Star Trek 1065: The Good of the Many

1065. The Good of the Many

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation #55, DC Comics, December 1993

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Deryl Skelton and Steve Carr (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: A ship hits Data and Louvois' shuttle and is destroyed. Soon, the destroyed ship's people, the Terviorii, arrest them both for killing 9 people. In Terviorii law, the good of the many literally outweighs the good of the few (9 > 2). At the hearing, Data fails to properly defend them, but Louvois comes upon the idea that the unique Data outweighs 9 not-so-unique Terviorii. Rather than commit genocide, the judges acquit them of their crime. Elsewhere, the USS Bradbury is called on an emergency and leaves an ambassador with the Enterprise. Get ready for Lwaxana Troi...

CONTINUITY: The title of course harks back to ST II. Phillipa Louvois is the main guest star (The Measure of a Man). Worf misses Keiko's touch with Klingon flowers now that the O'Briens are gone (Emissary). Riker is informed of Jellico's unfavorable personnel report, not that Picard really cares (Chain of Command). The USS Bradbury's first mention was in Ménage à Troi. Lwaxana Troi has not been seen since Half a Life.

DIVERGENCES: Why isn't the captain of the Bradbury wearing a Starfleet uniform?

PANEL OF THE DAY - Lwaxana Troi, bigger than life.
REVIEW: First off, let me just comment on the art team of Deryl Skelton and Steve Carr. Though Skelton's work is a little stiff thanks to obvious use of photo reference, his likenesses are way better than Marcos', especially the women whose beauty was never captured. Louvois here looks like Louvois, and even if photo reference IS used, Skelton chooses the right expressions. Thicker lines create a slicker, more cartoonish look that is pleasant to the eye, even if it is sometimes slightly amateurish. As for the writing, it's one of Friedman's better one-offs. The Terviorii and their legal system are efficiently introduced and make sense in the context of the story, and the two captives' arguments are well made. It's a fun SF courtroom drama. I do wish the initial collision was a bit more explained though. Friedman cuts away to the Enterprise from time to time and offers scenes that deal with events from the tv series. it doesn't add much to the comic, but it does add a little something to the tv episodes it references. It's nice to know, for example, that there is fallout from the O'Briens' departure or from Jellico's time aboard the Enterprise. These things usually go unmentioned in the weekly television grind.