History ComicBook / Letter44

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Earth is destroyed by The End and only around a million humans are evacuated to the Refuge. President Blades and Astra managed to lead what is left of humanity and build a semblance of unity and coexistence with the other surviving alien races on Refuge. The End continues its path of destruction and the last Builder hILLA and some humans, including Gabriel Drum, continue to stop The End. ]]
* BookEnds: The story began with President Blades reading a letter left by his predecessor and ends with Blades writing a letter to his successor. [[spoiler:This is juxtapose to 98th President Caroline Hayden-Blades also writing a letter to her successor.]]

* BookEnds: The story began with President Blades reading a letter left by his predecessor and ends with Blades writing a letter to his successor. [[spoiler:This is juxtapose to 98th President Caroline Hayden-Blades writing a letter to her successor.]]

* UnfortunateImplications: The alien Builders make a request which involves the number 666. Several characters are shocked and jump to the conclusion that this is because it is the Satanic "number of the beast" in the Christian Bible. Dr. Portek casually waves this aside, however, explaining that they've observed that the aliens use base-six mathematics (instead of our base-ten mathematics), in which "666" is just a generic round number - our equivalent of "1,000".

* XMeetsY: It's ''Literature/RendezvousWithRama'' meets ''Series/TheWestWing''.

* {{Expy}}: Blades is based on Barack Obama, as both Presidents having inherited a host of complicated problems from their predecessors. Furthermore, Blades continued to enforce Carroll's policies much like Obama continuing the Bush administration's surveillance of foreign nationals and U.S. citizens. The afterward to the first issue has the authors directly state that the major storyline facing Blades is an analysis of the moral dilemmas facing Obama once he took office, i.e., that after receiving the secret presidential debrief, maybe some of these controversial policies really ''were'' too dangerous to ''stop'' doing.

** It gets even worse for why the aliens are here: [[spoiler:they are trying to damage a universal-ending threat and Earth is inevitably not going to survive it, [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet just like any other planet for the last millions of years]].]]

* GovernmentConspiracy: 43rd President Francis T. Carroll has been keeping secret of an extraterrestrial object for seven years and it is befallen to his newly elected successor, Stephen Blades.
* HeroicBSOD: President Blades falls into this after seeing [[spoiler:LEOPRD being taken control by Carroll to destroy Moscow and then causing it to self-destruct while leaving Earth helplessly defenseless and without any backup plans just as the asteroid is about to hit it within a few hours]]. However, Blades comes out of his funk when the [[spoiler:asteroid doesn't turns to be one but a spaceship]].
** Subverted when [[spoiler:Gabriel Drums, acting ambassador of the Builders, told Blades that the Earth will be destroy by a cosmic catastrophe and that there is no way to save it except saving a few hundreds of humans to evacuate the planet.]]

* IntrepidReporter: Sonja Jameson who gets into a special interview with Francis Carroll [[spoiler:and later escaping from his secret bunker.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Former President Francis Carroll. The series starts out revealing that many of his controversial policies were actually well-intended and meant to ready Earth for a potential alien invasion, but as it progresses Carroll is increasingly revealed to be a petty man-child who isn't even concerned with saving the United States ''or'' humanity so much as his own ego that ''he'' is the one that gets to do it.

* KillSat: The Chandelier reveals its capabilities by destroying one of Jupiter's moons Carme.

* KissMeImVirtual: Kyoko is not very happy when she caught Manesh in the middle of having sex with a Fractual projection of her.

* OneWayTrip: The ''Clarke'' is designed as a one-way trip and its crew are there by choice, and it's also designed to [[SuicideMission destroy the Builders]].

* PlutoIsExpendable: Pluto is [[spoiler:the first celestial object in the Solar System to be destroy by the End.]]

-->"Teddy Roosevelt kept an actual bear in the White House. We need to get back to those days. All Presidents should have to prove their abilities to defeat a bear in hand-to-hand combat before they're allowed to take office."

** Dr. Portek explains to President Blades and everyone present that [[spoiler: the "End" could have arrive at any moment or even now just as he is explaining this.]]

* TheUnmasquedWorld: The fallout of the world learning about the Builders lead to WorldWarIII.

** Blades later reply to Carroll with "Letter 43," [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech telling him how much he suck]] as he is not running the country nor will he ever manipulating his administration that would harm anyone Blades cares about.
* TooAwesomeToUse: Project Monolith's R&D is host to a wide range of advanced weapons that are decades ahead such as PoweredArmor, [[{{Main/BFG}} recoil free high caliber guns]], AttackDrones, and [[MoreDakka triple-barrel]] [[TankGoodness tanks]]. However, they are not meant to field in America's wars as President Carroll believed that displaying them before the aliens would be a mistake and instead intend to use them as a trump card when the aliens underestimate America's capabilities. Also, showing these weapons suddenly to the public would cause other nations to be nervous and envious of America. But Blades is not very pleased by it when the weapons (costing billions of dollars each month) could have saved the lives of American soldiers. He eventually put them into use after having enough of Carroll's manipulations. However, this does cause nations to be cautious about America.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Stephen Blades and Christopher Higgins used to be friends until they shared the [[LoveTriangle same affection for Isobel]], who eventually chose to marry Blades. The tense relationship doesn't help when Blades is President and Higgins is the Speaker of the House, who the latter is oppose against the President's policies.

** The origins of the nuke that destroyed FOB Hurricane:

** President Blades's TV address denouncing Germany's destruction of FOB Hurricane, when he reveals that powered armor and next-generation vehicles weren't the only weapons Project Monolith produced: they also have an orbital laser KillSat called LEOPRD. Live on TV, Blades then uses it to instantly vaporize a military base in Germany containing an entire panzer brigade, equal payback for the American army destroyed in Afghanistan. World War III begins.

** Blades revealing [[spoiler:how many people are going to be evacuate from Earth by the builders.]]

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:Class X-4. Millions of years ago, the Builders either did something or ''broke'' what is known as the "End" which is said to completely eradicate anything it touches. The Builders were appalled of what they had done and tried everything they could to stop the End. But so far they have only been damaging it as the Builders traveled through the galaxy in the projected path of the End, looking for systems with enough resources to build Chandeliers to reduce the End's power. The Builders projected that they could finally stop the End in about 1.233 ''billion'' years.]]

* ApocalypseAnarchy: [[spoiler:After President Blades reveals to everyone on Earth about a cosmic force that will destroy Earth, people are either looting in the streets or [[FaceDeathWithDignity facing their inevitable demise with dignity]].]]

** Subverted when [[spoiler:Gabriel Drums, acting ambassador of the Builders, told Blades that the Earth will be destroyed and that there is no way to save it except saving a few hundreds of humans to evacuate the planet.]]

* PlutoIsExpendable: Pluto is [[spoiler:the first celestial object in the Solar System to be destroy by the End.

** Dr. Portek explains to President Blades and everyone present that [[spoiler:that the "End" could have arrive at any moment or even now just as he is explaining this.]]

* ApocalypseAnarchy: [[spoiler:After President Blades reveal to everyone on Earth about a cosmic force that will destroy Earth, people are either looting in the streets or [[FaceDeathWithDignity facing their inevitable demise with dignity]].]]

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: The Builders seemingly don't have a care for Earth, especially when there is an asteroid that is about to hit it. After failing to convince them to help Earth, Pritchard angrily calls the Builders out as [[WhileRomeBurns "sick tourists coming to watch the destruction of a race."]]

** Blades also gives the bad news [[spoiler:of a cosmic cataclysm that will inevitably destroy Earth. Surprising enough, the public is not in full panic mode but are in a state of general shock.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Combined with GoingDownWithTheShip, Overholt gives his life to save his crew from the Builders by [[TakingYouWithMe detonating the ''Clarke's'' nuclear reactor and taking the Builders with him.]]]]

* FaceHeelTurn: President Blades' closest confidant [[spoiler:Secret Service Agent Pete]] tried to forced him to surrender America in the Third World War by holding his wife hostage given that the country is clearly not winning and going down hill, and that with Earth in total turmoil and thereby leaving it completely vulnerable to the aliens.

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler:Class X-4. Millions of years ago, the Builders either did something or ''broke'' what is known as the "End" which is said to completely eradicate anything it touches. The Builders were appalled of what they had done and tried everything they could stop the End. But so far they have only been damaging it as the Builders traveled through the galaxy in the projected path of the End, looking for systems with enough resources to build Chandeliers to reduce the End's power. The Builders projected that they could finally stop the End in about 1.233 ''billion'' years.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Combined with GoingDownWithTheShip, Overholt gives his life to save his crew from the Builders by [[TakingYouWithMe detonating the ''Clarke's'' nuclear reactor and taking the Builders with him.]]

* EmergencyPresidentialAddress: President Blades eventually reveal to the world about the Builders and as well breaking the news about Germany's undeclared war against the US that ultimately leads to World War III.

* KillSat: The Chandelier reveals its capabilities by destroying one of Jupiter's moons Carme.
** America's Project Monolith also have one called LEOPRD and it is use to destroy the headquarters of a German panzer division in retaliation to the destruction of Forward Operating Base Hurricane.
* KissMeImVirtual: Kyoko is not very happy when she caught Manesh in the middle of having sex with a Fractual projection of her.

* EmergencyPresidentialAddress: President Blades eventually reveal to the world about the Builders and as well breaking the news about Germany's undeclared war against the US that ultimately leads to World War III.

* {{Blackmail}}: During President Blades' public address about the Builders, Congressman Christopher Higgins is blackmailed by [[spoiler:Isobel]] to drop the impeachment against Blades and resign himself from office or else his secret affair with the First Lady will go public in which he will be depicted as the villainous adulterer while the First Lady will be treated as a victim and the President will be blameless.

* TooAwesomeToUse: Project Monolith's R&D is host to a wide range of advanced weapons that are decades ahead such as PoweredArmor, [[{{Main/BFG}} recoil free high caliber guns]], AttackDrones, and [[MoreDakka triple-barrel]] [[TankGoodness tanks]]. However, they are not meant to field in America's wars as President Carroll believed that displaying them before the aliens would be a mistake and instead intend to use them as a trump card when the aliens underestimate America's capabilities. Also, showing these weapons suddenly to the public would cause nations to be nervous and envious of America. But Blades is not very pleased by it when the weapons (costing billions of dollars each month) could have saved the lives of American soldiers. He eventually put them into use after having enough of Carroll's manipulations. However, this does cause nations to be cautious about America.

** TheLeader: Dr. Charlotte Hayden and Col. Jack Overholt, commanders of ship's civilian and military attachment, respectively.

** TheLeader: Dr. Charlotte Hayden and Col. Jack Overholt, commanders of the ''Clarke'' and its military attachment, respectively.

* TooAwesomeToUse: Project Monolith's R&D is host to a wide range of advanced weapons that are decades ahead such as PoweredArmor, [[{{Main/BFG}} recoil free high caliber guns]], AttackDrones, and [[MoreDakka triple-barrel]] [[TankGoodness tanks]]. However, they are not meant to field in America's wars as President Carroll believed that displaying them before the aliens would be a mistake and instead intend to use them as a trump card when the aliens underestimate America's capabilities. But Blades is not very pleased by it when the weapons (costing billions of dollars each month) could have saved the lives of American soldiers. He eventually put them into use after having enough of Carroll's manipulations.

** It gets even worse for why the aliens are here: [[spoiler:they are trying to damage a universal-ending threat and Earth is inevitably not going to survive it, [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet just any other planet for the last millions of years]].]]

* ReluctantRuler: Stephen Blades.

** [[spoiler:Or more specifically saving what is little left of Earth while delaying said threat from destroying it.]]

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler:Class X-4. Millions of years ago, the Builders either did something or ''broke'' what is known as the "End" which is said to completely eradicate anything it touches. The Builders were appalled of what they had done and tried everything they could stop the End. But so far they have only been damaging it as the Builders traveled through the galaxy in the projected path of the End, looking for systems with enough resources to build Chandeliers to reduce the End's power. The Builders projected that they could finally stop the End in about 1.233 ''billion'' years.]]

* TheAlliance: The "Free Earth Alliance".
* TheBusCameBack: Brian Michter returns to Carroll.