Revival is finally here on SYFY, and the opening minutes of the show are packed with fun Easter eggs… Specifically, references to Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, the writer and artist respectively behind the Image Comics book that is adapted by the show.
Spoilers past this point, but the premiere episode, “Don’t Tell Dad,” opens with almost a shot-for-shot remake of the opening scene of the comic, as an intrepid journalist documents the life of a morgue technician. The show has swapped out her more analogue way of keeping tabs on what the interview subject is doing for a camcorder. But otherwise, it’s pretty much the same, down to a dead man coming back to life, mid-cremation.
But that’s not the sort of reference we’re talking about. Nope, these are a little more deep cut.
First up, as Dana (Melanie Scrofano) is getting packed to leave Wausau, her son Cooper (Hudson Wurster) is reading a comic book titled Colt Noble & The Megalords. That’s a 2010 Image Comics book written and drawn by Seeley that led to him getting the job writing Masters of the Universe comics, as he notes on Instagram. Also of note, that book came out in 2010, and co-showrunner Aaron Koontz told Comic Book Club that Revival takes place roughly in 2008… But we’ll let it slide.
Also next to Cooper on the couch are more comics… It looks like the top one might be Hack/Slash, also by Seeley, but the camera goes by too quickly to tell. And then immediately after this shot, Dana’s dad Wayne (David James Elliott), who is also the chief of police, gets off of multiple phone calls about something weird happening in town, and tells Dana he needs her to work.
“I’ll get the Seeleys to watch Cooper,” he says, so good luck on that Tim and partner!
Lest you think the show forgot the artist, Dana heads to the graveyard where she’s presented with the sight of multiple reanimated former corpses. As she looks on in stunned horror/confusion at the people wandering out of their graves, she sees a nude man run by. The camera follows him, and we pan over to see a gravestone reading: “Mike Norton, 1973-2007; He made the world a brighter place.”
Just FYI, Mike Norton is very much alive, versus in the world of Revival, where he passed away at age 42, a year before the events of the TV show. That also means he likely died right after signing his DC Comics exclusive in February 2007, and passed away well before creating Battlepug, and never got together with Seeley to craft Revival in 2012. Too bad!
Anyway, that’s it for the Easter eggs this episode — or at least the ones I caught. But without spoiling anything, stay tuned for a really big one later on in the season. Even if Mike Norton (RIP) won’t be around to see it.
Revival Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
Revival will officially premiere on SYFY on Thursday, June 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The season will be eight episodes long, with new episodes dropping weekly. Episodes will also be available to stream on Peacock one week later.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Revival, with premiere dates:
- Thursday, June 12, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 1: “Don’t Tell Dad”
- Thursday, June 19, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 2: “Keeping Up Appearances”
- Thursday, June 26, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 3: “Reality Check”
- Thursday, June 26, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 4: “Run Along Little Lamb”
- Thursday, July 10, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 5: “Triage”
- Thursday, July 17, 2025: Revival, Season 1, Episode 6: “Bloodlines”
- TBA: Revival, Season 1, Episode 7
- TBA: Revival, Season 1, Episode 8 *season finale*
Where To Watch Revival:
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