780. The Planet of No LifePUBLICATION: Star Trek #50, Gold Key Comics, January 1978
CREATORS: George Kashdan (writer), Alden McWilliams (artist)
STARDATE: Unknown - Follows issue #46.
PLOT: After picking up a new lieutenant who's only in Starfleet to satisfy his High Command father and not willing to do anything but the barest minimum, the Enterprise comes upon an uninhabitable planetoid that is nonetheless inhabited. It's the Sanoora from issue #41 who created an anti-radiation drug so they could live here. Kirk and the lieutenant take the drug and are invited to the planet, but a violent faction who wants to retake the former homeworld stage a mini-coup and capture the landing party. Without a renewal of the drug, their start to die and their skin starts to go transparent. The lieutenant wants to sell Kirk out, but meanwhile, Spock and McCoy find a way to use the drug to make the planetoid fertile. After a demonstration, cooler heads prevail, but not before the leader of the Returner faction shoots Kirk, whose life is saved by the young lieutenant throwing himself on the beam. Aw, he had what it took all along.
CONTINUITY: A sequel to issue #41, The Evictors.
DIVERGENCES: None, unless you count Uhura's horrible afro.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Who's Bones NOW?
REVIEW: A none-too-bad sequel to The Evictors, though we do have to suffer through a four-page recap (they might as well have pasted in panels from that story). The story manages to redeem Kirk and crew after the original story's blunder, giving the Sanoora a happy ending and the Federation reason. The subplot introduces an interesting dynamic, though we shouldn't be surprised that the guest star is killed. That's par for the course with these one-offs, and too bad too. A simple story, but as far as the Gold Key series goes, not a bad one.
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