An ongoing discussion of how the comics provide prequels, sequels, and tie-ins to the Star Trek episodes and films, soon to be a book from BearManor Media. Click here to view an archive of this article series.
56: Marvel Comics, 1997
For decades, Captain Christopher Pike was largely a footnote outside of Star Trek fandom—and also within fandom, for those not well-versed in Original Series lore. Die-hards knew the character, of course, having watched “The Cage” and “The Menagerie” countless times, but for casual viewers, Christopher Pike was hardly a household name… unless they followed bestselling young adult authors, that is.
That changed thanks to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, in which Pike was adeptly portrayed by Bruce Greenwood, and more recently due to Discovery, Short Treks, and Strange New Worlds, in which Anson Mount has superbly channeled Jeffrey Hunter’s acting mannerisms, transforming the once-obscure Pike into one of the franchise’smost popular characters. For mainstream audiences, Greenwood’s or Mount’s depictions may have been their first exposure to Pike, but as long-time fans know, neither actor was the first—or even the second—to play James T. Kirk’s predecessor as captain of the Enterprise.
In 1966, “The Menagerie” incorporated footage from Star Trek‘s unaired pilot, “The Cage,” starring Hunter as Pike. “The Menagerie” worked that film’s events into an engaging two-part backstory for Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, highlighting the years he’d served aboard the starship with a different crew and captain. Sean Kenney played Pike in the latter story, now paralyzed and wheelchair-bound following a radiation leak, making Greenwood and Mount the third and fourth performers to take on the character (and both have ended up wheelchair-bound in the course of their performances, riffing on Kenney’s crippled Chris).
“The Cage” failed to sell Star Trek as a series, but NBC ordered a second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which retained Nimoy (and Majel Barrett, who’d played Number One but was recast as Christine Chapel) and also brought William Shatner, George Takei, and James Doohan into the fold; DeForest Kelley, Grace Lee Whitney, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig would soon follow. “The Cage” had not been cheap to make, so the studio cleverly cut its losses by reusing the footage for “The Menagerie,” setting the pilot a decade in the past and inserting a book-end tale in which Kirk views those events in the framework of Spock facing trial for mutiny.
“The Menagerie” afforded a tantalizing glimpse at what Star Trek might have been with its original lineup: Hunter, Nimoy, and Barrett, as well as John Hoyt’s Phil Boyce, Laurel Goodwin’s J.M. Colt, and Peter Duryea’s José Tyler, with Clegg Hoyt as Pitcairn (credited as “Transporter Chief”) and Adam Roarke as CPO Garrison, a communications officer. Several publishers, including DC and IDW, have since presented new adventures for Pike and company, but Marvel was the first to devote an entire series to them.
Written by Dan Abnett and Ian Edgington, Star Trek: Early Voyages fleshed out the pilot’s characters, while adding several original crew members to the mix. The series, set before, during, and after “The Cage,” utilized the aesthetics of the pre-Kirk era—and mostly got it right, despite some minor uniform coloring snafus. This week, we’ll look at how the first six issues, illustrated by Patrick Zircher and Greg Adams, offered prequels, sequels, and tie-ins to onscreen Star Trek. Early Voyages is unique in this regard, as the entire series is both a prequel and a sequel to “The Cage.”
Before its abrupt cancelation after seventeen issues, Early Voyages was a bright spot in 1990s Star Trek. The established characters rang true to their onscreen depictions, the new characters were fully realized (sadly, none have shown up on Strange New Worlds), the artwork was finely detailed, and the writers explored new facets of the TV cast that added depth to their at-times stiff onscreen characterizations. Number One sported the surname Robbins (first name: starts with “Eure—”), as Discovery had yet to officialize the name Una Chin-Riley. Pitcairn, meanwhile, gained the first name Nils, having previously received other names in William Rotsler’s Star Trek II: Biographies and David Stern’s The Children of Kings. Issue #4’s sketchbook claimed Garrison would return as well, but he never did.
Original characters included Dermot Cusack—Pike’s jovial Irish yeoman, who dies in issue #3 during the Kalar incident (misspelled as “Kaylar”) on Rigel VII, and whose very existence was recently overwritten in Strange New Worlds‘ “Among the Lotus Eaters” by Zacarias “Zac” Nguyen—as well as Massai chief engineer Moves-With-Burning-Grace, helm officer Sita Mohindas, Lirin comm officer Nano, and head nurse Gabrielle Carlotti. These new additions proved popular, particularly Grace and Nano, and they soon appeared in Pocket’s novels and e-books.
In the first issue, the Enterprise encounters a massive living space vessel. The aliens abduct Pike and read his mind, making him relive old memories so they can understand humanoids well enough to harvest organic life. The plot mirrors that of “The Cage,” in that it features Pike being captured by aliens who probe his memories to learn his weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Some might view this as derivative, but it works in the story’s favor, for readers this time get to follow Pike’s recovery once the tale is done, demonstrating how the pilot could have branched into a successful show had NBC given it a chance.
Robert April, Pike’s predecessor from The Animated Series‘ “The Counter-Clock Incident,” makes several appearances in Early Voyages, resembling the cartoon’s Jimmy Doohan-voiced iteration rather than Strange New Worlds‘ Adrian Holmes (or The Star Trek Encyclopedia‘s Gene Roddenberry version, for that matter). Readers watch as he steps down as captain upon being promoted to commodore (his rank in the cartoon, though he’s an admiral on Strange New Worlds). Having recommended Pike as his successor, he warns Chris to treasure his starship and to resist a desk-job promotion, indicating April regrets leaving the Enterprise, while also foreshadowing Pike’s tragic fate after he fails to take the advice and accepts a promotion to fleet captain.
The third issue leads directly into “The Cage,” enabling the writers to tie up loose ends and elaborate on aspects of the story not fully explored on TV. The crew attends a festival to admit Rigel VII into the Federation, following the planet’s centuries of barbarism. The specially bred Kalar warrior elite are to be disbanded in a ceremony held at the Kalars’ Zemtar fortress, but extremists try to murder the starship personnel to protest the government’s new policies (it’s a bit jarring to reread this tale after watching “Among the Lotus Eaters,” which completely changed the Kalars’ societal depiction). At the festival, Pike meets a woman named Talza, on whose image the Talosians would later base Vina’s appearance in their recreation of that world.
Talza pretends to welcome Federation membership but secretly sides with the extremists, who refuse to disband the warrior elite. Pike fights the giant at the fortress, just as he did onscreen, while Talza betrays him by murdering Cusack—an incident referenced in the pilot, though without the ill-fated yeoman being named. It’s a well-executed tale (pun intended), despite being overwritten by Strange New Worlds (in many ways, in fact, it’s better than the TV version), and when Cusack dies, readers feel it even though they’ve only known the yeoman for three issues, since they’ve seen in “The Cage” how emotionally affected Pike will be by his friend’s passing.
Colt joins the cast in issue #4 as Pike’s new yeoman, but he and others react coldly to her arrival. Set concurrent with “The Cage,” this issue reveals that she’d joined the crew only two days prior, at April’s recommendation, then retells the Talosian imprisonment scenes with Vina from Colt’s viewpoint. If you’ve ever wondered why Pike seems too hostile toward Colt on TV, or why he initially fails to recall her name when he bumps into her on the bridge, now you know: she was new to the ship at the time, and Pike and his crew were still uncomfortable seeing her replace the much-loved Cusack. Of course, that doesn’t explain his rampant sexism throughout the pilot, which Strange New Worlds has thankfully ignored.
Early Voyages ages well in its depiction of female crew members, compared to how some older comics stack up (pun again intended). The writers allow Colt to be more confident and self-assured than how she was portrayed onscreen, willing to stand up for herself and demand she be respected as an individual. By story’s end, Pike apologies for his rudeness, while Number One bonds with Mia, setting aside their rivalry for the captain’s affections to begin a working relationship more likely to pass the Bechdel test. It’s a shame that Strange New Worlds has never brought back Colt or Boyce. It would be fascinating to find out what became of these two pivotal characters from Trek‘s earliest days.
Spock initially shows his emotional side, consistent with Nimoy’s more emotive portrayal in “The Cage.” But in issues #5 and 6, he encounters a colony of Vulcan warriors from before Surak’s reformation, where he witnesses the destruction of their civilization due to hatred and anger. Having seen the wisdom of Surak’s teachings firsthand, Spock lets intellect and logic dominate his thought processes, abandoning conflict for cold reason, and undergoes a purification ritual to begin purging his remaining emotions. Thus, the comic transitions deftly from “The Cage” to the more emotionally restrained Spock of The Original Series who will eventually pursue Kolinahr in The Motion Picture. Strange New Worlds has since shown him take a different path to enlightenment.
Doctor Boyce, meanwhile, suffers from mysterious inner voices trying to control him, setting the stage for an upcoming storyline. We’ll get to that soon, but first, be here next week as we examine the next batch of issues from Marvel’s Starfleet Academy. Now, what are we running here, a cadet ship, Number One? Engage!
Looking for more information about Star Trek comics? Check out these resources:
- My ongoing column for Titan Books’ Star Trek Explorer magazine
- The Complete Star Trek Comics Index, curated by yours truly
- The Star Trek Comics Checklist, by Mark Martinez
- The Wixiban Star Trek Collectables Portal, by Colin Merry
- New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, by Joseph F. Berenato (Sequart, 2014)
- Star Trek: A Comics History, by Alan J. Porter (Hermes Press, 2009)
- The Star Trek Comics Weekly page on Facebook
Rich Handley has written, co-written, co-edited, or contributed to dozens of books, both fiction and non-fiction, about Planet of the Apes, Watchmen, Back to the Future, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, Stargate, Dark Shadows, The X-Files, Twin Peaks, Red Dwarf, Blade Runner, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman, the Joker, classic monsters, and more. He has also been a magazine writer and editor for nearly three decades. Rich edited Eaglemoss’s Star Trek Graphic Novel Collection, and he currently writes articles for Titan’s Star Trek Explorer magazine, as well as books for an as-yet-unannounced role-playing game. Learn more about Rich and his work at richhandley.com.
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