Angels 2200
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| Angels 2200 | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Peter Haynes and Nathaniel Savio |
| Website | http://www.angels2200.com/ |
| Current status / schedule | Monday, Wednesday, Friday |
| Launch date | 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
Angels 2200 is a webcomic written and illustrated by the New Zealand artist/director Peter Haynes (also known as Hansagan) with original concept by Nathaniel Savio. This science fiction story is set in the year 2200, ten years after the Genetic Plague killed 99.9% of the male human population on Earth and its off-world colonies. During the chaos, the colonies rebelled and a resource-desperate Earth is now trying to bring them back into line. The story follows the old Aurora-class carrier "Outcast" and its poorly trained crew on their mission to put down the revolution in the Risae Asteroid Belt near Mars.
The artwork in Angels 2200 is a compelling blend of rendered computer graphics and Savio's distinctive, manga-influenced sketch work. Many comics are in black and white, but some, such as those involving space battles, are in color.
Between extended action scenes, the story covers considerably more serious topics (death, leadership, relationships without men, etc.) through dialog exchanges. Humor is interspersed throughout the processes of young women coming to grips with what it means to be soldiers in war.
Despite updating only twice a week, Angels 2200 managed to stay in the bottom half of the BuzzComix Top 10 for a long time. Long hiatuses and irregular update schedules, partially due to webhosting problems, have caused the comic to drop out of the list, though. Its forums feature a diverse and very international membership known for rarely staying on topic and the occasional technical debate.
Even though Angels 2200 has been continued at the beginning of October 2007, it is not updated regularly, but continued in a now-and-then fashion.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Icebreaker Squadron (main characters)
[edit] Sasha "Hammer" Carelli
- Rank: Private First Class, Squadron Leader.
- Nationality: American
- Age: 19
- Status: POW
The, at times disputed, leader of the Icebreakers. Known for unconventional tactics and a tendency to narrate events in her head. She knows she has a duty to fulfill as a pilot and squad leader, but is not always sure how to best accomplish it. She is terrified of losing one of her squadmates, especially Kid, whom Hammer has conflicting feelings for. Hammer at times believes that her position as Kid's superior prevents them from having any sort of personal relationship, but nevertheless has feelings for her.
Although Quetz often rebels against her authority, Icebreaker sees Hammer as their leader, and when Quetz plans on reporting Hammer in order to gain control of Icebreaker, Hammer reminds Quetz that if she does so, the other pilots will not follow her. On the mission on the Ellie Arroway, Hammer stays behind so that the four squadmates accompanying her can escape before the ship self-destructs. She attempts to escape herself, determined to rejoin her friends, but finds that the rebels have removed all means of escape. Until recently, it was believed that Hammer died when the Ellie Arroway exploded. However, it has been revealed that Hammer is alive, albeit a Colonial Prisoner of War.
- Mitsabi "Bubblegum" Kiseko
- Rank: Private
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 19
- Status: Active
An incredibly clumsy pilot who gained her callsign due to the belief that she is unable to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. Her innocence is comparable to Kid's, and she hopes one day to become a detective. Despite this, she soon comes to realize the harsh reality of war when she almost dies during her first experience in real combat. She befriends Annabelle, the pilot who almost killed her, in the course of interrogating her, but after inadvertently revealing that she had been Annabelle's target, Annabelle begins to hate her. Bubblegum feels guilty for Annabelle's eventual suicide.
- Francesca "Kid" Martines
- Rank: Private
- Nationality: French
- Age: 18
- Status: Active
Kid is arguably the most innocent of the pilots, which helped inspire her callsign. She is friendly, hyperactive, girly, and the most emotionally mature of the girls having grown up with several sisters. Kid is the best pilot in Icebreaker squadron, but has difficulty killing; her unwillingness to shoot Annabelle to save Bubblegum forced Hammer to reprimand her, but in recent strips, she managed to score her first kill, albeit reluctantly. Kid has an evolving and uncertain relationship with the Outcast's SexBot, Lance.
- Mary "Whiskey" O'Reilly
- Rank: Private
- Nationality: Irish
- Age: 18
- Status: Active, previously incarcerated
A surly Irish pilot who enjoys drinking, pranks, and one-night flings more than following orders or being a good pilot. Her hedonistic tendencies seem to stem from a great deal of insecurity, unhappiness, and fear of dying. Whiskey has found some comfort with Loser, but it's anyone's guess as to where the relationship is headed.
Whiskey is the most opposed to Quetz's new role as head of Icebreaker, and has executed several pranks to humiliate her. Quetz discovers that she is responsible and has her arrested on charges of poisoning her with laxatives, which she believes will result in her being court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. Mary manages to escape from her cell and plans on joining the battle against the rebel leader's ship.
- Juanita "Quetzalcoatl" Valdez
- Rank: Private
- Nationality: Mexican
- Age: 18
- Status: Active
An arrogant and aristocratic pilot known for being uncooperative and undermining Hammer's leadership. However, it is increasingly apparent that Quetz is not nearly as confident or cold as she puts on, as she is burdened by her family's past successes and the pressure to live up to them.
She has become the de facto Squadron Leader following the loss of Hammer, and takes a stricter approach to leading Icebreaker than Hammer did. This resulted in Bubblegum and Loser openly attacking her, and Whiskey u
- Rebecca "Loser" Bradley
- Rank: Private
- Nationality: American
- Age: 18
- Status: Deceased
A former marine turned pilot for unclear reasons, Loser is outgoing, physical, and dependable. Good with interpersonal skills and advice, albeit not the most cheerful. Accidentally killed by Whiskey during battle when O'Reilly escaped prison and collided with her in a stolen spacecraft.
[edit] Other Important Cast
- Robin Kurosawa
- Captain of the Outcast. "Cap'n Rob," as she is commonly referred to on the forums, has the thankless task of putting down a rebellion of unknown proportions with only bad intelligence data, an inexperienced crew, and out-of-date equipment. She is sometimes criticized for leaving her pilots to learn too much with too little assistance. She seems eager to join the front lines and sees this mission as her opportunity to prove her ability.
- Genevieve "Pronto" Tora
- Commander Air Group of the Outcast. She lost her left eye and leg in battle, as well as the rest of her squadron. Pronto is not as cold as she initially appears. She seems to see a lot of herself and her former squadron in the Icebreakers and would like to see this squadron has a happier ending than her own did.
- Lance
- The Outcast's resident and neglected SexBot. A "male" android designed for comfort and sexual activities. Lance was activated 48 years ago, but still has not used any of his primary functions. Suspected of being gay by Loser, but it might just be that most of his programming has been replaced with cooking. Regardless, his AI is now struggling with being the closest thing to a living male and whether or not Kid's relationship with him is healthy for her.
- Jennifer "Greykat" Forbes
- Commander of Corona Squadron. British, cold, holier-than-thou, a real bitch, but a good pilot. She is not at all on good terms with the Icebreakers after an extended prank war and mock combat duel that left Corona victorious, but with damaged pride as Whiskey took Greykat's absence as an opportunity to perform yet another prank on her. Greykat was killed shortly after the rebel commander's ship's plasma beam hit The Outcast; debris struck and destroyed her fighter.
- Annabelle
- A 15-year-old captured rebel pilot who displays an interesting mixture of loyalty, determination, anger, immaturity, and fear of death/killing. She initiailly bonds with Bubblegum over their common interests in films, but after learning of Bubblegum's true identity, ends her friendship with her. Annabelle attempted to escape, but Bubblegum prevented it. Annabelle soon committed suicide with a shard of broken glass.
- The Rebel Leader
- The only male character besides Lance who is featured in the series' present timeline, and the leader of the Risae rebellion. He is very cunning, and hides his ship to trick The Outcast into prematurely firing its particle beam, relaying the signal from his ship to an unoccupied decoy ship to his unoccupied base.
[edit] Information
[edit] Ellie Arroway
- An ancient, disabled Mana-class carrier found by Icebreaker during a fateful patrol mission. Records showed it was scuttled near Jupiter in 2150, but was mysteriously 47 years behind estimated trajectory. It was actually being used as a rebel hideout, and lured the Icebreakers into a trap. The rebels attacked the Icebreakers and activated the self-destruct mechanism. While Quetz, Kid, Loser and a badly injured Whiskey escaped in vacsuits, Hammer attempted to escape on her own, only to find that the fighters had holes in their cockpit, preventing her from escaping.
[edit] Rebelling Colonies
- Mars
- First off-world colony to be founded (2037) and demand independence
- Chara
- First out-system colony (2100) and first to rebel (2138).
- Eta Cassiopeiae
- Second out-system colony (2135). Founded in secret and held close ties with Earth until The Plague.
- Europa/Jupiter
- Second major off-world colony in the Sol system.
- Risae
- One of the main colonies in the Sol system asteroid belt.
[edit] Fighters
- Medusa
- The first Terran space fighter, which is now very obsolete in 2200. Hammer finds one in the Ellie Arroway's hangar.
- Sabertooth
- A strike fighter that is best deployed against capital ships, and is the main craft for the rebels.
- Siren
- Third generation Terran fighter. Vastly superior to the Medusa and Sabertooth. It is unknown whether this fighter is still the state-of-the-art in 2200, but it is the best fighter the Outcast has onboard.
[edit] The Plague
- The true origin or nature of the great genetic plague is unknown. Public consensus is that it was a virus that arrived from the Chara system; a character in a filler strip believes that the colonists sent it to Earth. Regardless, its arrival in 2190 on Earth and subsequent spread throughout all the known colonies eliminated over half the human population. Very few men survived or were naturally immune to the epidemic; over 90% of the male population died. A vaccine was developed in 2192 and the first post-Plague male child was born in 2194.
The plague had widespread social consequences. A sharp decrease in the number of able bodied soldiers caused the Terran government to turn to conscription to muster soldiers against the rebelling colonies. Women are not only more present in the military, but in other parts of society as well, due to many men dying or being too young to lead in the series' present day. Despite this, the rebel commander believes that men will dominate society again, but whether he truly believes it (much less whether it will happen) or was merely saying this to taunt the captain is unclear.
[edit] Jumpgates
- A means of FTL transportation. Travel is point-to-point between gate pairs. The initial gate placement must be accomplished through conventional propulsion, which means that very distant jump lanes take a VERY long time to establish. This is the main reason so few out-system colonies exist. Jumpgates require and release tremendous energy requiring them to be located far away from anything important. The jump process is supposedly a very painful experience, as Kid describes it as far worse than having one's brain taken out and fired out of cannon.
