1009. The Noise of JusticePUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation #10, DC Comics, July 1990
CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Pablo Marcos (artist)
STARDATE: 43269.1 (follows the last issue)
PLOT: Picard stands accused of using the Enterprise to destroy the USS Nairobi, this after the ship has been sighted in various places we know it wasn't during the last few adventures. Captain Philippa Louvois deposes the bridge crew while Picard's former commanding officer, Admiral Rosenstrum, reviews the ship's logs. Meanwhile, Picard remembers other close calls he has had. In the end, despite everyone and everything contradicting the evidence, a court-martial is to be convened. Except that the Enterprise is sighted light-years away, so Picard is ordered to intercept it, his only chance to exonerate himself...
CONTINUITY: Phillipa Louvois is of course from The Measure of a Man. The flashback features a young Donald Varley, the captain of the Yamato who died in Contagion. The fact that Picard failed his Starfleet entrance exam was revealed in Coming of Age. The fight with the Nausicaans is recounted in Samaritan Snare, and later shown in Tapestry.
DIVERGENCES: Since Tapestry had not aired yet when this comic came out, the Nausicaan story diverges from established fact. The Nausicaans look completely different, Picard isn't with the same friends when it happens, and both the staging and reasons behind of the fight differ.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Jean-Luc Picard, teenage badass
REVIEW: A good showcase for the characters. The plot doesn't move much, as we already know what their depositions will say, but Friedman gets the chance to work out each of their "voices". Picard gets the most panel space, of course, with some dynamic (thanks to Marcos) flashbacks that make good use of continuity. So despite the talking heads, you're never bored. Now let's see the Enterprise kick some Enterprise butt!
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