 |
"Nightmare"
Total Recall #2 (Dynamite Entertainment)
Written by Vince Moore
Art by Cezar Razek
Cover A by Darick Robertson, Cover B by Cezar Razek |
Quaid and Melina find that the creation of
a breathable atmosphere on Mars was just the beginning.
Story Summary
Without Kuato to keep them unified, many of the Mars resistance
cells begin to turn on each other, and fight the Martian Army
besides. Meanwhile, mutants continue to die from an unknown
cause.
Quaid meets a mutant named Q'd who claims he is preparing
the way for the coming of the Martians. Quaid chases the mutant to the
Pyramid Mines and discovers a second ancient machine. The mutant
cryptically tells him that while the first machine brought air
to Mars, the second machine will keep the air on Mars. And then
he reveals the existence of a third machine that
"completes the way." Then he activates the second machine with
his hand-print.
Amidst great rumbling and atmospherics, a trio of aliens walks
through the Mars colony.
CONTINUED IN TOTAL RECALL #3
Didja Know?
This mini-series did not have individual issue titles. I've made
up my own title for each issue based on the theme of "dreams",
from the dream/reality dichotomy of the
Total Recall film. This
issue's title, "Nightmare", is borrowed from a line
of narration by Quaid in this issue.
Cover B is a take-off on a scene in
Total Recall, where
Quaid reveals himself underneath the prosthetic face of a
heavyset woman. Here, it is the mutant Q'd disguised as
Quaid (though no similar scene ever occurs throughout the
mini-series).
Without Kuato to keep them unified, many of the Mars
resistance cells begin to turn on each other. Notice that
the names of the various cells all seem to be related to the
planet Mars in some way, e.g. the Red Cell (the color of
Mars) and Ares Cell (the Greek name of the God of War, for
which the planet takes the Roman name Mars).
On page 5, Tony comments, "all of our names will be mud."
The idiom "my name is Mud" or "your name is Mud" is
popularly believed to be a reference to Dr. Samuel Mudd, who
treated the injured leg of John Wilkes Booth after Booth
assassinated U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14,
1865.
Page 7 reveals that the name of the psychic woman is
Cassiopeia.
As the mutants begin dying, Quaid speculates that maybe
there was a virus frozen in the ice that has been converted
into the breathable atmosphere of Mars. This theory seems to
be discounted later in "Dreams of Empire".
On page 8, Tony states that he believes the unexplained
deaths of mutants to be a "final solution" in use by the
Mars Administration. This phrase is
deliberately borrowed by the writer from Nazi Germany's
Final Solution, which was its plan for the systematic
extermination of Jews, what Hitler referred to as "the final
solution to the Jewish question".
On page 11, members of the Martian Army refer to the
resistance members as "rebel scum". This may be a reference
to the Star Wars franchise, in which Imperial
military men often refer to the rebels of the Alliance as
same.
On page 13, Quaid has an encounter with a mutant stranger
who says his name is Q'd. This is similar to the name
stylings of the No'ui in Quaid's vision in the novelization
of
Total Recall. Does
Q'd=Q'ad=Quaid? On page 15, Quaid's inner monologue even
comments on the similarity of their names.
This issue gives the impression that days have passed, yet
everyone seems to be wearing the same clothes ever since the
events at the end of
Total Recall.
On page 15, panel 1, notice that the Mars Burger restaurant
from
Total Recall appears
(though the sign is shown as a digital one instead of
standard plastic).
Though some details are vaguely similar to the aliens mentioned in the
novelization of
Total Recall, the
aliens depicted at the end of the issue are not ant-like as
described in the novel.
Back to Total Recall Episode
Studies
