oh, canon. foiled again.

[lirazel]

I'm writing Firefly fic (I know?  Isn't that crazy?  It feels so good!), and I glanced at the Firefly Wiki to try to figure out how old Mal would have been during the War.  But I did the math and the first thing I figured it out is this:  do you know how old he was during the actual show? 

49.

Okay, there is no way on God's green earth that I buy that.  Do they honestly expect me to buy that?  Nathan Fillion as 49?  Here's what the wiki says:

"Malcolm Reynolds was born on September 20, 2468. This is taken from the Serenity movie when the Operative is viewing his file. This date has significance in that September 20, 2002 is the day Firefly premiered, and September 20, 1968 is Firefly writer/producer Ben Edlund's date of birth. "

Okay, I adore Ben Edlund (fun fact: did you know he was the one who came up with the idea for Bad Horse?); he's written several of my favorite Jossverse/Supernatural episodes, and I think the guy's a genius.  I love that they gave him this short of shout-out in the movie.  However, that's all it is.  A shout-out.  I don't believe that's canon.

So I figure that means that I get to completely disregard that, much the way we get to completely disregard the various canon contradictions about Buffy's birthdate. 

However, I am very interested in how old you think he is during the War.  The War started eleven years before "Serenity" (the pilot episode, not the movie) and ended five years later.  I always sort of imagined Mal as this fresh young kid going off to fight for glory and freedom and all that stuff.  But I do want to be realistic about his age when he went off to fight.  I'd love your opinions.  Any thoughts?

Also, I just want to give a shout-out to my icon.  "Out of Gas" is my favorite episode of Firefly by a whole heck of a lot, and this icon makes me ridiculously happy.

"Let me show you the rest. And-and try to see past what she is and onto what she can be."
"What's that, sir?"
"Freedom, is what."
"I meant, what's that?"
"Oh, yeah, just step around that. I think something must have been living in here."

I DIE.

Comments

[madcap-shiny.livejournal.com]

CANON WHOREDOM FOR THE WIN.

Also, I love that this entry is about this, because I have a Very Developed Opinion on the matter of Mal's age, and it is: there has been talk on several Firefly boards I've read that 49 is indeed a very silly age for Mal, but! If you switch the last two digits of the year and make it 2486, this makes him 31 during the show which is clearly much much better. POOF. The magic of fanwank!

(I remember one awesome person saying that since this is so much more likely, the 2468 is not only a shoutout but also an intended typo on the Alliance screen, meant to symbolize just how little they understand the Independents. Improbable and cracky? Sure. But that's the ~beauty~ of it.)

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

CANON WHOREDOM FOR THE WIN. AMEN!

If you switch the last two digits of the year and make it 2486, this makes him 31 during the show which is clearly much much better. POOF. The magic of fanwank! Ha! I love you for this!

(I like your parenthetical wank, too. It's fun.)

[madcap-shiny.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I enjoy sharpening my fanwank skills. They are v. useful things.

[that-september.livejournal.com]

49? Hell no, I do not buy that. 40, at best. Seriously.

(Unless people in the future live an extra hundred years or something.)

I always pictured Mal in his late twenties or early thirties for the war, but never any specific age. Certainly not his forties, that's for sure.

Also, I LOVE your icon, and I so agree about Out of Gas. What a fantastic episode. (Also, that quote cracks me up every time. I love Zoe and Mal's banter.♥)

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

40, at best. Seriously. Seriously.

I always pictured Mal in his late twenties or early thirties for the war, but never any specific age. Me, too.

My insane love for Tim Minear rests entirely on "Out of Gas" and "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" from Angel. After those two episodes, I think he can do no wrong.

[alwaysjbj.livejournal.com]

I'd probably put him in his early to mid 20's during the war...hence early to mid 30's during the show.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

That's what I've always thought, too, which is why I had that minor freak out when I saw the numbers.

[shamoogity.livejournal.com]

Here's my fanwank: It's the future. People live longer, age slower, etc. That's a stretch though.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I considered that. It's very Dune-esque. But Mal as almost ten years older than Jayne? Messy, messy, Mr. Whedon.

[serendipily.livejournal.com]

I never rely on wikipedia, it only dissapoints. XD

Forty-nine? Forty-fucking-nine? If he was forty-fucking-nine that I'm fucking million years beyond my living.

Jeez!

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Well, I figured this would be better because it was a wiki made by Firefly fans about Firefly. Eh. What can you do?

If he was forty-fucking-nine that I'm fucking million years beyond my living. Exactly!

[serendipily.livejournal.com]

Well what if it's a Firefly hater? Huh?! Who is just sought out to confuse and destroy!

I still don't get it. It's hard.

Young Mal

[jane0904.livejournal.com]

In my own fiction I have Mal as being pretty much Nathan Fillion's age, so he went off to war at around twenty. I can't help feeling that if he was older, he wouldn't have been quite so broken by the way Serenity Valley ended, as he'd probably have known disappointment before that. But a fresh-faced ranch boy, heading off to fight the almight Alliance and send 'em packing? Oh, definitely.

Re: Young Mal

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

I can't help feeling that if he was older, he wouldn't have been quite so broken by the way Serenity Valley ended, as he'd probably have known disappointment before that. But a fresh-faced ranch boy, heading off to fight the almight Alliance and send 'em packing? Oh, definitely. I completely agree with you. That was my reasoning as well.