B5 vs DS9: A Fans Comparison - Part 2, Considering Commanders?

In this week’s blog and as part of the continuing series of comparison articles from a fans perspective, we will be discussing the infamous second officers in the circle of command.

The world of science fiction has always been equally resplendent and forward thinking in terms of strong female characters. Aliens Ellen Ripley is probably the genre's premier standard bearer while Kara “Starbuck” Thrace gave us many memorable whiskey fuelled, cigar smoking moments on Battlestar Galactica and Dana Scully made us "believe" on the X-Files. But back in the early 90's sci-fi fans were treated to two of the genres very best: Major Kira and Commander Ivanova.

So who were they and why are they two of the best? Let us begin with the many similarities they share.

Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, Commander. Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart! I am death incarnate, and the last living thing that you will ever see. God sent me.

Although that statement was not made until late in Babylon 5's fourth season, no prior statement could better sum up who and what Susan Ivanova was.

She was introduced to an un-expecting audience in the first episode of the first season and on first impressions appeared to be rather understated. She was stern and stiff, almost as if when approached by other characters they were addressing a block of ice. Her disdain for the governmental department of telepaths, the Psi-Corps, was apparent - spurning Talia Winters (also debuting in the same episode) attempts to sign in with the stations second officer as per Psi-Corps regulations.

By the episodes conclusion the audience was made aware of the reasons behind her disdain. The heart-wrenching admission that her mother had been a telepath before her drug induced suicide, coupled with Ivanova's stern handling of the fiery yet devious Ambassador G'kar, had secured a hardcore following, backing Ivanova's every move, cheering for her at every corner, through thick & thin.

As the seasons progressed we watched the pessimistic Russian traverse the universe with her own sense of negative panache. We saw her fall in love with that very same telepath she had disdained in the very first episode, only to be betrayed by her in the worst possible way. We saw her interact with the sinister Mr Bester and, if it's at all possible, saw her reach a whole new level of contempt for Psi-Cops and their methods of intimidation. But the most heart wrenching of all, we watched her nearly die, only to be saved by (my personal favourite) Ranger Marcus Cole, who with his dying breath, confessed his love for Ivanova. The scene of Susan's grief was truly a gut-wrenching one that tore at the audience emotionally and gave us one of the series greatest moments.

But how does that compare with the erstwhile Major Kira Nerys?

While their personalities and positions may have been mirrored their backgrounds did differ in major areas.

Unlike her B5 counterpart, Kira Nerys had been a soldier/terrorist for several years prior to the series beginning. As part of a downtrodden and oppressed people, the Bajorans, Kira grew up in a world where the way of the gun prevailed. Every day was a fight for survival, a fight for freedom and Kira took pride in killing those who had subjugated and tortured her people.

Right now, the geeks in my audience are saying - "Isn't this drawing more of a comparison with B5's G'Kar?"

Well you'd be right and that is why Major Kira had such a perfect blend of both tragedy and strength to her emotional makeup. There was more to the Major than merely personal mishap. She had suffered the "rape" of her culture by the invading Cardassians, who had strip mined her planet and abused her people simply because, as most super-powers are wont, they could.

Under the occupation, her identity as a sentient being had been stripped back to that of a servitor and as she grew she began to feel the need to act, to join the fight against her peoples oppressors. Which she did, by joining the Shakaar resistance cell.

All of this well and truly sums up just how much of an effective officer she was and established in a very short space of time just how invaluable she was to become as part of the series. From one season to the next, Kira showed just how invaluable she was to the series.

Of the few aspects that differed between the two commanders, one was glaringly obvious - Romance.

Despite her horrific upbringing, the Major had always seemed more open to the possibilities of romance than Commander Ivanova. Whether this was done to soften the already steel like edge of the Major, or whether it was done purely by accident, it was quite clear that the Major was far less guarded in matters concerning her heart.

First there was her relationship with Bajoran priest, Veddek Barreil. It was a solid, well written angle in the series that gave the audience a chance to experience certain aspects of the occupation from a different perspective. It also gave the series some of its finest comedic moments such as in season 3, where in the episode "Fascination", Barreil believes himself in love with Dax and much hilarity ensued.

Comparatively speaking Commander Ivanova's first romantic experience in Season one ended tragically. In the episode "The War Prayer", Susan is re-united with a former love and finds old feelings being rekindled. By the episodes end she is well and truly heartbroken, having found out that in the intervening years he has developed anti-alien feelings, even going so far as to join an anti-alien dissident group. This clashed with Ivanova's liberal principals that led to her betraying him and sending him to prison.

I could wax lyrical all day about the many relationships they both developed throughout the course of their respective series but that would take far too long. The core relationships that defined each character in the series and had us fans waiting and hoping for the best of outcomes to emerge were: Kira/Odo and Ivanova/Marcus.

Throughout B5's run, many characters came and went but most passed Ivanova's love radar by. She had been betrayed twice romantically by the beginning of the third season and so none of us were expecting for flames of any sort to start burning. That is until Marcus Cole walked on screen in the premier episode.

Long haired, valiant, combat ready and BRITISH. The fans instantly fell in love with him, his cheeky smile and ability to quote classic literature at a moment’s notice, he was the epitome of a futuristic swashbuckler who fought as a ranger for Delenn and Sheridan in their war against the Shadows. From the minute he saw Ivanova he was smitten and so was the audience at the prospects of the coupling. Who could be better than Marcus, with his romantic gestures of Bacon and Eggs and topical graphs of B5's power structure (placing her at the heart of everything), to melt the cold Russian heart that dwelt inside the steely commander.

Alas it was not to be, but in the best, most romantic senses possible. In Season 4's penultimate episode, Marcus sacrifices his life using an alien technology to transfer his life force to the critically injured Susan saving her life but killing himself in the process.

It resulted in some of the finest dialogue ever written about unrequited love and unbelievable heartbreak.

You know, the ones I loved always ended up hurting me or leaving me. And the ones who stayed, they had nothing inside. No depth. After a while I just decided to forget about it. And then, here was Marcus. I knew he'd never hurt me... and I knew that he'd never leave me... and I knew that he loved me. I knew it. I just didn't want to admit it. And he gave so much, and he wanted so little in return. He just wanted a kind word, or a smile and all I ever gave him in two years was grief! It's because I think I saw what I wanted. And I was afraid.

Kira on the other hand would find happiness and fulfil the fans wishes.

From the first season, it was established that the Major had a very close working relationship with the shapeshifting head of security, Constable Odo. There was mutual respect between the two; Odo had been the neutral voice of justice during the days of the occupation on Bajor, executing justice fairly to both Bajorans and Cardassians in equal measure which gained the respect of both sides. This alone was enough to guarantee Kira's respect but what blossomed out of it was a close friendship that was explored in great detail throughout the series.

In season 3, it was established that Odo had unrequited feelings of love toward the Major and stood by dutifully as the sole friend and confidante, ever ready with advice and a shoulder to cry on whenever Kira needed it. Which one of us geeks hasn't been in a similar situation eh?

These feelings would continue to be unrequited until season 6 when, after much coercion by a crafty hologram, they eventually fell in love.

There was resolution without tragedy and fans were elated by it.

In conclusion, I would say that, in this fans opinion. The two are evenly matched, it’s impossible to truly define which one surpasses the other, Claudia Christians performance had us weeping while Nana Visitors storyline was the better-rounded and fleshed out with an equally pristine performance by its performer. In truth, this will be the rare occasion in this series that I will be genuinely stumped to make a decision as the lines are too close to cross.

Thanks again for reading.

S.G. Mulholland