“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Trek #73 (DC 2nd series)

“When I find out who put that glue on my shirt….”

Star Trek #73

DC Comics (July, 1995)

“Star-Crossed” part 1

WRITER: Howard Weinstein

PENCILER: Rachel Ketchum

INKER: Mark Heiki

COLORIST: Ray Murtaugh

LETTERER: Bob Pinaha

EDITOR: Margaret Clark

Flashback to Kirk’s early years and his romance with Carol Marcus. First we see Kirk’s infamous cheat of the Kobayashi Maru test, thanks to information he got from Carol. He later surprises her that he got a commendation for creative thinking. Six years later they’re both serving on the Eagle along with Gary Mitchell but Jim and Carol’s rekindled romance runs into trouble as she’s not as good at bypassing orders as she is (not acknowledged is that he’s better at knowing what orders to defy) and ends up getting an away team in trouble. Not believing she can fit into the Starfleet life Carol quits, not telling Jim she’s pregnant.

What they got right: Despite Kirk’s cheat in this telling is being so awesome that the Klingons just offer to help, Kirk still comes off as less of a jerk than he did in the Abrams movie. Kirk’s romance with Carol is something the official franchise never really dealt with beyond Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan but it seems like all the expanded media (comics, books, and probably a few fan works) love to play with it. Weinstein’s exploration of their relationship, despite three time skips, comes off as a believable explanation of events.

What they got wrong: Carol and Jim never really look at that younger, which hurts Carol more since we’ve only seen her at the age of the movie while Kirk at least looks like he did during the TV series. Some poses are kind of stiff.

Recommendation: A decent start to this storyline. Might be worth a look but this isn’t the definitive “how Carol and Kirk broke up” story.