Countdown to Darkness - Review and Discussion

[The Wormhole]

StarTrek.com has a preview of issue 2.

Spoiler: Regarding That Guy

For those wondering, April did indeed command another Enterprise which was decommissioned two years earlier. April himself commanded the ship twenty years earlier and was believed to have been killed in action.

 

[ATimson]

Spoiler: Regarding That Guy

For those wondering, April did indeed command another Enterprise which was decommissioned two years earlier. April himself commanded the ship twenty years earlier and was believed to have been killed in action.

Spoiler: That guy and his ship

So assuming the "20 years" figure to be accurate, and not either rounded or just plain wrong (like the age of the Enterprise in TSFS):

• April's Enterprise-α was commissioned sometime between 2233 (earlier would be a violation of Prime canon) and 2240.
• April became captain sometime between commissioning and when he was lost - earlier is "better", to give him more time to build up enough of a legend where Kirk recognizes the name.
• April was lost between 2238 and 2240.
• Countdown to Darkness takes place sometime between 2258 and 2260.

I hope we find out more about April's Enterprise, how it came to be, and how it's different from his Enterprise as depicted (apocryphally) in Diane Carey's books...

 

[The Wormhole]

Spoiler: on this subject

All we really know is that April commanded his Enterprise twenty years earlier. We have no actual indication of when that ship was first launched. Indeed, given the fifty year lifespans of most Navy ships today (like Enterprise CVN-65) it's possible that it could have been originally launched sometime 2206 or so if it was decommissioned in 2256.

Of course, that is before the timeline split meaning that even in the Prime Timeline there would have been another Enterprise between the NX-01 and the original 1701. And that of course goes against canon.

 

[ATimson]

Spoiler: on this subject

Of course, that is before the timeline split meaning that even in the Prime Timeline there would have been another Enterprise between the NX-01 and the original 1701. And that of course goes against canon.

Hence why I gave the years I did.

 

[Caretaker]

I'm going with this comic being in early to mid 2259 (based on the stardate given in the 10-minute preview of STID).

My thought is that April's Enterprise in this universe was the ringship version. However, maybe in this universe, he was given command in 2233 or some point soon after. Perhaps the ship was upgraded after the Kelvin's destruction and it served as more than a spaceliner.

 

[Christopher]

My thought is that April's Enterprise in this universe was the ringship version.

Can't be. The ringship was seen in a painting on the wall of a bar in ENT: "First Flight," which means it predated NX-01.

 

[ChristopherPike]

Possibly following the Kelvin's destruction, Starfleet rushed a new heavy cruiser class of ships into production (and one of them was christened Enterprise) because the Federation were at war with the Romulans - who they obviously had evidence and survivors eye witness testimony about. That the Vulcan-looking race had attacked one of their vessels without provocation. And/or started a conflict with the Klingons also, who refused to surrender the captured Narada and its occupants to face trial.

Of course, at this point I'm wildly speculating about a storyline that interests me more than what I've learnt so far about this comic's plotline!

Like some post 9/11 world parallel where the Federation suddenly engages in two ongoing wars with nation states, who weren't even directly involved in attacking them.

 

[datalogan]

The inclusion of Harriet Mudd in the 2nd comic worries me a bit. I mean, a reference to Harry Mudd is sorta interesting and fun. I can even believe there might be a female Harry Mudd out there somehow [even though never before revealed in Trek], even though it starts to feel fanwankish.

But I really have a problem with her being a Bajoran. Just like the reference to "Cardassians" that we heard in the 2009 film, I don't like the reference to races in this time period that should be way out there and not encountered by the Federation yet. I mean, even in the 24th century Bajor and Cardassia were considered way out in "Deep Space". How is it that they have now both been referenced in JJverse over 100 years earlier?

 

[Christopher]

Just like the reference to "Cardassians" that we heard in the 2009 film, I don't like the reference to races in this time period that should be way out there and not encountered by the Federation yet. I mean, even in the 24th century Bajor and Cardassia were considered way out in "Deep Space". How is it that they have now both been referenced in JJverse over 100 years earlier?

DS9 established that Dax's 22nd-century host Tobin knew an exiled Cardassian poet living on Vulcan, Ilojen of Prim. So we know that the Cardassian species was known to the Federation for as long as there's been a Federation, even if there hadn't yet been formal contact with their government. As an exile, Ilojen may have travelled quite far from home. And maybe he wasn't the only one.

 

[The Wormhole]

There was no reference to Cardassians in Trek XI. Uhura clearly said Kardashian.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I actually get pissed off at people who make that joke in real life.

 

[Caretaker]

My thought is that April's Enterprise in this universe was the ringship version.

Can't be. The ringship was seen in a painting on the wall of a bar in ENT: "First Flight," which means it predated NX-01.

True. I was basing my supposition on the information I found at Memory Beta, where one of the entries is based on Spaceflight Chronology where the/a ringship Enterprise is noted as in operation in the very late 22nd century and early 23rd century.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Just like the reference to "Cardassians" that we heard in the 2009 film

Ooops. I thought this was commonly known already.

 

[ryan123450]

Spoiler!

 

[The Wormhole]

Yeah, that is a pretty big spoiler.

 

[BillJ]

Was issue two suppose to be out today?

 

[Paris]

Spoiler edited out - T'Bonz.

DUDE! C'mon. You should know better. This isn't your first week on these boards. Spoiler code that shit!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

My thought is that April's Enterprise in this universe was the ringship version.

It's not. There's a flashback to April's mission to Phaedus, and you see the ship on page 12. To me, it looks to be about halfway between the Matt Jeffries Enterprise and the NuTrek Enterprise.

 

[Saul]

My thought is that April's Enterprise in this universe was the ringship version.

It's not. There's a flashback to April's mission to Phaedus, and you see the ship on page 12. To me, it looks to be about halfway between the Matt Jeffries Enterprise and the NuTrek Enterprise.

Ah! ah!! Wanna see! Wanna see!!

 

[Therin of Andor]

DUDE! C'mon. You should know better. This isn't your first week on these boards.

Sorry, I thought that particular aspect was common knowledge and a selling point?

 

[Christopher]

Sorry, I thought that particular aspect was common knowledge and a selling point?

No, it isn't revealed until late in the book.