Well I just finished reading the
Countdown TPB and I have to say...
HOO-EE! If the movie is even half that good then we're all in for a hell of a treat! I consider
Countdown to be the
best of the TNG movies and it isn't even a fuckin' movie.
I feel like I just gotten taken for a rollicking roller coaster ride of a romp around the galaxy. The blood is pumping through my veins
hard and I'm totally struck by the tragedy of the whole thing. Or it the
hole-thing?
I couldn't imagine reading this mutha in single issue form. It was clearly written with a TPB in mind. Most single issue comics sort of ebb and flow from month to month. This one flows all the way through and doesn't stop. It really is more like a movie than a comic book. It's like
Generations and
Nemesis but done right!
I think I'm a little excited since I just literally finished reading this thing less than five minutes ago and I'm completely away that I'm gushing like a pathetic little fanboy but... I haven't been this excited since the conclusion of
Best of Both Worlds Part One. I mean what a great
prequel to the new movie and what a fantastic
capper to TNG. This is the first
Star Trek Valentine since
Trials and Tribbleations that doesn't feel like anal rape!
I, uh, I'm trying to boil some of my ramblings down into coherent thought but that's hard because of the adreneline and because I'm me. But...
Nero: Wow. I'm about to sound like Rick Berman here but...
This is going to be the best villain since Khan. No shit.

I mean the problem with the TNG movie villains is that they were all trying to ape Khan and make them Picard's arch enemy but they pretty much all failed (with one exception) because there was no history between Picard and the villain.
Khan worked because he and Kirk were not just enemies but because they had both drawn blood from one another. Khan had drawn blood by Kirk by trying to steal his ship and kill him. Kirk had drawn blood by exiling him to a planet where his wife later died. Khan spent decades building up what Kirk did turning it malicious rather than merciful. When the two finally met up again the seed of hatred blossomed into a flame of vengeance that only one would escape from intact.
Contrast this with the so called arch-villains of the TNG movies. The character of Soran had a similar motivation to Nero and he was well acted by McDowell but it was clear that what he was doing to Picard and the
Enterprise wasn't personal. He just wanted to get back into the Nexus and see his family again. Picard was just in the way. Thusly their interactions fell kinda flat. There was no real animosity or hate between them it was just a
real strong difference of opinion.
Another villain that fell flat was Insurrection's Ru'Afo. The only lesson that Berman learned from TWOK was the sound of fury of Khan's hatred. He didn't pay attention to the subtleties and the history. He seemed to think if the villain screamed enough we'd get that he was Picard's polar opposite and we'd root for them to fight. Personally I just wanted Ru'Afo to shut the fuck up and stop screaming like a bitch.
Then there was Shinzon... So close and yet so far away. The idea of a clone of Picard who'd been raised Reman and was the dark side of the good captain was a stupendous idea poorly realized. It was just the old Berman straw-man villain. Introduce a compelling nemesis and then make him eeeeee-vil and craaaaaa-zy. Shinzon couldn't have been a good guy on the other side. No he has to destroy the Earth to prove he's bad. Basically Shinzon was Khan with a lobotomy. There was no real thought put behind the character. Just the same old motions.
You might be wanting to point out that I skipped somebody. I didn't skip her it's just obvious she doesn't fit with the other guys. The Borg Queen. The closest they got to reacreating the magic that was Khan. Finally a villain that has some history with Picard. A real animosity. But the cool thing is... She isn't Khan. She's Kirk. Picard is the Khan of FC and... FUCK! What a cool twist that was. The Borg Queen was a catalyst for the true villain of FC, Picard's dark side to take center stage. It wasn't quite as well executed as TWOK but... It was the best the TNG guys could do. Still...
I don't think the Borg Queen has anything on Nero. I mean this story is the story of his downfall. What a nice guy. Just a working joe. He's basically Captain Dallas from Alien but with a pair of nards. This is a man willing to fight against king and country to save his family and his world. The very things by which he defined himself are taken away and he quite literally has nothing but his vengeance but more...
Khan's revenge against Kirk wasn't justified. Kirk didn't mean for the things to happen to Khan that they did. Kirk would never have put Khan in that position if he'd known.
On the other hand Nero's vengeance is justified. He has every right to despise the Vulcans. They had it within their means to save Romulas and they let it die to... heh... I don't care how they justified it. You don't let an entire people snuff it because of what they might do later on. Especially not a people that you have a peace with. A tenuous peace, yes, but... It's peace nonetheless. What the Vulcans did wasn't right. It doesn't mean that Nero has the right to snuff them but...
I can't blame him for wanting to. I wanted to put their council to the sword myself.
Nero's hatred towards Spock is interesting and it will be interesting to see how it works onscreen. It's clear they had a real admiration and liking towards each other at the start and it's just as clear that in the end Nero's hatred isn't truly towards Spock the man but rather Spock the Vulcan. Spock's just a symbol of everything that he hates. Everything that caused him to lose his life...
...and here's something I'm going to toss out. Nero's hatred is based on loss. A loss of love. I can't help but feel that unlike all the other Trek movie villains that Nero's not going to snuff it at the end of the movie. I think he's going to be redeemed. I think that somehow Kirk will stop the Hobus star from exploding and save Romulas and Nero's family.
I think this is going to be the first Star Trek movie with an actual Star Trek ending and not just a shoot 'em up.
I know this is a lot to hypothesize based on a comic but... It's just a feeling I have.
I have a lot more I'd like to post but I've blown my wad early and I need to think about this more. Later...