Borderlands Origins from IDW, written by Mikey Neumann and art by Augustin
Padilla, begins with a simple enough premise: present the back stories on the four playable characters from the original Borderlands game. Issue #3 deals with the sniper Mordecai and shows him stumbling and finding his battered way across the harsh and bloodied landscape of Pandora, trying to redefine what his life has meant so far. There’s lots of action, betrayal, and solid lough-out-loud catch-you-by-surprise jokes that are right at home in the Borderlands canon.
The art is true to the game, and creates a bridge to its namesake, making the comic feel like bonus material for the already existent gaming fans. Issue #3 plays up this nostalgia and sentiment by invoking the close relationship Mordecai has to his sidekick, his bird and best friend, Bloodwing. The Mordecai-Bloodwing dynamic becomes one of the most heartfelt instances of the second Borderlands game, and so issue #3 reads like a nostalgic elegy for Borderlands gamers, without entirely alienating new readers. Issue #3 establishes the Mordecai-Bloodwing dynamic well while allowing readers new to the Borderlands franchise to become attached to the characters.
Aside from the instance with Bloodwing, Borderlands Origins #3 “Mordecai” does feel more like it’s pandering to existing fans rather than creating nuanced and fleshed out situations that would grip and hook new readers. Particularly in issue #3, with Mordecai meeting Marcus and Scooter for the first time (beloved characters in both the games). Th
e story reads more as a get together with old friends. There isn’t a huge hook or drive to read the next issue, except for those already endeared to the characters.
Seeing as how the Borderlands Origins arc is a limited four-issue run, with each issue dedicated to one of the original four playable characters, there isn’t much else to be expected. Unfortunately, with dedicating only a single issue to each character, there isn’t much in the ways of an actual origin being established. Instead, Borderlands Origins offers a brief glimpse into the characters lives, only a mere few days before their arrival in Fyrestone and the start of the first game. Not a lot is given on why or how Mordecai ended up on Pandora, just that he is and he’s trying to change his ways. In this vein, Borderlands Origins leaves more to be desired than is delivered, and begs for more than just a single issue to explore the dynamics that are just being set up.
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