1197. Return to the Forbidden PlanetPUBLICATION: Starfleet Academy #9, Marvel Comics, August 1997
CREATORS: Chris Cooper (writer), Chris Renaud and Andy Lanning (artists)
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)
PLOT: Spock leaves Romulus to check on a Tal Shiar agent on Earth (presumably T'Priell). Meanwhile, Edam gets telepathically summoned to Talos IV with Omega Squad in tow. On the planet, they meet the still living Christopher Pike, fighting Jem'Hadar intent on massacring the Talosians. The latter use illusions to help Omega Squad prevail, but when Edam reads the Jem'Hadar's minds, he finds this is just a test run for the genocide of every telepathic race...
CONTINUITY: Ambassador Spock is on Romulus (Unification). Talos IV and Christopher Pike were last seen in The Menagerie. These Jem'Hadar were last seen last issue.
DIVERGENCES: See previous issues (Edam's telepathic tricks). Pike's fate contradicts the one shown in DC's Star Trek v.2 #61.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Clever!
REVIEW: The cadets versus the Jem'Hadar, with justification for how they can survive that. And while the continuity plug-in that is Talos IV and Pike is the usual kind of fun one can expect from this series, the more interesting element is the Dominion's war against the Alpha Quadrant's telepaths. This puts Starfleet Academy well inside the realm of DS9 by telling a plausible side story. I still have hope Vina will appear in part 2, though she seems to have been forgotten. As for Spock's appearance, it heralds a resolution to T'Priell's long-running subplot. It's all of interest, with simple but fun action, with liberal doses of teenage angst.
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