Star Trek 938: Divide... and Conquer

938. Divide... and Conquer

PUBLICATION: Star Trek v.2 #35, DC Comics, September 1992

CREATORS: Howard Weinstein (writer), Rod Whigham and Arne Starr (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: As Sulu is given command of Excelsior, both he and Kirk are ordered to the Tabukan system where, after a long arms race, the two inhabited worlds are finally destroying their weapons. Unknown intruders have attacked the Tabukans, however, to steal those weapons of mass destruction. En route, the Enterprise is diverted to a medical emergency engineered by a a new Romulan-Maroan alliance, and then Excelsior is attacked by cloaked Maroan ships...

CONTINUITY: Aboard the Excelsior with Sulu is Janice Rand and Dmitri Valtane (ST VI). Scotty gives Sulu the parts he took out of Excelsior in ST III. Saavik temporarily returns to the Enterprise.

DIVERGENCES: The two Tabukan planets were made Federation members despite their uneasy peace and the fact they never developped interstellar (i.e. warp) travel. The Romulans are using a Klingon-like design for their ships (The Enterprise Incident), even though that shouldn't be true in the movie era (based on previous comics at least).

PANEL OF THE DAY - Tabukan pumice stones were reputed to be the best in the galaxy.
REVIEW: A new story begins, and The Tabukan Syndrome promises to be... pretty good, actually! New artist Rod Whigham's likenesses are quite strong, and his designs for both aliens and ships quite striking. As for the story, well, I'm a sucker for a good Captain Sulu tale, and this is his first mission. We get to see his send-off and it's a gently comic charmer. Rand comes off nicely as well. I also like the subplot about Kirk not handling Sulu's departure (or is that his promotion?) too well. The Tabukan plot is helped along by the art design and the Romulans are properly sneaky. And not too much exposition this time. I don't know if it's too early to thank new editor Kim Yale for this...