823. Who Is... Enigma?PUBLICATION: Star Trek #6, DC Comics, July 1984
CREATORS: Mike W. Barr (writer), Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran (artists)
STARDATE: 8173.5 (follows the last issue)
PLOT: On route to Babel, Ambassador Robert Fox is attacked by his daughter, brainwashed by the Orion Victory League and taught how to shapeshift. She's out to destroy peace talks between her estranged father and the Klingon envoy. Once free of Orion influence, the healing might be allowed to begin.
CONTINUITY: When there's a story about Babel, there has to be a fake Andorian (Journey to Babel). Robert Fox was the meddling ambassador in A Taste of Armageddon. The Orion Victory League might be related to the Orion Syndicate. Antos IV is where Captain Garth learned to shapeshift (Whom Gods Destroy). Saavik is half-Romulan, something that was only suggested in ST II (so unlike Vulcans, she eats meat). Speaking of ST II, Kirk quotes Spock's "there are always possibilities" a lot in this episode. Enigma takes the shape of an Andorian and a Gorn.
DIVERGENCES: Peace talks with the Klingons anticipates ST VI. Konom is seen in a Starfleet uniform, which may or may not contradict information we have on Worf. While Worf has been called the first Klingon to graduate from Starfleet Academy, I don't know that he's really been said to be the first Klingon. If there's a divergence here, it's that Konom gets assigned to the ship without having to go to the Academy at all.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Confessions of a Mego doll
REVIEW: Though I find Ambassador Fox pretty unrecognizable from his tv appearance (in other words, it could have been anyone and is just a reference for references' sake), and the idea that humans can "learn" to shapeshift is one better forgotten (it also show up in #15 of the Marvel series, and of course, Whom Gods Destroy is pure drivel), it's still not a bad comic. The fight against the Gorn is pretty sweet and the Federation-Klingon situation continues to provide a sound background for the stories.
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