746. The Cosmic CavemenPUBLICATION: Star Trek #17, Gold Key Comics, February 1973
CREATORS: Unknown (writer), Alberto Giolitti (artist)
STARDATE: 19:24.3 - Follows issue #14.
PLOT: The crew finds a planet in its stone age they dub Neesan (after Greek gods and Shakespeare characters, we're finally down to car makes). Captured by the natives, Kirk and crew find that they worship an idol that looks just like Spock. As a "god", he can thus save them from being sacrificed. Forbidden to interfere with their tribal wars, Scotty nevertheless falls for the prescient high priestess who's only using him for his phaser. The crew has to return to the planet to get Scott's gun back and it takes Spock and judicious use of the transporter to save them from the opposing tribe. So how could Spock's godhood be possible? At some point in the past, he was startled by a space monster and sent a telepathic call out which was received by the priestess. Ah.
CONTINUITY: Scotty wears a red shirt. We may finally found our colorist, gentlemen!
DIVERGENCES: Scotty's a wee bit more violent than usual, in the end not starting a fist fight with Spock only for fear of being assigned to scrub the pipes in the "nuclear furnace room".
PANEL OF THE DAY - Kirk's jealousy
REVIEW: The justification for this story is slightly ridiculous, since Spock's ears could have provided incentive/coincidence enough to elevate him to godhood. And though the coloring is getting better, there is still some confusion between characters when they're nor in close-up (unless Scotty really did take physiology courses). Scotty's all over the map even when he's not confused with McCoy, in fact, sometimes too violent, sometimes too much of a father figure to Kirk, sometimes accused of having "fatal charm". Otherwise, an ok, if violent, story, whose saving grace is cavemen riding pterodactyls. But that's why we have Turok, right?
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