Admittedly being dead would make the job a bit tougher.
Star Trek Unlimited #4
Marvel/Paramount Comics (May, 1997)
WRITERS: Dan Abnett & Ian Edginton
LETTERER: Phil Felix
EDITOR: Tim Tuohy
The Original Series: “None But The Brave”
PENCILER: Mark Buckingham
INKER: Kev Sutherland
COLORIST: Kevin Somers
The Next Generation: “Inheritance”
PENCILER: Ron Randall
INKER: Al Williamson
COLORIST: Kevin Tinsley
The Romulans have gotten a hold of a damaged Federation starship, the Confederate. Secretly on board is a very unstable prototype transwarp drive, so Starfleet Security recruits Scotty to help get it out of there and the Enterprise to help distract the Romulans. The mission is a success in as much as getting the ship away from the Romulans as the infiltration unit is forced to destroy the ship with the drive.
The likenesses of the actors are a bit off. Scotty has a mustache for some reason and Kirk looks way too young. Making one of the Romulans the sister of the one the crew once tricked out of a cloaking device goes nowhere. They should have saved it for a story that could focus on that better. I’m also not sure the TOS ships could detach and fly their saucer sections around. That was supposed to be new to the Galaxy class ship of the 24th century like the Enterprise-D. The story itself however is quite good, with some decent action and with the same writers on both it’s easy for them to have the events of this story factor into the next story in this issue.
Scotty once convinced the creator of the transwarp prototype that it was too dangerous, but that didn’t stop Starfleet Security. The creator’s granddaughter happens to be Leah Brahms, who is giving a lecture Geordi manages to attend, and to help her test her grandfather’s notes. However the Confederate decided to pop up again and the Romulans still want that drive, so they kidnap Lean and Geordi, who come up with their own trick to ditch the still unusable device for good.
It’s cute seeing Leah also using the holodeck to test a theory and drag Geordi (or a holographic version) into a role-play scenario in the TOS period. Theirs is an interesting friendship. It’s also neat to see the comic showcase an event that bridges both time periods. I wouldn’t want to see it every time but now and then is a good use of this particular title. The likenesses are a bit closer here, but would a Captain back then still have one of those low-cut 60s mini-skirts?
Overall this was a really good issue. Check it out if you’re a fan of both series.
