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.
97: IDW Publishing, 2011–2012
Since its inception, this column has focused on how comics offer prequels, sequels, and tie-ins to onscreen Star Trek. Now let’s add a new type of connection to the discussion: reimagined episodes. In 2011, IDW launched its first ongoing Trek monthly, starring the alternate crew of the Kelvin timeline introduced in J.J. Abrams’ inaugural film. The comic presented original adventures involving strange new worlds and new civilizations, along with altered retellings of classic episodes.
Simply titled Star Trek, the series was solicited as Star Trek: Ongoing and later renamed Star Trek: 5-Year Mission as of issue #42. Nearly all 60 issues were written by Mike Johnson, who has penned most comics set in the Abrams universe, starting with Countdown, Nero, and the 2009 film adaptation. The concept: following the encounter with Nero, the Enterprise embarks on new post-film missions under James T. Kirk’s command, with Montgomery Scott and Keenser officially joining the roster.
One challenge inherent in this premise is that the first Abrams film took place in 2258, whereas The Original Series spanned from 2265 (“Where No Man Has Gone Before”) to 2269 (“Turnabout Intruder”). This means the reimagined episodes take place several years—a decade in some cases—before they did in the prime reality. For some stories, that’s no big deal, but there are others for which it presents a problem due to character ages not changing, or to there being no apparent explanation for story elements not being the same.
The first six issues offered episode retellings, each presented in two-chapter arcs. “Where No Man Has Gone Before” (issues #1 and 2) was illustrated by Stephen Molnar, with cover variants by Tim Bradstreet, Grant Goleash, David Messina, Giovanna Niro, and Joe Corroney. For “The Galileo Seven” (#3 and 4), Molnar and Joe Phillips contributed the interior artwork, while Bradstreet and Corroney provided the covers. Corroney then illustrated “Operation—Annihilate!” (#5 and 6), with Bradstreet, Corroney, and Joe and Rob Sharp handling the cover art.
With such a talented lineup, it’s no wonder these stories are so beautifully drawn. The Enterprise crew are depicted as Chris Pine’s cast, though the artists utilize the onscreen likenesses of Gary Mitchell and other characters from the 1960s, resulting in a unique mix of classic and modern that lends authenticity to the comic. This was a smart move, as these are not straight retellings. Not only do they not occur in the same order, but since this is another reality, each tale differs from TV in aspects both minor and significant—and yet, it’s still The Original Series.
The reimagined “Where No Man Has Gone Before” occurs seven years earlier, even though Mitchell looks the same as he did onscreen. This is true for all reimagined tales—the characters are younger but often don’t appear to be. As on TV, the Enterprise finds the Valiant’s distress beacon, Gary is transformed into a god and murders Lee Kelso, and Kirk kills his friend on Delta Vega. Johnson acknowledges the existence of two Delta Vegas, in fact, since the one near Vulcan is clearly not the one from the episode.
Along with these mirrored plot points, there are several changes to the story originally told. As issue #1 opens, for instance, Kirk plays three-dimensional chess with Mitchell instead of Spock, commenting that the Vulcan declined the invitation. This lets readers know up front to expect the unexpected, and it brings Gary into the story sooner, though it regrettably removes one of the more memorable dialogue exchanges from the show, involving Spock’s irritation at how Kirk approaches the game.
Elizabeth Dehner is no longer in the crew, having withdrawn her Enterprise transfer following a failed romance with McCoy. It’s a shame not to meet the alternate Dehner, but this was likely necessitated by story length, and the explanation works fine since McCoy (whether portrayed by DeForest Kelley or Karl Urban) has always been one to flirt with beautiful women. In this timeline, it’s Bones, not Mitchell, who woos the psychiatrist—which is good news for her, since Gary killed her on TV. She doesn’t attain godlike powers in this timeline, but she also doesn’t die the very same day, and she gets to have an affair with a more buff version of our favorite ol’ country doctor, so it’s a win for her.
Also missing from the retelling are Alden, Yeoman Smith, and Mark Piper, with Bones already in the chief medical officer role. Meanwhile, Uhura, Chekov, and Keenser are present, whereas none of them appeared in the episode (indeed, the characters had not even been created yet when “Where No Man…” was filmed), with Sulu at the helm rather than in the science department. Again, though, none of these are continuity errors—they’re by design since this is a different reality, and spotting small changes like these makes reading the comic an engaging experience.
Mitchell now forces Kelso to shoot himself rather than strangling him with a cable, and Lee has a smaller role than he does onscreen, again necessitated by the page-count constraint. Kirk’s fight with Gary on Delta Vega, meanwhile, plays out differently than before. Not only is Dehner absent from the final confrontation, but Mitchell subjects Jim to visions of the film’s bar fight and Starfleet Academy scenes, and Kirk shoots him in the chest rather than triggering a rock collapse.
The gravestone sequence is removed from this sequence as well, neatly avoiding Gary’s “James R. Kirk” engraving gaffe. It’s worth mentioning that this series depicts the deaths of multiple crew members—Mitchell and Kelso, along with numerous others, not only in these opening issues but in the remaining chapters. This would be contradicted by Kirk’s claim, in Star Trek Into Darkness, that no one aboard ship had died since he’d assumed command… but, hey, maybe he was lying to the brass.
The different year placement more noticeably affects “The Galileo Seven,” as the plague on this reality’s New Paris now occurs nine years earlier than in the prime timeline, without explanation. Of course, it could be that the colony is prone to plagues, and that this is merely a prior outbreak. As mankind has recently been reminded, those who refuse to take proper precautions during a pandemic can prolong a disease’s spread, and there’s no reason to think this won’t be true in the 23rd century as well.
In this version of events, the Enterprise still delivers medical supplies to the colonists, High Commissioner Ferris still butts heads with Kirk, and Spock’s shuttle still crashes on Taurus II, where his team still faces giant anthropoid primitives armed with spears. But there are noticeable divergences from how it originally played out, not the least of which is the alien brutes’ appearance. The updated version looks rather like DC Comics’ Gorilla Grodd, which is odd since the creature should be the same in either reality. Nero destroying the USS Kelvin should not affect an entire species’ evolution.
Janice Rand assumes Yeoman Mears’ TV role, subtly referencing Rand’s scripted presence before actor Grace Lee Whitney was unexpectedly terminated from the 1960s show and had to be replaced. Crewmen Boma, Gaetano, and Latimer serve the same story function as they did on TV, though none look a decade younger, as they should. And Boma’s bigoted insubordination is toned down a bit, once again due to the shorter story length.
The biggest change involves the plot’s climax. Scotty channels power from the phasers into the engines as before, but this time the Galileo fails to reach orbit and nearly crashes again. This culminates in a different ending, with Uhura—who is romantically involved with Spock in this timeline, per the 2009 film—commandeering a second shuttle to rescue the Galileo crew. Ferris is furious (he could use a day off), but the rule-breaking Kirk lets it slide and confines the couple to quarters—the same quarters, so it’s not a punishment.
As with the previous tale, the retelling of “Operation—Annihilate!” also occurs nine years earlier, and it’s with this story that the difference in years poses the biggest discrepancy. As on TV, the Enterprise investigates a wave of mass insanity, the crew battles flying parasites at Deneva, and the family of Kirk’s brother (wife Aurelan and son Peter) are among the colonists. However, the aliens are here depicted as translucent purple blobs rather than flying caramel crêpes, and Spock’s attacker lands on his face instead of his back, creating an image that is rather hilarious.
In this reality, the Kirk brothers have been estranged ever since George—who uses his birth name now, rather than the nickname “Sam” he goes by in “Operation—Annihilate!” and on Strange New Worlds—left home as a teen, as depicted in the 2009 film before George was changed to be a friend called Johnny. What’s more, George and Aurelan both survive the story (they’d died onscreen) and continue to raise Peter. The couple’s other two sons, mentioned in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”, are nowhere to be seen, which may mean they don’t exist in this universe. But, then, they didn’t appear in the televised “Operation—Annihilate!” either.
It’s Peter’s existence that poses the discrepancy, as he’s around the same age as on TV, whereas he should be a toddler. This means the Peter we see in the comic is not the Kelvin counterpart to the prime Peter—genetically, he must be a different and older person. Born almost a decade prior, he is the result of a different coupling. Without putting too fine a point on it, if two people reproduce on separate occasions, they don’t create the same offspring, no matter what they name the kid. Incidentally, the same is true for Chekov, whose age in the Abramsverse is several years’ divergent from that of the prime Pavel, which probably explains the curly hair.
Debuting in this arc is the Kelvin counterpart of Enterprise crewmember Zahra, who would become a recurring character in IDW’s Trek comics and would later be drawn as the white-haired redshirt played by Jodi Johnston in Star Trek Into Darkness. In this first appearance, however, Zahra more closely resembles actor Maurishka Tagliaferro, who’d portrayed her on television.
Issue #5 features a flashback to Kirk’s youth. Set after the Corvette theft, it incorporates deleted movie scenes involving George running away. The elder sibling is said to have moved in with their grandfather, leading to his estrangement from Jim, who’d resented being left behind; the deleted scenes would have established Frank as an abusive alcoholic, so Jim’s anger is understandable. Frank is here Winona’s brother, as originally intended, whereas the movie’s credits identified him as Jim’s stepfather.
Starting with issue #7, the comic would begin to chronicle new voyages for the alternate Enterprise, and we’ll get to those soon. The classic cast will return next week when we dissect the Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes crossover, published by IDW in cooperation with DC Comics. In the meantime, I’d like to acknowledge Mark Martinez and the staffs of Memory Alpha and Memory Beta for their continuous efforts on fans’ behalf; Mark’s comics index and both Wikia pages have proven invaluable as a source of images and research for my ongoing column, and they have my thanks and appreciation.
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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