Star Trek 833: The Beginning of the End...

833. The Beginning of the End...

PUBLICATION: Star Trek #15, DC Comics, June 1985

CREATORS: Mike W. Barr (writer), Tom Sutton and Ricardo Villagran (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: United behind Kirk but ready to betray him, the mirror Klingons and Romulans attack the Imperial fleet. Kirk's ace in the hole - technology that nullifies the enemy ships' transtators built by scientists just freed from the Empire's prison planet. The Excelsior is immune (it doesn't use transtator technology) and the Spocks equip their allies' ships with generators that allow them to function inside the dampening field. The Empire's ace in the hole - an escaped mirror Saavik who has replaced ours. Battle is joined and the good guys win, despite the Empire unveiling its own Excelsior. The Klingons and Romulans turn on Kirk, but he has Spock detonate the generators and they too are taken out. As Saavik releases mirror Kirk from stasis, he shoots her in his confusion, and real Saavik subdues her. When mirror Kirk and his crew wake up, they're in a shuttle going back to Earth. An Imperial ship seems to obliterate it. Elsewhere, Kirk and the Excelsior head back to our universe, confident that mirror David and Spock have the support of enough officers from the disabled fleet to take down the Empire...

CONTINUITY: The Mirror Universe Saga continues... Captain Blaine was in command of the mirror Reliant. In the end, the mirror universe may be back on track (towards Crossover).

DIVERGENCES: Excelsior is huge compared to what looks like Klingon D-7 Battle Cruisers.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Only in the mirror universe...
REVIEW: I'm not sure Sutton knows what to do with all the ships he gets to draw (and there are a LOT, in a Dominion War kind of way), but Barr once again makes Kirk admirably clever. He shows a lot of foresight in the way he disables both the mirror Excelsior and the Klingon-Romulan fleet. Fun and fast paced, with good reversals of fortune, though the Saavik mole could have been used a little more. Mirror David is equally wasted. You're not telling me this is how mirror Kirk and crew actually die, do you? One thing that strikes me about this whole arc is how many details (ahem) mirror Sisko's adventures in the alternate universe - helping a rebel alliance, introducing an overpowered ship, finding a dead loved one on the other side... Just a coincidence?

Comments

De said…
I kind of dig the Romulan armor. It's certainly a step up from the drapery that was their TOS uniforms.
March 20, 2009 at 2:39 PM
Alden said…
I liked the armor from TOS, it had a certain spartan appeal (which 300 did not have).
March 20, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Siskoid said…
Worst of all is the cushiony shoulderpad version.
March 20, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Anonymous said…
Donnie thorson c/o editor@archie comics.org the empire came into effect because in 1898 the Klingons came to terra and teaming with Winston Churchill and in 1920 mussolino forged the eurpepean colonial empires int othe terran empire(later,terrians of all continents were equal but the inequality caused urahas ancestors to renounce Christianity-but then the empire cionquered romes doube in its 19th cent) and vaporized earths twin. under presient Wilson and vp Griffith the usa joins the Klingon are routed befor in amirror darkly-but like in the story for the greater good some Klingon relative are on terra since the empire cant be trusted at this point the Klingons destroy most all the planets beteewn the two dictastorships meaning kirks enterprise does not have parallel advetns with the feds enterprise- this deadzone is the neutral zone
May 10, 2014 at 1:54 PM
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