Star Trek 1119: Dealers in Darkness

1119. Dealers in Darkness

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shadowheart #2, DC Comics, January 1995

CREATORS: Michael Jan Friedman (writer), Steve Erwin and Charles Barnett III (artists)

STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)

PLOT: Kurn, Worf and Riker reach the planet Nothra and meet an informant that sells them a map leading to Nikolai Rozhenko, who is posing as the Klingon demon of legend, Shadowheart and leading an insurgency. The Nothra governorship is in cahoots with the Duras, but the Sisters aren't happy that the insurgency has put their raids on border worlds on hold. The away team gets into trouble with the authorities and bolts through the jungle, but not before Worf's containment suit is destroyed, placing him at the mercy of the jungle gases. However, it's Riker who gets into trouble when he trips during a killer ant stampede...

CONTINUITY: See previous issue (the Rozhenkos, Kurn). The Duras Sisters were last seen in Past Prologue.

DIVERGENCES: Duras Sister cleavage has been colored in.

PANEL OF THE DAY - Worf was raised in a bunker.
REVIEW: Really does feel like a "Klingon episode", with the Duras coming out of the woodwork and politics being called into play. Worf is at the center both of the drama (his authority over his brother, the flashbacks to the Academy) and the action (the bar fight, him ripping off his jacket as the "disruptor energy" eats through it). Oh and bits of Klingon folklore too. Riker's a bit dour for my tastes, but otherwise, still a winner.