Star Trek 1088: The Last Verse

1088. The Last Verse

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation #70, DC Comics, April 1995

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Deryl Skelton (artist)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Placing the scripture bubbles into the altar doesn't reveal a treasure, but instead awakens a giant robot bent on getting revenge on the new regime. Riker's not happy about having been manipulated by the long-dead monks, so he tries to stop the robot. His former colleague turned killer gives his life to defeat the robot. Meanwhile, Crusher and Pulaski use the life support system to incapacitate smell-sensitive goons in the service of the mad scientist holding them hostage. Thanks to various clues, they then deduce that he was telling the truth about one of the doctors at the conference being responsible for the explosion that disfigured him.

CONTINUITY: See previous issues. Ro leaves the ship to pursue special training (Preemptive Strike).

DIVERGENCES: See previous issues. Still a bit late for Ro to do so.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Crusher... Her name didn't come out of nowhere, you know.
REVIEW: The two stories end with criminals being vindicated and the real villains revealed. In the case of the Riker story, it's a big action set piece that's let down by the art. At one point, Riker destroys part of a bridge that is still there in following panels. The doctor story, on the other hand, has plotting problems. It's just an endless babble-a-thon as people retread or reveal wholesale incriminating clues about the culprit. Much of it was set up in an issue that you'd have read a month earlier, not that much of it left a mark on me TWO DAYS AGO. Boring and not very pretty to look at.