Malcolm Reynolds

Template:Character infobox

"Mal. Bad, in the Latin."

―River Tam

Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds is the captain of the Firefly-class transport ship Serenity.

Biography

Early Years and Education

Mal was born on September 20, 2486 and was brought up on a ranch on the planet Shadow. Raised by his mother and "about 40 hands", Mal apparently received fairly decent education growing up. Though Mal usually seems more practical than intellectual, he occasionally surprises his friends by displaying familiarity in a wide range of literature varying from the works of Shan Yu (a fictional psychotic dictator) to poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (he does, however, have no idea "who" Mona Lisa is).

Military Career

Mal volunteered for the Independents army during the Unification War against the Alliance, gaining the rank of sergeant during that time. His loyal second-in-command Zoë was by his side for most of the war, surviving many dangerous conflicts with him. The show mentions three such battles, including the Battle of Du-Khang in 2510 and a long winter campaign in New Kashmir where he commanded a platoon. Mal was also involved in the ground campaign during the Battle of Sturges, which according to Badger was the "bloodiest and shortest battle in all the war", although Mal considers it a distant second. Mal fought in many more battles, but the turning point for him and the Independents came with their physical and emotional defeat at the Battle of Serenity Valley on the planet Hera. On-screen information from the film Serenity suggests that Mal was given a brevet promotion to Captain during the Battle of Serenity Valley to take command of the ever-increasing number of Independent troops who were losing their officers at the hands of the Alliance. This might explain why, in one of the deleted scenes from the Firefly pilot, Mal is described as having commanded at least 2000 men. On-screen information in Serenity shows him to have been attached to the 57th Overlanders Brigade; in the series pilot, Badger calls it the "Balls and Bayonets Brigade", though it is unclear whether that was a disparaging nickname coined by Badger himself or the actual unit sobriquet.

After the war, Mal acquired his own ship, an old (broken) 03-K64 Firefly-class transport whose previous owner was a man named Captain Harbatkin (and he never got around to changing the registration papers). He promptly named the ship Serenity. On board Serenity and during his various travels, Mal continues to wear his brown coat and wields a standard issue officer's pistol as his weapon of choice, a gun which he has had since the war and which he has modified extensively.

Personal Philosophy

It seems that the war, and particularly the Battle of Serenity Valley destroyed Mal's religious beliefs. In the opening of the series pilot, he speaks of God when rallying his troops, and kisses a cross hanging from his neck before going into battle during the Battle of Serenity Valley. Later, however, he is uncomfortable having Shepherd Book on his ship, and the two characters' difference of opinion on the matter of religion is a constant source of (usually friendly) conflict. (Mal tells Book shortly after he arrives on board Serenity, "You're welcome on my boat. God ain't.")

Mal's crisis of faith is elaborated further in a deleted scene from the pilot episode, which gives more detail on the losses in the battle. After the Battle of Serenity Valley, both sides leave the survivors without medical attention for a week while negotiating the truce. Over half of them die of their wounds or disease (similar to the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War battle of Cold Harbor). When medical ships finally arrive, his response to Zoë's utterance of "Thank God," is "God? Whose color's he flyin'?."

Though Mal loses faith in God and religion, he retains a strong faith in humanity. Though wary in his personal dealings, he puts great stock in the fundamental goodness of people in general. This faith in an individuals' abilities to do the right thing manifests strongly in his very negative view of governmental institutions. "Governments," he says in the pilot, are for "getting in a man's way." The Alliance, whose government seems particularly fond of interference and regulation, is thus his logical nemesis. His contempt for the Alliance never completely disappears (although he once said that he "wouldn't mind makin' a buck off 'em", implying that if the Alliance wanted to hire him for a job, he might consider it), and, although he was on the losing side of the Unification War, years later he still isn't convinced it was the wrong one. In Serenity, Mal expresses what seems to be his manifesto - "[The Alliance] will swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. I aim to misbehave." His anti-government attitude is reflected in his choice to live on a spaceship, drifting from world to world, as far away from Alliance interference as possible.

Personality

Malcolm Reynolds

The ship is a means of escaping the loss of the war and the resulting Alliance dominance over the systems, and the show focuses on Mal's attempts to get by in a Universe that has forsaken him. He takes whatever jobs he can get, turning a blind eye if he can to the legality of the job, but never doing the wrong thing in terms of morality. He is a man of compassion (refusing jobs that would involve him in slavery, for instance), with a strong sense of nobility. He is, however an anti-hero (or perhaps more specifically, a partial moral relativist) and will kill those who threaten him with a philosophy that, "If someone tries to kill you, you try and kill them back." He is not above joking with his crew or picking bar fights, but he retains his honor in the face of adversity. What separates him from typical heroes is that Mal is the type of person who is willing to shoot first and skip the question; oftentimes not even bothering with a "fair fight" (In Serenity he shoots three separate unarmed men in cold-blood, though one such action was a mercy-killing). He is not above petty theft but often rationalizes such behavior to make it appear more noble or valiant (such as stealing from Slavers). He is very protective of his crew and fiercely loyal. He retains the idea that you never leave someone behind and, once you are a part of his crew, you are assured his protection. He treats an attack on a member of his crew as being tantamount to a direct assault on him and will not stand for it. He is also a natural leader, inspiring loyalty that is reciprocated as is shown in both his war experiences and in his relationship to his crew. It is hinted throughout the series that Mal and Inara Serra, a courtesan or Companion, have strong feelings for one another. Both seem to be trying to hide their true feelings, however, and can seem to only release the tension by quarreling most of the time.

He is commonly called Mal in the show but he was also called "Captain Tightpants" by Kaylee in the episode "Shindig" and this name has become popular with the Browncoats (Firefly fans). By the time of the events of Serenity, Mal seems to have hardened slightly and become a little more coarse. (He also seems to be in the process of slowly losing some of the ideals and honor he had been clinging to). Besides the above mentioned shootings, this is perhaps best illustrated by a conversation with Zoe, where when she says "It's just... in a time of war, we would have never left a man behind", Mal responds "Maybe that's why we lost". Also, (although she is upset at the time and perhaps not being entirely fair), Kaylee makes comments that indicate that she believes that Mal is drawing inward and slowly pushing everyone around him away. By the end of the movie, however, he seems to have regained some of his old self. A line from Zoe, commenting both on the condition of Serenity and Zoe herself "She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true" could probably be applied to Mal as well.

Behind the scenes

Malcolm Reynolds is portrayed by actor Nathan Fillion in the series Firefly and in the motion picture Serenity.

In the Xbox 360 game, Halo 3, Nathan Fillon plays Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds, a UNSC Marine infantry sergeant. He shares the name Reynolds from Halo 3 with his character from Firefly.

Production details

Conceived by Joss Whedon, the character Malcolm Reynolds was the only definite character he had in mind when formulating the ensemble cast. He wanted a hero, but not a hero in the classic sense; someone that is "everything that a hero is not."

In the proposed pilot, Mal was much darker and considerably more closed-off. FOX network executives objected, and asked that Mal be "lightened up". For the second episode ("The Train Job"), Whedon created a more "jolly" Mal Reynolds.

Casting

The role was originally written for Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Nicholas Brendon however the shooting schedule conflicted with his commitment to Buffy.

Whedon approached Nathan Fillion to play the lead and after explaining the premise and showing Fillion the treatment for the pilot, Fillion was eager for the role. Fillion was called back several times to read for the part before he was cast. He noted that "It was really thrilling. It was my first lead and I was pretty nervous, but I really wanted that part and I wanted to tell those stories."

Costume design

Los Angeles prop shop Applied Effects was approached by Randy Erikson to create Mal's main gun, and gave them a week and a half. Erikson provided a foamcore conceptual mockup and the base guns, one of which was a five-shot .38 caliber Taurus model 8] revolver. Erikson researched American Civil War-era revolvers for inspiration and the final mockup had a brass or bronze look, with the revolver a little elongated. The biggest challenge was masking the shape of the original revolver and still keeping it operable.

GBB Custom Gunleather was tasked with creating Mal's gun holster, which was made out of oak-tanned carving leather The character's coat, relic of his time as a Browncoat, was a collaboration between Firefly costume designer Shawna Trpcic and Jonathan A. Logan, a leather artist. Trpcic sketched her idea and a cloth mockup was created before the final was made with domestic-farmed deerskin. The cuffs are actually the sleeves folded back, evoking the style of Oriental robes with their silk linings. Two coats were made for the character, one called "Number 1" coat and another called "The Hero" coat. The Number 1 coat's bullet hole is drawn in, while The Hero version has a detailed cut and sewn repair.

Appearances

• Firefly
  • "Serenity" (First appearance)
  • "The Train Job"
  • "Bushwhacked"
  • "Shindig"
  • "Safe"
  • "Our Mrs. Reynolds"
  • "Jaynestown"
  • "Out of Gas"
  • "Ariel"
  • "War Stories"
  • "Trash"
  • "The Message"
  • "Heart of Gold"
  • "Objects in Space"
• Better Days
• Those Left Behind
• Serenity