Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 105
F arscape 9s John Crichton
and B uck R ogers in the 25th C entury :
Revisited for a New Millennium
Who am I? Where am I going? What is my purpose for living? These are
all questions that the archetypal Hero poses while reflecting on his/her life. Often,
the answers lie in the Hero undertaking a journey into the deepest regions of the
unknown in order to induce the proper self-reflection. Mythology scholar Joseph
Campbell describes the Hero’s journey as a “call to adventure” in which (s)he
moves out of the comfortable confines of society into a “place of strangely fluid
and polymorphous beings, unimaginable torments, superhuman deeds, and im
possible delight” (58). This realm can be likened to the sci-fi universe that the
fictional astronaut navigates in the hopes of finding a way back to his homeland.
Comic strips and movie serials were the first to seize upon this premise,
transplanting their characters centuries into the future. Science fiction encyclope
dia compilers Roger Fulton and John Betancourt note that in the original 1929
newspaper comic, an ex-Air Force pilot by the name of Buck Rogers was survey
ing an abandoned mine shaft and was soon overcome by a strange, noxious gas
that kept him in a state of suspended animation for nearly 500 years. When he
awoke, Buck found himself in a world of technological wonders as well as terrible
dangers (94). While the serials of the 1930s and 40s brought instant notoriety to
Buster Crabbe, who portrayed Buck Rogers (and fellow Hero Flash Gordon) on
the big screen, the comic strip remained the only veh