Nathan Never #105
Nathan Never #105, titled 'Missione ad alto rischio' ('High-Risk Mission'), is the second chapter of the landmark Saga Alfa arc (issues #104–108, published February 2000), the ambitious editorial overhaul that restructured the entire Nathan Never universe after its first century of issues. The issue is historically significant as part of the narrative sequence that delivers the on-screen debut of Solomon Darver — the enigmatic figure who displaces founder Edward Reiser as director of Agenzia Alfa — and plants the seeds for Mister Alfa, who would become the series' defining antagonist for years to come. As one of the five-part saga's most action-driven installments, it dramatizes a catastrophic failed raid on arch-villain Aristotele Skotos's palace that triggers the series' boldest continuity shake-up: the abduction of Reiser, the discovery of agent clones, and the forced commissioning of Alfa by external authorities.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Saga Alfa — and thus issue #105 — was the product of a deliberate, creator-driven editorial overhaul conceived by original series architects Michele Medda, Antonio Serra, and Bepi Vigna after the book passed its 100th issue milestone. Rather than write every chapter themselves, the trio brought in a curated team of writers — Stefano Piani, Stefano Vietti, and Alberto Ostini — to handle individual installments while Vigna, Medda, and Serra retained control over the macro-level plotting decisions. Issue #105 was scripted by Stefano Piani and drawn by Mario Alberti, part of a deliberate strategy to rotate artistic voices through the saga while maintaining its tight continuity. The restyling was also a visual renovation: the Saga Alfa updated the graphical design of the Alfa Building itself, replacing the early cyberpunk-and-manga-inflected aesthetic with a modernized look.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Issue title: 'Missione ad alto rischio' ('High-Risk Mission') — the second of five issues in the Saga Alfa arc (Nathan Never #104–108).
- Script by Stefano Piani; art by Mario Alberti — part of a rotating creative team assembled by original series creators Medda, Serra, and Vigna for the Saga Alfa overhaul.
- The issue depicts Alfa agents — including Nathan Never, Legs Weaver, Branko, Luke Sanders, and May Frayn — launching a covert raid on the palace of arch-villain Aristotele Skotos using advanced thought-commanded exoskeleton suits.
- The raid ends in catastrophe: the agents discover deformed clones of themselves inside the exoskeletons, and the issue closes with the shocking revelation that Director Edward Reiser has been kidnapped and that Agenzia Alfa has been placed under external oversight.
- Solomon Darver makes his first on-screen appearance at the end of this issue, broadcasting across all agency monitors to announce the commissioning of Agenzia Alfa by the Security Council — a debut that sets up his long arc as the series' second director and one of its most layered figures.
- The Saga Alfa as a whole (of which #105 is a central chapter) also introduces Mister Alfa — who becomes the series' primary antagonist across dozens of subsequent issues — and the Ross twins, who go on to become Alfa's official pilots.
- The arc represents the first major comprehensive universe reset in Nathan Never's history, retiring the Skotos threat, redesigning the Alfa Building, and restructuring the cast — all decisions planned at the highest editorial level by the founding trio.
- Nathan Never is Italy's first dedicated science-fiction series from Sergio Bonelli Editore, launched in June 1991 by Medda, Serra, and Vigna, with Blade Runner and Asimov's Foundation among its primary creative touchstones.
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