Star Trek 977: Rivals Part 1

977. Rivals Part 1

PUBLICATION: Star Trek v.2 #66, DC Comics, December 1994

CREATORS: Howard Weinstein (writer), Thomas Derenick and Arne Starr (artists)

STARDATE: 8673.9 (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Having intercepted a stolen shuttle piloted by the Vulcan girl T'ariis and her 'gi friend (the 'gi are the underclass in the Nara'gi system), Kirk brings them back to one of the Nara'gi planets to face punishment. T'ariis hopes her father's influence as the ambassador who negotiated the treaty with the Nara will get her out of trouble, especially since the Nara routinely beat criminals to death. Kirk intercedes with the authorities on her stepmother Sepora's behalf, but they were going to let her go anyway once they coerced a confession out of her 'gi friend. That intervention so insulted Nara officials, however, that the treaty is nullified...

CONTINUITY: T'ariis is the daughter of Stonn and T'Pring (Amok Time, to which there is a flashback).

DIVERGENCES: There is a DS9 episode titled Rivals. Kirk and Spock saw T'Pring between the events of ST III and ST IV, when she was a temple matriarch and no longer married to Stonn (Special #1).

PANEL OF THE DAY - Have we ever seen a Vulcan with a weight problem before?
REVIEW: Oh look! A united yet factionned system with an underclass! Again! I'm not sure where Stonn's new back story comes from, but the way it's introduced is rather rough, especially since Amok Time gets 4 pages of unnecessary word-for-word recap. The Vulcan family unit acts decidedly emotional, you'd think we were back in the NX-01 era. And Tom Derenick's art? His storytelling tends to be stilted and his likenesses rough at best. That said, there's still potential in the premise. T'ariss will probably cause more trouble, you want to see Kirk go up against brutal Nara justice, and there's that "Rivals" title that could pay off in some kind of Spock-Stonn scene down the line. One can only hope.