Trek Prequel Comic -SPOILERS- (official COUNTDOWN review thread)

[Therin of Andor]

Holy crap. I went to Midtown Comics (a farily large comic shop in NYC) and they were sold out of this comic. I guess there are quite a few Trek fans out there anticipating this film in NYC!

Or, they shortsightedly didn't order many.

 

[DarthPipes]

Really enjoyed the first issue. It's a good introduction to Nero, who comes off as a sympathetic character, and good to see Spock back in the mix. Got a kick out of his "Friends, Romulans, Countrymen...we have the same ears" lines. If only McCoy could have heard that.

 

[cooleddie74]

A really big "kill the ones dearest to you" revenge scheme launched out of pure hatred. It also makes the plot a little more complex and not so one-dimensional sounding.

Actually, that motivation sounds simple and one-dimensional.

Indeed.
I hope there's more to Nero's turn to the dark side than the old cliche "his wife and child died so he's out to avenge their death"

I didn't explain my thoughts on it very well. My bad. I meant to include that the backstory for Nero in the comics makes him out to be more than just a hokey, one-dimensional villain with little or no motivation.

 

[Rat Boy]

Actually, that motivation sounds simple and one-dimensional.

Indeed.
I hope there's more to Nero's turn to the dark side than the old cliche "his wife and child died so he's out to avenge their death"

I didn't explain my thoughts on it very well. My bad. I meant to include that the backstory for Nero in the comics makes him out to be more than just a hokey, one-dimensional villain with little or no motivation.

And I think it can be, considering Nero's burgeoning friendship with Spock in the comics that in all likelihood will go south in a big way.

 

[cooleddie74]

Indeed.
I hope there's more to Nero's turn to the dark side than the old cliche "his wife and child died so he's out to avenge their death"

I didn't explain my thoughts on it very well. My bad. I meant to include that the backstory for Nero in the comics makes him out to be more than just a hokey, one-dimensional villain with little or no motivation.

And I think it can be, considering Nero's burgeoning friendship with Spock in the comics that in all likelihood will go south in a big way.

Which is more of a three-dimensional background than almost any other TREK movie villain gets. Khan? Kruge? Chang? Soran? The Borg Queen? Ru'Afo? Shinzon? At least Shinzon has SOME depth to him since he's supposed to be a clone of Picard and retain at least a little of his humanity and decency, however buried and suppressed. But almost all TREK villains are just bitter madmen or evil assholes bent on dominating their peers and conquering worlds. Nero seems to be getting more of a fleshing-out than most.

 

[Samuel T. Cogley]

But almost all TREK villains are just bitter madmen or evil assholes bent on dominating their peers and conquering worlds.

Khan had arguably one of the simplest motivations, but the execution and performance were so fantastic that they took that character to a higher level.

Nero seems to be getting more of a fleshing-out than most.

I don't know if we can say that that 'fleshing-out' will carry over into the film until we see it. Nero's backstory will be vurtually meaningless if it is conveyed in the comics, but not in the film.

 

[cooleddie74]

But almost all TREK villains are just bitter madmen or evil assholes bent on dominating their peers and conquering worlds.

Khan had arguably one of the simplest motivations, but the execution and performance were so fantastic that they took that character to a higher level.

Nero seems to be getting more of a fleshing-out than most.

I don't know if we can say that that 'fleshing-out' will carry over into the film until we see it. Nero's backstory will be vurtually meaningless if it is conveyed in the comics, but not in the film.

Agreed on Khan. Semi-one dimensional but Montalban's execution of the role both in 1967 and 1982 was impeccable. A genetically-engineered Augment who's basically programmed from the inside out for world domination, but with personality and verve.

 

[Rat Boy]

But almost all TREK villains are just bitter madmen or evil assholes bent on dominating their peers and conquering worlds.

Khan had arguably one of the simplest motivations, but the execution and performance were so fantastic that they took that character to a higher level.

Nero seems to be getting more of a fleshing-out than most.

I don't know if we can say that that 'fleshing-out' will carry over into the film until we see it. Nero's backstory will be vurtually meaningless if it is conveyed in the comics, but not in the film.

Agreed on Khan. Semi-one dimensional but Montalban's execution of the role both in 1967 and 1982 was impeccable. A genetically-engineered Augment who's basically programmed from the inside out for world domination, but with personality and verve.

And a thing for soft Corinthian leather.

 

[btflash]

Holy crap. I went to Midtown Comics (a farily large comic shop in NYC) and they were sold out of this comic. I guess there are quite a few Trek fans out there anticipating this film in NYC!

Or, they shortsightedly didn't order many.

i hear that! the store i went to only had 5. by chance i was the first customer that day and got one.

 

[Procutus]

Holy crap. I went to Midtown Comics (a farily large comic shop in NYC) and they were sold out of this comic. I guess there are quite a few Trek fans out there anticipating this film in NYC!

Or, they shortsightedly didn't order many.

i hear that! the store i went to only had 5. by chance i was the first customer that day and got one.

Does anyone know if the comic is being carried in any standard bookstore? I checked both Border and Barnes & Noble and came up empty-handed.

 

[ancient]

^Ditto. And I can't think of any actual physical "comic store" that I know about. So I ordered it on-line. (Which is a fucking jip, but whatever)

 

[Rat Boy]

I think that may be because IDW isn't as widely distributed as other comic book publishers. Finding TPBs in bookstores is a real crap shoot.

 

[ATimson]

This could also explain why we have 25th century technology on the Enterprise (the three dimensional panels) and why Data is suddenly Captain of the Enterprise.

I haven't actually read the comic yet, but could those "three-dimensional panels" be the same odd viewscreen tech we saw in First Contact?

How did he make it from Lt. Commander to Captain in only seven years, or even less?

Well, he was about to make Commander right after Nemesis, as he was going to become Picard's first officer. So it's really only one promotion. And even that's not too unbelievable--it only took Sisko three years to make that same jump.

 

[God Magnus]

Or, they shortsightedly didn't order many.

Possible, though unlikely. Midtown Comics is one of the largest comic shops in NYC. I don't think they order any less than 10-15 copies of a comic at a time. Even lower selling titles get fairly good quantity there. They said they may get more Monday so here's hopin'.

 

[ancient]

This could also explain why we have 25th century technology on the Enterprise (the three dimensional panels) and why Data is suddenly Captain of the Enterprise.

I haven't actually read the comic yet, but could those "three-dimensional panels" be the same odd viewscreen tech we saw in First Contact?

Remember TNG season 1, when there were 3-d holo displays everywhere? I recall Data looking up info on the TKON EMPIRE using a holo projection, for example.

Unfortunatly later Trek stopped using that feature because of $$$$. But the Tech has been in place since the very beginning of TNG, so the holo displays aren't really contradicting anything.

How did he make it from Lt. Commander to Captain in only seven years, or even less?

Well, he was about to make Commander right after Nemesis, as he was going to become Picard's first officer. So it's really only one promotion. And even that's not too unbelievable--it only took Sisko three years to make that same jump.

Yeah, it seems perfectly reasonable. And if humans can get promoted that fast, why not someone inhumanly smart like Data?

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

How did he make it from Lt. Commander to Captain in only seven years, or even less?

Well, he was about to make Commander right after Nemesis, as he was going to become Picard's first officer. So it's really only one promotion. And even that's not too unbelievable--it only took Sisko three years to make that same jump.

Not to mention that Data had already spent 15 years (and possibly more) as a LCDR before that film.

 

[TheBrew]

I got it today and I really enjoyed it. Started to get jazzed about the movie plus that last page just makes the wait for the next issue to be even harder. What a cliffhanger!

 

[EJD1984]

And I can't think of any actual physical "comic store" that I know about. So I ordered it on-line.

They're getting to be fewer, and fewer. The only one I know of around my area is nearly 25mi away. If I factor in gas & travel time, it was just cheaper for me to order online.

 

[EJD1984]

I know there's just a bit of a debate as to weather this comic is in the realm of "canon", but the one thing I would take strongly into account is the article over at TrekMovie.

It seems to me that Paramount is using the opportunity of this fresh start to Trek, and trying to rein in various elements of Trek in order to make it more cohesive. The real test for this theory will be after the movie is released, and to see what is done (and approved) with future comics, games, novels.................etc

 

[JoeZhang]

And if humans can get promoted that fast, why not someone inhumanly smart like Data?

Well Commander Data, you've been gone for a bit, you'll need to refresh yourself with current Star Fleet procedures and...

<data's hands fly across keyboard>

I have refreshed myself.