In the lead up to its Beware the Planet of the Apes miniseries, Marvel promised that it would reveal the untold backstory of Nova, the future human woman from 1968’s original Apes film, who the movie depicted as unable to communicate using spoken language. Now, the comic book miniseries prequel to the film has delivered an ingenious creative solution to give Nova a voice.
Beware the Planet of the Apes #2 – written by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Álvaro López, color Alex Guimarães, and lettering by Joe Caramagna – continues the innovative, lore-expanding take on the franchise, delivering a prequel unlike any Planet of the Apes story that has come before.
The issue continues to blend art from Marvel’s original 1970s adaptations of the Apes films with its contemporary story, drawing it into the narrative in a direct way that offers thrilling opportunities for the franchise moving forward, in more ways than one.
Marvel’s BEWARE THE PLANET OF THE APES Beautifully Blends Classic & Contemporary Art
Marvel’s latest prequel to the original Planet of the Apes artfully incorporates panels from the company’s 1975 adaptation of the film.
Decades After The Original Film’s Release, “Beware” Gives Nova A Voice – Sort Of
1968’s Planet of the Apes featured a romance between Charlton Heston’s time-displaced astronaut Taylor, and the seemingly chattle-like future human woman Nova, played by Linda Harrison. The love story came to be considered controversial, even at the time the movie was being shot, as Nova was considered to be a devolved type of human, and unable to consent. Notably, Charlton Heston even demanded on-set changes to the script, arguing for the removal a line of dialogue indicating Nova was pregnant. Nearly six-decades later, Beware appears set on making Nova’s agency one of its central concerns.
The 1970 sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes introduced subterranean mutated humans, whose society aggregates around the worship of an undetonated nuclear warhead, the Omega Bomb. The film ends in tragedy; a gorilla army invades the mutants’ underground city, killing Nova in the crossfire, and mortally wounding Taylor, who manages to detonate the Omega Bomb and take the entire Planet with him as he dies. Beware the Planet of the Apes #2 incorporates panels from Marvel’s adaptation of the film, making them glimpses of the future somehow buried in Nova’s mind.
“Beware” Categorically Defines Nova As A Sentient Individual
Beware #2 introduces another faction of mutant humans, these ones living above ground in the ruins of Yankee Stadium. One of them, Ivana, is able to imprint language in Nova’s mind, giving her a voice for the first time in the franchise’s history – at least internally. This is one of many ambitious moves Beware the Planet of the Apes is making, which together seem to signal that Marvel intends to reboot franchise continuity, diverging from the brutal ending of Beneath the Planet of the Apes and opening up an entirely new timeline, with limitless storytelling potential.
If nothing else, giving Nova a voice restores her true status of humanity. It defines her as a sentient being, allowing for stories on the page that depict her individual agency through internal narration. This could allow for a renewed romantic story with Taylor; perhaps if Marvel wanted to be truly wild, the restoration of the original pregnancy plot. In any case, it gives a potentially rebooted franchise a strong, female protagonist as a counterpart for Zira. With only two issues remaining, readers should expect at least a few more pleasant surprises from Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Beware the Planet of the Apes #2 (of 4) is available now from Marvel Comics.
Beware the Planet of the Apes #2 (of 4) (2024) | |
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