1183. Action of the Tiger / The Unkindest CutPUBLICATION: Star Trek Unlimited #2, Marvel Comics, January 1997
CREATORS: Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton (writers), Mark Buckingham and Kev Sutherland / Ron Randall and Al Williamson (artists)
STARDATE: 5973.5 (follows the last issue) / 48293.5 (follows the last issue)
PLOT: In Action of the Tiger, Kirk meets up with an old Academy friend at a conference where Klingons attack making political demands. Turns out they're only there to steal money with the help of the station commander. Kirk's friend is killed in their escape. They steal a Federation starship, but Spock has called Kor, who blows up the honorless bastards with his fleet. In The Unkindest Cut, while the Enterprise-D puts in for R&R on Risa, twin assassins are after Mot the Barber as part of a vendetta involving his uncle, who had worked as a barber on a pirate ship. After killing a number of crewmen with explosives, the first is captured in the barber shop by Worf. The second tries for Mot's life on the planet, but Riker, Geordi and Barclay manage to subdue him.
CONTINUITY: Commodore Stone (Court-Martial) appears and has been promoted to admiral. The TOS sequence features the earliest chronological use of a d'k'tagh by Klingons. Kor appears (Errand of Mercy). The Enterprise-D visited Risa before in The Captain's Holiday. Worf isn't interested (as in Let He Who Is Without Sin...). Mot and Barclay appear, chumming together.
DIVERGENCES: Action of the Tiger introduces Kirk's co-saboteur of the Kobayashi Mary scenario at the Academy, which contradicts other takes on the incident (Kobayashi Maru, Star Trek v.2 #73).
PANEL OF THE DAY - That IS a non sequitur.
REVIEW: The art remains of a high level on this quality series, and though the stories retain strong links to continuity, they are a bit weaker than in issue #1. The Klingons do Die Hard in the TOS section, which is fun and all, but the guest friend from the Academy and Admiral Stone are both wasted. Nice to see Kor involved, but again, there's not enough of him to warrant that appearance. Cute bits with both Kirk and Chekov though. The TNG story is better, with some fun interplay between the comic Mot and the rest of the crew. Most of the cast get a character moment, and if there's a weakness, it's in the silly climax with the Tholian silk. Both stories have some fortuitous endings, let's say, but both are fairly enjoyable nonetheless.
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