Firefly: 10 Things Only Comics Fans Know About Shepherd Book
Joss Whedon's sci-fi western Firefly ran for only fourteen episodes in the early 2000s, yet that was plenty of time for the show to develop a small but devoted fan base. The series' cast reprised their roles in the 2005 movie Serenity that saw the conclusion of many of the show's lingering storylines, but one plot point that was not resolved was the mysterious background of Shepherd Derrial Book.
Shepherd Book joined the crew of the Serenity as a temporary passenger and traveling missionary in the pilot episode of Firefly, but as the show progressed it became obvious to the other passengers that he was no ordinary minister. Fortunately for fans, Joss and Zack Whedon continued the story of Firefly in comic book form, including releasing a detailed backstory of the Shepherd called Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale in 2010.
10 Shepherd Book Punched Mal
The Serenity movie begins with the unexplained absence of two original crew members from the ship: Shepherd Book and Inara. The comics reveal that Inara grew tired of fighting with Mal while flying on Serenity and decided to leave. Mal gives her his word that he'll take her where she wants to go, but he is obviously not happy about it. After multiple detours, Inara, frustrated with Mal for taking another job, storms off from a group discussion.
Shepherd Book tries to convince Mal that he is in the wrong and should keep his promise to Inara, but Mal says that words don't really mean anything. For instance, the preacher is in no position to lecture him because while Book says that they should pray, follow the Bible, and trust in God, the Shepherd is just as willing as the rest of them to break the law and do what needs to be done in a crisis. In Mal's eyes, Shepherd's words also mean nothing. This leads Shepherd Book to punch Mal.
9 The Shepherd Left Serenity So He Didn't Return To His Old Ways
During the time between the end of Firefly and the beginning of the Serenity movie, Shepherd Book has stopped traveling with the crew of Serenity and settled on Haven. The comics explain that this decision was made after he punched Mal.
He was afraid his time with the crew, Mal specifically, was corrupting him and would lead to him devolving back into the person he was before he joined the abbey. Mal tells him that he doesn't hold the punch against him, but the Shepherd says that that is what he is worried about. If Book stayed, one day he might not care about the violence either.
8 Shepherd Book Was An Alliance Soldier
Surprising considering that he traveled with Browncoat independents on Serenity, Shepherd Book was formerly an Alliance soldier. He rose through the ranks by building a reputation for being ruthless and violent. He stood out to the higher-ups because he took a more "hands-on" approach to torture and interrogation.
The soldier who recommended him for a higher position told their supervisor that Book was "driven... brilliant, resourceful, [with] a great strategic mind." When the supervisor asked what was driving him, the soldier answered that Book just didn't seem to tolerate losing.
7 Book Was A Resistance Spy
The Alliance was impressed with Book's drive to "stomp out the Resistance," but Book was actually deep undercover in the Alliance forces as a Resistance mole. He volunteered for a mission no one else was crazy enough to undertake before the Unification War had even started.
The Resistance wanted a spy who could "rise through the ranks [and] manipulate [the Alliance] from the inside." It needed to be someone without family who didn't mind putting their life on hold for the cause. Everyone said the idea was lunacy, but Book saw the plan's potential and was willing to undertake the risk.
6 Shepherd Had A False Eye
The Alliance could monitor any transmissions sent to or from their ships and bases, so Book needed a way to communicate Alliance secrets to the Resistance without being detected. In order to do this, he undergoes surgery to remove one of his eyes and replace it with a "biorobotic implant" that would function as a transmitting camera.
The false eye was connected to his optic nerve, so he could still see out of it, but the Resistance also had the ability to see everything he was seeing.
5 Shepherd Book Stole A Man's Identity
The Shepherd needed an alias if he was going to infiltrate Alliance forces. His real name was originally Henry Evans, but Henry Evans had a checkered past. He needed a new name and a new identity if he was going to have a chance of getting hired by the Alliance.
The rebels tell him that he will need to take someone else's, whether they want to give it up or not. Therefore, Henry Evans decides to jump a stranger in an alley and strangle him before picking up his identification card to become Derrial Book.
4 He Killed Many People
To maintain his Alliance cover, it was necessary for Shepherd Book to hurt and even kill "the enemy" - rebels, independents, and suspected traitors. However, the long-term plan of the Browncoats was to sabotage the Alliance in a much bigger way. Book planned a massive Alliance operation across six different planets that ended in complete disaster thanks to the information he was feeding to the independents.
Four thousand people, including men, women, and children, were killed. This was a major victory for the independents, but a great tragedy and humiliation for the Alliance. Book was stripped of his military title and quietly discharged from Alliance forces.
3 He Had A Drinking Problem
Despite their best efforts, the independents lost the war and the planets were all united under Alliance rule. After Book was discharged from the military, he was lost and purposeless. His mission as a rebel spy had been fulfilled, but the Browncoats had still failed. If they had succeeded, Book's methods might have been justified.
After they lost, he had four thousand souls on his conscience for no good reason. He spent many years as a homeless man with a drinking problem before he questioned what he should do with the life he had been given - a question that led him to the abbey and to God.
2 Shepherd Book Was A Runaway & Petty Thief
Shepherd Book's childhood and young adulthood were far from ideal. As a young boy, his alcoholic father abused him, leading him to run away and survive on the streets. He took to pickpocketing and robbing people at gunpoint to get by.
When the authorities almost catch up with him and his partner-in-crime, he sacrifices his partner's freedom in order to make a clean getaway for himself. In The Shepherd's Tale, Book narrates that the idea of having a home "has no power over" him. He can leave whomever he wants whenever he wants because the only person he needs to look out for is himself.
1 Serenity Was His First Home
When the Shepherd left the abbey, he was on a mission from God. He had spent ten years there, but it wasn't where he was meant to end up. His whole life, Book had jumped from one place to the next - running from his father, from the law, from the Alliance, and from himself.
A young Derrial Book, at that time called Henry Evans, had determined that "home" was a useless concept, something he didn't need. But, as he lay dying, the Shepherd thought back on his life and mused that he found a family and a home in the unlikeliest of places, on Serenity.
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