'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

<i>Star Trek: Countdown</i>, the new <i>Star Trek</i> series of comics tied to <i>Star Trek XI</i> released a new promotional image featuring several characters.<p><IMG SRC="http://www.trektoday.com/images/news/STCountdown.gif" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="200" ALIGN="RIGHT" BORDER="0"><p>As reported by <A class="link" HREF="http://www.iesb.net">IESB.net</A>, in January, <i>Star Trek: The Countdown</i> debuts with issue #1 of the four-part series. <p>The series will "cover the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the whole universe." The time frame for the comics is in the <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> era, after <i>Star Trek: Nemesis</i>. Main characters in the prequel will be Nero, elder Spock and possibly other familiar characters from the <i>Next Generation</i> timeframe. <p>The new promotional image shows (clockwise): Nero, Data, Jean-Luc Picard and original Spock. The poster style is reminiscent of last summer's <i>Star Trek XI</i> promotional releases which were given away last summer to Comic-con attendees.<p>To read more, head to the article located <A class="link" HREF="http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=1&catego ry=4&article=5822">here</A>.<center></center>

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

But will it be canon?

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

I think so.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

Set *after* Nemesis.

With Picard and Data, and its Canon.

Looks like the whole B4 thing has been fixed, and Data's come back. Sweet :)

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

The Data thing is my biggest question. We don't know for sure that's Data...it could be B-4. If it is Data, then they have to explain how Data has come back from being blasted to bits. This is of course assuming it's canon, which I hope it is. Anything canonizing more of the life of Spock is great in my book. Maybe Pardek will make an appearance. Heck, maybe even Scotty and McCoy.

So how do we find out for sure if this is canon?

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

Data's death was one of only a handful of plot points that were handled well in NEM. IMHO, his selfless sacrificial death brought him as close to being human as an android could come. The B4 storyline cheapened his death a great deal for me.

We could be seeing B4 on the cover of ST:C. OTOH, perhaps some of this story takes place pre-NEM. It is an origin story for Nero so maybe Data's involvement was years before when Nero was a young man or teen. NEM was released some 6 1/2 years before STXI will be, but we don't know for cetain if only that amount of time will have passed between NEM's era and that of old Spock. Is it still the 24th century or is it set years later in the 25th? Nero is supposed to be from that later era as well, isn't he? I look forward to reading this but would really enjoy it if the story was turned into a direct-to-DVD animated movie a month or so before STXI is released.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

I thought by definition nothing in books or comic books was canon, although perhaps if you mean that the story will more or less mesh with what we see onscreen then maybe, yes.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

If it's on-screen, it's canon.

And if I don't like it, it's not canon. :techman:

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

I'll definately be buying this, though I really wish they'd put it on film. ;)

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

LOL! The opinion of 99% of Trekdom! LOL! ;)

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

Cool, I love a good comic tie-in.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

Dunno about 99%, but I think there's a decent number who'd love to see it.

Ah well.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

This is a little different. These official comic tie-ins are helmed by the same architects as the movie (as in this case as well as Transformers). If Abrams, Orci & Kurtzman, who are in charge of Trek for the forseeable future, say it's canon, it pretty much is.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

No one will be constrained in future by events that don't actually occur in a movie or TV show. That's the only practical meaning that "canon" has.

Of course, the way Trek works is that in a pinch no one will be constrained even by stuff that has been on screen.

Re: 'Star Trek: Countdown' Promotional Image Debuts
 

Exactly, "canon" is defined as a tool designed by marketers to convince/guilt us into buying as much of their product (good or bad) as possible, while still freeing up that product's creators to throw that concept right out the window and start all over again from scratch whenever their desire is to -- you guessed it -- convince/guilt us into buying as much of their product (good or bad) as possible.

In short, it's a scam. :techman: