Details on "Countdown" movie prequel comic from IDW

[Christopher]

http://trekmovie.com/2008/10/17/exclusive-details-on-star-trek-movie-prequel-comic-series/

The title of the new comic prequel series is "Star Trek: Countdown." It is being written by Mike Johnson and Tim Jones based on a story by Star Trek director JJ Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The series will run four issues, with the first coming out in January 2009 and one more issue in each of the next three months (with the final issue and a trade paperback collection in April).... The artwork is being done by Italian artist David Messina who has been working for IDW on a number of Trek comics, including the latest "Mirror Images" series, where his work has garnered rave reviews.

How do you do a prequel to a prequel? - [SPOILERS]
One may wonder how you do a prequel comic to a movie which is itself a prequel and origin story for The Original Series. The official description of “Star Trek: Countdown” states it will cover ‘the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe.’ In a way, this comic book prequel evidences why the new Star Trek team has been resistant to labeling their film as a straight up prequel. As revealed recently, the plot of the film involves Nero traveling back in time to the era before the Original Series. This Comic Book prequel, which is said to ‘take us right up to the movie,’ is primarily set in the time before Nero goes back in time, specifically the Next Generation era after Star Trek Nemesis. The main characters for the prequel will not be the young TOS crew but Nero and the elder Spock (and possibly familiar characters from the TNG era).

Hopefully this won't conflict with what we're doing in the books lately. Since any comics that Abrams, Kurtzman, and Orci are directly involved in are likely to be pretty close to canonical.

 

[JD]

I read about this the other day, and it sounds pretty cool. Although I do share your fear Christopher. Hopefully it will be far enough in the future or vague enough about the current events, that it won't conflict with the books.

 

[William Leisner]

... sigh ...

*rips up 300+ page manuscript and prepares to start from scratch*

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I noticed this:

And this series may not be the end of the ‘extended universe’ of comics related to the new movie. Orci says they have already sketched out additional ideas, but are focusing on these first four issues for now.

Which is similar to the way IDW, Orci, and Kurtzman have done things for the Transformers comics. There was the Transformers Movie Prequel series, then the movie adaptation, then a Transformers Movie Sequel series. And now, there's two prequel series to the Transformers sequel coming up, which take place after the Transformers Movie Sequel series. It's a giant massive saga, with titling conventions that will confuse anyone -- "I want the Transformers Movie Sequel Prequel Sequel!"

Hopefully this won't conflict with what we're doing in the books lately.

Christopher, you know as well as I do that's a risk that anyone writing Trek takes. It's just the nature of the beast. If it Countdown does conflict, maybe we'll see A Time To... II to link and/or massage the post-Destiny continuity into the pre-Countdown continuity. *shrug*

ETA: Another thing that occurs to me is that we don't really know how far beyond "Unification" the next film begins. It could be ten years. It could be fifty years or a hundred years. Spock is a Vulcan, after all, with the longer lifespan that entails. Let's be honest -- Leonard Nimoy isn't as young as he was seventeen years ago, and seventeen years of human aging may translate into fifty years of Vulcan aging. Given that Countdown is linking the NextGen era to the beginning of the film, it's possible that the four issues could span a great deal of time leading up to the film, leaving room for the post-Destiny saga to unfold largely unchanged.

So, back away from that ledge, Bill. We're not having any skyscraper jumpers today!

 

[Christopher]

Hopefully this won't conflict with what we're doing in the books lately.

Christopher, you know as well as I do that's a risk that anyone writing Trek takes. It's just the nature of the beast. If it Countdown does conflict, maybe we'll see A Time To... II to link and/or massage the post-Destiny continuity into the pre-Countdown continuity. *shrug*

Well, yeah, of course -- if there's any way to reconcile things, naturally that'll be a good opportunity for new Trek lit. But there's always the possibility of some more major contradiction.

Another thing that occurs to me is that we don't really know how far beyond "Unification" the next film begins. It could be ten years. It could be fifty years or a hundred years. Spock is a Vulcan, after all, with the longer lifespan that entails. Let's be honest -- Leonard Nimoy isn't as young as he was seventeen years ago, and seventeen years of human aging may translate into fifty years of Vulcan aging. Given that Countdown is linking the NextGen era to the beginning of the film, it's possible that the four issues could span a great deal of time leading up to the film, leaving room for the post-Destiny saga to unfold largely unchanged.

Yeah, I'd say it's likely that Countdown is a fair amount of time after NEM. But in a way, it might be easier to reconcile with the books if it takes place pre-Destiny, given how much is changing in Destiny and afterward.

Anyway, given that the filmmakers are directly involved with the comics, what I'd like to see is some direct cooperation between them and Pocket too, so we can all be on the same page.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Yeah, I'd say it's likely that Countdown is a fair amount of time after NEM. But in a way, it might be easier to reconcile with the books if it takes place pre-Destiny, given how much is changing in Destiny and afterward.

Christopher, you make it sound like, based on a single article that's pretty damn vague on the details, that the two are irreconcilable. And I realize you have information about the post-Destiny timeframe that I, and the vast majority of readers here, don't have, but I don't think the situation is anywhere near as dire as you make it out to be.

Hell, the Doctor Who novels destroyed Gallifrey, only to have the new series reveal that Gallifrey was destroyed in an entirely different way under entirely different circumstances, leaving fans to posit how the two events can fit together.

Let's not even talk about Hawkman.

If Pocket has to push a reset button, it will be pressed. If Pocket has to shunt the novels into an alternate reality, that's the direction they'll go. If the novels merely hint at how the two events can coexist leaving fans to fill in the blanks, that might be the thing to do.

Because, really, Hawkman. Says it all.

That article is vague. We don't know anything about Countdown, really. We don't know when it takes place. We don't know what the Federation is like when it takes place. I'm assuming it's post-Nemesis, but that's entirely my assumption. It doesn't need to be so.

I think it's too early to jump of a ledge like Bill. I have faith it can all be made to fit together. Maybe I have a little more faith than you do that it can coexist. Things are never as dire as they appear at first glance, and I trust in the creative talents that Pocket has at their disposal to figure out how it can all work.

 

[Saga]

wonder what other TNG era characters we will see in this prequel comic. glad we're going to get Nero's origin though. like to know where he was during the events of Nemesis, his place in the Romulan military/goverment and what the deal is with all the tats.

 

[KRAD]

That article is vague. We don't know anything about Countdown, really. We don't know when it takes place. We don't know what the Federation is like when it takes place. I'm assuming it's post-Nemesis, but that's entirely my assumption. It doesn't need to be so.

It isn't that vague, Allyn. It certainly isn't vague about where it takes place in relation to Nemesis:

This Comic Book prequel, which is said to ‘take us right up to the movie,’ is primarily set in the time before Nero goes back in time, specifically the Next Generation era after Star Trek Nemesis.

So the fact that it's after Nemesis isn't your assumption, it's stated right there in the article.

Anyhow, I'm not going to worry about it overmuch, as I've made my living out of taking weird shit they do on screen that doesn't seem to make sense and reconciling it in the fiction. It's no big deal, and the cost of doing business in the tie-in field. *shrug*

 

[KRAD]

While we're at it....

First Contact blew Federation out of the water. "Second Chances" blew Imzadi out of the water. Pretty much every Klingon story that appeared after The Search for Spock blew The Final Reflection out of the water. Yet, those novels remain three of the most well-regarded Star Trek novels ever published.

So I'm really not concerned.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Okay, okay, somehow I glazed over that. Or maybe I read it, and then Christopher's speculation that Countdown came before Destiny caused my brain to futz. It happens. *shrug*

 

[KRAD]

Okay, okay, somehow I glazed over that. Or maybe I read it, and then Christopher's speculation that Countdown came before Destiny caused my brain to futz. It happens. *shrug*

Pfft. It's not like you need Christopher's help for your brain to futz.....

*tee hee*

(I kid because I love.)

Oh, and your Hawkman analogy really does sum it all up. What a goddamn mess that is.....

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I'd say it's likely that Countdown is a fair amount of time after NEM. But in a way, it might be easier to reconcile with the books if it takes place pre-Destiny, given how much is changing in Destiny and afterward.

Christopher, you make it sound like, based on a single article that's pretty damn vague on the details, that the two are irreconcilable.

I'm not saying they "are" anything. I'm merely speculating about various things they might be, without making any assumptions about what is.

And I realize you have information about the post-Destiny timeframe that I, and the vast majority of readers here, don't have, but I don't think the situation is anywhere near as dire as you make it out to be.

I'm not saying it is dire. I'm merely acknowledging that a range of possibilities exists. It could be easy to reconcile, hard to reconcile, or anything in between. I'm not assuming any of those is the case, because obviously there isn't enough information to conclude anything yet. I'm merely acknowledging that these various possibilities exist.

If Pocket has to push a reset button, it will be pressed. If Pocket has to shunt the novels into an alternate reality, that's the direction they'll go.

That goes without saying. I'm not saying it would be impossible to cope with that, because of course it's happened before. And nobody's "jumping off a ledge." I don't know how you read any kind of panic or alarm into what I wrote, because I assure you I'm not feeling anything of the kind (and I'm sure Bill was joking in his post). I'll adapt to whatever happens, of course, because I'm a professional. I'm simply examining the range of possible situations that I and my colleagues might have to deal with. But there's no harm in hoping that it's all reconcilable, is there? That doesn't mean I'm afraid of the alternative, or anything that melodramatic. It just means it'll be easier and neater if it can fit together smoothly.

Okay, okay, somehow I glazed over that. Or maybe I read it, and then Christopher's speculation that Countdown came before Destiny caused my brain to futz. It happens. *shrug*

I didn't "speculate" that it came before Destiny. I said that if it came before Destiny -- a purely hypothetical premise for the sake of discussion -- it might then be easier to reconcile in certain ways. However, that was immediately after I said that it very probably would come after Destiny. So again, you're drastically misinterpreting my posts.

 

[William Leisner]

Let's not even talk about Hawkman.

[...]

Because, really, Hawkman. Says it all.

You said we weren't going to talk about Hawkman!!

I think it's too early to jump of a ledge like Bill.

Too early? I've been out on this ledge for months now! (And Beyer keeps chanting for me to jump.)

All seriousness aside... I ain't worried about the comics, or the movie, for that matter. Got other things on my mind. *looks at calendar... looks at street below...*

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Jeez, Christopher, chill. I'm not picking a fight with you. If I'm misinterpreting you, it's because I'm getting an "Internet Tones of Doom" vibe from your reaction to Countdown. *shrug*

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I think it's too early to jump of a ledge like Bill.

Too early? I've been out on this ledge for months now! (And Beyer keeps chanting for me to jump.)

Think of your fan club, Bill! Don't think of the children. Think of the fan club!

 

[Rush Limborg]

Yeah, I'd say it's likely that Countdown is a fair amount of time after NEM. But in a way, it might be easier to reconcile with the books if it takes place pre-Destiny, given how much is changing in Destiny and afterward.

Hmm...hey, Chris, it kinda sounds like you're implying that some of these changes will involve Romulus, Spock, etc....

 

[Christopher]

Jeez, Christopher, chill. I'm not picking a fight with you. If I'm misinterpreting you, it's because I'm getting an "Internet Tones of Doom" vibe from your reaction to Countdown. *shrug*

Well, I don't know why, because I'm just being analytical and considering the possibilities. Maybe you've been on the Internet too long. (I know I have.) And I'm not upset or in need of "chilling," simply clarifying my position.

 

[KRAD]

Yeah, I'd say it's likely that Countdown is a fair amount of time after NEM. But in a way, it might be easier to reconcile with the books if it takes place pre-Destiny, given how much is changing in Destiny and afterward.

Hmm...hey, Chris, it kinda sounds like you're implying that some of these changes will involve Romulus, Spock, etc....

There are few in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants (and not many in the Delta, if it comes to that) who won't be affected by what happens in Destiny.

 

[Christopher]

Hmm...hey, Chris, it kinda sounds like you're implying that some of these changes will involve Romulus, Spock, etc....

There are few in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants (and not many in the Delta, if it comes to that) who won't be affected by what happens in Destiny.

And we don't know that Countdown will be limited to Spock and the Romulans. The article says it may include other TNG-era characters. It could hypothetically present an Enterprise-E crew very different from what the books have shown. It could even have a cameo by Admiral Janeway, alive and well. Anything's possible at this stage.

Of course, it's also possible that the people involved in creating it will try to stay consistent with what Pocket has done. Again, I'm just mentioning possibilities.

 

[Therin of Andor]

If the novels merely hint at how the two events can coexist leaving fans to fill in the blanks, that might be the thing to do.

Three thoughts:

1. I much prefer hints, so I can do my own mental massaging, and the books and comics do a great job at that already. Dropping hints, I mean.

2. Paula Block at CBS Consumer Products. Trust her.

3. Whoever's writing the movie novelization will probably drop plenty of hints.