It ranks among the most beloved action franchises of all time, but many fans may not be aware thatDie Hardhas a comic book prequel detailingthe early career of John McClane. Every hero has to start somewhere, andtheDie Hardprequel shows how, even as a rookie NYPD cop in the 1970s, John McClane was always finding himself in the wrong place and the wrong time.
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Die Hard: Year One– written by Howard Chaykin, with art by Steven Thompson – was released in 2009-2010 by BOOM! Studios. Taking place during New York’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976, the first story-arc follows arookie McClane as he fights a group of dirty cops who hijack the yacht of a wealthy New Yorker.
The second and final stor -arc catches up with McClane in 1977, during his first year as an NYPD detective. During a city-wide blackout, McClane attempts to keep the peace amidst widespread riots and looting and a wide-ranging conspiracy of how the blackout started in the first place.
Want A “Die Hard” Prequel? “Year One"Tells The Story Of Young John McClane
Die Hard: Year One– Written By Howard Chaykin; Art By Steven Thompson; Available Now From Boom! Studios
While prequels can be a tricky proposition overall,Die Hard: Year Onemanages to succeed by giving readers the high-stakes, contained action of aDie Hardstory while also adding more context to McClane as a character. The biggest problem with prequels is that the audience already knows how things will turn out for the main character.
How Die Hard Compares to the Book
Die Hard is based on the book Nothing Lasts Forever, and the two share many similarities and differences.
TheYear Onestory sidesteps this by digging deeper into John McClane’s character, exploringaspects like how he developed claustrophobia, or his time as a Marine during the Vietnam War.It’s interesting to read a prequel toDie Hard, as the original movie had quite a complicated backstory in its own right.
The first movie was actually an adaptation ofRoderick Thorpe’s novelNothing Lasts Forever, which was the second in a series of novels starring Thorpe’s private detective character Joe Leland. The character was reworked into John McClane when adapted for the screen asDie Hard, but Leland had his own backstory, as a retired NYPD detective who worked as a private investigator in Thorpe’s previous novel,The Detective.
“Die Hard: Year One” Is A Prequel That Lives Up To The Legacy Of The Franchise & Other “Year One Comics”
AlthoughDie Hard: Year Onedoesn’t really borrow anything from the Thorpe novels,Chaykin and Thompson bring a gritty, film noir aesthetic that was largely absent from theDie Hardfilms. Interestingly enough,aDie Hard: Year Onefilm was in development for several years after the original comic’s release, although the proposed movie seemingly bore little resemblance to the comic, as it would have featured two storylines: one following John McClane in the present day, and another exploring how he met his wife Holly in the 1970’s.
Whether or not fans get any further cinematic adventures of John McClane, it is great that the character can live on in stories likeDie Hard: Year One.
Bruce Willis’ retirement from acting due to recent health struggles means that John McClane’s time on the big screen has likely reached a pretty definitive end, although the character’s life outside films remains an open book. John McClane would return to comics in 2018’sA Million Ways to Die Hard, which took place thirty years after the original film and saw McClane called out of retirement to deal with a serial killer. Whether or not fans get any further cinematic adventures of John McClane, it is great that the character can live on in stories likeDie Hard:Year One.
Die Hard: Year Oneis available in its entirety from Boom! Studios.
