Tron: Betrayal – the Graphic Novel – review

As a child I was irrationally upset with my parents for not having me in time to see Tron on the big screen.  The movie, that glorious, glorious movie that shaped a lot of my childhood dreams, came out in 1982.  I wasn’t born until 1984.  Do you see why I was upset?  What kind of parent deprives their first born child the right to see Tron on the big screen?

But in the intervening years, I’ve re-watched it enough times to burn out three VHS (official) copies, and 4 taped from the TV VHS copies.  Thank god for DVDs; otherwise I don’t know what I’d do.

You can understand my eagerness to read this graphic novel prequel to the forthcoming sequel Tron: Legacy.  So eager, in fact, I’ll forgive the artists the fact that Tron (aka Bruce Boxleitner) isn’t as attractive as he should be.

The GN is split into five parts technically:  the prologue, chapters 1-2, epilogue, and a sort of notes section of artwork and such.  The prologue serves as a good introduction to the world.  Dumont, a character from the original movie, explains to us the creation of the World as created by Flynn (Jeff Bridges).

For anyone who hasn’t seen the original movie, this is a good run-down of the pertinent details.  I mean, it’s like being told the story second hand–a lot of the best parts are cut out, because this isn’t meant to be a graphic novel version of the original movie, just a rehash to catch up those who haven’t seen the movie.  Incidentally there is a two-part comic version of the original movie being released from Marvel, as well.

Chapter 1 deals with the (more or less) immediate aftermath of Flynn’s actions in Tron, while Chapter 2 deals with the aftermath of Flynn’s actions in Chapter 1.  Flynn’s got his life pretty golden–he and Alan took over Encom, he’s got a great wife and a child on the way, and the world he created is flourishing.  Unfortunately his real world obligations (husband, father, Fortune 500 owner) conflict with his World obligations too often, so he comes up with the grand idea to create the perfect overseer.

What is it they say about good intentions?  They pave the way to hell?  Flynn is so obsessed with the idea of being everything for everyone that he doesn’t think things through (yeah, that was a pretty big issue in Tron, too), and thus CLU is born.  CLU is made in Flynn’s image and tasked with the duty to keep the order of the Grid.  Not too long after the ISOS, isomorphic algorithms that Flynn didn’t create but are coming into existence on their own, begin to appear, and CLU’s job becomes quite problematic.

Meanwhile Flynn’s life in the real world is spiraling out of control.  In the real world he’s obsessed with finding a way to fix the Grid, and in the Grid he’s obsessed with maintaining control of his life in the real world.  His inconstant supervision creates a power vacuum that CLU feels…obligated to fill.  To keep order.

And we all know what absolute power does….

The analogy of Rome’s rise and fall is used throughout the GN and fits really well, especially in regards to CLU.  CLU goes from being subservient and obedient to Flynn’s wishes to a psychopath who’s certain he knows better than Flynn what needs to happen.  Which leads us to the “betrayal” part of the GN’s title and the events of Tron: Legacy!

The art is awe-inspiring…for the most part.  I was less thrilled with the real world art than I was with the Grid artwork.  The light-cycles, the fights, the cities, the ISOS are drawn so beautifully.  The gradual changes that appeared between Flynn and CLU, who began identical, were realistic and subtle.  The way clothes fit, the hair, how tired Flynn began to look.  I loved the light-cycles the most, and appreciated the upgrades everything received from the original movie.

I honestly can’t speak as to whether you need to read this before the movie comes out.  I haven’t seen the movie yet, obviously, so I don’t know how much of this is mentioned and explained in it, or how much of it is hinted at but never directly dealt with, or what.  If you want a fuller experience of the new movie, I recommend reading this.  The price is reasonable, the artwork is gorgeous, and if you can’t convince someone to watch the original movie before they see the new one (which is ludicrous, but I’m sure there’s someone like that out there), this is a good primer.