The Last of Us Part I is widely regarded as one of the finest video games of this century. An intensively immersive story following Ellie and Joel as they fight their way through the zombie apocalypse across the savage wilderness and cityscapes reclaimed by nature. Joel and Ellie’s relationship is the heart of the story, a grizzled old veteran who learned to love again thanks to an over-zealous young woman who reminds him of his deceased daughter.
Every corner of the screen is packed with a lifetime of details and history, a world that has seen so much but still blossoms with life. One of these extra details happens to be a series of comic books Ellie is a huge fan of, the Savage Starlight saga. A series that has clearly had a lot of thought put into it even though only the front and back cover is visible. So much so that there are a number of huge easter eggs surrounding these comics scattered across the game.
5 Foreshadowing For Last Of Us Part 2
In the open pages of a Savage Starlight issue that is visible on the coffee table of Elle’s in The Last of UsPart I, we get our first glimpse into the world of the comic. What we find is a world with some interesting details that may relate to Ellie more than fans realize.
Brought to mass attention by a former Redditor, in this comic panel fans see the heroic character Dr. Daniela Star facing off against a malicious force. She says to the evil "I won't let them get away with this” and then, on the next page, "Let's end this war once and for all."
Given Elle’s forceful conflict resolution strategy, it seems as though she may have well gained the confidence to tackle the problem head-on from reading this issue which spilled over in Part 2. Either that or this is a special easter egg put in by the game developers to hint to the audience about what they can expect from the next installment in the franchise.
4 Characters In The Comic Based On Naughty Dog Employees
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Very little is known about the characters in Savage Starlight. All fans have to go off of is some animated panels on the covers of the comics and some collectible cards in the latest game. What players do know is that the Naughty Dog team had a bit of fun when creating these characters. Using their likenesses, they turned themselves into superheroes which are the characters on the collectible cards.
Characters like Dr. Uckmann (see above), who is made in the likeness of co-president of Naughty Dog Neil Druckmann. Others include Nighthawk, who was based on deceased team member Jerry Saville and Das Wort, based on Travis MacKintosh, who are all based on Naughty Dog employees. A nice little detail in tribute to the tireless effort put in by all members of the team.
3 Savage Starlight Storyline Closely Resembles Last Of Us Part 1
With the little we know of the storyline of the Savage Starlight comic book series, it is clear to see that there are some character similarities between the protagonist of the game and the comic. As pointed out by a number of Reddit users, the protagonists feel very familiar. The hero of Savage Starlight is Dr. Daniela Star, a hot-headed young scientist with the world at her feet.
Along the way, she has to reluctantly fall in line behind a grizzled old ship captain named James Ryan as they both seek to save the universe working as an unlikely pairing. While their relationship eventually evolves away from the father/daughter one (really far away from!), it is clear to see there is a not-so-subtle nod towards the characters of The Last of Us.
2 SavageStarlight.com
On the back of some editions of the Savage Starlight comics found within the game, there is a link to the website SavageStarlight.com. Created by Naughty Dog for the remastered edition of the game, this link takes fans to the website with a fictionalized movie poster of Savage Starlight. The movie poster first appeared in the epilogue of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in Cassie's bedroom.
There is a rumor that Naughty Dog could be making a game based on the comics as they have trademarked the name. There has been no significant movement on the project in recent years but fans are keenly anticipating what a Naughty Dog space epic would look like.
1 Dark Horse Comics
Discovered by Redditor GrandMasterZone, there is an easter egg on the back of every issue of the Savage Starlight comics hiding right under our collective noses. In the remastered edition of the game, on the back of every edition of Savage Starlight, it is shown that the comics are published by a company called Dark Horse Books.
In the wake of the original game's release, executive producer Neil Druckmann produced a prequel comic book series called The Last Of Us: American Dreams. These real-life comic books were published by Dark Horse Comics, so in tribute to them, Neil Druckmann made sure to give them an easter egg of their own.