Serenity

Serenity is the ship of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the Firefly/Serenity universe. Serenity first appeared in the now canceled TV Series Firefly.

Name:

Serenity

Aliases:

Start year:

2005

First issue:

Serenity (2005) #1 Those Left Behind, Part 1

See at ComicVine

Overview

History

Originally built in 2459, Serenity was once part of a huge fleet of Series 3 Firefly-class ships numbering around 28,000, before she wound up in a junkyard for spaceships on the planet, Hera. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds bought Serenity in 2512, shortly after the end of the Unification War. Mal named her after the Battle of Serenity Valley, the battle in which the independents lost the war.

While Mal loved the ship despite its dilapidated state, his first mate Zoe Washburne thought Serenity would need too much work to get space worthy. After Serenity's first mechanic, Bester, couldn't fix the ship, Kaylee Frye was brought in to replace him, and she fell in love with the ship. Over the years, Mal added several more members to Serenity's crew: Simon and River Tam, Shepherd Book, Jayne Cobb, and the pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne. the ninth resident, Inara Serra rents one of Serenity's detachable shuttles, out of which she runs a companion service. Throughout Mal's time with Serenity, she has taken significant wounds, but Mal's crew is always able to repair her.

Design

Joss Whedon, the creator of the series Firefly, said that the ship was designed to combine features of a bird and a firefly. The extended neck resembles that of ducks or geese and the tail of the ship glows like a firefly and serves as the ship's main form of propulsion. Serenity lacks any form of weapons, and relies on Wash's expert piloting to get out of trouble. Additionally, Serenity is equipped with several decoy beacons, which the crew calls "Crybabies" to help escape from trouble.

Serenity's design also bears many resemblances to modern commercial aircraft. Pilot chairs are covered with the same sheepskin covering used in all Boeing aircraft. The steering mechanism is modeled after those of Boeing aircraft. The sides of Serenity feature green navigation indicator lights on the starboard side, and red lights along the port side.