki says that she knows who Xandia is.

The next day, Claire assesses that Talla was unharmed. Meanwhile, Ilis worries that Xandia's raid will embolden the Okudum to revolt. He orders his people to deploy "the Juggernaut," a tank, against the nearby village. Unbeknownst to the Nazh, John, Claire, and Talla are watching them closely. Talla decides she must destroy the tank.

The Nazh enter the village and demand the people give up Xandia. Talla, still dressed as Xandia, lures them away from the village. She leaps over tank fire and forces the tank driver by the tip of her sword to call off the team. John overloads a Nazh drill and causes it to explode. The tank returns with the Nazh team on top... bound by ropes. A note vows that Ilis will be "next."

Ilis retires to his chambers, only to find Talla waiting for him in his chair. She pins him by the neck against the wall, but Ilis refuses to leave because he knows that Talla - whomever she is - is an alien with highly advanced technology, not the legendary folk hero. Ilis had deduced that Talla will not kill him, but returning to his Nazh superiors will mean certain death. Frustrated, Talla throws him against the wall and exits.

Re-convening with John and Claire, Talla believes she must stay in the village permanently as Xandia to prevent the Nazh from staying.

That night, a crafty Nazh realizes that the woman who saved Aki while fetching water was likely the one pretending to be Xandia, and he reasons that Aki knows Xandia's true identity. Bringing two others, they storm Aki's home and find her parents, but the girl is gone. Fortunately, John had been monitoring the village, and Talla runs to the rescue.

Talla is too late. She arrives to find Aki on her knees over the corpses of her mother and father. The three Nazh come out of hiding and stun Talla.

Talla wakes up bound to the Nazh's ship's massive propulsion nozzle. Once the Nazh fire up their engine, she will be incinerated. A crowd of Okudum gathers and watches. John and Claire hide in the crowd, ready to attack the Nazh, free their Chief of Security, and likely start a war between the Nazh and the Planetary Union. Suddenly, a woman appears behind Ilis claiming to be the true Xandia. She drives a sword through Ilis' chest then slices across the breast of another Nazh. The Nazh flee into their ship, but the new Xandia begins hacking at Ilis' lifeless body until she decapitates it. Talla tells her, "Aki... no." Aki holds the head of Ilis in the air and orders the surviving Nazh to leave.

Later, Talla attempts to apologize to Aki, but she coldly replies that Talla should leave. "We don't need you anymore."

Returning to the USS *Orville*, John, Claire, and Talla mull over what just happened. Talla decides that "there are no heroes. That in life, the monsters win."

## Production

*Heroes, Pt. 2* was written by executive producer David A. Goodman who called the script "a barn-burner" focusing on Chief of Security Talla Keyali. The issue was illustrated by David Cabeza in late June 2020.

## Trivia

* It is unclear how (or why) Aki had her own costume and sword of Xandia.
* *Heroes, Pt. 2* has by far the smallest cast of any *The Orville* release.
	+ This issue is the only time in an official The Orville release that the main characters Ed Mercer, Kelly Grayson, Bortus, and Isaac do not appear.
* John spies on the Nazh with some sort of small, flying sphere. This is the only time such a device has been seen, and it remains unnamed and unidentified.
* 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 takes place sometime in 2421.
* Twenty-seven hours pass between John presenting the Xandia costume to Talla and Talla rescuing Aki's father.
* A week passes between Aki fetching water in *Heroes, Pt. 1* and Talla attacking Ilis in his quarters in this issue.
	+ That night, three Nazh storm Aki's home looking for Xandia and kill Aki's parents. Talla is captured.
	+ The next day, Talla is nearly executed but is saved by Aki.

### References

* John says 'boom' after exploding the drill, causing Claire to remark, "You meant that literally." John's trademark is to interject 'boom' after something exceptional.
* John asks Talla if she intends to be the Okudum's "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
* Talla quotes from an old book that Captain Ed Mercer gave her: "There are no heroes. That in life, the monsters win." That quote, albeit somewhat differently worded, is from the character Sansa Stark in the book *A Game of Thrones* by George R. R. Martin.

## Mistakes

* In one panel after a drill overloads and explodes, the dialog bubbles point to the wrong characters:
	+ As shown in the panel, a random Nazh miner demands Ilis explain what happened, and Ilis says, "I don't know, sir, some kind of overload."
	+ In reality, the miner was the one who stood beside the overloaded drill, Ilis had just exited the ship demanding an explanation.
* The Nazh seem to bind Talla with simple rope but even if her bindings were metal, a Xelayan could probably break them with minimal effort.
* If the Nazh were willing to start a war with the Planetary Union just for freeing the Okudum, it stands to reason the Nazh would retaliate against the Okudum with overwhelming force for revolting.

## Cast

Despite being credited, Captain Ed Mercer, First Officer Kelly Grayson, Helmsman Gordon Malloy, Isaac, and Second Officer Bortus make no appearance in this issue.

### Main cast

* Lt. Talla Keyali
* Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr
* Dr. Claire Finn

### Recurring cast

* Aki
* Aki's Mother
* Aki's Father
* Ilis
* Harassing Nazh #1
* Nazh #2
* Nazh #3
* Nazh #4

### Guest cast

* Juggernaut Fighter #1
* Juggernaut Fighter #2
* Nazh #5
* Nazh Miner #1
* Nazh Miner #2

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mainframe Comic Con | Sunday | Part 2. Chuck Load of Comics. April 26, 2020.
2. ↑ @kashinorei. "Cover of issue 5 of #theorville comics, WIP inks of Ed. Working right now on final issue (8)! @DarkHorseComics @DavidAGoodman #sethmacfarlane". Twitter. June 26, 2020.