Star Trek 1011: The Impostor

1011. The Impostor

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation #11, DC Comics, August 1990

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Pablo Marcos (artist)

STARDATE: 43269.3 (follows the last issue)

PLOT: The Enterprise-D flies to intercept its mirror image, but arrives too late to prevent the destruction of the USS Merrimac. Data notices that the bogus ship's movements mirror those of the Enterprise more than two years prior, so Picard takes a gamble and flies off to what was the ship's next destination. There they engage the bogus Enterprise, but it seems to know Picard's tactics before he even puts them into action. When Picard and Riker switch chairs, suddenly the Enterprise gets the upper hand, and off it goes in pursuit of its evil twin...

CONTINUITY: None.

DIVERGENCES: Since the USS Merrimac appears in a number of episodes later than this story (including Redemption and Birthright), its destruction must have been greatly exaggerated.

PANEL OF THE DAY - McRobb: Still a coward
REVIEW: An intriguing revelation and a clever resolution are relatively well served by Marcos' art. His ship battles have some energy, though they're still pretty static (hey, like the show's), and while it's nice to see Riker in the captain's chair, I do wish his tactics were a bit more original (like they are on the show). Still one issue to go, so another chance to get those elements right. What Friedman does get right is the dialogue, engineering conversations where the various characters get to voice their reactions and show their temperaments. An "Axgardian" relief ops officer is included in those, and it seems like we learn enough about his culture here for a call back at some point.