Spoilers ST PIC Stargazer Comic

[NCC-73515]

#1 came out a week ago and I completely missed it! It's set between S2 and 3 - does anyone have it?

https://comicbook.com/startrek/news/star-trek-picard-stargazer-1-review-idw-publishing/
https://www.space.com/star-trek-picard-stargazer-idw-comics
https://treknews.net/2022/08/31/review-star-trek-picard-stargazer-issue-1/

 

[DS9forever]

I noticed in a preview that during the old Stargazer flashback they encounter a D'deridex-class warbird - isn't that about ten years too early for that Romulan ship to be in service? Granted, I haven't watched "The Neutral Zone" in many years.

 

[Extrocomp]

The Neutral Zone doesn't say when the D'deridex-class entered service. According to Memory Beta, the RIS D'deridex was commissioned either in 2323 or the 2340s or 2361 depending on the source.

 

[Christopher]

I'd say that any encounter with the Romulans pre-"The Neutral Zone" contradicts "The Neutral Zone," but TNG already contradicted that by retconning in Narendra III.

 

[ryan123450]

Romulan issues aside, I really enjoyed the issue. I loved seeing Hiro return. And the use of the Litverse Stargazer crew was great!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I'd say that any encounter with the Romulans pre-"The Neutral Zone" contradicts "The Neutral Zone," but TNG already contradicted that by retconning in Narendra III.

Picard mentions in the comic that the entire thing was classified, and I could see the Romulan commander involved not saying anything about it (since it's embarrassing), but Picard not mentioning he has personal experience himself with the Romulans in "The Neutral Zone" is a little bit harder to rationalize away.

Romulan issues aside, I really enjoyed the issue. I loved seeing Hiro return. And the use of the Litverse Stargazer crew was great!

My one issue there was Mike Johnson seems to think Gilaad Ben Zoma's name is Ben (first name) Zoma (last name). I'm also not sure they would have been in "spandex hell" at that point in time.

 

[Enterpriserules]

This whole story feels more like it fits between season 1 and 2. I may rant a little about it on the upcoming Literary Treks.

 

[ryan123450]

My one issue there was Mike Johnson seems to think Gilaad Ben Zoma's name is Ben (first name) Zoma (last name). I'm also not sure they would have been in "spandex hell" at that point in time.

That is true. But on the spandex, weren't the Stargazer adventures in the DC Comics always depicted that way?

 

[Markonian]

Romulan issues aside, I really enjoyed the issue. I loved seeing Hiro return. And the use of the Litverse Stargazer crew was great!

How is Hiro, where was the first appearance?

 

[ryan123450]

How is Hiro, where was the first appearance?

To me he was the best thing about the Picard: No Man’s Land audio drama. If there is ever a Seven of Nine show, I hope he is in it.

 

[Dukhat]

I noticed in a preview that during the old Stargazer flashback they encounter a D'deridex-class warbird - isn't that about ten years too early for that Romulan ship to be in service? Granted, I haven't watched "The Neutral Zone" in many years.

The Neutral Zone doesn't say when the D'deridex-class entered service. According to Memory Beta, the RIS D'deridex was commissioned either in 2323 or the 2340s or 2361 depending on the source.

From "Yesterday's Enterprise":

TASHA: "Your ship (the Enterprise-C) has much more maneuverability than the Romulan counterparts of that era."

This line implies that the Romulan Warbirds from 2344 were not the same ships as the D'Deridex class, but older and less advanced vessels, if the contemporary Ambassador class was more maneuverable than they were.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well, for what it's worth, the cover of Vulcan's Heart did show the Enterprise C fighting a D'Deridex. And yes, it is the Battle at Narendra III which is featured in the novel.

 

[ryan123450]

The real point is that it’s a shame there were never any canonical Romulan ships seen between the bird of prey and the warbird. With the obvious though irrelevant exception of the Klingon battlecrusier. That’s limited tie in writers and artists in more cases than not.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Picard mentions in the comic that the entire thing was classified, and I could see the Romulan commander involved not saying anything about it (since it's embarrassing), but Picard not mentioning he has personal experience himself with the Romulans in "The Neutral Zone" is a little bit harder to rationalize away.

Of course, there's also the Romulan incursion that the Enterprise heads off to deal with at the end of Angel One to ALSO rationalize away, so... I guess it's something that inconsistent consistently.

 

[NCC-73515]

I'd say that any encounter with the Romulans pre-"The Neutral Zone" contradicts "The Neutral Zone," but TNG already contradicted that by retconning in Narendra III.

Since the C was destroyed there, not many records survived. I guess the Klingons informed SF of what happened, but SF itself didn't see the Romulan ships.

 

[Christopher]

Since the C was destroyed there, not many records survived. I guess the Klingons informed SF of what happened, but SF itself didn't see the Romulan ships.

It's not about the ships. "The Neutral Zone" claimed that the Romulans had been inward-directed for decades and had no contact or interaction with the Federation in that time, basically a repeat of their century of total isolation prior to "Balance of Terror." They'd been dealing with internal matters but now were "back." But later episodes like "Yesterday's Enterprise" had them active during their supposed absence from galactic affairs.

 

[NCC-73515]

YE had them attack a Klingon outpost. Nothing with SF, so from SF's perspective, they were not interacting with them.

The warbird could be much smaller, keeping the D'deridex reveal intact.

Spandex uniforms were seen on the ghosts in Picard's flashback, and on him in Beverly's flashback at the morgue.

 

[Christopher]

YE had them attack a Klingon outpost. Nothing with SF, so from SF's perspective, they were not interacting with them.

The point is that "The Neutral Zone" said they weren't interacting with anybody, that they'd turned inward politically. It's not about the Federation's knowledge or awareness, it's about the Romulans' own.

"Matters more urgent caused our absence. Now, witness the result. Outposts destroyed, expansion of the Federation everywhere. Yes, we have indeed been negligent, Captain. But no more."

That pretty strongly implies that they were absent "everywhere," unaware of the overall picture of what was going on outside their borders, or at least too preoccupied with internal affairs (or whatever the "matters more urgent" were) to devote any effort to responding to external affairs. That "expansion of the Federation" included the alliance with the Klingons, after all; indeed, "Heart of Glory" implied strongly that the Klingon Empire had joined the Federation, and that wasn't clarified not to be the case until "A Matter of Honor" in season 2, after "The Neutral Zone."

Of course, "Glory" does establish the Romulan attack on Khitomer during that time frame, so "Zone" contradicts that earlier reference as well as being contradicted by later episodes like "Yesterday's." (Plus there's the "Angel One" business, but I try not to think about that episode much.) That's the problem with it being filmed from an unrevised first draft due to the '88 writers' strike. Well, one of many problems.

The warbird could be much smaller, keeping the D'deridex reveal intact.

My issue with the D'Deridex class's size is that it should be impractical for a ship that big to cloak. Cloaking devices are power hogs, and the waste energies from that power use make it harder to cloak a ship, so you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. That's why the Defiant had to be such a stripped-down, minimalist battleship in order to cloak effectively; and I believe it's why Starfleet doesn't use cloaks as a rule, because they're just not practical for big, luxurious, multifunction ships like most Starfleet vessels. The hugeness of the D'D Warbirds is hard to reconcile with that idea.

 

[NCC-73515]

The point is that "The Neutral Zone" said they weren't interacting with anybody, that they'd turned inward politically. It's not about the Federation's knowledge or awareness, it's about the Romulans' own.

"Matters more urgent caused our absence. Now, witness the result. Outposts destroyed, expansion of the Federation everywhere. Yes, we have indeed been negligent, Captain. But no more."

That's just your interpretation. The more urgent matters could easily have been matters with the Klingons or elsewhere along the border. And the attack on Narendra could've been unsanctioned, or made secret, or committed by renegade forces, or by the Tal Shiar, or in response to a Klingon attack, etc.

My issue with the D'Deridex class's size is that it should be impractical for a ship that big to cloak. Cloaking devices are power hogs, and the waste energies from that power use make it harder to cloak a ship, so you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. That's why the Defiant had to be such a stripped-down, minimalist battleship in order to cloak effectively; and I believe it's why Starfleet doesn't use cloaks as a rule, because they're just not practical for big, luxurious, multifunction ships like most Starfleet vessels. The hugeness of the D'D Warbirds is hard to reconcile with that idea.

Defiant wasn't built with cloaks in mind, they got it later. Ever heard of the treaty of Algeron?

 

[F. King Daniel]

The real point is that it’s a shame there were never any canonical Romulan ships seen between the bird of prey and the warbird. With the obvious though irrelevant exception of the Klingon battlecrusier. That’s limited tie in writers and artists in more cases than not.

SNW S01E10 gave us an entire fleet of 2266 Romulan designs.